Invasion of Norway

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Brian Von Stauffenberg
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Invasion of Norway

#1

Post by Brian Von Stauffenberg » 27 Apr 2002, 12:52

How many German troops were involved in the invasion of Norway?
Did the Norwegians put up any kind of a fight against Germany?

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Christian Ankerstjerne
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#2

Post by Christian Ankerstjerne » 27 Apr 2002, 13:41

The Germans attacked with 14,200 soldiers:

2,000 (naval landing) at Narvik
1,700 (naval landing) at Trondheim
1,900 (naval landing) at Bergen
2.500 (airborne landing) at Stavanger
1,100 (naval landing) at Kristiansand
2,000 (naval landing) and 3,000 (airborne landing) at Oslo

The Norwegians, assisted by the BEF, put up quite a fight, and it took a long time for the last resistance to be slenced, after which the Norwegian resistance movement took over.

I believe there is an article at Achtungpanzer about the invasion

Christian


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Fred
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#3

Post by Fred » 27 Apr 2002, 14:46

The Norwegians sunk Blucher:


09 Apr 40: 0440: Illumination by search lights while proceeding up fjord. 0521, the Oskarsborg battery (2x280mm and 1x305mm not operational) opens fire at 1,700m. The first round strikes Blucher's flak control platform. Her antiaircraft guns return fire ineffectively. A second 280mm shell hits the aircraft hanger and starts a serious fire. Then the 150mm battery at Drobak opens up from 400-600 meters to starboard and scores 20 hits from 25 rounds fired. Finally, two torpedoes from the Kaholmen Island battery strike the ship.

09 Apr 40: 0530. Blucher passes the batteries at 15 knots on emergency steering. However, the torpedo hits are serious, eventually causing the loss of all power and forcing her to anchor up the fjord. Moreover, the fire from the aircraft hanger begins to ignite army ammunition stored about the ship, setting off an enormous fire midships and isolating the stern from the bow. The rest of the force does not attempt the passage, leaving Blucher alone. The explosion of the 105mm magazine provides the final blow, creating a list of 45¡. She capsizes and sinks at 0722.

http://www.feldgrau.com

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Marcus
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#4

Post by Marcus » 27 Apr 2002, 16:22

Ferdinand Porsche wrote:I believe there is an article at Achtungpanzer about the invasion
There is at least an article on the armored forces:
German Panzer Unit in Norway April-June of 1940 - http://www.achtungpanzer.com/norway.htm

/Marcus

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Brian Von Stauffenberg
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Figures Of Norwegian armed forces

#5

Post by Brian Von Stauffenberg » 27 Apr 2002, 16:39

They must have had a rather small army for only 15,000 or so Germans to capture it, i suppose the Luftwaffe was heavily involved?

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Marcus
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#6

Post by Marcus » 27 Apr 2002, 16:46

Here are some articles from Kurt Monsen's http://www.nuav.net that you might find interesting:

Luftwaffe & Heer units under operation Weserübung
http://www.nuav.net/weserubung.html

Kriegsmarine units under operation Weserubung
http://www.nuav.net/kriegsmarine.html

Order of battle-North Norway 1940
http://www.nuav.net/oobnono.html

Norwegian aircraft in 1940
http://www.nuav.net/norwair1940.html

/Marcus

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Christian Ankerstjerne
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#7

Post by Christian Ankerstjerne » 27 Apr 2002, 17:06

Well, the Germans took them by complete surprise, and I would expect that they send additional forces up there - I didn't know, so I didn' write it. The numbers I gave were for the nintial attack.

Christian

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Christoph Awender
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Weserübung

#8

Post by Christoph Awender » 27 Apr 2002, 17:16

Here are some links...

See daily reports 9.April forward

Detailed germn OoB Weserübung

regards,
Christoph

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Brian Von Stauffenberg
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Good

#9

Post by Brian Von Stauffenberg » 27 Apr 2002, 18:20

Thanks all for the good info and resources :wink:

Bene
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Norway occupation troops

#10

Post by Bene » 27 Apr 2002, 22:13

What happened to the german troops in Norway after 1940? Did they stay there 'til 1945? Were they fighting after 1940, or was the stay in Norway peaceful and quiet for them? What happened at the end of the war?

Thanks in advance...

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Erik E
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#11

Post by Erik E » 28 Apr 2002, 21:38

Most of the invasion force was replaced by other units.
They were here until 8.may-45

The duty in Norway was quite peaceful exept for allied bombraids, antishipping strikes, and a few commando raids. Later, in 1944 when the Russians attacked in northern Norway, several divisions got involved in heavy fighting.

Dan
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#12

Post by Dan » 28 Apr 2002, 22:10

The German numbers eventually built up to just under a half-million men.

One could wish that both the British and Germans would have respected Norway's neutrality.........

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#13

Post by Ovidius » 28 Apr 2002, 22:20

Dan wrote:One could wish that both the British and Germans would have respected Norway's neutrality.........
They couldn't.

The Brits wanted to seal the German fleet in the Baltic, and to cut out the supply of iron ore from Sweden.

The Germans wanted to keep the flow of iron ore, to gain free access in the Atlantic, and to host their ships in the fjords, where even the largest battleship was safe from any kind of attack.

~Ovidius

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Erik E
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#14

Post by Erik E » 28 Apr 2002, 22:24

where even the largest battleship was safe from any kind of attack
At least they thought so........

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#15

Post by Ovidius » 28 Apr 2002, 22:39

Not even the midget-submarine raid could sink Tirpitz for good(or for bad!? :? )

After this, it still took three raids with more than 30 heavy bombers each to score the fatal hits.

The Germans sunk Roma(45,000-ton battleship) with just one guided-bomb(the first guided bomb had passed through the entire hull without exploding, the second one set the ship ablaze).

~Ovidius

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