April 8th 1940 marked the start of the battle of narvik. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. During the german invasion of norway in april 1940, the ship was tasked to attack narvik and was sunk during the first naval battle of narvik on 10 april. This was the best way to capture the essence of the norwegian campaign. A simultaneous attack would be launched against the five major port cities of norwayoslo, bergen, trondheim, kristians and narvik. On january 20, 1940, the report was submitted to hitler. War history sites is a project initiated by norwegian army force command in order to commemorate the war actions that took place in the areas around narvik and the soldiers who participated in the war during two months in the spring of 1940. But through the brutal battle of narvik, the allies succeeded in proving that. Stellung vor narvik summary photograph shows vigilant german soldiers, one with binoculars, in the snow at the front in narvik, norway.
The german northern theater of operations 19401945 us army. In giving an account of the battle of britain it is. The study called for landings along the entire norwegian coast from oslo to tromso. Both sides lost two destroyers, and three german ships were damaged. The first battle of narvik was a drawn naval battle fought between british and german destroyers during the german invasion of norway. Allied failure in the norwegian littoral, 1940operational. From the sea, warships and submarines with torpedoes, artillery and bombs ravaged. The battles of narvik were fought from 9 april to 8 june 1940 as a naval battle in the ofotfjord and as a land battle in the mountains surrounding the north norwegian city of narvik as part of the norwegian campaign of the second world war the two naval battles in the ofotfjord on 10 april and april were fought between the british royal navy and nazi germanys kriegsmarine, while the two. The feature film about the battles of narvik visit narvik.
The battle of narvik, from 9 april to 10 june 1940, was an international campaign of. All the shipping in narvik harbour was destroyed but sadly, during the battle cossack lost 9 men killed and 21 wounded. The swordfish dived to 300 feet to release its bombs the first hit the bows of the submarine. Battle of narvik with exclusive action pictures by our naval cameraman norway. Contributor names kretschmann, ernst, 18971941, artist created published 1941. Author ron cope delivers a comprehensive and gripping account of the narvik battle, juxtaposing the myriad strategic difficulties encountered by the british navy, with the vivid and insightful personal accounts of the brave survivors involved, most of whom were under the age of twentythree. I submit that this message, made by the late captain warburtonlee. The battleship warspite and nine destroyers were sent into the narvik.
Germans believed that the interdiction of iron ore supplies from narvik would not be catastrophic nor break their war industries. Battle for narvik minks world alternative history fandom. Narvik new cemetery norway narvik is a major port on the north west coast of norway. Wrold war ii battles western front timeline preceden. They invaded the region on 9 april in 1940 and, for two months, the battle. To what extent were british mistakes the most significant factor in the. Dec 02, 2016 after that, havock departed the scene and the first naval battle of narvik was over. Royal naval captain, bernard warburtonlee, led his flotilla at midnight into the fjord. Narvik norwegian eldorado for wreckdivers wrecks of narvik. Approaching from the south on the main e6 route follow this road through the town and over the railway bridge just past the tourist information centre on rongensgate. Narvik norwegian eldorado for wreckdivers wrecks of. There are good possibilities to bring iron ore by ships to supply nazi g. The road bends sharply to the right then curves gently left. The battle for narvik was the most bloody battle of the troms civil war in all 510 were killed on both sides.
In the narvik area german troops were believed to have occupied. Empire endurance was a 8,514 grt cargo liner that was built in 1928 as alster by deschimag werk vulkan, hamburg, germany for the shipping company norddeutscher lloyd. Narvik, the most northerly of those ports, had been attacked by a small army group carried on ten destroyers. The history of the first naval battle for the icefree port of narvik. Norway, including 1940 norwegian campaign in world war 2. Norwegians report germans holding narvik in force also 6 destroyers and i submarine are there and channel is possibly mined. Petty officer rice observed a submarine at anchor 50 yards from the jetty at bjerkvik. Harstad is a region ideally placed between the fjords and mountain ranges in northern norway.
On the way out of narvik harbor, z12s port engine stopped, delaying the destroyer by a quarter hour. The germans had launched their invasion of norway on 9 april, attacking six norwegian ports, amongst them narvik. In the narvik area, for example, adm lord cork commanded naval forces and maj gen p. Mar, 2020 the battle for narvik was the first time that british, french, polish and norwegian forces fought together. Britain1 during world war two, however, the british by no means achieved. The reconquest of narvik was the first time that the third reich war machine had to be removed from a captured city. Operation paul the fleet air arm attack on lulea in 1940. The 1940 norway campaign showed how modern warfare would. For example, admiral cork thought the army should assault narvik forthwith, but general. Due to present covid19 restrictions riksgransen is unfortunately not available at present moment. But through the brutal battle of narvik, the allies succeeded in proving that the overwhelming german war machine could be overcome. The forces for the attack on narvik, in the far north of norway, had been transported on a force of ten destroyers. The battles of narvik were fought from 9 april to 8 june 1940 as a naval battle in the ofotfjord and as a land battle in the mountains surrounding the north norwegian city of narvik as part of the norwegian campaign of the second world war. The first allied victory the royal house of norway.
Frank chadwick determined that a detailed battalionlevel approach would work on the europa scale map of norway. The harbour eerily silent on their arrival quickly erupted into a torpedo attack. The port of narvik in north norway was established around the export of ironore from sweden. Five smaller british h class destroyers were sent up the fjord in retaliation by the allied forces, with little knowledge of what to expect.
The whole story of hitlers first defeat in world war ii told day by day. After the battle most of the troms parliament fled to either lyngseidet or sappen to either be taken prisoner or. Contributor names kretschmann, ernst, 18971941, artist created. German submarine warfare during the first world war tore consid erable gaps in. The battles of narvik were fought from 9 april to 8 june 1940 as a naval battle in the ofotfjord and as a land battle in the mountains surrounding the north.
They provide valuable operational level of war lessons to current day commanders and. Orders of battle first battle of narvik battles of the. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. The westernmost and northernmost country on the scandinavian peninsula offered three important objectives at the outset of world war ii. On 10th of april 1940 in ofotfjord, narvik, norway, in the first battle of narvik, captain warburtonlee of hms hardy commanded the british 2nd destroyer flotilla consisting of five destroyers, hms hardy, havock, hostile, hotspur and hunter, in a surprise attack on german destroyers and merchant ships in a blinding snowstorm. It comprised the 5th wilno infantry brigade the wilno infantry regiments. Hallowed ground narvik and the ofoten line, norway. French troops massed in boats under machine gun fire from the rocks and shore. At that moment, from a distance of 30 cables, bedouin and punjabi opened fire on the german ships. To complete the task, hitler sent ten large, modern destroyers, with 220 alpine troops on each. Polish command ordered the german ship to stop and be searched.
With an abundance of activities and attractions ranging from historical and cultural tours with. Submarine u64 was surprised and sunk by warspites sword. But during the second world war, the ofoten line was one of the reasons why narvik was on the germans map of places to conquer in norway they wanted control of the iron ore railway. They invaded the region on 9 april in 1940 and, for two months, the battle was fought in what was a faraway place at the time. However, in overall terms, the battle was a british success, but not a victory as their official history termed it.
And in the middle of these two fronts, narvik s civilian population was trapped, with no opportunity to escape. The rules are still simple, as is fitting for firestorm, but hopefully capture the flavour of the battle for norway. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. On 9 april the germans had attacked norways six main ports. The french army in the norwegian campaign, 1940 imperial. This battle was the turning point for the sympathizers and swedish. The landings at bjerkvik during the battle of narvik after fierce bombardment by british ships. Southcentral norway map and narvik map, rather than just one map. Dec 09, 2016 despite the loss of narvik and the precarious position of his remaining forces, dietl had technically won the battle by holding as long as he did. Soviet union during the battle prevented the norwegian authorities from. The recapture of narvik on 28 may 1940 was the first major defeat of the war for nazi germany. Despite the loss of narvik and the precarious position of his remaining forces, dietl had technically won the battle by holding as long as he did.
Narvik in wartime the german ore ships had to use the leads, the. When the germans refused to obey the order, the poles sprayed the ship with machine gun fire. Operations based on harstadt narvik area state of forces as of 17 april royal navy hms warspite battleship hms southampton cruiser hms effingham cruiser hms aurora cruiser hms enterprise cruiser hms vindictive repairship variossu destroyers 2 recruited from the 52nd, 9th, 54th, 55th, and 1st london divisions, respectively. This was due to the very good harbour and its icefree conditions. The second battle of narvik petty officer rice observed a submarine at anchor 50 yards from the jetty at bjerkvik. Battles of narvik wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. They had to navigate the four hour passage undetected, under darkness and in driving snow storms. As dr derry reminds us in his essay, the battle for narvik has been called the most. The battles of narvik are a perfect example of the many practical applications of destroyers in naval combat. Today we look at the three battles of narvik and how they both shaped and could have shaped the future of the war. Jan 06, 2019 battle of narvik with several ships on fire at the harbor. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus.
At the outbreak of world war ii, narvik was a strategically important harbour, and during the first few days of the war a very intense battle was fought. Events in northern norway had been overshadowed by events in france. Including firsthand testimony from copes own father. It was the first industrial town in northern norway and. Jointness and the norwegian campaign, 1940 air university. The second battle of narvik april 1940 was a british naval victory during the german invasion of norway of 1940. Submarine u64 was surprised and sunk by warspites swordfish catapult aircraft as it scouted ahead. The battle of narvik saw norways toughest fight in world war ii. This series of engagements showcased the many dynamics of smallscale modern naval combat, including combined arms and antisubmarine warfare, as well as the tactical use of terrain and different weather conditions to seize the advantage. Nearly 7,500 norwegian soldiers participated in the battle, along with the british, french and polish troops. The battles of narvik 3 battles, 3 sides, 1 week youtube. Narvik norwegian eldorado for wreckdivers xray mag. The battles of narvik were fought from 9 april to 8 june 1940 as a naval battle in the ofotfjord and as a land battle in the mountains surrounding the north norwegian city of narvik as part of the norwegian campaign of the second world war contents. The dead were committed to the deep in skelfjord in the traditional way.
This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from the. The battles of narvik were fought from 9 april to 8 june 1940 as a naval battle in the ofotfjord and as a land battle in the mountains surrounding the north norwegian town of narvik as part of the norwegian campaign of the second world war. The polish th5 kresowa infantry division, lead by brigadier general nikodem sulik, was mostly composed of deportees and former inmates of soviet camps. Narvik provided an icefree harbour in the north atlantic for iron ore transported by the railway from. Battle of narvik in the second world war 19391945 the. Even before the first troops marched into narvik, the decision had been made to abandon the allied expedition.
Owing to the explosion the second bombs exact point of impact was difficult to observe, but it was either a hit or a near miss. Historians have claimed that the recapture of narvik convinced hitler to change his plans to invade great britain the same year. No permission to attack was asked or further instructions sought. Narvik city called norwegian port was very important to germany under world war ii. With an abundance of activities and attractions ranging from historical and cultural tours with harstads vast background to spectacular outdoor experiences in the brazen nature of northern norway. The second battle of narvik begins the second battle of narvik commenced on april. Although defeated at sea off narvik, losing control of the town of narvik and being pushed back towards the swedish border, the germans eventually prevailed due to the allied evacuation from norway in june 1940 following the battle of france. Object details category photographs related period second world war production, second world war content production date 19400605. The battle lasted 26 hours with a sympathizer victory.
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