Danish Navy fleet scuttled in 1943...

AI notes: In August 1943, amid escalating tension between Nazi Germany and occupied Denmark, the Danish Navy carried out a dramatic act of defiance by scuttling much of its fleet in Copenhagen’s harbor during Operation Safari. Following Germany’s declaration of Denmark as “enemy territory” and the imposition of martial law on August 28, German forces moved to seize the Danish military, including its ships. Anticipating this, Danish naval officers had prepared to destroy their vessels rather than allow them to fall into German hands. On the morning of August 29, as German troops attacked the naval base at Holmen, 32 of the 52 Danish ships were deliberately sunk, while four escaped to neutral Sweden and 14 were captured. The scuttling demonstrated Denmark’s resolve to resist collaboration, inflicted a symbolic and strategic setback on the Germans, and became a lasting symbol of national pride and resistance during the occupation.