The Norwegian operation was a military operation of Nazi Germany against the Norwegian Kingdom, beginning on April 9, 1940, and lasting until June 8. With the onset of the Wehrmacht invading the countries of northern Europe, British and French expeditionary forces arrived in Norway, trying to help the Norwegians resist German aggression.
Since the Crimean War, the Scandinavian countries had adhered to the principle of neutrality in their foreign policies. From 1905, until the end of World War I, Great Britain and Germany exerted pressure on Norway because of the advantageous geographical location of this country, which makes it possible to control the east North Sea. Immediately before the outbreak of the war, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway held a number of top-level meetings, where they stressed their adherance to neutrality. However, the belligerents forced the Nordic countries to indirectly participate in the war: Sweden and Norway transferred a significant part of their merchant fleet to the Entente, and Germany forced Denmark to partially block the Greater Belt strait with mines. At the end of the war, Norway, at the request of Great Britain, mined its’ waters against German submarines.
On the eve of the WWII, the Scandinavians continued to adhere to neutrality. On May 31, 1939, a non-aggression pact was concluded between Denmark and Germany; Sweden and Norway rejected similar proposals without feeling threatened by the straits. The Germans tried unsuccessfully to conclude an agreement with Norway, after which a number of incidents followed. In January 1940, British Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax stated that this compelled Britain to expand military operations to Norwegian territorial waters. It was decided to develop a plan to seize the ports on the Norwegian coast, in particular, Narvik, from which it was possible to take Swedish mines, and also to help Finland to defend itself against the Soviet Union.
The French were interested in opening a second front to divert the Wehrmacht. At one of the receptions with the participation of Scandinavian journalists, Churchill, as if in passing, stated, “Sometimes you can wish that the northern countries were on the opposite side, and then you could grab the necessary strategic points.”
For the Germans, Norway was both a key to the North Sea and allowed transit of Swedish ore. On December 14, 1939, the Wehrmacht command received an assignment from Hitler to investigate the possibility of invading Norway. Initially, the General Staff was skeptical about the need and the possibility of accomplishing this goal, but on January 27, a separate headquarters was created to develop a plan code-named “Teachings on Weser”. The incident with “Altmark” on February 16, weakened the positions of opponents of the operation, and from that moment, the preparation for it was forced. On February 24, the headquarters of the 21st Corps, under the leadership of General Nikolaus von Falkenhorst, began planning the operation, and five days later, he presented Hitler with the finished project. The principal feature of the plan was to carry out simultaneous landings in key cities, if possible without the use of weapons. Raeder advised to not carry out the assault until April 7; that is, until the end of the polar night. At a meeting on April 2, Hitler designated the ninth day of April as the day of landing. Contacts were established with the leader of the little-known Norwegian National Unity Party, Quisling, although this did not affect the military operation in any way.
Forces and Plans
The Armed Forces of Norway consisted of a land army and naval forces. The commander of the army became the commander-in-chief, Kristian Laak. The naval forces of Norway were commanded by Admiral Henry Dizen. Aviation was not considered a separate force, and was “divided” between the army and the fleet. As a result of the world economic crisis of 1929, the military expenses of the Kingdom of Norway were severely curtailed. The unwillingness of the Norwegian parliament to allocate large sums to the army was explained by the fear that the sharp strengthening of the army would be seen as a desire to help one of the parties in the coming war.
Initially, the operation on Norway was planned on the basis of a simultaneous offensive on the Western Front, and therefore the minimum number of land units was allocated for it. Later it was decided to divide operations over time, in order to maintain operational and political freedom; therefore the northern campaign was given considerable strength. Although the violation of the neutrality of another country was politically undesirable, the operation also included the seizure of Denmark. To support the “Norwegian” landing, Jutland airfields were needed. It was necessary to ensure the safe movement of maritime transport along the Danish straits.
Almost all military ships and merchant fleets of the Reich were used for the operation. It was planned to unload the transport vessels in the seized ports immediately after the landing. Kriegsmarine first landed large land units, so submarines were used to cover the assault and attacks against a possible counter-offensive. The surface fleet already suffered significant losses. The Luftwaffe was used to transport paratroopers and equipment.
The End
Despite considerable success in the northern part of the country, the beginning of the German operation in France forced the Allies to withdraw a significant part of their troops from Norway. Soon the resistance of the Norwegian army was broken, and the king and the government fled to London. Some formations of the Norwegian armed forces continued their struggle outside the country. The campaign ended in a complete German victory and the occupation of Norway by German troops.