The Battle of Vejle was a battle of the

Second Schleswig War The Second Schleswig War ( da, Krigen i 1864; german: Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg) also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century. T ...

that occurred on March 8, 1864, between the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

and

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

on the town of

Vejle Vejle () is a city in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle River and Grejs River and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality ('' kommune'') and the R ...

. The Austrian victory at the battle opened the way for the Evacuation of Fredericia and the Battle of Jasmund as well as solidifying

Ludwig von Gablenz Ludwig Karl Wilhelm Freiherr von Gablenz (19 July 1814 – 28 January 1874) was an Austrian general of Saxon origin. Early life Born in Jena in 1814 to a Saxon noble family, he entered the Saxon Army at the age of 17. In 1833 he transferred to ...

's military career.

The Battle

At 6 a.m. the Austrian II Corps, led by

, set off from

Kolding Kolding () is a Danish seaport located at the head of Kolding Fjord in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the seat of Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre, and has numerous industrial companies, ...

for

. He led the 1st Division with Gondrecourt and the 2nd Division with Erwin von Neipperg. Since the Danes had dammed up the water in the Kolding Au and the second division didn't reach Vejle during the day. At 11 o'clock the Danish were encountered and a cavalry battle ensued, with the Austrian initially thrown back in a skirmish with Danish dragoons. At 1 p.m. the 1st Division reached the southern forests of Pedersholm, Sønderskoven, Mølholm, and rallied there. On the northern side of the town, the road to

Horsens Horsens () is a city on the east coast of Jutland region of Denmark. It is the seat of the Horsens municipality. The city's population is 61,074 (1 January 2022) and the municipality's population is 94,443 (), making it the 8th largest city in De ...

passed through a gorge bordered by hills on both sides. The 1st, 11th and 7th Infantry Regiments of the 4th Danish Division plus two batteries of field artillery were entrenched on the ridges. Since the stream was also dammed up, only a narrow line remained passable along the main road in the gorge, but it was completely covered by the artillery. Nevertheless, the attack was dared. The 1st Battalion of the 14th Infantry Regiment was now descending the opposite side of the forest hill from Petersholm. The Danish battery on the opposite ridge tried to prevent the advance with devastating shrapnel fire. Nevertheless, the battalion reached the city's barricades without any hesitation and a street battle ensued. At 4 p.m. the city was taken and the 2nd Battalion and the Jäger Battalion now reinforced the attackers, the infantry regiment "King of the Belgians" not in action.occupied the marketplace. Ludwig von Gablenz convinced himself of the success, but soon realized that the city could only be held in the long term if the northern hills of the city were also cleared of the enemy. When Gondrecourt's brigade immediately arrived, the attack on the dominant northern ranges began. Two Austrian 8-pounder batteries began firing at the enemy positions at 16:30. The 9th and 18th Jäger Battalions were ordered to advance north and occupy the enemy's right flank at Sophienlund. For reasons that are difficult to understand, the Danes had not occupied this section in particular. It was too late for them to try to catch up on what they had missed. At 17:30, the attack on the entire front was ordered. The Danish then took advantage of their advantageous position as the slope offered them a clear field of fire and, secured in the firing lines, could place their rifles on the ramparts, which resulted in many losses for the Austrians however they kept rushing forward. As luck would have it, the exact formations as

Battle of Sankelmark The Battle of Sankelmark (or Battle of Oeversee) was a minor battle during the Second Schleswig War. It took place on 6 February 1864 between Sankelmark and Oeversee, on the road between Schleswig and Flensburg, during the Danish retreat from Da ...

however, the fight wasn't so costly. The defeated Danes retreated towards Horsens but an energetic pursuit wasn't possible because the night had set in and the Austrian troops were exhausted. After some rest, they had set out at 3 o'clock that morning and put a long battle behind them with an assault on high-lying positions.

Aftermath

The battle was significant regardless of its size and scope as the town was situated on

Vejle Fjord Vejle Fjord is an East Jutland-type fjord in Denmark. It is approximately in length, and it stretches east from the town of Vejle at its head to the towns of Trelde Næs on the south side and Juelsminde on the north side at the mouth. The fjord' ...

and was part of the Fredericia-Kolding-Vejle triangle, thus dividing the Danish force in two as one half consisting of five regiments now faced south-east to the fortress of Fredericia. The other half consisting of three regiments of infantry and three regiments of cavalry, were now scattered in

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

. This paved the way for the Evacuation of Fredericia and, on the other front, for the Battle of Jasmund. In order to obtain certainty about this, Gablenz pressed into expeditions to Horsens,

Skanderborg Skanderborg is a town in Skanderborg municipality, Denmark. It is situated on the north and north eastern brinks of Skanderborg Lake and there are several smaller ponds and bodies of water within the city itself, like Lillesø, Sortesø, Døj S� ...

Silkeborg Silkeborg () is a Danish town with a population of 49,747 (1 January 2022).Schleswig-Holsteinischer Zeitungsverlag Schleswig-Holsteinischer Zeitungsverlag ("Schleswig-Holstein Newspaper publisher"), sh:z, is a newspaper group based in Flensburg, Schleswig-Holstein. With 22 daily newspapers, the group is the largest daily publisher in the state. sh:z's publicati ...

, Hamburg 2014 . * Oliver Bruhns: ''Schleswiger Stadtgeschichten.'' In: Reimer Witt, Oliver Bruhns: ''1200 Jahre Schleswig.'' hrsg. vom Lions-Club Schleswig, 2006. *

Theodor Fontane Theodor Fontane (; 30 December 1819 – 20 September 1898) was a German novelist and poet, regarded by many as the most important 19th-century German-language realist author. He published the first of his novels, for which he is best known toda ...

: ''Der Schleswig-Holsteinsche Krieg im Jahre 1864'', Berlin 1866 {{DEFAULTSORT:Vejle, Battle of Battles involving Denmark Battles involving Austria Battles of the Second Schleswig War Conflicts in 1864 1864 in Denmark 1864 in Germany March 1864 events Battle of