Werner Hans Frederik Abrahamson Læssøe was a Danish officer known for his service in the
First Schleswig War
The First Schleswig War (german: Schleswig-Holsteinischer Krieg) was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig-Holstein Question, contesting the issue of who should control the Duchies of Schleswig, ...
. He was the son of Margrethe Juliane Signe Læssøe and the brother of the priest Kristian Frederik Læssøe, the painter Thorald Læssøe and the numismatist Ludvig Læssøe.
Biography
Læssøe became a lieutenant in an infantry regiment in 1830, was a student at the
War College
A war college is a senior military academy which is normally intended for veteran military officers and whose purpose is to educate and 'train on' senior military tacticians, strategists, and leaders. It is also often the place where advanced tact ...
in 1832-1836 and was then employed in the general staff, where he was promoted to captain in 1842. For several years he was engaged in measurement and mapping work, which in recent times benefited Hedeselskabet's water supply plans, and served 1844-1845 as a teacher at the war academy, but was removed from this place, because his excessive independent ideas made him less popular with foremen, especially as he was politically leaning towards the
National Liberal Party.
At the outbreak of
First Schleswig War
The First Schleswig War (german: Schleswig-Holsteinischer Krieg) was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig-Holstein Question, contesting the issue of who should control the Duchies of Schleswig, ...
, Læssøe was chief of staff at the army command. He participated in the battles at
Bov,
Nybøl and
Dybbøl Banke. On this occasion, Læssøe came into conflict with the Minister of War, who questioned the competence of the army's leadership. And as a result of the
Defeat at Egernførde, the hunt for a scapegoat began. Minister of War
Hansen then used the defeat to remove the commander of the high command, General
Christoph von Krogh and his chief of staff Frederik Læssøe.
But when General
Olaf Rye
Olaf Rye (16 November 1791 – 6 July 1849) was a Denmark–Norway, Norwegian-Danish military officer. He died in battle during the First Schleswig War and is considered to have been a Danish war hero.
Biography
Olaf Rye was born at Bø, Tele ...
was given the task of leading the withdrawal of the Danish army in 1849, he got Læssøe with him in his staff, and he participated in the
Battle of Kolding . Læssøe was appointed colonel in 1850 and led the 12th battalion in the
Battle of Isted
The Battle of Isted ( da, Slaget på Isted Hede; german: Die Schlacht bei Idstedt) took place on 25 July 1850 near the village of Idstedt (Danish: ''Isted''), in what is today Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The battle was part of the First Schlesw ...
, where he fell during the fighting.
[ Bjerg/Frantzen (2005), side 305] He was buried in
Flensburg
Flensburg (; Danish, Low Saxon: ''Flensborg''; North Frisian: ''Flansborj''; South Jutlandic: ''Flensborre'') is an independent town (''kreisfreie Stadt'') in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the ...
.
Læssøesgade in both Aarhus, Copenhagen and Læssøegade in Kolding is named after him.
References
Bibliography
Biografii
Dansk biografisk leksikon
*
See also
*
H.C. Andersen was a close friend of Læssøe and his family. See his memorial poem i
Kalliope
{{DEFAULTSORT:Læssøe, Frederik
1811 births
1850 deaths
Danish generals
People of the First Schleswig War
Military personnel from Copenhagen
Danish military personnel killed in action