answer to the British demands
within forty-eight hours. For three days Parker waited at anchor
eighteen miles from Elsinore, and it was only when Vansittart brought an
unfavourable reply on the 23rd that he took Nelson into his counsels. He
readily adopted Nelson's plan of ignoring the Danish batteries at
Kronborg and making a circuit so as to attack Copenhagen at the weak
southern end of its defences, but set aside his project of masking
Copenhagen and making straight for a Russian squadron of twelve ships of
the line which was lying icebound at Revel. The fair weather of the 26th
was wasted in irresolution, and it was not till the 30th that the fleet
was able to weigh anchor. It passed Kronborg in safety and anchored five
miles north of Copenhagen.

Parker placed under Nelson's immediate command twelve ships of the line
and twenty-one smaller vessels, by far the greater part of the British
fleet. With these he was to pass to the east of a shoal called the
Middle Ground and attack the defences of Copenhagen from the south,
while Parker with the remainder of the fleet was to make a demonstration
against the more formidable northern defences. The wind could not of
course favour both attacks simultaneously, and it was agreed that the
attack should be made when the wind favoured Nelson. The nights of the
30th and 31st were spent in reconnoitring and laying buoys. On April 1 a
north wind brought Nelson's squadron past the Middle Ground, and on the
next day a south wind enabled him to attack the Danish fleet, if fleet
it may be called. At the north end of the Danish position stood the only
permanent battery, the Trekroner, with two hulks or blockships; the rest
consisted of seven blockships and eleven floating batteries, drawn up
along the shore. An attack on the south end of the line was also exposed
to batteries on the island of Amager. Nelson's intention was to close
with the whole Danish fleet, but three of his ships of the line were
stranded and he was obliged to leave the assault on the northern end
entirely to lighter vessels.

[Pageheading: _BATTLE OF THE BALTIC._]

The Danish batteries proved more powerful than had been anticipated, and
as time went on and the Danish resistance did not appear to lose in
strength, Parker grew doubtful of the result of the battle and gave the
order to cease action. The order was apparently not intended to be
imperative, but it had the effect of inducing Riou, who commanded the
fri