Battle of Copenhagen

The Battle of Copenhagen was an engagement which saw a British fleet fight and strategically defeat a Danish-Norwegian fleet anchored just off Copenhagen on 2nd April 1801. Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson led the main attack and is famously is reputed to have disobeyed Sir Hyde Parker's order to withdraw by holding the telescope to his blind eye. His action, in proceeding into battle, resulted in the destruction of many of the Dano-Norwegian ships before a truce was agreed.

The League of Armed Neutrality, Led by Russia, included Denmark-Norway, Sweden, and Prussia all of whom called for the ability to trade freely with France. Britain, wishing to maintain their blockade of the French coast and concerned about losing access to Scandinavian timber and naval stores, immediately began preparing to take action. In the spring of 1801, a fleet was formed at Great Yarmouth, England under Admiral Sir Hyde Parker with the purpose of breaking up the alliance before the Baltic Sea thawed and released the Russian fleet.

One of Nelson's great triumphs, the Battle of Copenhagen cost the British and the Danes in lives and ships. In the days after the battle, Nelson was able to negotiate a fourteen-week armistice during which the League would be suspended and the British given free access to Copenhagen. Coupled with the assassination of Tsar Paul, the Battle of Copenhagen effectively ended the League of Armed Neutrality.

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