Denmark (Triple Entente vs. Central Powers Map Game)

Denmark (Danish: Danmark), officially the Kingdom of Denmark (Danish: Kongeriget Danmark), is a sovereign state in Northern Europe, located south-west of Sweden, south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. The Kingdom has two autonomous constituent countries in the north Atlantic Ocean; the Faroe Islands and Greenland. The Kingdom of Denmark is a unitary constitutional monarchy with Christian IX as reigning monarch. The government is organised into a parliamentary democracy, which replaced the system of absolute monarchy in 1660 with the Constitution of Denmark, which was signed on 5 June 1849.

Denmark consists of the peninsula of Jutland, and the Danish archipelago of 407 islands, characterized by flat lands and sandy coasts, containing minimal elevation. Denmark has a temperate climate characterized by mild winters and cool summers. The national language, Danish, is spoken by most Danish citizens, and is closely related to Swedish and Norwegian.

History

 * Main Article: 

Modern History


During the 1830s Denmark's liberal and national movement gained momentum, and during the European Revolutions of 1848 Denmark peacefully became a constitutional monarchy on 5 June 1849. The Constitutional Act of Denmark, or Danmarks Riges Grundlov in Danish, were established as the main part of the Danish constitution, establishing a sovereign state in the form of a constitutional monarchy, with a representative parliamentary system. A bicameral parliament known as the Rigsdag was established over the nation, consisting of a upper and lower house; the Landsting and the Folketing respectively.

The main principle of the Constitution was to limit the monarch's power, with the creation of parliament distributing power to the Danish people. The constitution also secured civil rights, such as habeas corpus, private property rights, and freedom of speech. The structure of the Constitution was based on the separation of powers, creating three separate branches of government; the legislative, the executive, and the judicial branches.



In 1864 Denmark was invaded by the Kingdom of Prussia and the Austrian Empire, in the Second Schleswig War. Lasting from 1 February to 30 October, the war ended in the Treaty of Vienna, in which Denmark was forced to cede the provinces of Schleswig and Holstein. Prussia would administer Schleswig, while Austria would administer Holstein, but disputes over the administration of the two provinces would eventually lead to the Austro-Prussian War in 1866.

Like the First Schleswig War of 1848 to 1851, the Second Schleswig War was fought for control of the duchies of Holstein and Lauenburg, due to succession disputes arising from the death of the Danish king without an heir acceptable to the German Confederation. Decisive controversy arose due to the passing of the November Constitution, which integrated the Duchy of Schleswig into the Danish kingdom in violation of the London Protocol.

Navy
The Royal Danish Navy (RDN), officially Kongelige Danske Marine in Danish, but more generally known as Søværnet, is the sea-based branch of the Danish Forsvaret. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defense and maintaining the sovereignty of Danish waters, and since the early twentieth century has expanded to be a major force in the North and Baltic Sea.

Shipyards
Major
 * Aalborg
 * Svendborg
 * Copenhagen (x2)
 * Odense (x2)
 * Esbjerg

Minor
 * Reykjavík
 * Tórshavn

Organization

 * A.Battleships B004 through B008 constructed by Germany.
 * B.Destroyers D005 through D012 constructed by Germany.
 * C.Cruisers C001 through C002 constructed by Italy.