The Royal Navy activity in the Baltic and its approaches were vital to Britain but have received remarkably little attention from historians. This new book offers a well researched and argued review of the two Battles of Copenhagen that, if lost would have cost Britain dear. – Highly Recommended
NAME: The Two Battles of Copenhagen 1801 and 1807, Britain & Denmark in the Napoleonic Wars FILE: R2734 AUTHOR: Gareth Glover PUBLISHER: Pen & Sword BINDING: hard back PAGES: 285 PRICE: £25.00 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: Napoleonic Wars, Scandinavia, Royal Navy, Danish Navy, Baltic Trade, British Trade, sea power, tactical warfare, strategic warfare
ISBN: 1-47389-831-5
IMAGE: B2734.jpg BUYNOW: http://tinyurl.com/ybw2bonk LINKS: DESCRIPTION: The Royal Navy activity in the Baltic and its approaches were vital to Britain but have received remarkably little attention from historians. This new book offers a well researched and argued review of the two Battles of Copenhagen that, if lost would have cost Britain dear. - Highly Recommended Recently, the finest account of the second Battle of Copenhagen appeared in a novel "Inferno" by Julian Stockwin. Accounts have also appeared of the first Battle of Copenhagen over the years, primarily as part of the reviews of Nelson. This book offers welcome balance, providing a very readable review of the fight and the importance to Britain of maintaining its Baltic trade. From the Middle Ages, Baltic trade was very important to the British Isles. Fur, timber, spices and other natural products were brought to Britain and the products of British textile and machinery output were shipped to the States around the Baltic. By 1807, Napoleon had attempted a customs blockade to choke off British trade to Continental Europe and Britain's only remaining ally was Sweden under a King who was unpredictable and claimed by some to be mad. Had Napoleon invaded and occupied Denmark, taking control of the powerful Danish Fleet, the access for the British merchant ships to the Baltic would have been closed. Napoleon had already given proof that his ambitions would not prevent him from violating neutrality, but the British Government was more sensitive to the issues. However, vital British interests demanded that the Danish Fleet be taken out of the equation even if this meant invasion of a neutral country, a challenge that was to face Churchill in 1940 when the collapse of France presented the real danger of the French Fleet based in North Africa being taken over by the Germans. The British Government attempted diplomacy with the Danes but when they refused to surrender control of their fleet, the Royal Navy went to war and took control of Danish ships with an invasion of Denmark, followed by a withdrawal once the threat had been neutralized. Whether the Danes would have allowed an invading French Army to take the country and its Fleet remains arguable as it was later in the case of the French North African Fleet. The author has provided an in-depth review of Anglo-Danish relations through the Napoleonic Wars. He has used previously unpublished information from primary sources and full colour plates of images, previously unseen before in Britain, to present a pioneering work that demands to be read.