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. To what extent were british mistakes the most significant factor in the. Petty officer rice observed a submarine at anchor 50 yards from the jetty at bjerkvik. The battles of narvik are a perfect example of the many practical applications of destroyers in naval combat. German submarine warfare during the first world war tore consid erable gaps in.
Narvik in wartime the german ore ships had to use the leads, the. Norwegians report germans holding narvik in force also 6 destroyers and i submarine are there and channel is possibly mined. 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. 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. The westernmost and northernmost country on the scandinavian peninsula offered three important objectives at the outset of world war ii. This was due to the very good harbour and its icefree conditions. Germans believed that the interdiction of iron ore supplies from narvik would not be catastrophic nor break their war industries. The second battle of narvik begins the second battle of narvik commenced on april.
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. 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. From the sea, warships and submarines with torpedoes, artillery and bombs ravaged. Stellung vor narvik summary photograph shows vigilant german soldiers, one with binoculars, in the snow at the front in narvik, norway. Narvik city called norwegian port was very important to germany under world war ii. Five smaller british h class destroyers were sent up the fjord in retaliation by the allied forces, with little knowledge of what to expect. 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. 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. As dr derry reminds us in his essay, the battle for narvik has been called the most. This battle was the turning point for the sympathizers and swedish. 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. No permission to attack was asked or further instructions sought. The study called for landings along the entire norwegian coast from oslo to tromso. The swordfish dived to 300 feet to release its bombs the first hit the bows of the submarine.
Due to present covid19 restrictions riksgransen is unfortunately not available at present moment. At that moment, from a distance of 30 cables, bedouin and punjabi opened fire on the german ships. They invaded the region on 9 april in 1940 and, for two months, the battle. 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. Jointness and the norwegian campaign, 1940 air university.
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. Allied failure in the norwegian littoral, 1940operational. Britain1 during world war two, however, the british by no means achieved. Narvik provided an icefree harbour in the north atlantic for iron ore transported by the railway from. The second battle of narvik petty officer rice observed a submarine at anchor 50 yards from the jetty at bjerkvik. Battle of narvik with exclusive action pictures by our naval cameraman norway.
Narvik norwegian eldorado for wreckdivers xray mag. On january 20, 1940, the report was submitted to hitler. 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 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. The french army in the norwegian campaign, 1940 imperial. Wrold war ii battles western front timeline preceden. In the narvik area german troops were believed to have occupied. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Events in northern norway had been overshadowed by events in france. The reconquest of narvik was the first time that the third reich war machine had to be removed from a captured city. Harstad is a region ideally placed between the fjords and mountain ranges in northern norway.
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. The feature film about the battles of narvik visit narvik. However, in overall terms, the battle was a british success, but not a victory as their official history termed it. This was the best way to capture the essence of the norwegian campaign. Dec 02, 2016 after that, havock departed the scene and the first naval battle of narvik was over. The dead were committed to the deep in skelfjord in the traditional way. Jan 06, 2019 battle of narvik with several ships on fire at the harbor. 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. The battle of narvik, from 9 april to 10 june 1940, was an international campaign of. It comprised the 5th wilno infantry brigade the wilno infantry regiments. The 1940 norway campaign showed how modern warfare would.
To complete the task, hitler sent ten large, modern destroyers, with 220 alpine troops on each. For example, admiral cork thought the army should assault narvik forthwith, but general. The landings at bjerkvik during the battle of narvik after fierce bombardment by british ships. The history of the first naval battle for the icefree port of narvik. I submit that this message, made by the late captain warburtonlee. Battle of narvik in the second world war 19391945 the. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. Including firsthand testimony from copes own father. The german northern theater of operations 19401945 us army. 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. Battle for narvik minks world alternative history fandom. The battle lasted 26 hours with a sympathizer victory.
This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from the. Mar, 2020 the battle for narvik was the first time that british, french, polish and norwegian forces fought together. They had to navigate the four hour passage undetected, under darkness and in driving snow storms. It was the first industrial town in northern norway and. Operation paul the fleet air arm attack on lulea in 1940. 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. Frank chadwick determined that a detailed battalionlevel approach would work on the europa scale map of norway. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. The recapture of narvik on 28 may 1940 was the first major defeat of the war for nazi germany. Narvik norwegian eldorado for wreckdivers wrecks of narvik.
Soviet union during the battle prevented the norwegian authorities from. On 9 april the germans had attacked norways six main ports. Submarine u64 was surprised and sunk by warspites swordfish catapult aircraft as it scouted ahead. The first allied victory the royal house of norway.
Historians have claimed that the recapture of narvik convinced hitler to change his plans to invade great britain the same year. Both sides lost two destroyers, and three german ships were damaged. French troops massed in boats under machine gun fire from the rocks and shore. The battle for narvik was the most bloody battle of the troms civil war in all 510 were killed on both sides.
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. Battles of narvik wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. The germans had launched their invasion of norway on 9 april, attacking six norwegian ports, amongst them narvik. A simultaneous attack would be launched against the five major port cities of norwayoslo, bergen, trondheim, kristians and narvik. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Norway, including 1940 norwegian campaign in world war 2. The whole story of hitlers first defeat in world war ii told day by day. The port of narvik in north norway was established around the export of ironore from sweden. The battle of narvik saw norways toughest fight in world war ii. Narvik new cemetery norway narvik is a major port on the north west coast of norway. 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.
Today we look at the three battles of narvik and how they both shaped and could have shaped the future of the war. The first battle of narvik was a drawn naval battle fought between british and german destroyers during the german invasion of norway. The harbour eerily silent on their arrival quickly erupted into a torpedo attack. Contributor names kretschmann, ernst, 18971941, artist created published 1941.
And in the middle of these two fronts, narvik s civilian population was trapped, with no opportunity to escape. German paratroopers near narvik, norway, during the invasion. There are good possibilities to bring iron ore by ships to supply nazi g. But through the brutal battle of narvik, the allies succeeded in proving that. All the shipping in narvik harbour was destroyed but sadly, during the battle cossack lost 9 men killed and 21 wounded.
Nearly 7,500 norwegian soldiers participated in the battle, along with the british, french and polish troops. The second battle of narvik april 1940 was a british naval victory during the german invasion of norway of 1940. Orders of battle first battle of narvik battles of the. Hallowed ground narvik and the ofoten line, norway.
With an abundance of activities and attractions ranging from historical and cultural tours with. Narvik, the most northerly of those ports, had been attacked by a small army group carried on ten destroyers. Southcentral norway map and narvik map, rather than just one map. Royal naval captain, bernard warburtonlee, led his flotilla at midnight into the fjord. Narvik norwegian eldorado for wreckdivers wrecks of. In giving an account of the battle of britain it is.
Object details category photographs related period second world war production, second world war content production date 19400605. In the narvik area, for example, adm lord cork commanded naval forces and maj gen p. The forces for the attack on narvik, in the far north of norway, had been transported on a force of ten destroyers. The battleship warspite and nine destroyers were sent into the narvik. But through the brutal battle of narvik, the allies succeeded in proving that the overwhelming german war machine could be overcome. After the battle most of the troms parliament fled to either lyngseidet or sappen to either be taken prisoner or. They provide valuable operational level of war lessons to current day commanders and. The polish th5 kresowa infantry division, lead by brigadier general nikodem sulik, was mostly composed of deportees and former inmates of soviet camps. 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. 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. Polish command ordered the german ship to stop and be searched. Even before the first troops marched into narvik, the decision had been made to abandon the allied expedition.
The battle may be said to have started when the germans had disposed of the french resistance in the summer of 1940, and turned their attention to this. The road bends sharply to the right then curves gently left. The rules are still simple, as is fitting for firestorm, but hopefully capture the flavour of the battle for norway. 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. April 8th 1940 marked the start of the battle of narvik. Submarine u64 was surprised and sunk by warspites sword.
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