History of Schleswig-Holstein extremely harsh. King Christopher was only left in effective control of the small island of Langeland and faced the impossible task of raising 100,000 silver marks to redeem his country. Denmark had effectively been dissolved and was left without a king between 1332 and 1340. Gerhard, however, was assassinated in 1340 by a Dane. In 1340, King Valdemar IV of Denmark began his more than twenty-year-long quest to reclaim his kingdom. While succeeding in regaining control of Zealand, Funen, Jutland, and Scania he, however, failed to obtain control of Schleswig, and its ducal line managed to continue its virtual independence.
German invasion of Denmark (1940) on the runways in huge numbers. More than 200 landings and take-offs were recorded on the first day, most of them transporting troops and fuel to Fornebu Airport in Norway. In Esbjerg, a 75mm anti-aircraft gun damaged a German aircraft. In order to capture the connections between Jutland and Zealand the "Kriegsmarine" landed more troops from the 198th Infantry Division at Funen. At the same time troops landed in Korsør and Nyborg, thereby cutting off the connections between Funen and Zealand. The troops in Korsør met no resistance and hurried towards Copenhagen which they reached at noon. A little before,