[5] Denmark suffered a severe defeat which – with the Prussian capture of the island of Als – ultimately decided the outcome of the war,[6][7][8] forcing Danish cession of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein.

The defending Danish infantry was equipped with French M1822 percussion muskets converted to Minié rifling and with Tapriffel M1864s.

Technological developments in artillery (particularly long-range rifled guns) had made the geography of the position unsuited for a lengthy defense.

However, the Danes did have one major advantage in that they had more or less unchallenged command of the sea and were able to deploy the modern ironclad Rolf Krake to the scene to support ground forces at Dybbøl with shore bombardments from its turret-mounted eight-inch guns.

Destruction of the retreating Danish forces was avoided when the Prussian advance was halted by a counterattack by the 8th Brigade,[5] until another Prussian attack threw them back; that attack advanced about 1 km and reached Dybbøl Mill, and therefore contributed to the soldiers on the northern flank (the crew at redoubts 7–10), avoiding large losses or capture.

Some sources assume that due to the loud sounds that came from the battle, it was impossible to hear the signal, while others suggest that the brigade's commander Glode du Plat hesitated to give orders for the counterattack.

The 8th Brigade fought hard, but when Friedrich Karl deployed additional reserves, it retreated with heavy losses.

Johannes Neilsen's The Danish German War 1864 (1991) provides the following: 808 dead, 909 wounded, 2,872 captured, and 215 missing for the Danes with 1,201 casualties including 263 deaths for the Prussians.

In an attempt to remedy this, the Austro-Prussians dispatched a naval squadron to the Baltic, which was intercepted by the Danish Navy at the Battle of Helgoland.

[5] The inflexible attitude of the Danish government in London led to their diplomatic isolation at negotiations in Vienna, resulting in a peace treaty on 30 October 1864.

Contemporary newspapers did not blame the soldiers, but the army's return to Copenhagen received no cheering crowds or other acclamations as had occurred after the Danish victory in the First Schleswig War.

[19] Germans erected the 24-metre Düppel-Denkmal, along with a similar Alsen-Denkmal on the island of Als, to commemorate the battle on what was originally Danish redoubt 4, in the middle of the battlefield.

[22] Officers were, over the years, further honoured with burial markers at different locations in the fortifications, with exception of Prussian Private Carl Klinke, who was made into a national hero.

Well known Danish author Holder Drachmann visited the battlefield in 1877 and wrote on his emotions felt there in a volume entitled Derovre fra Grænsen, Strejftog over det danske Termopylæ (Als-Dybbøl) [Over There from the Border.

The book became very popular: 'articulating the emotional essence of the place, it contributed to making the Dybbøl Windmill a Danish national symbol and[] memorial site'.

[27] The German Düppel-Denkmal was destroyed after Germany's occupation of Denmark and the end of the Second World War on 13 May 1945, presumably by members of the resistance.