Cathcart arrived on 12 August, and the assembled fleet remained in view before major action began in September. That pause made the expedition a display of military power as well as a force ready to fight. British leaders expected the memory of 1801 to encourage Denmark to negotiate before another attack. The pressure failed, and the same vulnerability that the demonstration exposed became the basis of the coming operation.
Notable Point · 25:49-26:43
Naval diplomacy before the attack
The British force waited visibly through August, using the threat of another Copenhagen attack to press Denmark toward negotiation.