Battle Of Hemmingstedt 1500 AD - Thermopylae of Northern Europe

The Holy Roman Empire, February 17th, 1500.

 On the northern border lies the medieval district of Dithmarschen.

 It is part of larger German provinces of Schleswig and Holstein, on the border with the Kingdom of Denmark.

 The district exercises a great deal of autonomy from its' nominal overlords, usually the Prince-Archbishop of Bremen.

 Situated on the banks of the North Sea, the natives have rich agricultural land, tilled with the help of man-made dikes.

 The independent-minded small landowners, merchants, fishermen, and peasants, form a loose confederation, with a ruling council of 48 "Masters", each one representing one of the key families of the district that meet once a year.

 This is a rather unusual arrangement, considering that all nearby lands are still subject to the grim vicissitudes of feudalism.

 Eversince the 1100's, attempts were made to subdue the autonomous district.

 Forces from the Holy Roman Empire and Denmark attacked Dithmarschen, only to be defeated time after time.

 Or, if the invaders were successful, they were unable to follow up their successes, allowing the Dithmarsians to return to their self-reliant ways.

 In 1499, the Danish King Johan II decides it is time to bring this "Farmers' Republic"

 under his complete rule.

 The Danish King is also the co-Duke of Schleswig and Holstein, an office he shares with his brother Frederick.

 On top of that he is the ruling monarch of the Kalmar Union, a northern European state that brought together the three Scandinavian nations (Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), and their territories under one ruler.

 The king demands that Dithmarschen surrender without a fight, acquiesce to Danish plans to construct fortifications on Dithmarschen's soil, and pay 15,000 marks in recognition of Danish sovereignty.

 The autonomous folk refuse these requests.

 Using this as a casus belli, King Johan decides to bring great force to bear on the peasant republic.

 Johan recruits troops not just from Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark but from all the lands of the Kalmar Union.

 The Danish Army consists of some 2000 Schleswig, Holstein, and Danish knights, about 5000 infantrymen, many recruited from the common people of nearby Frisia, and perhaps 1000 artillerymen, operating several cannons.

 In addition, he hires 4000 mercenaries of the Dutch-Frisian "Black Guard", also known as the "Great Guard", comprised of landsknechts, who wield pikes, two-handed swords, and even arquebuses or crossbows.

 They have a fearsome reputation for hard-bitten cruelty not just to their opponents, but to the common people whom they pillage and commit other atrocities upon.

 The autonomous Dithmarsians are not entirely powerless in the face of the Danish invaders.

 One of their leaders, a farmer named Wulf Isebrand, a Dutch or German immigrant, takes charge of the situation and calls for the people to form their militia units to resist the attack.

 Several chronicles state that up to 6000 militiamen are initially formed.

 However, within days, many of these units either scatter to protect their own holdings or disband entirely.

 By the morning of February 17, Isebrand only has between 500 and 1000 stalwart defenders to resist the coming Danish tidal wave.

 Some of the more affluent landowners and merchants possess arms and armor similar to a knight, some even wield arquebuses.

 The rest of the lower-class members carry spears, halberds, crossbows, and javelins, while their armor, if they have any, is probably just a leather jacket or a vest, maybe with some metal plates sewn onto it.

 There is also evidence that the Dithmarsians have at least one cannon at their disposal, perhaps more.

 The Danish invasion force enters Dithmarschen on February 11th, 1500, slipping into the province from the southeast.

 Overconfident, the Danish force carries with it the Dannebrog - the national flag.

 On February 14th they quickly march upon and occupy Meldorf, the oldest town in Dithmarschen where the annual ruling council meeting of 48 masters takes place.

 After Meldorf is thoroughly sacked, the town is put to the torch.

 On February 16, King John and Duke Frederick decide to move toward their next objective, the town of Heide, the largest town of the province.

 They expect little to no resistance from the Dithmarsians, trusting in their superior numbers and training to brush aside the "peasant army", rumored to be gathering to oppose them.

 On the same day the Danes left Meldorf, Isebrand's militia captures a Danish scout.

 After torturing the unfortunate man, they learn that the Danish invaders are advancing on Heide, and will probably reach the town the next day.

 Isebrand now decides to force a battle at the place of his choosing.

 There is only one usable road between Meldorf and Heide, elevated above the surrounding farmland.

 A slight elevation dominates the otherwise flat landscape.

 Over the course of the day and into the night, the "peasant" militia transforms this slight rise into an earthen defensive mound, effectively blocking any passage up the road.

 Finally, Isebrand orders the sluice gates of nearby dikes opened, flooding the land around the mound, in what can be considered an act of either desperation or clever planning.

 The Danish army leaves the ruins of Meldorf early in the morning of February 17th.

 But they are soon met by snow, with intermittent rain and hail, and whipping winds.

 As they proceed north on the elevated roadway, the invaders begin to notice that the farmland to either side of the road is waterlogged, nearly impassable to the 12,000 or so marching men.

 Finally, about noon, the Danes approach the town of Hemmingstedt and are met with a defensive mound blocking the road.

 A bit of reconnaissance reveals a force of several hundred militiamen occupying the battlements.

 The men of Dithmarschen are probably outnumbered at least 15-to-one.

 In a bit of bravado left over from the days of chivalry, the Black Guard's commander, Thomas Slentz, sends forward a herald.

 He asks that the peasant army's strongest man come forward and fight him in a one-on-one, winner-take-all duel to avoid excessive bloodshed.

 Not unexpectedly, the offer is refused.

 By early afternoon, the battle begins.

 Cannon fire opens the engagement.

 But the Danish artillery only manages a few shots before they discover that their powder had been rendered wet and useless by the rain and snow during the march.

 The pike- and spear-wielding landsknechts form the Danish front line.

 As they charge the Dithmarsian battlements, members of the Black Guard shout a battle cry: "Look out peasants, here comes the Guard!"

 The invaders storm the militia battlements, braving their cannon and musket fire.

 Despite the ferocity of the initial attack, the farmers hold their ground.

 On the flanks, the Danish forces discover the shrewdness of Isebrand.

 The flooded farmlands are now a freezing, sucking morass, the deeper channels pulling-in heavily-armored men to their deaths, drowning them in the freezing water.

 Observing the attack faltering, Isebrand orders a flanking counterattack on the Danes.

 A small group of Dithmarsian militiamen leave the safety of their battlements to attack the wavering enemy.

 The peasants shout their own battle cry: "Look out, Guard, here come the peasants!"

 As they are wearing next to no armor, the peasants can maneuver over and around the sunken fields, using long poles to vault over the channels.

 But the Danes meet this counterattack, and the Dithmarsians fall back to their sheltering battlements.

 Over the next two hours, Danish attacks on the Dithmarsian mound intensifies.

 To answer this threat, Isebrand sends another counterattack.

 Soon, the Black Guard is left in a desperate situation, pressed by the militia's counterattacks and the near-fanatical resistance of the mound defenders, as well as the push of the Danish knights and infantry from behind.

 Seeing that the Black Guard is near breaking point, Wulf Isebrand orders a third counterattack.

 The result is devastating!

 After nearly three hours of constant fighting, in freezing water and inclement weather, the Black Guard's morale finally breaks.

 Seeing their elite unit trying to rout from the field, the remainder of the Danish army loses all cohesion.

 With only a narrow road to use, many of the men who had not been engaged try to use the water-swollen farmland to retreat.

 Consequently, hundreds of Danish troops drown in the rout, while others are slaughtered by the avenging peasant militiamen, who took no prisoners.

 During the rout, many of the knights can't even manage to draw their swords as they are beset by the rampaging militiamen, most of them falling from their horses and drowning in the freezing water under the weight of their armor.

 By 5:30 pm, the battle was over.

 The Danish army was completely decimated; over 1000 knights lost their lives, and over 800 of the Black Guard perished, including their commander Thomas Slentz.

 Total Danish casualties are estimated at over 7000 killed and 1500 wounded.

 In addition the Dannebrog, the Danish national standard was captured.

 Dithmarsian casualties are unknown, but must have been fairly light.