Duppel, Battle of

In the Prusso-Danish War, successful German assault March 1868 on a fortified position in Schleswig-Holstein, then occupied by the Danes, which opened the way for the invasion of Denmark.

A previous German attack of 1848 had been halted at Duppel. The principal fort was protected by a chain of 10 earthwork redoubts which the Germans now besieged having learned from their earlier defeat. Artillery bombardments appeared to do little damage, since the earthworks simply absorbed shell-fire and no effective breaches were made in the defences.

After almost three weeks, an astute German observer noted that the Danish commander was in the habit of withdrawing his troops from the foremost redoubt at dawn, so as to protect the troops from the daily shell-fire, returning them in the evening. The Germans waited until they had left and then launched a sudden attack which turned into a race to see who could occupy the redoubt first. The Germans won, breaching the line, and the Danish garrison surrendered.