Memorial stone for Private K.G. Jørgensen
Memorial Stone for Private Karl Gunner Jørgensen
One of the first Danish soldiers to fall on 9 April 1940
By the roadside north of Lundtoftbjerg stands the memorial stone for Karl Gunner Jørgensen, who fell during the first battles at the Danish-German border on 9 April 1940.
Karl Gunner Jørgensen was born on 29 August 1917 in Søllested on western Funen as the son of cooper Niels Peder Jørgensen and his wife Karen. After finishing school, he first worked at the Glamsbjerg Margarine Factory and later trained as a dairy worker.
In 1939, he was called up for military service with the 4th Battalion at Odense Barracks — a bicycle battalion whose soldiers deployed by bicycle or motorcycle.
He was 22 years old when he fell. The memorial stone was erected by his comrades shortly after the fighting and today stands as a reminder of resistance, duty, and sacrifice.
Photo: Historie Haderslev
Cyclists traveling from Kliplev. Source: "The Military Events of April 9, 1940"
Alert Readiness on the Night of 9 April
During the night of 9 April 1940, Danish soldiers in Southern Jutland were on alert. The order stated that they were to rest:
“fully dressed, ready for deployment, and with their equipment beside them”
Shortly after 4 a.m., word arrived that German forces had crossed the border. A few minutes later, the alarm was sounded at Søgård Camp and in Kliplev, where Karl Gunner Jørgensen’s bicycle platoon was quartered. The soldiers mounted their bicycles and moved out toward the positions at Lundtoftbjerg that they had previously rehearsed.
The Fighting at Lundtoftbjerg
At the railway underpass south of Lundtoftbjerg, the platoon took up position under the command of Lieutenant M. Gjermansen. The Danish soldiers were lightly armed and had almost no cover, yet they opened fire on the advancing German armored vehicles.Gjermansen later described the situation as follows:
“The platoon was completely isolated and without cover of any kind.”
The fighting quickly intensified, with fire coming from both armored vehicles and low-flying aircraft. Regarding the withdrawal, Gjermansen wrote:
“The two other groups continue the retreat … under fairly heavy fire.”
During the fighting, Karl Gunner Jørgensen was struck in the chest and killed. Later, some civilians found the fallen soldier and carried him under shelter.
German tank in Aabenraa, April 9, 1940. The Germans were technologically superior to the Danes in their attack on Denmark. Photo: Th. Christesen, Frihedsmuseet
Photo: Museum Sønderjyllands Mediearkiv
The Memorial Stone and the Memory
Before the company left the area, his comrades erected a memorial stone at the place where Karl Gunner Jørgensen had fallen. The stone came from a cemetery wall in Kliplev — a place the soldiers had often passed and where they had rested.
The comrades asked the parish priest for permission to use the stone as a memorial, and one of the soldiers carved the inscription himself.
The inscription reads:
HERE FELL FOR DENMARK’S CAUSE PRIVATE 72 K G JØRGENSEN ON 9 APRIL 1940 ERECTED BY 4TH BATTALION 3RD COMPANY
Funds were later collected for a gravestone for Karl Gunner Jørgensen’s grave at Søllested Churchyard. Captain A.E.G. Klein received 1 krone from each man in the company, while the stonemason offered to provide the stone for 350 kroner, even though the collection only reached 150 kroner.
Today, the memorial at Lundtoftbjerg stands as a reminder of the brief but intense fighting in Southern Jutland on 9 April 1940 — and of the young Danish soldiers who went into battle despite having very little chance of stopping the invasion.