Six years after the first attack, Anglo-Danish communications again broke down while Denmark moved toward French alignment. Copenhagen had roughly 5,000 regular troops and a similar militia force available for defence. The Danish fleet was gathered in the capital, unready for sea, and smaller than the expedition Britain could bring against it. Concentration turned the fleet into a fixed target and left Denmark with little room to contest British control of the approaches.
Notable Point · 4:20-5:13
An unready Danish fleet concentrated at Copenhagen
Denmark repeated its central vulnerability from 1801 by leaving an unready fleet concentrated in a lightly defended capital.