The Invasion of Norway April 9 - May 9, 1940

The Phony War ended on the night of April 8, 1940 when British warships mined the fjords of Norway to prevent Swedish iron ore from reaching Germany. The Norwegian Ambassador to London protested, but within hours the Allies learned of a massive German thrust through Denmark that was already landing in Norway. Denmark surrendered the same day to save herself, losing only a few soldiers.

What seemed like an incredibly swift response to Britain’s Norwegian minelaying was actually the culmination of months of planning. German paratroops secured airfields for air transports, and the German Navy sortied to cover destroyers with ski troops. A German landing in Oslo was driven off when the command heavy cruiser Blücher was sunk in the harbor, buying a short reprieve for the Norwegian government. But German merchant ships loaded with supplies and left in the fjords before the invasion sustained the rapidly moving land forces coming up from the south. The German paratroops were especially stunning to the Allies, who did not have anything like those formations at that time. Tough fighters, they would hold until relieved by the advancing ground forces.

British and French troops were hastily assembled and sent to Norway. Almost as soon as they landed they were forced to turn around or surrender, as the Germans swiftly moved through the country. Norwegian King Haakon VII left the country and set up a Government-in-exile in London, financed with Royal Norwegian gold. By the time of the invasion of France in May 1940, Norway had surrendered.

The French and the British, both reeling form the defeat at Norway, pledged not make a separate peace with Germany. This agreement would have serious implications two months later after the Germans invaded France.

During the battle, the German Kriegsmarine lost half of their destroyers and several cruisers. Their surface fleet was no longer able to confront the British Royal Navy. In time, more German surface fleets would lunch, and the ships damaged in Norway would be repaired.

But these ships would not be ready in time to cover the invasion of Britain. Operation Seelöwe (Sea Lion) would not proceed — the needed escorts were on the bottom of Narvik Harbor.

Norway was an important source of resources for Germany, and an operational base for U-boats throughout the war. Her surface units would hide in the fjords to escape Allied detection and bombing. The German heavy water research, a prerequisite for an atomic bomb, was based in Norway. A Norwegian SS unit was formed and fought on the Eastern Front.

Many Norwegian naval units escaped to Britain and served with distinction throughout the war. Norwegian resistance cells were difficult for the Germans to track in the snowy forests, and gave important intelligence to the Allies.

The Allies’ efforts to force Hitler into thinking that an invasion of Norway was imminent kept large forces tied down in Norway, preventing them from assisting their country as the Red Army and the British and the Americans invaded Germany from the East and West.

Internal Links

Invasion of Poland

Invasion of France, 1940

Battle of the Atlantic 1939 -1943

 

Internet Links

Vidkun Quisling - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Legal purge in Norway after World War II - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Arctic convoys of World War II - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Haakon VII of Norway - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Operation Fortitude - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Operation Weserübung - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Allied campaign in Norway - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

History of the Jews in Norway - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Festung Norwegen - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Norwegian Army (Germany) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Leif Larsen - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

List of World War II aces from Norway - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Altmark Incident - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Norwegian heavy water sabotage - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Battles of Narvik - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Invasion of Norway April 9 - May 9, 1940

Weserubung: The German Invasion of Norway, 1940 German Attack

Norway 1940
Invasion of Norway in April 1940. Politics, battles, organization, weapons and much more.

Norway during WW2

Decision To Invade Norway and Denmark

Judgment: The Invasion Of Denmark And Norway
The Trial of German Major War Criminals

Stalin's Secret Wars in Norway

German Panzer Unit in Norway April - June of 1940

Achtung Panzer! - Norwegian Panzers

Norwegian Flag during World War II

Russian prisoners-of-war in Norway, 1941-1945

Norwegian history: World War II

BBC - History - The Norway Campaign in World War Two
The battle for Norway cost Germany and Britain dearly. A prime minister, naval strength and even the ability to mount an invasion of Britain were among the casualties.

Norway in the Second World War

Under the Swastika
The life of a Norwegian student during World War 2

Norwegian Teachers as Prisoners in the Arctic North
The Norwegian teachers' resistance to the Nazi occupation of Norway

Nonviolence

Disregarded History
Stories of nonviolent resistance including the Rosenstrasse protest in Nazi Germany, the 1944 Guatemala revolution, Norwegian teachers' resistance to Quisling, the Townshend resistance in the American colonies. The potential of civilian-based defense to defend nations nonviolently.

The Norwegian Army in Exile 1940 - 1945

Norway, Narvik Battle, Hunter, Scharnhorst, Blucher, Gurkha, Karlsruhe, Trondheim, Oslo, Arctic, Russian, Convoys, North Cape, Bergen, Suffolk, Hardy, Trident
Norway - Invasion 1940 - WW2 Campaign Summary

 

Bibliography From Amazon.com

 

The World War II Multimedia Database
Copyright ©2000-2007 MFA Productions LLC
Send your comments and questions to our

Web hosting by eBoundHost