Arthur thought for a moment and shrugged.‘I doubt it. But we must deal with the present realities, sir. Will you surrender?’

‘No.’

‘Then there is nothing more to say.’

Peymann shrugged. ‘I bid you farewell.’

The Danish commander tugged on his reins and turned his mount away. Arthur glanced at Schmeiler and thought quickly.There was still a chance that General Peymann might yet be persuaded to see sense. He reached over and touched Schmeiler’s arm.

‘I release you from your parole.’

Schmeiler looked at him in surprise. ‘You release me? Why?’

‘There is no point in keeping you prisoner any longer. It serves no purpose. You are free. I hope that you live through what is to come.’ Arthur offered the Dane his hand and Schmeiler shook it warmly before Arthur turned his mount away and spurred it back towards the British lines, hurriedly followed by the ensign still carrying the flag of truce.

That night the British fleet sailed within range of the city and began to bombard Copenhagen.Arthur watched from one of the British outposts close to the coast. Scores of flashes illuminated the sides of the warships as their solid shot arced across the harbour and pounded the buildings of the Danish capital. Fire was returned from the citadel that guarded the harbour until the guns there were silenced, and for the rest of the night the ships of the Royal Navy continued to pour a devastating barrage of shot on the Danes.

From the landward side the siege guns added their weight, pounding the defences before them, while the rockets shrieked out from their launchers, inscribing a flaring parabola across the night sky before they fell inside the city and exploded with bright flashes that brought cheers from the ranks of the excited British soldiers who had gathered to watch the spectacle. Some fires began to start where the rockets had landed and wavering orange flames steadily spread across expanses of the city as the night drew on. Only as the first glimmer of dawn appeared did the fire begin to slacken as the British warships made sail and withdrew out of range of the remaining Danish guns. As the light strengthened and Arthur trained his spyglass on the city his heart sank at the sight of the shattered roofs and the clouds of smoke billowing up from the fires that still raged.