History UsefulNotes / DanesWithDrakens

The Army uses the Leopard 2A5DK battle tank, an upgraded version of the Leopard 2A5 comparable to the 2A6. It also uses IFVs (Infantry fighting vehicles)such as the Swedish-built Combat Vehicle 90 and the Swiis-made Mowag Pirahna. It also uses the M113.

The Army uses the Leopard 2A5DK battle tank, an upgraded version of the Leopard 2A6. It also uses IFVs (Infantry fighting vehicles)such as the Swedish-built Combat Vehicle 90 and the Swiis-made Mowag Pirahna. It also uses the M113.

After the fall of Napoleon, Denmark fought in the Schleswig Wars. The background story of which is quite complex, but they are best described as two constitutional wars, arising from diplomatic and other issues about the complicated national affiliations of the two duchies, Schleswig and Holstein, which had intricate relations both to the Danish crown and to the German Confederation. The First Schleswig War or Three Years' War, which lasted from 1848-1850, originally started as a civil war, where the Danish Army fought against a German-minded separatist movement, Denmark soon met its main enemy, the military powerhouse of Prussia, which came to the aid of the rebels and sent the Danes into the defensive. But massive international diplomatic pressure eventually lead to Prussia pulling out of the war, after which the Danes overpowered the remaining rebels, and thereby won the war. However, Denmark was forced to sign a international peace treaty in 1852, drafted chiefly by Russia, England, and France, which meant that the Danish government was forced to restore a pre-war Status Quo in the relations to Schleswig and Holstein, and the national question that had started the war therefore remained unsolved. In 1863, the Danish government tried once again to solve the issue, through a new constitution which was a wilful breach of the international treaty, but the government believed that the political climate in Europe was ripe for this attempt to move things forward and there would be sympathy for the Danish cause. This was a grave misjudgement. The Prussian government, and its Minister President UsefulNotes/OttoVonBismarck in particular, wanted a quick war for internal political reasons, and the other countries that had drafted the treaty of 1852 turned their back on Denmark for overstepping it. Prussia declared war in early 1864, and the Danish Army, which was both outnumbered and had inferior equipment, had to face them alone. At this time, much of the Danish Army consisted of veterans, and so had superior combat experience as a clear advantage over the Prussians, but it would ultimately turn out that wasn't enough to turn the tide: Denmark would suffer a couple of crushing and humiliating defeats in the spring of 1864, and at the peace negotiations they had to give up Schleswig and Holstein. [[ShockingDefeatLegacy The outcome completely shocked Denmark out of any idea of using war as a political tool for at least a century.]] Notably, Denmark remained neutral throughout the First World War and attempted to do the same in the second.

After the fall of Napoleon, Denmark fought in the Schleswig Wars. The background story of which is quite complex, but they are best described as two constitutional wars, arising from diplomatic and other issues about the complicated national relations of two duchies, Schleswig and Holstein, which had
intricate relations both to the Danish crown and to the German Confederation. The First Schleswig War or Three Years' War, which lasted from 1848-1850, originally started as a civil war, where the Danish Army fought against a German-minded separatist movement, Denmark soon met its main enemy, the military powerhouse of Prussia, which came to the aid of the rebels and send the Danes into the defensive. But massive international diplomatic pressure eventually lead to Prussia pulling out of the war, after which the Danes overpowered the remaining rebels, and thereby won the war. However, Denmark was forced to sign a international peace treaty in 1852, drafted chiefly by Russia, England, and France, which meant that the Danish goverment was forced to restore a prewar Status Quo in the relations to Schleswig and Holstein, and the national question that had started the war therefore remained unsolved. In 1863, the Danish government tried once again to solve the issue, through a new constitution which was a wilful breach of the international treaty, but the government believed that the political climate in Europe was ripe for this attempt to move things forward and there would be sympathy for the Danish cause. This was a grave misjudgement. The Prussian government, and its Minister President UsefulNotes/OttoVonBismarck in particular, wanted a quick war for internal political reasons, and the other countries that had drafted the treaty of 1852 turned their back on Denmark for overstepping it. Prussia declared war in early 1864, and the Danish Army, which was both outnumbered and had inferior equipment, had to face them alone. Needless to say, Denmark suffered a couple of crushing defeats in the spring of 1864, and at the peace negotiations they had to give up Schleswig and Holstein. The outcome completely shocked Denmark out of any idea of using war as a political tool for at least a century. Notably, Denmark remained neutral in the First World War and attempted to do the same in the second.