The Danish force was commanded by Edvard van Dockum, and it consisted of one screw frigate, one ship of the line, and two steam corvettes.

In an action lasting two hours, the superior Danish squadron forced the Prussians to withdraw, with both sides suffering damage and light casualties.

By the time Prussia and the Austrian Empire declared war on 1 February 1864, the ships' crews were still performing maintenance on their engines, and the winter ice had yet to recede far enough to allow offensive operations.

[3][4] By mid-March, the Prussian ships were ready for action and the ice had receded far enough that Prince Adalbert ordered Jachmann to conduct a reconnaissance of the blockading force on 16 March.

He failed to inform the captains of Nymphe and Loreley of his decision to withdraw, and they continued to steam east for several minutes before they conformed to his maneuver.

At this time, Dockum shifted fire to Nymphe and scored several hits, including damage to her funnel that reduced her speed temporarily.

On the night of 17 March, the screw frigate Jylland joined the Danish blockade force, and she was fast enough to catch Jachmann's corvettes.

Danish naval supremacy in the Baltic was further cemented with the arrival on 30 March of Dannebrog, which was impervious to any weapon the Prussians then possessed.

The Austrians, fearing that a more aggressive operation to defeat the Danish fleet in the Baltic would provoke the British, kept their squadron in the North Sea for the remainder of the war.

The Austrian and Prussian naval forces in the North Sea supported operations to capture the islands off the western Danish coast.

These advances, coupled with the capture of the island of Als in the Baltic Sea, forced the Danes to seek a second armistice on 29 June.