Count Adolf IV of Schauenburg and Holstein — leading an army consisting of troops from the cities of Lübeck and Hamburg, Dithmarschen, Holstein, and various Northern German nobles, defeated King Valdemar II of Denmark and the Welf Otto the Child.

Valdemar and his predecessor King Canute VI of Denmark had previously conquered Holstein, Mecklenburg, Hamburg, Lübeck (1202), Ratzeburg and the coast of Pomerania, including the island of Rügen.

The King of Denmark had one of his eyes shot out, and had several horses killed under him, but his troops and their allies fought with so much bravery that the victory would have been theirs had not the contingent from Dithmarschen deserted their colours.

But the King of Denmark, who escaped from the field, busied himself in repairing this disaster by forming a fresh army, with which he kept the enemy in check.

[1] Dithmarschen shook off Danish supremacy and returned to a very loose overlordship by the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, paving the way for its de facto autonomy as a peasant republic until 1559.