Considering the increasing interest for the 1864 war between Denmark and Austria/Prussia I plan to upload what I have gathered regarding uniforms. To keep it together I will add to this first post rather than spreading it out in several posts. A special thanks to Danish
LAF member ts who has provided the bulk of the detailed information on uniforms. I also will try to add a list of printed sources on the end of this post. Please feel free to add what you have! and let our Danish members correct our mistakes
Short overview of the war
Feb 1 Allies cross river Ejder and march into Schleswig
Feb 2 Allies attack Mysunde but are repelled
Feb 3 Austrians capture important positions on the heights at Kongshöj in front of Danevirke
Feb 5 Danish army evacuate Danevirke
Feb 6 Battle of Sankelmark where the Danes halt the pursuing Austrians
March 8 Allies capture Vejle
April 2-3 Allies bombard Sönderborg
April 18 Allied assault on Dybböl
April 28 Allies capture Fredricia
May 9 Naval battle of Helgoland
May 9 Truce
June 29 Prussian landing on Als
July 3 Action at Lundby
July 20 Peace treaty where Denmark lose Holstein, Lauenburg and Schleswig
Danish Line InfantryAll Danish Infantry Regiments had more or less the same uniform:
-Dark blue tunic
-Light blue trousers
-Dark blue kepi, except the 18th Regiment which used a shako
-Black leather Equipment, due to shortages this could come in different forms including the old Holstein equipment that can be seen on the Soldiers in light blue overcoats below.
-Dark grey (almost black) greatcoat, however the cold weather caused shortages which forced the use of old greatcoats from the First Slesvig War as well as new ones in sewn in any material available. These were light blue (see Pictures below). The majority of the infantry units had therefore a mix of light blue and dark grey greatcoats. Even though it was the ambition to have only one colour within a unit, this had to be abandoned and a mix of different colours prevailed. One of the few units that had only dark grey greatcoats was the 15th Infantry Regiment.
Danish Life GuardConsidering the Austrian/Prussian superiority in numbers, Denmark had to bring all available units to the front, including the Royal Life Guard. In contrast to their heavy involvement in the First Slesvig War, they were not involved(not considering a cancelled amphibious landing in Holstein) until the Prussian assault as Dybböl April 18, 1864. As they were sent forward in support they were pinned down by artillery and had to retreat with casualties without taking part in the defence of the redoubts. It is worth to note that the Life Guard used the red coat with single row of button only until 1848. Thereafter the blue coat with double rows of buttons was used in the field. It was the same as the line infantry tunic but with some silver decorations. In 1855-56 the red coat was re-introduced but only for ceremonial purposes while the blue coat remained the field uniform and was used in 1864. The leather equipment was black and the same type of dark grey greatcoat as the line infantry was used. The bearskin headgear was used in the field.
A few more images from the First Schleswig War 1848-1850, another war but the same uniform as 1864, even if the Guard must have used the overcoat at Dybböl 1864:
Aarö StrejfkorpsIn March 1864, Premierlieutenant Bendt Aaroe, a Company commander from the 17th Infantry Regiment was given the task to organize a "special force" for the purpose of reconnaissance and raiding behind enemy lines. It should be noted though that while the officers were experienced, the rank and file was more enthusiastic volunteers rather than "trained commandos". Modus operandi was to make surprise landings behind enemy lines, hence the need for sea transport. The force grew during the coming months but the initial organization was as follows:
Commander: Premierlieutenant Bendt Aaroe
Danish Infantry Detachment: Second Lieutenant Bjerager with 148 men
Swedish/Norwegian Infantry Detachment: Premierlieutenant Baron von Raab (Swedish) with 40 men
Cavalry detachment: Second Lieutenant Baumann with 24 dragoons
A small flottilla: Steamer Aurora, Steam tug Marie and "Iron Troop Transport Vessel Nr 5"
The uniforms for the infantry detachments were standard line infantry issue. The dragoons seems also to have used the infantry uniform rather than the more distinctive Dragoon uniform which will be shown later in this post. Considering that this was a force that should operate behind enemy lines, it would be easy to imagine that the standard Danish uniform was not always used.
Dragoons below
The Officers
Danish artilleryDenmark did not lack number of guns but they were muzzle loaders of inferior quality compared to the enemy guns. In the fortresses and redoubts there was a plethora of different guns and calibers. Most of them were smoothbore or old rifled guns only fit to fire canister. Around half of the field artillery consisted of the old 1834 system with iron, muzzleloader, smoothbore guns in caliber 6, 12 and 24. The other half was the more modern 1861 and 1863 sýstem muzzleloaders, which were rifled guns in caliber 4, 12 and 24. The artillery uniform was similar to the infantry but with dark blue trousers.
CavalryThe only cavalry type that participated to any extent in the conflict were the six Dragoon Regiments. The Dragoons wore a light blue tunic and light blue trousers. A black leather helmet was used and leather Equipment was white. In cold weather a wide light blue coat was worn. It was made of a very strong fabric, so resistant that the Prussian cavalry was ordered to stab rather than slash with their swords to be able to penetrate it.
One episode that have become a legend was the fate of Dragoon Niels Kjeldsen. He was part of a forward picket consisting of one corporal and six men from the 4th squadron of the 6th Dragoon Regiment on the Kolding-Vejle road February 28th. They were attacked by a force of Prussian Guard Hussars. The Danish dragoons made a desperate attempt to reach their main force but were caught by the Prussians faster horses. The corporal and two dragoons were able to escape while three dragoons were taken prisoner. The last dragoon Kjeldsen fought alone against his assailants until he was killed by a pistol shot. Below is a number of paintings describing the incident:
Sources"Uniformer, Faner og Våben" by Walbom-Pramvig 1988
"Uniformer og Udrustning" by Kannik 1964
"Bismarck´s First War" byEmbree 2006
"Uniformer i färg" by Kannik 1969
to be continued...
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