World War II in real time

Day 222 of World War II, April 9th 1940

Operation Weserubung

The Germans land in Norway and Denmark. It is River Weser Day in Germany, and thus an appropriate date for a River Weser Exercise. At 05:20, the Germans deliver a diplomatic memorandum to each government stating that they now will be under the Reich's protection for the duration.

For the time being, the existing government of Denmark will be permitted to remain in power. Norwegian Foreign Affairs Minister Halvdan Koht, however, responds with the defiant words "Vi gir oss ikke frivillig, kampen er allerede i gang" ("We will not submit voluntarily; the struggle is already underway"). The Norwegian government does not capitulate like Denmark and instead heads for the mountains in the north. They somewhat awkwardly order full military mobilization for 11 April 1940. This is done by post, so it takes a minimum of two days.

Weserübung Nord (Norway): German transports which have been collecting offshore land at Oslo, Kristiansand, Stavanger, Bergen, Trondheim and Narvik.

Outside Oslo, German Bf-10 fighters land at Fornebu Airfield, followed by Ju-52 transports carrying a battalion of 324th Infantry Regiment of German 163rd Infantry Division. They are quickly followed by units of 324th Infantry Regiment of German 163rd Infantry Division and two companies of 1st Fallschirmjaeger Regiments. The German embassy at Oslo sends a welcoming party to the waterfront.

The battle at Oscarsborg Fortress downstream from Oslo is known as the Battle of Drøbak Sound. It begins at 04:21 when the Kriegsmarine force approaches, and at first in the darkness the Norwegians don't know who it is or whether they should fire. Their commander, Col. Eriksen, yells: "Either I will be decorated, or I will be court-martialed. Fire!" The fortress' guns include 19th Century cannon "Moses" and "Aaron," but they are as lethal as modern cannon.

Here, at the Oscarsborg Narrows in the Oslo Fjord, the coastal batteries manned by elderly reservists sink the Kriegsmarine cruiser Blücher in Oslo Fjord (830 perish, 1370 swim ashore) using guns and fixed torpedo mounts.

Photo: The German cruiser Blücher listing heavily to port after being hit by cannon fire and torpedoes from the Norwegian coastal fortress Oscarsborg. She sank a short time later.




Youtube clip of KMS Blucher getting sunk.



This action enables the Norwegian government and its gold reserves to escape - they leave at 08:30. The brand new cruiser, however, is a significant loss. Torpedo boat Albatros also is damaged. Elements of 324th Infantry Regiment of German 163rd Infantry Division land outside Oslo, led by Kriegsmarine heavy cruiser Lutzow.

Airborne troops capture Fornebu Airport (Oslo) and Stavanger-Sola airfield. This gives Luftwaffe protection over the most vulnerable sectors of the invasion. Battalions of 193rd Infantry Regiment of German 69th Infantry Division are airlifted into Sola and Stavanger.

At Narvik, the most strategic location in Norway because it is where the Swedish iron ore is shipped, German destroyers Wilhelm Heidkamp and Bernd von Arnim elude heavy British patrols due to the weather and sheer luck. They burst into Narvik Fjord, sink Norwegian coastal protection ships Eidsvold and Norge, and land their troops.

At Bergen, Kvarven Fort’s batteries damage cruiser Königsberg and minelayer Bremse.

At Kristiansand, morning fog delays the landing. Stavanger airport is taken despite a Norwegian destroyer sinking a ship with the airborne force's equipment. At Bergen, cruiser Konigsberg is damaged by a coastal battery, but the troops get ashore. The British react quickly and send a destroyer force to retake the city.

Trondheim falls without a shot after the German ships sail past the coast defense batteries pretending to be British. Detachments of soldiers land at Arendal and Egersund and capture the cable stations there.

Norwegian coastal artillery sinks German cargo liner Seattle.

Norwegians scuttle destroyer Tor at Fredrikstad, but it is in a location where the Germans can recover it.

King Haakon and Prime Minister Nygaardsvold elude German capture after the Norwegian garrison is betrayed by Colonel Sundio.

The Norwegian gold reserve leaves Oslo in the morning. It is in 818 cases weighing 40 kilos each, 685 cases weighing 25 cases each, and 39 kegs weighing 80 kilos each. The shipment totals 53 tonnes, of which the gold itself weights 48.8 tonnes.

Vidkun Quisling using Oslo Radio proclaims himself Prime Minister, tells Norwegians to cease resistance, and, quite accurately (but perhaps leaving out a word or two) states: "I shall be called the big traitor." He is completely ignored.

Weserübung Sud (Denmark): Rather than having to rely completely on airborne troops and naval transport, at Denmark the operation involves motorized troops. German 170th Infantry Division and 11th Motorized Brigade drive across the border, supported by tanks.

Some Danish islands are occupied. Paratroopers drop at Vordingborg on Zealand and capture Storstrom bridge. Elements of German 198th Infantry Division land on Funen Island, securing the bridge from Jutland and the ferry crossing to Zealand

A battalion of German 308th Infantry Regiment lands by ship in Copenhagen. They simply sail up to the Copenhagen waterfront and disembark. The only resistance in Copenhagen is one policeman with a pistol. The Danish King can hear scattered gunfire as he meets with his ministers and General Pryor.

German paratroopers drop and capture Alborg airfield in northern Jutland.

German troops land by ship at Tyboron and Esbjerg.

Photo: Five Danish soldiers with a 37mm anti-tank gun outside Hertug Hansgades Hospital in Haderslev.



The Nazis attack Denmark with 2 divisions, a brigade group and a battalion of airborne troops all under the command of General Kaupitsch. There is virtually no resistance, the airborne troops simply land at the airports and take over. They also seize the key Jutland-Funen Bridge. There is scattered Danish resistance in South Jutland, and the Royal Guard resists briefly at Amalienborg Palace, Copenhagen.

Luftwaffe Bf 110 fighters attack Vaerlose Airfield, the Danish Air Force headquarters. One Danish fighter is shot down. Luftwaffe He 111 bombers drop leaflets over Copenhagen and instruct residents what to do. The Danish Navy remains at anchor.

Danish Prime Minister Thorvald Stauning orders cessation of hostilities twelve hours after the start of the invasion. Even by then, however, the situation is completely stabilized and the country pacified. King Christian is nonplussed: "General, may I tell you something? As 1 soldier to another? You Germans have done the incredible again- magnificent work!" General Himer, the German captor of the city, notes, however, that the king is "inwardly shattered."

Overall, despite more shipping losses than the Kriegsmarine would like, Operation Weserübung is a resounding success on its first day.

Battle of the Atlantic

The British Home Fleet, having headed into the Atlantic based upon a false assumption that the Kriegsmarine was headed there, turns and heads toward Bergen. By the time it approaches at 14:00, the Luftwaffe is operating at airfields within Norway. Attacks by 47 Junkers Ju 88s and 41 Heinkel He 111s damage the Battleship Rodney (500 kg bomg that does not explode), three cruisers, and sink the destroyer HMS Gurkha (15 perish). Four of the Ju 88s are shot down.

The Germans capture numerous Norwegian vessels. These include:

- coast defense ship Harald Haarfagre captured by German forces at Horten.

- coast defense ship Tordenskjold captured by German forces at Horten.

- torpedo boat Balder captured by German forces at Horten.

- minelayer Olav Tryggvason captured by German forces at Horten.

- torpedo boat Odin captured by German forces at Marvika.

- torpedo boat Gyller captured by German forces at Marvika.

- submarine B-5.

Battlecruisers HMS Renown and Gneisenau exchange fire southwest of Narvik; both are slightly damaged. Gneisenau is hit three times, Renown twice. This is known as the Action off Lofoten, and is inconclusive, but the direction that the Kriegsmarine ships take to escape - to the west - reinforces the Admiralty's earlier mistaken impression that the main thrust of the operation is a breakout to the Atlantic.

The Norwegians scuttle torpedo boat Tor off Frederikstad.

At 19:57, British submarine HMS Truant torpedoes and damages light cruiser Karlsruhe in the Skagerrak as it is returning from Kristiansand. German E-boats finish it off at 21:50 to avoid capture.

British submarine HMS Thistle fires four torpedoes at U-4 as it approaches Stavanger, but misses with all four.

British submarine HMS Sunfish sinks German cargo Amasis in the Skagerrak.

French submarine Sybille departs from Harwich to patrol west of Denmark.

Convoy OA 126 departs from Southend, Convoy OB 126 departs from Liverpool.

Allied Supreme War Council

Daladier, General Gamelin and Admiral Darlan fly to London for consultations. Some of what they discuss is information they learn from the early edition of the New York Times.

British Military

The War Cabinet decides to occupy the Faeroe Islands and offer "assistance" to Iceland.

US Military

The Joint Planning Committee issues a general assessment of the world situation - which, due to events in Scandinavia, is immediately outdated. "Rainbow plans" which designate potential enemies by colors are submitted which envision multiple attacks from several different adversaries simultaneously.

Sweden

The German ambassador informs the Swedish government that it will not be invaded. However, it must remain neutral, maintain communications systems linking Norway and Germany, and must continue delivering iron ore to the Reich.

British Homefront

There are 212,000 children in London, and the government is trying to get them to safer locales. Only 20% of parents respond to that request, and authorities blame "parental apathy."

American Homefront

A Gallup survey finds that 84% of Americans want the Allies to win, 2% want the Germans to win, and only 23% actually want to fight the war.

YouTube Clips

YouTube Clip (The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) presents a news bulletin announcing the state of the German invasion of Norway and Denmark)



A broadcast of "Germany Calling" featuring William Joyce as "Lord Haw Haw"

Day 224 of World War II, April 11th 1940

Operation Weserubung

German success depends on reducing Norwegian Army resistance in southern Norway. The key is to link up their forces at Oslo and Trondheim via the long parallel mountain defiles. The German 196th Division moved north from Oslo up the Gudbrandsdal and Østerdal valleys in an attempt to link up with the German forces in Trondheim. They brush aside improvised Norwegian roadblocks. In an attempt to halt the German advances, the RAF attacked the Stavanger airfield in southern Norway.

Norwegian Army General Kristian Laake was relieved of command for his failures in the opening chapters of the German invasion; General Otto Ruge took over as his successor.

But the British battle back in Norway. In the morning eighteen British aircraft from the aircraft carrier HMS “Furious” attack Trondheim without success. Another Allied attack with nine aircraft, on the railway system between Trondheim and Oslo cuts off the line when a tunnel is destroyed. Defense from the Luftwaffe consists of a raid by ten He 111s from III./KG 26 on the British battlefleet off Trondheim – three battleships, a carrier, two cruisers and fourteen destroyers are attacked. Two hits are reported on a cruiser and one hit by a 50 kg bomb on the carrier HMS “Furious”.

An Allied Expeditionary Force leaves Clyde en route to Narvik, Norway.

Late in the day at Narvik, Kriegsmarine destroyers SMS Erich Koellner (Z13) and SMS Wolfgang Zenker (Z9) both run aground. The Zenker can still move at 20 knots, but the Koellner is in bad shape and the Germans are decide to convert it into a stationary defensive battery at the Tarstad.

The British are focused on Narvik, which is so isolated in northern Norway that it may as well be an island. Basically, the entire battle in Norway is because of that one port, and whoever controls it basically wins. The British 146th Territorial Brigade re-embarks on transports and ships out of the Clyde, destination: Narvik.

Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, gave instructions to the Royal Navy to occupy the Faroe Islands. An announcement was broadcast on BBC radio, and the RAF flew an aircraft over the islands. The Faroe Islands are a small collection of islands approximately half way between Norway and Iceland. They are a territory of Denmark. If occupied by the Germans they would enable the Nazis to control shipping which passes north of Scotland, along with any shipping moving towards Norway or the rest of Scandinavia; "We shall shield the Faroe Islands from all the severities of war and establish ourselves there conveniently by sea and air until the moment comes when they will be handed back to the Crown and people of a Denmark liberated from the foul thraldom in which they have been plunged by the German aggression."

The crew and planes of II./JG 77 starts moving from airfield to airfield to keep up with the invasion, ending up on this date at Kristiansand-Kjevik in southern Norway. During the days to come, the Staffeln of the Gruppe are moved to other airfields and is stretched between Kristiansand and Trondheim. By the beginning of May the Gruppe is moved to Stavanger airfield. One of the first missions from Kristiansand is attacking Norwegian troops at a training area near Evjemoen. Twelve buildings are set on fire.

German collaborator Vidkun Quisling sent a message to King Haakon VII of Norway, asking him to return to Oslo; seeing through his plot to use him as a puppet, the king chose to ignore the request. Seeing a lack of response from the king and his government, German bombers attacked the village where they were hiding in a failed attempt to wipe out Norwegian leadership.

While certainly unintentional, Churchill's justification sounds uncannily like the German offer of "protection" to Norway and Denmark. Previously, Iceland essentially seceded from Denmark to avoid German domination.

Air War over Europe

The RAF sends 6 bombers to attack Stavanger-Sola airfield. This is the first daylight attack by bomber command on a continental target. One of the bombers is lost.

RAF Coastal Command shoots down a Dornier flying boat in the North Sea.

RAF Bomber Command attacks German shipping around Norway during the night without causing damage.

Two Luftwaffe reconnaissance planes - a Heinkel and a Dornier - are shot down over the western front.

The British Air Ministry issues a report stating that 19 Luftwaffe planes had been shot down in the past four days, to 6 RAF losses.

Battle of the Atlantic

The Royal Navy submarine fleet is perfectly positioned around Norway and has plenty of targets, thanks to Admiral Horton and his hunch that something was about to happen there.

The Lützow is towed home after an attack by HMS Spearfish during the night in the Kattegat. While Spearfish fires 6 torpedoes and only one hits, that one torpedo nearly rips off her stern. In fact, it is a lucky break for the Kriegsmarine: Spearish assumed there was an escort that would attack it, but the cruiser in fact was travelling without escort.

British submarine HMS Triad sinks German troop transport Ionia.

British submarine HMS Sealion sinks German ship August Leonhardt.

Kriegsmarine minelayers set mines in the Skagerrak.

Western Front

The British 42nd Infantry Division embarks for France.

Sweden

Stockholm radio reports that the country has mined its western coast.

Belgium

The country cancels all military leaves - again.

Soviet Union

General Pavel Batov becomes Deputy Commander in Chief of the Transcaucasus Military District.

Albania

Italy clamps down on civil disobedience, outlawing strikes, protests, rallies and the like.

US Navy

Rear Admiral Claude C. Bloch replaces Rear Admiral Orin G. Murfin as Commandant Fourteenth Naval District and Navy Yard Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii.

China

With the Chinese Winter Offensive over, the Japanese turn to weeding out communist partisans in the central Hebei, Anhui, and Shanghai sectors.

YouTube clip (German Radio Broadcasts to North America)

Day 226 of World War II, April 13th 1940

YouTube clip (invasion of Norway and Denmark)



Operation Weserubung

Operation Weserubung continues smoothly, but Hitler is concerned anyway - frantic, is more like it. He is particularly worried about the situation in Narvik, which is precarious. Hitler issues several orders based on this paranoia, but, for one of the very few times in the war, the officers around him countermand them and stay the course. They basically tell Hitler to go take a nap (in fact, Hitler is known to stress out over naval operations and says later that he "can't sleep a wink" when large ships are operating). It is one of the first instances of Hitler's unbridled paranoia which will manifest itself in various ways over the next few years to the severe detriment of the German state.

German troops continue expanding away from their beachheads in the major Norwegian cities:

- German 163rd Infantry Division occupies Larvik near Oslo;

- German 196th Infantry Division occupies Halden and pushes northward;

Junkers Ju 52s fly supplies to Lake Hartvigvann near Narvik, landing on the frozen lake.

In London, the British War Cabinet debates about sending troops to Norway. Invasion at Trondheim is considered as a block to prevent the Wehrmacht from advancing north from Oslo. Narvik also is on the docket, as it was the original cause of the battle in the first place. Churchill, while firmly in the camp that favors a troop commitment at Narvik, comments that they need to consider:

“the grave danger that we should find ourselves committed to a number of ineffectual operations along the Norwegian coast, none of which would succeed.”

Prime Minister Chamberlain, his authority reeling from the Norwegian setback and his own recent comment that Hitler has "missed the bus," vows to send troops to Norway anyway. He tells the House of Commons, "Hitler has a real fight on his hands!"

One of Hitler's orders does go through. Generaloberst Nikolaus von Falkenhorst, commanding the Weserubung operation, receives orders to seize control of the village of Dombås, some 336 km (209 mi) north of Oslo, by paratroop attack. This is due to a false report of Allied landings at Åndalsnes. It also may have something to do with the transport of Norwegian gold reserves out of the country and an attempt to seize the gold.

Photo: Ships at Narvik at some point during the second battle of Narvik. Photo was taken by the spotter plane from HMS Warspite.



Battle of the Atlantic

The British return to Narvik in force. With aircraft carrier HMS Furious as cover (which launches air strikes), Battleship HMS Warspite (Vice-Admiral William Jock Whitworth) leads nine destroyers into the Ototfjord. Without air cover, the Kriegsmarine destroyers are defenseless, though Captain Bey in charge of the flotilla misses opportunities to at least mitigate the damage. All eight German destroyers in the area are sunk or scuttled by their crews, some in Narvik Bay, the rest in Rombaks Fjord where they try to hide:

- Z2 Georg Thiele (sunk).

--Z9 Wolfgang Zenker (scuttled).

- Z11 Bernd von Arnim (scuttled).

- Z12 Erich Giese (scuttled).

- Z13 Erich Koellner (sunk).

- Z17 Diether von Roeder (sunk).

- Z18 Hans Lüdemann (scuttled).

- Z19 Hermann Künne (scuttled).

About 100 Kriegsmarine sailors perish, most can scramble to shore in time given the certainty of destruction. Only three of the British destroyers are damaged (HMS Punjabi has 14 KIA/28 wounded, HMS Eskimo has its bow blown off by a torpedo). Wehrmacht troops on shore use field howitzers against the British force, but HMS Cossack puts them out of action.

In addition, Warspite's Fairey Swordfish spotter plane bombs U-64 (Kapitänleutnant Georg-Wilhelm Schulz) in the Herjangsfjord near Narvik and sinks it (8 perish, 38 survive after a harrowing escape from the sunk U-boat and, half frozen, are grateful for rescue by the mountain troops in the area). It is perhaps the most dominating performance by a battleship during the entire war and basically justifies many officers' faith in the big gun platform.

However - and this is a huge however - despite the absolute devastation wreaked by the Warspite force, the Wehrmacht under General Dietl retains control of the town of Narvik itself, and 2,600 Kriegsmarine personnel from the destroyers augment the ground troops. Whitworth signals London and tells them that a single brigade could take the key port.

Elsewhere, U-34 (Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Rollmann) destroys Norwegian Cruiser-minelayer HNoMS Frøya, which has been beached at Søtvika, Norway after encounters with other Kriegsmarine ships.

Convoy OB 128 departs from Liverpool, and Convoy HG 26 departs from Gibraltar.

Air War over Europe

The RAF sends 15 Hampden bombers to drop parachute mines off the Danish coast during the night. While the Luftwaffe has dropped mines regularly, this is the first time the RAF drops mines. One aircraft is lost.

Luftwaffe bombers make unproductive attacks against Royal Navy vessels along the Norwegian coast.

Following the successful long-range reconnaissance of Narvik from northern Scotland performed by the New Zealand (75 NZ) Squadron on 12 April, another flight is taken over Trondheim. This time, the plane fails to return.

German Military

Morale within the Wehrmacht is skyrocketing given the latest successes in Norway. While difficult to quantify, it manifest itself in interactions with the British, who are not feeling quite so sanguine. For instance, the British rescue some of the German sailors at Narvik and take prisoner. One of the Royal Navy sailors guarding them, Harry Neesdowne on battleship HMS Warspite, notes of them: "They are impossibly arrogant- certain of victory" - and this right after they have been pulled from the water from locked up.

British Military

British troops arrive at the Faroe Islands per First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill's vow to "protect" them.

Legendary General Carton de Wiart takes command of troops in Norway.

Spies

US embassy official Tyler Kent passes copies of documents to Anna Wolkoff, who gives them to the German embassy.

German occupied Poland

The German authorities in occupied Poland permits the formation and meeting of the Ukrainian Central Committee. It is allowed to represent the concerns of Ukrainian citizens. Numerous local groups operate under its umbrella.

Soviet occupied Poland

Approximately 250,000 additional Poles in the Soviet-occupied zone of the former Poland are banished to Siberia.

Day 227 of World War II, April 14th 1940

Operation Weserubung

The military commandant, General von Falkenhorst, threatens all civilians resisting the German occupation with harsh measures. He takes 20 prominent citizens of Oslo hostage, including the Bishop. The entire situation is completely fluid: US journalist James Aldridge comments that it is the "Most nonsensical war ever seen: no-one knows where 'front' is, everytime I look for fighting, I just miss it."

The British and French are unsure how to proceed. However, they are agreed that they have to do... something. The decision comes down to getting some troops ashore, and then figuring out what to do with them later. So, troops land in Norway, but far away from any opposition.

Norway Army Operations

The Germans are advancing north from Oslo through the Glomma Valley, and the Norwegians are delaying them wherever possible. The German 196 Infantry Division pushes northward from Oslo, and about 3000 Norwegian troops in the sector head across the border into Sweden and are interned.

The Battle of Dombås begins when the Germans drop elite paratroopers (Fallschirmjäger) of the 7th Flieger Division near the railroad junction at Dombås at about 18:00. Unknown to the Germans, the drop is into the middle of a temporary encampment of the 2nd Battalion of the Norwegian Army′s Infantry Regiment 11 (II/IR 11). The Junkers Ju 52 planes flying at treetop level come under fire from all directions, and the planes return fire as best they can. The Junkers Ju 52s carrying them lose 8 of their 15 number, and the remainder are shot up.

It thus is an extremely hazardous drop in poor weather, completed only because it is a Hitler order which must be obeyed. The paratroopers are spread out over a wide area and suffer heavy casualties during the drop. Out of a force of 185 men, only 63 wind up with the commander, Oberleutnant Herbert Schmidt, and in a position to do anything. The men on the ground barely have any maps. It is a "wing it" type of operation - but sometimes that works.

The initial objective at Dombås is the destruction of the railroad which runs through the town, as well as blocking any Allied advance inland, particularly south through the Gudbrandsdal valley. Schmidt blocks the main road in the area, cuts the rail line and cuts the phone wires, then captures a passing taxicab. Piling as many men into it as possible, Schmidt and the men head north to Dombås.

Along the way, Schmidt's taxi runs into two truckloads of Norwegian soldiers coming the other way. A firefight breaks out, and Schmidt's advance is stopped. He takes up a defensive position near the main road - thus blocking it - and waits for his other men coming along behind (walking) to catch up. The attack is a fiasco for the men involved, and Schmidt is badly wounded while retaining command - but there is more to the story.

The attack has some important results: it causes the Norwegians to evacuate the national gold reserves to Britain immediately by fishing boats and British cruisers. Schmidt also, despite everything, has blocked a key road, disrupted Norwegian communications and delayed Norwegian mobilization plans. Perhaps most importantly, he has sowed terror and confusion throughout the Norwegian government and military - everyone throughout the country soon is talking about "German paratroopers" and looking over his or her shoulder.

Norway Naval Operations

The light cruisers HMS Sheffield and HMS Glasgow put ashore a preliminary force of 350 Royal Marines at Namsos, the first Allied troops in Norway.

British infantry troops then land at Harstad, near Narvik, and at Namsos, just north of Trondheim. The Namsos troops of the 146th Territorial Brigade, which have been embarked since 11 April, intend to consolidate in the Namsos and Andalsnes sectors. Execution of the operation is confused, as the 146 Territorial Brigade first is sent toward Narvik, but then is diverted south to attack Trondheim due to Vice Admiral Whitworth's (HMS Warspite) belief that Trondheim will be easy to take. The landing force's artillery, anti-aircraft guns, and commanding officer don't get the message and continue north to Narvik.

The troops at Harstad also are pointed at Narvik, the one true strategic objective in northern Norway.

The Admiralty announces that it is mining the entire Kattegat and parts of the Baltic, with the exception of a 3-mile territorial belt around Sweden.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Tarpon torpedoes and sinks Kriegsmarine minesweeper M-6.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Snapper torpedoes and sinks German cargo ship Florida.

Royal Navy Ship HMS Sunfish torpedoes and sinks Kriegsmarine ship Schiff-35.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Sterlet torpedoes and sinks Kriegsmarine training ship Brummer (sinks on 15 April).

Convoy OA 129 departs from Southend, Convoy OB 129 departs from Liverpool, Convoy OG 26F forms at Gibraltar, and Convoy HX 35 departs from Halifax.

Norway Air Operations

At dawn, the RAF bombs Stavanger-Sola airfield and the seaplanes in Hafrs Fjord. Some damage is done to the hangars.

The Norwegian air force, which has old Fokker biplanes, bombs the Junkers Ju 52 transports landing on Lake Hartvigvann to supply the Mountain troops holding Narvik.

RAF Bomber command sends 28 aircraft to lay mines off the Danish coast during the night.

Netherlands

The military extends the areas covered by the state of siege in the northern part of the country.

Day 229 of World War II, April 16th 1940

Operation Weserubung

The Norwegian government continues the "white paper wars" by releasing the demands made by the German Minister in Oslo.

Numerous Norwegian formations are either surrendering outright or marching into internment in Sweden. They have no orders to do either. Norwegian morale is at rock bottom.

The standard line from Wehrmacht troops to the Norwegians: "We're here to protect you from the English."

Winston Churchill goes into rhetorical overdrive and says that British troops are there to "cleanse the Nazi plague from the ancestral shores of the Vikings."

Norway Air Operations

The RAF bombs Stavanger airfield again during the night. The bombs start two big fires. All the British aircraft return. Other RAF planes attack Oslo and Trondheim.

Once again, Norwegian biplanes attack Junkers Ju 52 unloading supplies for Narvik on frozen Lake Hartvigvann. The landing area is deemed unsafe, and the remaining transports there are abandoned.

The Luftwaffe attacks the British troops unloading at Namsos.

Norway Army Operations

German troops of the 138th Mountain Regiment in an improved armoured train continue east toward Sweden from Trondheim, reaching Skurdalsvold a few miles from the Swedish frontier. This effectively cuts the country in half at the waist. However, there are still Finnish forces all around the surrounding countryside. The British also are making landings near Trondheim.

At Dombås, the day begins with the Fallschirmjäger under Oblt. Schmidt occupying a strategic position overlooking the main road. Two Norwegian companies arrive, and one I/IR 5 attacks the Germans from the south, while the other II/IR 11 attacks from the south. The Norwegians bring two 81 mm (3.19 in) mortars and Colt M/29s. There is a brief firefight, and then the Germans wave the white flag. The Germans send over a Norwegian POW who states that the Germans are demanding that the two Norwegian companies surrender or the Germans will shoot their prisoners. There may have been something lost in the translation. The Norwegians respond by sending over a German POW who says that the Norwegians are demanding that they surrender. Neither side surrenders.

The Fallschirmjäger know they cannot last long in their present positions due to the Norwegian mortars, and ammunition is running low. Schmidt continues talking, waiting for darkness so he and his men can make a run for it. Instead, the Norwegians attack again, but then suddenly a blizzard descends on the area. The Germans launch an unexpected attack, and it sends the Norwegians reeling back to Dombås. After dark, the Fallschirmjäger slip away to the south.

Norwegian troops nearby capture numerous Fallschirmjäger who had wound up far from the drop zone. Some 22 are captured at Kolstad, and another 23 at Bottheim train station. They were not participating in the battle anyway.

At Hegra Fortress, the Luftwaffe commences attacks on the castle. The German troops surround the fortress, but have no way to break in. They bring up a mountain howitzer, and it destroys buildings around the fortress but does little damage to the structure itself. One shell hits a parapet and kills a Norwegian soldier. Hans Reidar Holtermann, commanding officer, keeps his men safe but vigilant.

At Narvik, some 200 Norwegian troops retreat along the rail line into Sweden, where they are interned. The German 139th Mountain Regiment clears the line all the way to the border.

Norway Naval Operations

More British troops of the 148th Territorial Infantry (reserve) Brigade depart for Norway from Rosyth. They are under the command of Brigadier Harold Morgan and already have spent two days cramped up in cruisers HMS Galatea and Arethusa and another transport ship.

Instead of going to Namsos with their brother troops, however, the Brigade troops are to be shipped to Andalsnes, to the south of Trondheim. To do this, they must disembark the cruisers they are on and board two other cruisers, HMS Carlisle and Curacoa. Doing this causes them to lose valuable equipment on the former two cruisers, which cannot be brought over due to lack of space and time. The whole affair makes absolutely no sense and is a complete staff cock-up. The strategic picture is that they will attack Trondheim from the south while the troops already ashore attack from the north, but the hurried nature of the change creates huge problems.

General Mackesy lands his 24th Brigade at Harstat, 37 miles to the north of his objective, Narvik. This area is quiet and suitable for the landing operation, since it is not equipped for an opposed beach landing. While everyone gets ashore safely, the troops are of little use so far north. An overland march to Narvik would be extremely difficult due to the weather situation.

The British 15th Brigade is en route from France, where they were serving with the BEF, to Norway.

British submarine HMS Porpoise sinks U-boat 1 off Stavanger.

HMS Porpoise and U-3 exchange torpedo firings at each other 10 miles southwest of Egersund, Norway. Both miss.

British Military

The government issues a mobilization order for men turning 27 years old in April and May 1940.

Anglo/US Relations: J. Edgar Hoover and William Stephenson of MI6 meet to discuss cooperation regarding British intelligence needs in the United States.

US Military

First planes fly out of MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa Bay, Florida.

Soviet Union

The Red Army convenes a conference in Moscow to analyze whatever lessons can be learned from the Winter War.

Italy

Foreign Minister Count Ciano announces over Rome radio that "the bugles will soon sound," which some take to mean that Italy is about to enter the war on the side of the Axis. The world is awash in jokes on both sides about Italian fighting prowess:

Germans

Hitler is told Italy joining war. "Send 2 divisions, that'll finish them!" "Mein Führer, they're on our side!" "Oh! Send 10."
At a dinner with Winston Churchill, German Minister Ribbentrop had said that, in a future war with Britain, Germany would have the Italians on its side. Churchill responded: “That’s only fair – we had them last time."
Churchill: "Italians lose wars as if they were football matches and football matches as if they were wars."
Churchill: "My Generals tell me that if Italy joins our side we shall defeat Germany in a year, and if they join the German side, six months."

Iceland

The island officially declares its independence and asks for US recognition.

Day 231 of World War II, April 18th 1940

Denmark

The war in Denmark is long over by April 18th 1940 and the Nazis won without real opposition - but they are still unhappy. The government remains in power, and since their entire legal ruse is just to "protect" the country, there is no justification to depose the government. The Nazis would like the pretext to replace the entire government with their own military regime, but this might alienate neutrals, so they continue things as is while biting their tongues.

Battle for Norway

The Norwegian government, which acts according to its own rhythms, declares war on Germany. Since the invasion occurred on 9 April, over a week ago, this reflects a somewhat casual attitude to the entire decision. Some Norwegian troops in th field also at times exhibit a rather carefree "whatever happens, happens" attitude which is making the Wehrmacht's job easier. Sometimes the Norwegian civilian volunteer appear to have more spirit than some of the professional soldiers. An air of fatalism cripples the defense.

"There are bread, milk and meat shortages in Oslo." 

The British are still working out a strategy. The focus remains Trondheim, and the bombardment and direct assault on Trondheim - Operation Hammer is put under the command of Brigadier Berney-Ficklin. However, in another of the calamities that afflict the campaign, his plane crashes en route to Scapa Flow. Ultimately, Operation Hammer is cancelled as too risky. The pincer attack from Andalsnes in the south and Namsos in the north - Operation Sickle - now becomes the heart of the strategy.

Hitler remains on tenterhooks about the entire operation. At one point, he frantically demands that the German troops at Narvik under General Dietl be evacuated in their entirety by air. There are too few planes, and the idea is a non-starter, but it shows the stress the relatively successful campaign is imposing on the Fuhrer.

Norway Air Operations

The Germans are apprised of the British landings at Namsos and launch a Luftwaffe raid on their positions.

Norway Army Operations: The German 196th Infantry Division advances north toward Lillehammer and Hamar along the mountain defile that leads north. They are still far from having any strategic impact in terms of British operations to the north. The troops moving north from Oslo are delayed at the village of Bagn in the district of Valdres, approximately midway between Oslo and Bergen. The Germans are advancing by foot, bicycle and captured bus. The Norwegians ambush them from the hills after planting barricades along the mountain roads. As recalled by Norwegian volunteer Eiliv Hauge (22) from Oslo:

"We poured down bullets- the Germans tried to hide under their buses.... The Germans raised a white flag, but the men around me didn't stop firing, so neither did I. We continued until they lay still."

The British troops at Andalsnes, now under the command of General Paget, are joined by a landing at Moldes, with the British establishing another base there. This is the southern pincer directed at Trondheim. The British 148th Brigade (Brigadier Morgan) had been transferred between ships back in England and in the shuffle lost much of their equipment. General Morgan has written orders to advance 150 miles northeast to Trondheim, but also has received oral instructions from Chief of the Imperial Staff General Ironside to support the Norwegian troops currently to the Southeast defending the Gudbrandsdal and Østerdal valleys leading up from Oslo. He does not have enough troops to do both adequately.

The Germans appear to recognize their danger at Trondheim and reinforce the garrison there. The German 181st Infantry Division arrives in numerous transport planes, a conventional transport ship and two submarines operating as transport ships.

At Dombås, the Fallschirmjäger force under Oblt. Schmidt is surrounded to the north by a battalion of I/IR 11 and to the south by I/IR 5. There are several other Norwegian units helping out, and fenrik (Second Lieutenant) L. K. Løkken of the Raufoss Anti-aircraft Command has brought a 40 mm anti-aircraft gun. The 40 mm gun is positions at Dovre Train station and used as artillery. The Norwegians attack from the south at dawn, raking the stone barn with heavy fire. The Germans are trapped in the barn with ammunition running low.

The situation looks dire, but unexpectedly a Junker Ju 52 flies over and drops ammunition, warm clothing, provisions, medical supplies and the radio frequency for communicating with headquarters. These are their first supplies of the operation. Later, a Norwegian officer approaches demanding surrender, which Schmidt rejects. The Norwegians then resume fire with the 40 mm gun. The barn becomes untenable, and at the end of the day the Germans retreat to the farmhouse where the POWs are being held.

At Hegra Fortress, the Germans make another infantry assault, which fails. They continue raking the fortress with machine gun and mortar fire. The weather turns sour, and a German attack is foiled by a blizzard. In the snow, the Germans start firing at each other in confusion. In the evening, two Norwegian doctors ask for and receive permission to evacuate the wounded from the fortress. All operations are temporarily suspended. One of the doctors is held as hostage to make sure the operation goes as promised. They evacuated nine Norwegian wounded and a German POW, Gefreiter Bayerle, who the Norwegians released as a sign of good faith. The Norwegian wounded do not become POWs per agreement.

The Norwegians holed up in Hegra Fortress are mounting a successful defense of their position, but it is strategically of minor importance. The guns are in fixed emplacements that point away from the only target of any strategic value, the airport being used by the Luftwaffe. The Norwegians under Major Holtermann attempt to re-direct the guns toward the airport, but this proves impossible. The only other value the fortress has is as a point of juncture for other Allied forces, but the Allied forces are nowhere nearby.

Photo: German troops fire a mortar at attackers in Norway, April 18th 1940



Norway Naval Operations

U-26 acts as a transport and arrives at Trondheim carrying needed ammunition, weapons and other equipment.

Battle of the Atlantic

British cruiser HMS Suffolk, attacked by Ju 88 bombers after bombarding Stavanger, barely makes it back to Scapa Flow without sinking.

HMS Sterlet (Lt. Commander Gerard H. S. Haward) is declared overdue and presumed lost in the Skagerrak south of Larvik, Norway. Theories as to her fate range from hitting a mine to being sunk by Kriegsmarine anti-submarine trawlers UJ-125, UJ-126 and UJ-128. All hands are lost.

British submarine HMS Seawolf sinks German ship Hamm.

U-99 (Korvettenkapitän Otto Kretschmer) is commissioned. It is a Type VII B U-boat.

Convoy OB 132, Convoy HG 27F departs from Gibraltar, Convoy OG 26 forms off Gibraltar, and Convoy HX 36 departs from Halifax.

Photo: U-37 docking at Wilhelmshaven on April 18th 1940



Switzerland

The Swiss government makes preparations for a possible surprise attack and mobilizes more men.

   Lordroel