Weserübung

On the early morning of April 9 1940 Germany invaded Denmark and Norway, ostensibly as defensive maneuvers against a planned (and openly discussed) Franco-British occupation of those countries; upon arrival envoys of the invading Germans informed the countries' governments that the Wehrmacht came to protect the countries' neutrality against Franco-British aggression. Big differences in geography, location, and climate between the two contries made the actual invasions very dissimilar.

Invasion of Denmark

Strategically speaking, Denmark was relatively unimportant to Germany, except as a staging area for operations in Norway, and of course as a border nation to Germany which would have to be controlled in some way. The country is small and relatively flat, ideal territory for German army operations, so Denmark's tiny army had little hope for success in armed resistance. Nevertheless, in the early hours of the morning some Danish regiments engaged the German army, suffering a dozen or so dead.

The Danish government capitulated almost instantly in exchange for retained political independence in domestic matters, which resulted in an occupation uniquely lenient until the summer of 1943, also postponing the arrest and deportation of Danish Jews until nearly all of them were warned and on their way to Sweden. Fewer than 500 Danish Jews were deported, and fewer than 50 of them lost their lives (see Occupation of Denmark for further details).

Invasion of Norway

A reasonably complete concise description of the invasion of Norway would entail the following:

• Sinking of the heavy cruiser Blücher in Oslo fiord 9 April 1940 (by ancient torpedoes and German Krupp guns -- poetic justice)
• German airborne troops land at Oslo airport Fornebu, Kristiansand S airport Flesland, and Stavanger airport Sola
• Quisling's radio-effected coup d'etat -- a first in history
• King and government evades German invasion force; King refuses to lay down arms; Clash at Midtskogen; royal family, government (and gold reserves) later go to UK & USA to represent Norway from abroad
• Cities/towns Kristiansand S, Egersund, Arendal, Stavanger, Sola, Bergen, Trondheim and Narvik attacked and occupied within 24 hrs
• First and Second Naval Battle of Narvik (Royal Navy)
• Devastating bombing of towns Åndalsnes, Molde, Kristiansund N, Steinkjer, Namsos, Bodø
• Main German land campaign northwards from Oslo with superior equipment; Norwegian soldiers with turn-of-the-century weapons stop invaders for a time before yielding
• Land battles at Narvik: Norwegian and Allied (British, French, Polish) success and the following unfortunate withdrawal of the Allied forces (mentioned below); Fighting at Gratangen
• The "last stand": Hegra Fortress (Ingstadkleiven fort) resists invaders until 5 June; of Allied propaganda importance, like Narvik
• Royal family leave from Tromsø 7 June (King returns same date 5 yrs later)
• Norwegian capitulation 10 June 1940, two months after "Wesertag" (German codename for start of invasion)

In the far north, British and German troops fought over the control of the Norwegian winter harbor Narvik, important for the export of Swedish iron ore. The Germans evacuated on May 28, but due to the detoriating situation on the European continent, the British troops were evacuated in Operation Alphabet – and the Germans recaptured Narvik on June 9, by then deserted also by the civilians.

As a consequence, Germany put pressure on neutral Sweden to permit transition of military goods and soldiers on leave. On June 18 an agreement was reached: soldiers were to travel unarmed and not be part of unit movements. A total of 2,140,000 German soldiers, and over 100,000 German military railway carriages, crossed Sweden until the traffic was officially suspended on August 20, 1943.

See also

• Occupation of Denmark
• British campaign in Norway
• Norwegian resistance movement
• Vidkun Quisling
• Operation Hartmut
• Operation Juno
• Operation Wilfred

External links

• A detailed article about the German invasion of Denmark
• A short introduction to the German invasion of Norway
• Norway 1940: A detailed description of the chain of events
• The Royal Navy: Norwegian invasion and campaign

Referenced By