Denmark faced a credible threat whichever alignment it chose. Refusing Napoleon while sharing a land frontier with his sphere risked invasion, so accommodation with France could appear safer. French alignment also made British naval intervention predictable because Denmark controlled a fleet and sat near routes Britain considered vital. A seafaring state expecting that response needed to defend its navy or give it room to operate at sea; Denmark did neither.
Notable Point · 6:14-7:17
Denmark's strategic bind and its naval consequences
Denmark faced a real choice between French invasion by land and British attack by sea, but French alignment demanded naval preparations Copenhagen had not made.