The German Invasion Of Norway 1940 - Recommended

I am currently ploughing through a really great book on the Norwegian Campaign of 1940 and just thought I'd post my recommendation here.
Titled The German Invasion Of Norway 1940 by Geirr H Haarr (ISBN 978-1-84832-032-1) it is a book that concentrates on the Naval aspects of the campaign from all sides. Despite the author being Norwegian, and the book title hinting at a German 'slant' to the narrative it is in fact a very fairly written book, all sides receiving a balanced, and totally unbiased, coverage. It is obvious that Haarr has gone to great lengths in his research in all 3 main countries to obtain material for this book. I couldn't believe how the Norwegian leaders missed all the signs that something was afoot, something I was not aware of, including the sinking of a troop transporter off the coast of Norway by the Polish submarine Orzel. Looking at the jigsaw pieces in the book you can't help but think "How did they not connect the dots?"
A few more maps wouldn't of gone amiss but that is a minor issue more than made up for with some great photographs, alot previously unseen I believe including Blucher's stern rising out of the water as she goes under rather than just the often seen one of her listing over to port and photos of the damage to the Konigsberg just prior to sinking from the authors own collection.

Here are a couple of sample paragraphs to whet the appetite..

"The first 28-cm high explosive shell passed close over Blucher's bridge, impacting with devastating effect in the lower part of the command tower, sending large parts of it overboard. The main flak fire-control platform was totally destroyed and most of the personnel there, including the second gunnery officer, Kapitanleutnant Pochhammer, were killed. Inside the foretop there were few casualties, but it filled with acrid smoke and had to be evacuated, including the main fire-control centre. On the crowded bridge, everybody was pounded by the pressure of the passing shell and the shock of the blast. Splinters rained, but nobody was seriously hurt."

...and alittle further on with the engagement of the Lutzow...

"Kapitan Thiele immediately ordered fire, but Lutzow's gunnery officers could see little more than those on Blucher had, and they were at a further disadvantage being down the fjord with a limited sector of fire. The secondary guns opened up, but had no clear targets. Instead, the cruiser received three 15cm hits in quick succession."

I really do recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in a campaign that has previously seen far more coverage of the land battles or of just the Narvik destroyer battles. As this book shows, there was far more to it than that.

 

The best book on the naval aspects of the campaign; I reviewed it here: Navy News September 2009

Vol.2 is due imminently. Can't wait

 

Does the author comment the fact that the Norwegian men were called to form the army by sending letters to them.... or is it another ww2 joke?

 

Ah the marvellous incompetence of the government.

They did not know the various forms of mobilization, so they ordered a partial silent mobilization.

Some where called in by letters in the mail, and others openly but not straight away.

Bloody failiure, and it is 70 years to the day.

 

Many bloody failures there were and for the Franco British expeditionnary troop as well.
You have all heard of the Lancastria tragedy and the decision to keep the sinking as secret as possible . Well , a similar fact happended in France with a train with Narvik veterans. Troops from Narvik had just arrived in France and those French and British soldiers got on a bunch of convoys (all togetehr along with ammnution trains....) . Thye were an easy target for the Luftwaffe and about 2500 were massacred when the wagons exploded and burried them alive. These were precisely the men who had chased the Germans in the Norwegian mountains in April. Had they stayed in Norway, they could have given them much more trouble instead of being sacrificed by incompetents. I'm trying to remember the name of the attack in Britanny, when I find it I will post it for you. The fact was not published in the press and these victims have been forgotten on both sides of the Channel.

 

For how long was Narvik held by the Allied after retaking it? I read that it was all about a propaganda means as they knew they would be forced to leave it anyway? Not sure about that but would not be the first time someone would do something like this to have a flag in the air for a photo shoot??!!

 

The German detachemnent had to abandon Narvik and flee in the mountains and without naval reinforcements they would have surrendered before the Southern German forces would have met them. Their followers abandonned the chase when they were given express orders to return to France.

 

I have yet to get to the end of this book (ploughed through another wedge of pages on my journey home on leave today so past half way now) but do you know where Vol 2 picks up? Does it cover Op Juno & afterwards or does it retrace it's steps and cover Denmark?

Yes, it does cover this episode. It was all due to the Government not being able to word what they wanted in 'military speak' for the General's to understand without any confusion.

 

From the publishers blurb:

This is the second book in a series of two, covering the events at sea during the German invasion of Norway in 1940, the first modern campaign in which sea, air and ground forces interacted decisively. Part one covers the events at sea off southern and western Norway where Norwegian and British forces attempted to halt the German advance out of the invasion ports as well as the stream of supplies and reinforcements across the Skagerrak. The second part focuses on the British landings in Central Norway where the Royal Navy for the fist time had its mastery challenged by air superiority from land-based aircraft. Part three covers the events in and around Narvik where Norwegian, British, French and Polish naval, air and land forces were engaged in the first combined amphibious landings of WW II. Part four sums up the events during the evacuation in June, in which the first carrier task force operations of the war, including the loss of the carrier Glorious, figure prominently. As in the first volume, the narration shifts continuously between the strategic and operational issues, and the experiences of the officers and ratings living through the events. Extensive research and use of primary sources reveals the many sides of this war, some of which remain controversial to this day.

I don't think Denmark features - I[m not entirely surprised; I don't think there's a great deal of material out there on the subject.

 

Sounds like it is going to be as good as the 1st vol - I have just found it on Amazon...

The Battle for Norway April - June 1940: Amazon.co.uk: Geirr H. Haarr: Books

 

Sounds like a goodie Hucks!

 

Narvik was recaptured by allied forces on May 28th 1940.
The allied withdrawal started on June 7th, and by 1800 hrs on June 8th the germans find the allied positions around Narvik abandoned. At 2130 hrs same day the german Walther battalion marches into Narvik again, and the battle is over two months after the initial German attack.

On June 10th Norway capitulated. By then the norwegian government , King Haakon VII and his family had already left the country onboard the HMS Devonshire, they were among the first to leave on June 7th. The postwar propaganda machine has made it an heroic act, the king and government fleeing the country, leaving behind the people that trusted them.
In school we learned about brave viking kings leading their men into battle, some of them even fell in battle.
Now we have this King Haakon VII (nicknamed 'The Danish Prince' because he was born prince Carl of Denmark), fleeing heels over head all the way from Oslo to Tromsoe, a distance of approximately 2000 kilometres.
Crown prince Olav, the son of King Haakon VII, was married to princess Märtha, the daughter of King Gustav V of Sweden. At first they seeked refugee in Sweden, but King Gustav V denied them access. (It is no need to say that the postwar relations between Norway and Sweden was rather chilly because of that incident. As a matter of fact, crown prince Olav, later King Olav V, never visited Sweden again.)

However, King Haakon VII's spouse, Queen Maud, (actually, they were foreigners all of them) was the daughter of King Edward V of England. King Edward felt mercy for the poor refugees and granted them shelter in England, while the norwegian people had to sort it out with the germans.

 

Prince Olav told the norwegian government that he wanted to stay behind with the people.
But both King Haakon and the government told him that they wouldn't risk him being captured by the germans.
We were caught off guard, we only had pre-WWI weaponry.
But we still put up a fight, for instance, at the Battle of Hegra Fortress, 250 norwegian volunteers fought off the 138. Gebirgsjägerregiment from April 15th - 27th.
Then from April 27th - May 5th they fougth off the 181. Infantry Division.
They surrendered at May 5th though, along with the rest of the country.