Danish Attack at Dybbøl (1864)

Title: Ottende brigades angreb ved Dybbøl 18. april 1864 (Eighth Brigade's attack at Dybbøl 18 April 1864)
Artist: Vilhelm Rosenstand
Date: 1894

On the morning of 18 April 1864 at Dybbøl, the Prussians moved into their positions at 2.00. At 10.00 the Prussian artillery bombardment stopped and the Prussians charged through shelling from the Rolf Krake which did not prove enough to halt them. Thirteen minutes after the charge, the Prussian infantry had already seized control of the first line of defence of the redoubts.

A total massacre of the retreating troops was avoided and the Prussian advance halted by a counter-attack by the 8th Brigade, until a Prussian attack threw them back; that attack advanced about 1 km and reached Dybbøl Mill. In that counter-attack the 8th Brigade lost about half their men, dead or wounded or captured. This let the remnants of 1st and 3rd Brigades escape to the pier opposite Sønderborg. At 13.30 the last resistance collapsed at the bridgehead in front of Sønderborg. After that there was an artillery duel across the Alssund.

During the battle around 3,600 Danes and 1,200 Prussians were either killed, wounded or disappeared. A Danish official army casualty list at the time said: 671 dead; 987 wounded, of whom 473 were captured; 3,131 unwounded captured and/or deserters; total casualties 4,789. The 2nd and 22nd Regiments lost the most. Also, the crew of the Danish naval ship Rolf Krake suffered one dead, 10 wounded.

The Battle of Dybbøl was the first battle monitored by delegates of the Red Cross: Louis Appia and Charles van de Velde. Following the battle, the Prussians used the fort area as a starting point to attack Als in June 1864.

Source :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dybb%C3%B8l

The Delaware Regiment at the Battle of Long Island (1776)

Title: The Delaware Regiment at the Battle of Long Island
Artist: Domenick D'Andrea
Date: 2004

The battle of Long Island, a British victory, began just after the Siege of Boston. As the British fled after their defeat in that siege, General George Washington guessed that they would head south and try to take New York. Therefore, he and his army went there and prepared for the British to attack. As it turns out, the British had in fact gone North to Halifax, Nova Scotia. They reached the Hudson River on June 29, 1776, and on July 3, British General William Howe arrived on Stanton Island. The next day (July 4, 1776) was the day that the America's Continental Congress announced the independence of America.

While all of this was happening, George Washington had been preparing for battle in New York. He had created a wall of men with guns to defend the city from any attacks from the sea and placed 10,000 men on Brooklyn Heights to defend Manhattan. He was ready for anyone who would attack New York. There was just one problem: the British would be attacking Long Island, not New York.

On August 27, 1776 the British landed on Long Island, which is south of New York. Two days later, General Howe learned that the Americans had no one guarding the road leading North from Long Island into New York, but had defenses set up on all the other roads. Using this information, Howe led his men up the North road. He then proceeded around to attack the Americans Guarding the left road, who were led by General John Sullivan. While Howe's army attacked Sullivan's from the back, a German troop, which was allied with the British, attacked from the front. Sullivan fought as well as he could, but he was soon overpowered and forced to retreat behind the Brooklyn walls. Howe, feeling proud of his victory, led his men and attacked the men guarding the right road, using the same technique. They, like Sullivan's men, fought hard but were forced to retreat to Brooklyn.

Source :

http://www.revolutionary-war.net/battle-of-long-island.html

Friedrich the Great Carrying the Flag (1758)

Title: Friedrich der grosse als Fahnentrager auf dem Schlachtfeld’ (Frederick the Great as standard-bearer at the battlefield)
Artist: Arthur Kampf
Date: 1900

On 25 August 1758 Prussian army defeated the numerically stronger forces of Russian Army at Zorndorf (approximately 90 kilometers east of Berlin) with superior organization. During the battle, Prussian king Friedrich II had taken the flag of  Prussian Infantry Regiment Nr.46 that lying on the ground and then led his retreating soldiers to a successful counterattack. Inspired by this event, German painter Arthur Kampf recreated the King Friedrich's Prowess 150 years later. In contrast to the many detailed and colorful battle scenes from that time, King Friedrich and the flag fill the whole height of the painting. Friedrich placed expansively in the foreground., Only dimly behind the dense smoke powder as a recognition to Prussian soldiers who will bring unity and dynamism for the next glorious attack. The painting staged Friedrich as a model for unconditional sacrifice: The Carrying of the Flag resolutely onward, it seem that the King does not fear for death, even though the fallen soldier has been pictured to his right and left. The German painter used the motif of the flag that had been used since the Prussian-Danish war in 1864 as a symbol for victory. However, he had made a significant error in his paintings: The four corner keys of the flag of the infantry regiment No. 46 were not red but black. Arthur Kampf, ‘Friedrich der grosse als Fahnentrager auf dem Schlachtfeld’ (‘Frederick the Great as standard-bearer at the battlefield’) now in the possession of German Historical Museum, Berlin.

Source :
https://www.dhm.de/lemo/bestand/objekt/friedrich-der-grosse-als-fahnentraeger-auf-dem-schlachtfeld-um-1900.html

War Enthusiasm at the Start of World War I (1914)

Title: 1 August 1914 in Berlin
Artist: Arthur Kampf
Date: 1914

Russia mobilized his troops against Austria-Hungary on 31 July 1914. The Germans responded on the evening of 1 August 1914 with the mobilization of its troops. This painting by Arthur Kampf (1864-1950), entitled '1. August 1914 in Berlin' (1914) captures the moment between the two mobilization. Before a crowd in Berliner Schloss, a man has climbed to a lamppost with the Empire flag in his left hand and speaks to the crowd. This painting is now currently displayed at the German Historical Museum, Berlin.

Source :
http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/sub_image.cfm?image_id=1716&language=german