 | The 1st Battle of Copenhagen shocked the Danes into putting their military on a more modern footing. Despite their defeat, the Danes retained a considerable Navy. Following the defeat of Prussia by Napoleon in 1806, Britain became increasingly concerned that Napoleon would invade Denmark, and seize the Danish fleet for his own use. Indeed, in 1807, the majority of the Army, under the command of the Crown Prince, was stationed in southern Jutland, prepared to oppose a French invasion. Both France and England attempted to persuade the Danes to give up their neutrality, and support their cause, but neither was successful. On July 31, 1807 Talleyrand was instructed to tell the Danes to prepare for war against Britain or face invasion by a French Corps under Marshal Bernadotte. Instead, the British sent a fleet of 22 ships to attack Denmark, resulting in the 2nd Battle of Copenhagen, August 16 - September 5th, 1807. They demanded surrender of the Danish fleet to Britain for the remainder of the war. The Danes resisted, and the British fleet bombarded the city for three days. Fortunately, the bulk of the civilian population had been evacuated prior to the bombardment. The bombardment included Congreve Rockets, which started a number of fires, burning over 1,000 buildings in the city, made worse by the civilian evacuation and thus the loss of the normal fire fighting establishment. Despite this, the bombardment of the city still killed some 195 civilians and injured 768. In the course of the campaign, British troops under one Arthur Wellesley defeated a Danish force, composed largely of militia, at the Battle of Køge, fought south of the city of Copenhagen. The Danes capitulated on September 7th, handing over their fleet to Britain for the duration of the war. Denmark thus became the firm if reluctant ally of Napoleon. The Danes helped quell the rebellion of Major Von Schill in 1809. After riding across Germany, von Schill had holed up in Stralsund, in Swedish Pomerania on the Baltic Sea. At one time von Schill had planned to slip away to the Island of Rugen, to be evacuated by the British fleet to Spain. Instead, he decided to establish a base of operations there. A joint Dutch/Danish force assaulted the fortress city; it was a Danish soldier who shot the famous major on May 31, 1809.
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