Battle of Lyngør
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The Battle of Lyngør was a naval battle fought between Denmark-Norway and Britain in 1812 on the southern coast of Norway, effectively concluding the Gunboat War in Britain's favour and putting Denmark-Norway out of the war.
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[edit] Background
The British imposed a blockade on supply lines between Norway and Denmark during the Napoleonic War in the Skagerrak sound, except for Norwegian ships transporting lumber to Britain. Although this affected the supply of grain to Norway, the Norwegians preferred to limit military operations to coastal defence. Nevertheless, what was left of the Dano-Norwegian fleet after the Battle of Copenhagen (1807) fleet was committed to breaking the blockade.
After years of skirmishes, the Dano-Norwegian fleet was reduced to one major ship, the frigate Najaden 42, finished in 1811, in part with parts salvaged from a ship-of-the-line destroyed in earlier battles. Eyeing an opportunity to enforce the blockade and break the back of Dano-Norwegian seapower, the British deployed the Third Rate ship-of-the-line HMS Dictator 64 and three brigs, the 18-gun Cruizer class brig-sloop Calypso, 14-gun brig-sloop Podargus and the 14-gun gun brig Flamer. Three brigs - Kiel, Lolland and Samsøe - accompanied Najaden.
[edit] Battle plans
Captain Steward's plan was to chase down Najaden and destroy it, thereby giving Britain supremacy over the trade routes across the Skagerrak between Norway and Denmark, and effectively ending Danish involvement in the Napoleonic Wars. In a pitched battle, his ship-of-the-line would easily defeat the frigate. As a consequence, Steward, a Scotsman known in the Royal Navy as "Mad Jim", was simply looking for a confrontation. Holm never intended to engage the British ships. He relied on his superior knowledge of the local waters to evade Steward's pursuit.
[edit] Battle
Najaden had anchored near the island of Sandøya near Tvedestrand, where the captain felt secure. His premise was that no British ship would risk running ashore in the unfamiliar and craggy archipelago. He accepted an invitation to dine with the captain of the Samsøe and even went ashore on the island after his meal. From the hills above, he saw that the British ships were inside the archipelago and headed in his direction.
Rushing back to his ships, he ordered the ships along an inner route northeast, toward Lyngør. Podargus led the British chase, apparently with a pilot onboard who was familiar with the waters. Podargus ran aground at Buskskjærsteinen, and Steward ordered Flamer to stay behind and assist. Several smaller Danish and Norwegian boats Najaden immediately attacked the two British vessels. Among them were Lieutenant Parnemann with the canon caloupe Kiøge Bugt, canon boat No.3 (Ltn Ring), og Digernes batteri, subsequently reinforced also with four additional canon boats from the Arendal Division, commanded by Captaine-Lieutenant Dietrichson. Although they sustained considerable damage, the British ships were eventually able to join Dictator after the main battle was over.
Najaden went into the narrow sound of Lyngør where she anchored in the small sound between Holmen and Odden, detaching most of her supporting vessels to fight Podargus and Flamer. Steward sailed into the sound, threw anchor behind him, and deliberately ran ashore with his broadside perpendicular to the sound. Using his anchor line for leverage, he positioned Dictator to set its broadside against Najaden at 35-40 meters range. Unable to turn, Najaden had its broadside pointing away from the opposing ship and was dead in the water. At about 9:30 pm, HMS Dictator unleashed a 15-minute barrage against the Danish frigate that amounted to four tons of ordinance, breaking its main mast almost immediately and causing a fire on the ship and the Danish brigs anchored nearby. Within 45 minutes, Najaden was sunk with 133 dead and 82 wounded. Holm survived, only to drown in an accident a few months later.
The battle resumed as the Norwegian gunboats found their way into Lyngør. At 2 a.m. on July 7, Dictator was finally pulled off and fled, chased out of Norwegian waters by Norwegian gunboats.
The British took Laaland and Kiel as prizes but had to abandon them after the two vessels grounded. The British did not set fire to either as they Norwegian vessels still had their crews and wounded aboard. The action cost Dictator five killed and 24 wounded, Calypso three killed, one wounded and two missing, and Flamer one killed and one wounded. Overall, the Danes acknowledged losing 300 men killed or wounded. Captain Weir of Calypso was immediately, and Captain Robilliard of Podargus in the ensuing December, promoted to post-rank; Dictator's first lieutenant, William Buchanan, was made a commander.[Note 1]
[edit] Consequences
The battle of Lyngør effectively ended Denmark's involvement in the Napoleonic Wars. In the Treaty of Kiel, Denmark ceded dominion over Norway, setting the stage for Norway's independence movement, which was not to be fully realised until 1905. It also freed up British naval resources to fight France's navy in the Napoleonic Wars.
[edit] Note
- ^ In 1847 the surviving British participants were authorized to apply for the clasp "OFF MARDOE 6 JULY 1812" to the Naval General Service Medal.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
