Battle of Copenhagen (1807)

The Second Battle of Copenhagen (or the Bombardment of Copenhagen) (16 August – 7 September 1807) was a British bombardment of the Danish capital, Copenhagen, in order to capture or destroy the Dano-Norwegian fleet during the Napoleonic Wars. The incident led to the outbreak of the Anglo-Russian War of 1807, which ended with the Treaty of Örebro in 1812. The attack on Denmark, a neutral country, was heavily criticized internationally.

For the earlier naval battle, see Battle of Copenhagen (1801).

Battle of Copenhagen 1807
Part of the Gunboat War and the Napoleonic Wars

A painting of the British bombardment by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg
Date15 August – 7 September 1807
Location
Copenhagen, Denmark–Norway
55°40′46″N 12°34′22″E
Result

British victory

  • Danish navy surrendered to the United Kingdom
Belligerents
 United Kingdom Denmark–Norway
Commanders and leaders
James Gambier
Lord Cathcart		 Ernst Peymann
Strength
25,000 10,000
Casualties and losses
42 killed
145 wounded
24 missing		 3,000
Entire fleet surrendered
195 civilians killed and 768 wounded

Britain's first response to Napoleon's Continental System was to launch a major naval attack on Denmark. Although neutral, Denmark was under French pressure to pledge its fleet to Napoleon. In September 1807, the Royal Navy bombarded Copenhagen, seizing the Danish fleet and assured use of the sea lanes in the North Sea and Baltic Sea for the British merchant fleet. A consequence of the attack was that Denmark did join the Continental System and the war on the side of France, but without a fleet it had little to offer.

The attack gave rise to the term to Copenhagenize.

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