Invasion of Norway

[Scott Smith]

Then what do Norwegians do for a living?

I'm guessing it was the four F's: Furs, Fish, Forestry, Farming

You are guessing wrong. Today, it is the four O's: Oil, Oil, Oil and Oil. Back then it was fishing, foresting, possible some mining and whales.

I sounds to me that I mostly guessed right. Except that I should have used the past tense. The important point is that Germany would have access to those markets almost exclusively.

I didn't say that the invasion of Norway wasn't strategic. But strategic also involves economic factors, including beating the Allied blockade.

If Norway had so little agriculture, why the need for so much fertilizer? Perhaps much of it was exported for Danish corn. Same difference from the German point of view.

Best Regards,
Scott

[Andy H]

Hi Scott

Didn't the Norwegians have one of the largest merchantile fleets in the world, especially oil tankers?.

If the Germans had installed a puppet regime with popular backing this valuable logistic link may have been lost to the allies.

From the Shire

[Scott Smith]

Hi Scott

Didn't the Norwegians have one of the largest merchantile fleets in the world, especially oil tankers?.

If the Germans had installed a puppet regime with popular backing this valuable logistic link may have been lost to the allies.

Maybe, but isn't that naked aggression--what the Germans were punished for at Nuremberg? I guess I could argue that Poland and Czechoslovakia were Allied puppet-States created by the Versailles treaty, and therefore that had to go.

[Andy H]

Hi Scott

I think some people in Poland and the former Czechoslovakia would argue that they were mere puppet states set up by the allies.


Andy from the Shire

[Scott Smith]

Hi Scott

I think some people in Poland and the former Czechoslovakia would argue that they were mere puppet states set up by the allies.

Hi Andy,

They might argue against this but it was true. These were former colonial possessions, and the only way to claim their national sovereignty would have been to tread a cautious course of neutrality. From their point of view, however, every ethnic German was a Fifth Columnist and were treated accordingly. Some of these ethnic Germans were no longer German by Allied fiat, a situation bound to fail.

[Winston Smith]

The Germans attacked with 14,200 soldiers:

How many of the German soldiers were killed, wounded and taken prisoners by the end of the campain? and what was the numbers of the allied forces in Norway and their amount of casualties?

[Andreas]

German losses:

5,660 of which 691 permanently MIA (1,317 KIA ground/2,375 lost at sea; 1,604 wounded)
117 planes
Ship losses sunk:
1 CA; 2 CL; 10 DD; 1 DE; 6 SS; 15 smaller vessels

Ships damaged and out of operations for months:
2 BC; 2 CA; 1 CL; some DD, DE, MS

Allied losses (all KIA):
British 1,869
Norwegian 1,335
French/Polish 530
87 Planes
1 CV; 2 CA/CL; 9 DD; 6 SS, some auxiliary craft

Information from Hubatsch "Weserübung". Ottmer "Weserübung" has differing numbers for the Luftwaffe (242 planes) and gives 88,604 GRT losses for civilian shipping.

All the best

Andreas

[Andreas]

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

It is important to note that this is only the number for the initial assault on Wesertag. Total forces assigned to the campaign were just under six divisions with ca. 100,000 men.

All the best

Andreas

[Qvist]

Hello Andreas,

Allied losses (all KIA):
British 1,869
Norwegian 1,335
French/Polish 530
87 Planes
1 CV; 2 CA/CL; 9 DD; 6 SS, some auxiliary craft

Zetterling/Tamelander give the same British and French/Polish figures, but there they are referred to as all casualties in the ground fighting, not just killed. They are referred to "Adams", whoever that is (no bibliography , just notes, and I'll wait with going through 500 footnotes to find out just what "op.cit." refers to until I know that you or someone else doesn't recognise the book ). Additionally roughly 2,500 men were lost at sea (including 1,474 men who went down with the "Glorious"). Norwegian losses are referred as 860 killed, with a "similar number of wounded". There must presumably also have been a very significant number of Norwegian soldiers captured during the campaign, I should think.

cheers

[Andreas]

Well, I have no idea who Adams is, unless he is an unknown uncle of Pugney and Wednesday, but the British official history is quoted in Moulton's marvellous "The Norwegian Campaign of 1940", and it gives the following:

1,335 Norwegians killed and wounded
1,869 British KIA/MIA/WIA
533 French and Polish (no further breakdown)

Lost at sea ca. 2,500, primarily British. Total losses in Glorious, Acasta, and Ardent were 1,429, 45 survivors of all three combined. The way Ardent and Acasta were fought was exemplary.

400 Norwegian civilians killed, 4,000 buildings destroyed, 300 bridges blown up, quoting Krigen i Norge.

German aircraft losses 120 combat, 80 transport. British 112 including those lost in Glorious. Norwegian air arm, all aircraft.

All the best

Andreas

[Qvist]

In that case, the sources agree - it said "all KIA" in your original post. Except the 1,469 lost at sea doesn't refer to just "glorious", there Z/T appears to have a mistake then.

I wonder why Norwegian MIA haven't been quantified. Possibly because the division line is a bit blurred by entire formations being caught in the middle of mobilisation. If I am not much mistaken, there was also a good deal of captured Norwegian soldiers just being sent home. Not exactly Stalingrad (and thank god for that).

cheers

[Andreas]

Norwegian air arm, all aircraft.

Come to think of it, I think that is incorrect - a few He 115 made it to Britain, IIRC.

All the best

Andreas

[Christian W.]

Norwegian air arm, all aircraft.

Not quite. Few aircraft flew to Britain and Finland, not sure if any flew to Sweden, though.

[stril]

Hello

Didn't the Norwegians have one of the largest merchantile fleets in the world, especially oil tankers?.

Norway had the fourth largest merchantile fleet in the world, and 20 % of the worlds oil tankers and it was a very modern fleet of oil tankers. Its noted that those tankers shipped 50 % of the allieds oil. Churchill said in his memoairs that the norwegian fleet was worth one million fully trained and equipped soldiers.
regards
stril

[Liluh]

As for the polish looses - close to 100 dead and 200 wounded (land looses of Independent Podhalan Rifleman brigade) plus sunk destroyed "Grom" (59 casualties) and freighter "Chrobry" (uknown number of casualties). I`m unable to give exact source at this time, but those are rough figures circulating all over in the biblography.