Battle of Jasmund (1864)

Battle of Jasmund
Part of the Second Schleswig War
Sjælland (right) engaging with the paddlewheel steamer Loreley and the corvette Nymphe. Painting by Alex Kircher.
Date 17 March 1864 Location Off of Rügen, Bay of Pomerania 54°18′N 13°51′E / 54.300°N 13.850°E / 54.300; 13.850 Result Tactical Danish victory Blockade of the Prussian coast maintained
Belligerents
Prussia	Denmark
Commanders and leaders
Eduard von Jachmann	Edvard van Dockum
Strength
2 steam corvettes 1 paddle steamer 6 gunboats	1 ship of the line 1 steam frigate 2 steam corvettes
Casualties and losses
1 frigate damaged 5 dead 8 wounded	6 dead 16 wounded

The naval Battle of Jasmund (also known as the Battle of Rügen) took place between elements of the Danish and Prussian navies on 17 March 1864 during the Second Schleswig War. The action took place east of the Jasmund peninsula on the Prussian island of Rügen, during a Prussian attempt to weaken the Danish blockade in the Baltic Sea. The Prussian squadron, commanded by Eduard von Jachmann, sortied with a screw frigate, a screw corvette, a paddle steamer, and six gunboats to attack the Danish squadron blockading the eastern Prussian coast. The Danish force was commanded by Edvard van Dockum, and it consisted of one screw frigate, one ship of the line, and two steam corvettes. In an action lasting two hours, the superior Danish squadron forced the Prussians to withdraw, with both sides suffering damage and light casualties. The Danish victory was compounded by the arrival of further warships after the battle, which cemented the blockade. The outcome of the battle, and the naval war in the Baltic as a whole, was irrelevant to the outcome of the war, however, as the Prussian and Austrian armies decisively defeated the Danes on land, forcing them to surrender.