Since the 1830s, the Duchy of Schleswig had been a cause of disagreement between Germans and Danes: should it be annexed to the future Danish nation state or become part of the planned German nation state?
A three-year war broke out over this issue in March 1848. Both sides emphasised the battle of Idstedt on 25 July 1850 as the climax of the war. In the end, neither side won a victory. In fact, the conflict was solved at the negotiating table under pressure from the major European powers.
The first skirmish of this war began in the early hours of 9 April 1848 in Danish Bov. The (German) Schleswig-Holstein army had taken up position on the edge of the village and was awaiting the attack of the Danish troops. The first shots were fired near the church. The Schleswig-Holsteiners first fled from the numerically superior enemy to Flensburg (Germany). Here the fighting continued in a part of Flensburg, called Neustadt. Finally, they retreated further to the rear parts of Schleswig.
