This military study sheds new light on the significance of Copenhagen in the Napoleonic Wars through primary source accounts of two major battles. In 1801 and 1807, British forces clashed with Napoleon and his allies in the Danish capital of Copenhagen. Yet the significance of those battles, and the key role the country played in the conflict in northern Europe, has rarely been examined in detail. In The Two Battles of Copenhagen, Gareth Glover uses original source material to describe these events from the British and Danish perspectives. In the process, he reveals new insights into the politics of this region during this turbulent phase of European history. The first Battle of Copenhagen was a naval battle celebrated in Britain as one of Nelson’s great victories. The second was an assault on the city by the British army in which Wellington played a prominent part. These episodes in the continental struggle to resist the French are described in vivid detail, with extensive quotes from the recollections of eyewitnesses on both sides.

Written by the leading Danish authority on the period, this splendid work brings to life Nelson's historic victory immortalised by his so famously turning a blind eye to his superior's order to halt operations. As well as describing the brilliance of the British tactics, the work fascinatingly reveals the desperate action and great bravery displayed by the Danish defenders who suffered appallingly in the fighting.