Norwegian campaign
The Norwegian campaign involved the attempt by Allied forces to defend northern Norway coupled with the Norwegian military's resistance to the country's invasion by Nazi Germany in World War II.
Planned as Operation Wilfred and Plan R 4, while the German attack was feared but had not yet happened, the battlecruiser set out from Scapa Flow for Vestfjorden with twelve destroyers on 4 April. The Royal Navy and the Kriegsmarine met at the first and second naval battles of Narvik on 10 and 13 April, and British forces conducted the Åndalsnes landings on 13 April. The main strategic reason for Germany to invade Norway was to seize the port of Narvik and guarantee the delivery of iron ore needed for German steel production.
The campaign was fought until 10 June 1940 and saw the escape of King Haakon VII and Crown Prince Olav to the United Kingdom. A British, French and Polish expeditionary force of 38,000 troops landed in the north. It had moderate success but made a rapid strategic retreat after the Battle of France began in May. The Norwegian government then went into exile in London. The campaign ended with the occupation of the entirety of Norway by Germany but elements of the Norwegian military escaped and fought on overseas.
Background
Outbreak of World War II
Britain and France had signed military assistance treaties with Poland and two days after the German Invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, both declared war on Nazi Germany. However, neither country mounted significant offensive operations and for several months there were no major engagements, and this period became known as the Phoney War or "Twilight War". Winston Churchill in particular wished to escalate the war into a more active phase, in contrast to Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain.During this time both sides wished to open secondary fronts. For the Allies, in particular the French, this was based on a desire to avoid repeating the trench warfare of the First World War, which had occurred on the Franco-German border.
Following the outbreak of the Second World War, the Norwegian government had mobilized parts of the Norwegian Army and all but two of the Royal Norwegian Navy's warships. The Norwegian Army Air Service and the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service were also called up to protect Norwegian neutrality from violations by the warring countries. The first such violations were the sinkings in Norwegian territorial waters of several British ships by German U-boats. In the following months, aircraft from all the belligerents violated Norwegian neutrality.
And almost immediately after the outbreak of war, the British began pressuring the Norwegian government to provide them with the services of the Norwegian merchant navy, being in dire need of shipping to oppose the strength of Nazi forces. Following protracted negotiations between 25 September and 20 November 1939, the Norwegians agreed to charter 150 tankers, as well as other ships with a tonnage of 450,000 gross tons. The Norwegian government's concern for the country's supply lines played an important role in persuading them to accept the agreement.
The value of Norway
Norway, although neutral, was considered strategically important for both sides for several reasons. First was the importance of iron ore from Sweden – upon which Germany depended – exported through the Norwegian port of Narvik. This route was especially important in the winter months when much of the Baltic Sea was frozen over. Narvik became of greater significance to the British when it became apparent that Operation Catherine, a plan to gain control of the Baltic Sea, would not be realized. Großadmiral Erich Raeder had pointed out several times in 1939 the danger to Germany of Britain seizing the initiative and launching its own invasion in Scandinavia, for if the powerful Royal Navy had bases at Bergen, Narvik and Trondheim, the North Sea would be virtually closed to Germany, and the Kriegsmarine would be at risk even in the Baltic.Controlling Norway would also be a strategic asset in the Battle of the Atlantic. The capture of ports would create gaps in the blockade of Germany, giving access to the Atlantic Ocean. These ports would allow Germany to use its sea power effectively against the Allies. Control of Norwegian air bases would allow German reconnaissance aircraft to operate far into the North Atlantic, while German U-boats and surface ships operating out of Norwegian naval bases would be able to break the British blockade line across the North Sea and attack convoys heading to Great Britain.
Winter War
When the Soviet Union launched its attack against Finland on 30 November 1939, the Allies found themselves aligned with Norway and Sweden in support of Finland against the much larger aggressor.After the outbreak of the Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union, Norway mobilized larger land forces than had initially been considered necessary. By early 1940 their 6th Division in Finnmark and Troms fielded 9,500 troops to defend against a potential Soviet attack, positioned mostly in the eastern regions of Finnmark. Parts of the 6th Division's forces remained in Finnmark even after the German invasion, guarding against the danger. During the Winter War, the Norwegian authorities secretly broke the country's own neutrality by sending the Finns a shipment of 12 Ehrhardt 7.5 cm Model 1901 artillery pieces and 12,000 shells, as well as allowing the British to use Norwegian territory to transfer aircraft and other weaponry to Finland.
This presented an opportunity to the Allies; offering them the potential to use the invasion to also send troop support to occupy ore fields in Sweden and ports in Norway. The plan, promoted by the British General Edmund Ironside, included two divisions landing at Narvik, five battalions somewhere in mid-Norway, and another two divisions at Trondheim. The French government pushed for action to be taken to confront the Germans away from France.
These developments concerned the Germans. The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact had placed Finland within the Soviet sphere of interest, and the Germans therefore claimed neutrality in the conflict. This policy caused a rise in anti-German sentiment throughout Scandinavia, since it was commonly believed that the Germans were allied with the Soviets. Fears began to crop up in the German high command that Norway and Sweden would then allow Allied troops to transit their territory to go to Finland's aid.
The proposed Allied deployments never occurred, after protests from both Norway and Sweden, when the issue of transfers of troops through their territory was suggested. With the Moscow Peace Treaty on 12 March 1940, the Finland-related Allied plans were dropped. The abandonment of the planned landings put immense French pressure on Neville Chamberlain's British government, and eventually led to the Allies laying mines off the Norwegian coast on 8 April.
Vidkun Quisling and initial German investigation
The German high command originally thought that having Norway remain neutral was in its interest. As long as the Allies did not enter Norwegian waters, there would be safe passage for merchant vessels transporting ore via Norwegian coastal waters to Germany.Großadmiral Erich Raeder, however, argued for an invasion. He believed that the Norwegian ports would be of crucial importance for Germany in a war with the United Kingdom.
On 14 December 1939, Raeder introduced Adolf Hitler to Vidkun Quisling, a Nasjonal Samling former defence minister of Norway. Quisling proposed pan-Germanic cooperation between Nazi Germany and Norway. In a second meeting on 18 December, Quisling and Hitler discussed the threat of an Allied invasion of Norway.
After the first meeting with Quisling, Hitler ordered the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht to begin investigating possible invasion plans of Norway. Meeting Quisling was central in igniting Hitler's interest in bringing the country effectively under his control. The first comprehensive German plan for the occupation of Norway, Studie Nord, ordered by Hitler on 14 December, was completed by 10 January 1940. On 27 January, Hitler ordered that a new plan, named Weserübung, be developed. Work on Weserübung began on 5 February.
''Altmark'' incident
The Altmark incident occurred in the late hours of 16 February 1940 when the Royal Navy destroyer entered Norwegian territorial waters, intercepting and boarding the German auxiliary ship in the Jøssingfjord. Altmark had spent the prior months as a fleet oiler turned prison ship for the German cruiser while the latter was acting as a commerce raider in the South Atlantic. When she began the return journey to Germany, she carried 299 prisoners taken from Allied ships sunk by the Graf Spee. She rounded Scotland, then entered Norwegian territorial waters near the Trondheimsfjord, flying the Imperial Service Flag. A Norwegian naval escort accompanied Altmark as she proceeded southwards, hugging the Norwegian coastline. As Altmark was nearing Bergen harbour on 14 February, the Norwegian naval authorities demanded an inspection of her cargo. International law did not ban the transfer of prisoners of war through neutral waters, and the German captain refused the inspection. This led the commander in Bergen, Admiral Carsten Tank-Nielsen, to deny Altmark access to the restricted-access harbour zone. Tank-Nielsen was overruled by his superior, Admiral Henry Diesen, and she was escorted through. Per Norwegian neutrality regulations, government ships operated by the warring countries were forbidden from such strategically important Norwegian ports. This violation of the regulations was because Diesen feared that the British would intercept Altmark if she was forced to sail further out.On 16 February, Altmark was spotted by three British aircraft. This led the Royal Navy to send one light cruiser and five destroyers that were patrolling nearby. Under the attack of two British destroyers, Altmark fled into the Jøssingfjord. She was escorted by the Norwegian torpedo boat. She was joined later in the fjord by a second – – and the patrol boat Firern. As HMS Cossack entered the fjord at 22:20 local time, the Norwegian vessels did not intervene when the British boarded Altmark in the late hours of 16 February. The boarding action led to the freeing of 299 British prisoners of war held on the German ship. The boarding party fought in hand-to-hand combat with the crew of Altmark, killing seven German sailors.
Following this, the Germans sent strong protests to Norway, and the Norwegians sent protests to Britain. While Norwegian, Swedish and American experts in international law claimed the boarding of Altmark was a violation of Norwegian neutrality, the British government argued that the incident was at the most a technical violation that had been morally justified. The whole led to the Germans speeding up their plans for an invasion of Norway. On 21 February, General Nikolaus von Falkenhorst was placed in charge of its planning and in command of the land-based forces. The official approval for the invasion and occupation of Denmark and Norway was signed by Hitler on 1 March.