Finland Iceland Norway The Battle of Isefjord was a clash that occurred when the coastal defence ship HDMS Niels Juel was attacked by German forces as she tried to escape to neutral Sweden.

On 28 August Germany issued an ultimatum to the Danish government, requiring them to suspend many civil liberties of the public and allow more German oversight into affairs concerning resistance activities.

The next day the Germans imposed martial law over the country and launched Operation Safari, aimed at seizing the Danish military assets.

[1] Niels Juel had spent the summer of 1943 on a training cruise in the Isefjord, the only place the Germans allowed the Danish Navy to operate unsupervised.

During this time a German aircraft reported the crew milling about the deck and steam coming from her funnels, well aware that Niels Juel intended to leave.

Before these new orders could be passed on, the local German commander in Hundested had received word that Niels Juel had, guns manned, been heading at full speed for the mouth of the fjord.

[2] Westermann then denied a request from his senior gunnery officer to open fire on the German ships, and ordered his anti-aircraft artillery crews to seek shelter below deck.

After an attempt to blow her up failed, all crucial supplies and equipment was thrown overboard or destroyed, and the sea valves were opened, flooding the lower decks.