When in November 1863 King Frederick VII of Denmark died, a dispute arose over who had a legitimate claim to rule over the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. Otto von Bismarck saw this as a great opportunity to increase Prussian power in the region and decided, together with the Austrians, to invade Denmark.The key battle in the war was the siege of Dybbøl in April 1864This month, August 2022, I'm doing a cycling challenge to raise money for Brain Tumour Research. More info at: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/carl-rylett-cycle274www.patreon.com/historyeuropewww.historyeurope.netMusic composed by Anton Bruckner (Erinnerung) and Sergei Rachmaninoff (Preludes, number 10, Lento in B minor)Picture - Siege of Dybbol  Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.