Sehested

At 7 am on December 10th, the Danish Advance Guard under the French general l'Allemand encountered the Allies pickets. L’Allemand quickly drove the Russo-German Legion off and captured several baggage wagons as he pursued. Hurrying toward the vital crossroads of Sehested, l'Allemand detached a small flank guard to watch the bridge at Haby. The Advance Guard arrived north of Sehested at 9 o’clock. Upon seeing the Allies still forming up, Frederick of Hessen ordered his leading brigades into the town. Caught by surprise, the Allies were hurried out of Sehested. By 10:30 the town was firmly in Danish hands. Frederick lost no time and quickly fortified the town’s cathedral and prepared the town for defense. A hurried note informed the Corps' supply train to _get a move on_. The road was clear, but Frederick did not know how long this condition would last. General Wallmoden had no intention of letting the Danes quietly march by. In an attempt to pin the Danes and prevent them from escaping, he sent a brigade across the bridge at Osterrad. The brigade then proceeded cross-country to cut the Rendsborg road. Wallmoden then set about organizing his Russo-German and King’s German Legion for an assault on the southern districts of Sehested. Around 11:30, the Allies had a toehold in the town and were closing on the Danes escape route. By this time, Hessen’s First Brigade had arrived and delivered a vicious combined arms attack on the Allies west of the town. A counterattack was also mounted by l’Allemand at this time on the Germans in the southern portions of Sehested. Everywhere the Germans were repulsed. The Legionaries leaving Sehested where only saved from annihilation by the timely charge of their own cavalry. As 1 o’clock approached, Wallmoden had rallied his men and ordered his left to advance while a force attacked Sehested from the west. The southern part of the town was too strongly held. The Allies made steady progress against the Danish right. The battle had reached a critical point. Wallmoden committed his last reserve, and the Danes had spent all of their ammunition. Fortunately for the Danes, three battalions of the first brigade with elements from the baggage train guard arrived from Haby. Deploying at the run, the newly arrived Danes sent the Allies back with loss. The battle was effectively over. The Danish cavalry pursued Wallmoden all the way back to Osterrade. Exhausted, the Danish Advance Guard deployed to observe Osterrade and prevent any Allied crossing. By 4 pm, enough of the Auxiliary Corps' baggage was beyond Sehested for l'Allemand to begin his withdrawal. Frederick's force reached the safety of Rendsborg later that night. Danish losses were 534 killed, wounded, and missing. The Allies lost 522 dead and wounded. The Danes captured 2 guns and over 600 men. The guns can still be seen at the Danish Royal Arsenal Museum in Copenhagen. I would like to acknowledge the invaluable assistance of Michael Rasussen, Eva Olsen, and Hans Tino Hansen for their help in locating and translating the Danish sources used to prepare this scenario.