Gunboat War (1807-1814) refers to the naval war between Denmark-Norway against the British navy during the Napoleonic Wars. The war's name is derived from the Danish tactic of employing small gunboats against the conventional British Navy. These boats were originally designed by a Swede, Frederik Henrik Chapman .

The strategic advantage of gunboats lay in the fact that they could be produced rapidly and inexpensively throughout the kingdom. The tactical advantages were that they were highly maneuverable, especially in still and shallow waters and presented small targets. On the other hand, the boats were vulnerable once they were hit; could not be used in choppy open seas; and were less effective against ships of the line. The boats were produced in two models: the shallop gunboat had a rowing crew of 70, a commander, and gun crew of five, with one 18- or 24-pound cannon aft and stern. The smaller gunboat had a total crew of 24, with only one 24-pound cannon.

Early in the Napoleonic War, Denmark-Norway set on a policy of armed neutrality , using its naval forces to protect trade flowing within, into, and out of Danish and Norwegian waters.

While gunboat tactics were not employed until 1807, the naval conflict between Britain and Denmark can be traced to the first Battle of Copenhagen in 1801 when Lord Nelson launched an attack of intimidation against the Danish capital.

In the second Battle of Copenhagen in 1807, the British captured large portions of the Danish naval fleet to prevent the French from doing the same. As a result, the Danish government decided to build smaller gunboats in large numbers.

In the first three years of the Gunboat War, these boats were on several occasions able to capture cargoships from the convoys and to defeat British naval brigs, though they were not strong enough to overcome larger frigates and ships of the line. The British had control of Danish waters during the whole of the 1807-1814 war, and when the season was suited to navigation they were regularly able to escort large merchant convoys out through the Sound and the Great Belt. On March 22 1808, the last Danish ship of line “Prins Christian Frederik” commanded by Captain C.W. Jessen was destroyed in the battle with two British ships of the line at Zealand Point . On 27 February 1811, Danish gunboats with 1,000 forces attempted to recapture the island of Anholt , but had to withdraw to Jutland with heavy losses. The last major fight between Danish and British men of war took place on July 6, 1812, when the British warships destroyed a Danish frigate Najaden at the Battle of Lyngør on the Norwegian coast.

The Treaty of Kiel ended the war on January 15, 1814. Denmark had to cede the island of Helgoland to Britain and Norway to Sweden.

See also

• Battle of Copenhagen (1801)
• Battle of Copenhagen (1807)
• Battle of Zealand Point
• Battle of Anholt
• Battle of Lyngør
• Denmark in the Napoleonic Era
• Gunboat

External links

• http://www.navalhistory.dk/English/History/The_stories_index.htm
• http://www.mil.no/sjo/start/fakta/historie/dagfordag/article.jhtml?articleID=92346
• http://www.orlogsmuseet.dk/kroneng322.htm