The Battle of Als was fought on 29 June 1864 during the Second Schleswig War between Denmark and Prussia. It was the last major engagement of the war, as the Prussians under General Herwarth von Bittenfeld secured the island of Als – occupied by 9,000 Danish troops, including the garrison of Dybbøl which had retreated there – in a night attack masterminded by the Chief of StaffLeonhard Graf von Blumenthal. The Prussian command gave orders for the crossing of the Alssund – the narrow strait separating Als from the mainland of Jutland – to begin in the night of 28–29 June 1864. The Commander-in-Chief had selected Øster Snogbæk, at the northern end of the strait, as the crossing-place, the nearby Sottrup Storskov woods providing cover which enabled the preparations to be hidden from the Danes. At midnight, the Prussian troops were gathered for the assault, without packs and wearing Feldmützen instead of helmets. At 2:00am 2,500 Prussian soldiers started crossing the Alssund, between the village of Sottrupskov and the Sandbjerg Estate, in small boats. The Danish modern armoured monitor Rolf Krake was in Augustenborg fjord, and sailed to the Alssund where it caused the Prussians severe difficulties and stopped the crossing. But after that the Rolf Krake, due to damage including to its bridge caused by heavy Prussian shelling and the mistaken belief that Prussians had already crossed the strait south of its position., suddenly turned around and sailed away; the Prussian troops continued the crossing. At 2:15am the Prussians landed in Arnkil and under heavy fire took the Danish entrenchments. This let them build a pontoon bridge of 32 segments over the Alssund. Of the Danish army, Regiment No. 5 went north to Sønderborg, and Regiment No. 18 fought the Prussians near the village of Kær. The Danes eventually retreated to Kegnæs, some surrendered, some were evacuated by ship. The Danish army lost nearly 3,000 men on Als.
Legacy
Following Denmark's defeat by the Austro-Prussian army, Als became part of Prussia and later Germany until the referendum of 1920. Johann Gottfried Piefke, the famous German march composer, dedicated his to the battle.
