Morskogen is a stretch of woodland on the Mjøsa , Norway 's biggest lake. It is located between Eidsvoll , Viken (the place where the Norwegian constitution was written in 1814) and Stange , Innlandet .
116-641: Morskogen was a battlefield in 1940 between the invading German Wehrmacht and the Norwegian Army , which ended in victory for the Germans. In current times, it is best known for being right on the E6 and having one of Norway’s most dangerous roads, with an unusually high frequency of deaths caused by traffic accidents. Morskogen railway station is a former railway station on the Dovre Line . The station
232-405: A front , protected from assault by barbed wire . The area between opposing trench lines (known as " no man's land ") was fully exposed to artillery fire from both sides. Attacks, even if successful, often sustained severe casualties . The development of armoured warfare and combined arms tactics permitted static lines to be bypassed and defeated, leading to the decline of trench warfare after
348-405: A communications trench intersected the front trench was of critical importance, and it was usually heavily fortified. The front trench was lightly garrisoned and typically occupied in force only during "stand to" at dawn and dusk. Between 65 and 90 m (70 and 100 yd) behind the front trench was located the support (or "travel") trench, to which the garrison would retreat when the front trench
464-414: A continuous network, sometimes with four or five parallel lines linked by interfacings. They were dug far below the surface of the earth out of reach of the heaviest artillery....Grand battles with the old maneuvers were out of the question. Only by bombardment, sapping, and assault could the enemy be shaken, and such operations had to be conducted on an immense scale to produce appreciable results. Indeed, it
580-424: A decisive breakthrough virtually impossible. In the event that a section of the first trench system was captured, a "switch" trench would be dug to connect the second trench system to the still-held section of the first. The use of lines of barbed wire , razor wire , and other wire obstacles , in belts 15 m (49 ft) deep or more, is effective in stalling infantry travelling across the battlefield. Although
696-467: A group of German ships a considerable distance west-northwest of Trondheim, bearing west. This reinforced the notion that the Germans were indeed intending a breakout, and the Home Fleet changed direction from northeast to northwest to again try to intercept. Additionally, Churchill cancelled Plan R 4 and ordered the four cruisers carrying the soldiers and their supplies to disembark their cargo and join
812-438: A high priority. A well-developed trench had to be at least 2.5 m (8 ft) deep to allow men to walk upright and still be protected. There were three standard ways to dig a trench: entrenching, sapping, and tunneling . Entrenching, where a man would stand on the surface and dig downwards, was most efficient, as it allowed a large digging party to dig the full length of the trench simultaneously. However, entrenching left
928-404: A minimum of 4 m (12 ft) deep and sometimes dug three stories down, with concrete staircases to reach the upper levels. Trenches were never straight but were dug in a zigzagging or stepped pattern, with all straight sections generally kept less than a dozen metres. Later, this evolved to have the combat trenches broken into distinct fire bays connected by traverses. While this isolated
1044-592: A new plan, named Weserübung , be developed. Work on Weserübung began on 5 February. The Altmark incident occurred in the late hours of 16 February 1940 when the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Cossack entered Norwegian territorial waters, intercepting and boarding the German auxiliary ship Altmark in the Jøssingfjord . Altmark had spent the prior months as a fleet oiler turned prison ship for
1160-469: A new trench needed to be dug or expanded quickly, or when a trench was destroyed by artillery fire. Trenchmen were trained to dig with incredible speed; in a dig of three to six hours they could accomplish what would take a normal group of frontline infantry soldiers around two days. Trenchmen were usually looked down upon by fellow soldiers because they did not fight. They were usually called cowards because if they were attacked while digging, they would abandon
1276-561: A position was a standard practice by the start of WWI. To attack frontally was to court crippling losses, so an outflanking operation was the preferred method of attack against an entrenched enemy. After the Battle of the Aisne in September 1914, an extended series of attempted flanking moves, and matching extensions to the fortified defensive lines, developed into the " race to the sea ", by
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#17328023646211392-639: A potential Soviet attack, positioned mostly in the eastern regions of Finnmark. Parts of the 6th Division's forces remained in Finnmark even after the German invasion, guarding against the danger. During the Winter War, the Norwegian authorities secretly broke the country's own neutrality by sending the Finns a shipment of 12 Ehrhardt 7.5 cm Model 1901 artillery pieces and 12,000 shells, as well as allowing
1508-399: A trench, at a house window, behind a large rock, or behind other cover) was often able to kill several approaching foes before they closed around the defender's position. Attacks across open ground became even more dangerous after the introduction of rapid-firing artillery , exemplified by the "French 75" , and high explosive fragmentation rounds. The increases in firepower had outstripped
1624-427: A variety of purposes, such as connecting the front trench to a listening post close to the enemy wire or providing an advance "jumping-off" line for a surprise attack. When one side's front line bulged towards the opposition, a salient was formed. The concave trench line facing the salient was called a "re-entrant." Large salients were perilous for their occupants because they could be assailed from three sides. Behind
1740-524: Is often considered to be the most sophisticated and technologically impressive by historians. British casualties, such as at Gate Pa in 1864 and the Battle of Ohaeawai in 1845, suggested that contemporary weaponry, such as muskets and cannon, proved insufficient to dislodge defenders from a trench system. There has been an academic debate surrounding this since the 1980s, when in his book The New Zealand Wars, historian James Belich claimed that Northern Māori had effectively invented trench warfare during
1856-677: Is questionable whether the German lines in France could ever have been broken if the Germans had not wasted their resources in unsuccessful assaults, and the blockade by sea had not gradually cut off their supplies. In such warfare no single general could strike a blow that would make him immortal; the "glory of fighting" sank down into the dirt and mire of trenches and dugouts. Early World War I trenches were simple. They lacked traverses , and according to pre-war doctrine were to be packed with men fighting shoulder to shoulder. This doctrine led to heavy casualties from artillery fire. This vulnerability, and
1972-501: The Kriegsmarine met at the first and second naval battles of Narvik on 10 and 13 April, and British forces conducted the Åndalsnes landings on 13 April. The main strategic reason for Germany to invade Norway was to seize the port of Narvik and guarantee the delivery of iron ore needed for German steel production . The campaign was fought until 10 June 1940 and saw the escape of King Haakon VII and Crown Prince Olav to
2088-635: The Battle of the Somme , but the lines never moved very far. The war would be won by the side that was able to commit the last reserves to the Western Front. Trench warfare prevailed on the Western Front until the Germans launched their Spring Offensive on 21 March 1918. Trench warfare also took place on other fronts , including in Italy and at Gallipoli . Armies were also limited by logistics. The heavy use of artillery meant that ammunition expenditure
2204-602: The Paraguayan War (which started in 1864), the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902), and the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905). Although technology had dramatically changed the nature of warfare by 1914, the armies of the major combatants had not fully absorbed the implications. Fundamentally, as the range and rate of fire of rifled small-arms increased, a defender shielded from enemy fire (in
2320-597: The Race to the Sea rapidly expanded trench use on the Western Front starting in September 1914. Trench warfare proliferated when a revolution in firepower was not matched by similar advances in mobility , resulting in a grueling form of warfare in which the defender held the advantage. On the Western Front in 1914–1918, both sides constructed elaborate trench, underground, and dugout systems opposing each other along
2436-572: The Turks held the high ground. Dugouts of varying degrees of comfort were built in the rear of the support trench. British dugouts were usually 2.5 to 5 m (8 to 16 ft) deep. The Germans, who had based their knowledge on studies of the Russo-Japanese War , made something of a science out of designing and constructing defensive works. They used reinforced concrete to construct deep, shell-proof, ventilated dugouts, as well as strategic strongpoints. German dugouts were typically much deeper, usually
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#17328023646212552-665: The Wurfmaschine , a spring-powered device for throwing a hand grenade about 200 m (220 yd). The French responded with the Sauterelle and the British with the Leach Trench Catapult and West Spring Gun which had varying degrees of success and accuracy. By 1916, catapult weapons were largely replaced by rifle grenades and mortars . The Germans employed Flammenwerfer ( flamethrowers ) during
2668-580: The blockade of Germany , giving access to the Atlantic Ocean. These ports would allow Germany to use its sea power effectively against the Allies. Control of Norwegian air bases would allow German reconnaissance aircraft to operate far into the North Atlantic, while German U-boats and surface ships operating out of Norwegian naval bases would be able to break the British blockade line across
2784-535: The camouflage tree . The space between the opposing trenches was referred to as " no man's land " and varied in width depending on the battlefield. On the Western Front it was typically between 90 and 275 metres (100 and 300 yd), though only 25 metres (30 yd) on Vimy Ridge . After the German withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line in March 1917, no man's land stretched to over a kilometre in places. At
2900-603: The " Quinn's Post " in the cramped confines of the Anzac battlefield at Gallipoli , the opposing trenches were only 15 metres (16 yd) apart and the soldiers in the trenches constantly threw hand grenades at each other. On the Eastern Front and in the Middle East, the areas to be covered were so vast, and the distances from the factories supplying shells, bullets, concrete and barbed wire so great, trench warfare in
3016-405: The 1840s to withstand British artillery bombardments. According to one British observer, "the fence round the pa is covered between every paling with loose bunches of flax, against which the bullets fall and drop; in the night they repair every hole made by the guns". These systems included firing trenches, communication trenches, tunnels , and anti-artillery bunkers. The Ngāpuhi pā Ruapekapeka
3132-599: The Allies would then proceed to occupy Narvik, Trondheim, Bergen, and Stavanger . The planners hoped that the operation would not provoke the Norwegians to resist the Allies with armed force. The Allies disagreed over the additional Operation Royal Marine , where mines would also be placed in the Rhine River . While the British supported this operation, the French vetoed it for three months since they also depended on
3248-856: The Allies, in particular the French, this was based on a desire to avoid repeating the trench warfare of the First World War , which had occurred on the Franco-German border . Following the outbreak of the Second World War, the Norwegian government had mobilized parts of the Norwegian Army and all but two of the Royal Norwegian Navy 's warships. The Norwegian Army Air Service and the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service were also called up to protect Norwegian neutrality from violations by
3364-656: The American forces carried at least one machine gun. After 1915, the Maschinengewehr 08 was the standard issue German machine gun; its number "08/15" entered the German language as idiomatic for "dead plain". At Gallipoli and in Palestine the Turks provided the infantry, but it was usually Germans who manned the machine guns. The British High Command were less enthusiastic about machine guns, supposedly considering
3480-553: The British Home Fleet , was notified of this and set out to intercept them at 20:15. With both sides unaware of the magnitude of the situation, they proceeded as planned. Renown arrived at the Vestfjord late that night and maintained position near the entrance while the minelaying destroyers proceeded to their task. Meanwhile, the Germans launched the remainder of their invasion force. The first direct contact between
3596-707: The British to use Norwegian territory to transfer aircraft and other weaponry to Finland. This presented an opportunity to the Allies; offering them the potential to use the invasion to also send troop support to occupy ore fields in Sweden and ports in Norway. The plan, promoted by the British General Edmund Ironside , included two divisions landing at Narvik, five battalions somewhere in mid-Norway, and another two divisions at Trondheim. The French government pushed for action to be taken to confront
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3712-595: The French soldiers, having already captured the left bank of the Po river and gaining control of the bridge connecting the two banks of the river, and wanting to advance to the Capuchin Monastery of the Monte, deciding that their position wasn't secure enough for their liking, then choose to advance on a double attack on the trenches, but were twice repelled. Eventually, on the third attempt, the French broke through and
3828-610: The German Invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, both declared war on Nazi Germany . However, neither country mounted significant offensive operations and for several months there were no major engagements, and this period became known as the Phoney War or "Twilight War". Winston Churchill in particular wished to escalate the war into a more active phase, in contrast to Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain . During this time both sides wished to open secondary fronts. For
3944-728: The German cruiser Admiral Graf Spee while the latter was acting as a commerce raider in the South Atlantic. When she began the return journey to Germany, she carried 299 prisoners taken from Allied ships sunk by the Graf Spee . She rounded Scotland , then entered Norwegian territorial waters near the Trondheimsfjord , flying the Imperial Service Flag ( Reichsdienstflagge ). A Norwegian naval escort accompanied Altmark as she proceeded southwards, hugging
4060-559: The German high command that Norway and Sweden would then allow Allied troops to transit their territory to go to Finland's aid. The proposed Allied deployments never occurred, after protests from both Norway and Sweden, when the issue of transfers of troops through their territory was suggested. With the Moscow Peace Treaty on 12 March 1940, the Finland-related Allied plans were dropped. The abandonment of
4176-585: The German soldiers from the wreck were rescued by Norwegian fishing boats and the destroyer Odin . On interrogation the survivors disclosed that they were assigned to protect Bergen from the Allies. This information was passed on to Oslo, where the Norwegian Parliament ignored the sinking due to being distracted by the British mining operations off the Norwegian coast. At 14:00, the Admiralty received word that aerial reconnaissance had located
4292-513: The Germans away from France. These developments concerned the Germans. The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact had placed Finland within the Soviet sphere of interest , and the Germans therefore claimed neutrality in the conflict. This policy caused a rise in anti-German sentiment throughout Scandinavia, since it was commonly believed that the Germans were allied with the Soviets. Fears began to crop up in
4408-504: The Home Fleet. In fact, the German ships, Gruppe 2 , were only performing delaying circling manoeuvres to approach their destination of Trondheim at the designated time. Trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising military trenches , in which combatants are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery . It became archetypically associated with World War I (1914–1918), when
4524-758: The North Sea and attack convoys heading to Great Britain. When the Soviet Union launched its attack against Finland on 30 November 1939, the Allies found themselves aligned with Norway and Sweden in support of Finland against the much larger aggressor. After the outbreak of the Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union, Norway mobilized larger land forces than what had initially been considered necessary. By early 1940 their 6th Division in Finnmark and Troms fielded 9,500 troops to defend against
4640-479: The Norwegian coastline. As Altmark was nearing Bergen harbour on 14 February, the Norwegian naval authorities demanded an inspection of her cargo. International law did not ban the transfer of prisoners of war through neutral waters, and the German captain refused the inspection. This led the commander in Bergen, Admiral Carsten Tank-Nielsen , to deny Altmark access to the restricted-access harbour zone. Tank-Nielsen
4756-493: The Norwegian ports would be of crucial importance for Germany in a war with the United Kingdom. On 14 December 1939, Raeder introduced Adolf Hitler to Vidkun Quisling , a Nasjonal Samling former defence minister of Norway . Quisling proposed pan-Germanic cooperation between Nazi Germany and Norway. In a second meeting on 18 December, Quisling and Hitler discussed the threat of an Allied invasion of Norway. After
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4872-432: The Norwegians sent protests to Britain. While Norwegian, Swedish and American experts in international law claimed the boarding of Altmark was a violation of Norwegian neutrality, the British government argued that the incident was at the most a technical violation that had been morally justified. The whole led to the Germans speeding up their plans for an invasion of Norway. On 21 February, General Nikolaus von Falkenhorst
4988-535: The Rhine and feared German air raids on their aircraft and munitions factories. Because of this delay, Operation Wilfred, originally scheduled for 5 April, was delayed until 8 April when the British agreed to undertake the Norwegian operations separately from those on the continent. Already in low-priority planning for months, Operation Weserübung found a new sense of urgency after the Altmark incident. The goals of
5104-703: The Spanish Succession of 1702–1714, the Lines of Weissenburg built under the orders of the Duke of Villars in 1706, the Lines of Ne Plus Ultra during the winter of 1710–1711, and the Lines of Torres Vedras in 1809 and 1810. In the New Zealand Wars (1845–1872), the Māori developed elaborate trench and bunker systems as part of fortified areas known as pā , employing them successfully as early as
5220-566: The United Kingdom. A British, French and Polish expeditionary force of 38,000 troops landed in the north. It had moderate success but made a rapid strategic retreat after the Battle of France began on 14 May. The Norwegian government then went into exile in London. The campaign ended with the occupation of the entirety of Norway by Germany but elements of the Norwegian military escaped and fought on overseas. Britain and France had signed military assistance treaties with Poland and two days after
5336-621: The West European style often did not occur. At the start of the First World War, the standard infantry soldier's primary weapons were the rifle and bayonet ; other weapons got less attention. Especially for the British, what hand grenades were issued tended to be few in numbers and less effective. This emphasis began to shift as soon as trench warfare began; militaries rushed improved grenades into mass production, including rifle grenades . The hand grenade came to be one of
5452-591: The Western front, the pump action shotguns was a formidable weapon in short range combat, enough so that Germany lodged a formal protest against their use on 14 September 1918, stating "every prisoner found to have in his possession such guns or ammunition belonging thereto forfeits his life", though this threat was apparently never carried out. The U.S. military began to issue models specially modified for combat, called "trench guns", with shorter barrels, higher capacity magazines, no choke , and often heat shields around
5568-535: The ability of infantry (or even cavalry ) to cover the ground between firing lines, and the ability of armour to withstand fire. It would take a revolution in mobility to change that. The French and German armies adopted different tactical doctrines : the French relied on the attack with speed and surprise, and the Germans relied on firepower , investing heavily in howitzers and machine guns . The British lacked an official tactical doctrine, with an officer corps that rejected theory in favour of pragmatism. While
5684-419: The action, Glowworm rammed Admiral Hipper . Significant damage was done to Admiral Hipper ' s starboard side, and Glowworm sank. During the fight Glowworm had broken radio silence and informed the Admiralty of her situation. She was not able to complete her transmission though, and all the Admiralty knew was that Glowworm had been confronted by a large German ship, shots were fired, and contact with
5800-477: The armies expected to use entrenchments and cover, they did not allow for the effect of defences in depth . They required a deliberate approach to seizing positions from which fire support could be given for the next phase of the attack, rather than a rapid move to break the enemy's line. It was assumed that artillery could still destroy entrenched troops, or at least suppress them sufficiently for friendly infantry and cavalry to manoeuvre. Digging-in when defending
5916-541: The attempt by Allied forces to defend northern Norway coupled with the resistance of the Norwegian military to the country's invasion by Nazi Germany in World War II . Planned as Operation Wilfred and Plan R 4 , while the German attack was feared but had not yet happened, the battlecruiser HMS Renown set out from Scapa Flow for Vestfjorden with twelve destroyers on 4 April. The Royal Navy and
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#17328023646216032-410: The barbs or razors might cause minor injuries, the purpose was to entangle the limbs of enemy soldiers, forcing them to stop and methodically pull or work the wire off, likely taking several seconds, or even longer. This is deadly when the wire is emplaced at points of maximum exposure to concentrated enemy firepower, in plain sight of enemy fire bays and machine guns. The combination of wire and firepower
6148-453: The barrel, as well as lugs for the M1917 bayonet . Anzac and some British soldiers were also known to use sawn-off shotguns in trench raids, because of their portability, effectiveness at close range, and ease of use in the confines of a trench. This practice was not officially sanctioned, and the shotguns used were invariably modified sporting guns. The Germans embraced the machine gun from
6264-409: The clandestine German troop transport ship Rio de Janeiro off the southern Norwegian port of Lillesand . Discovered among the wreckage were uniformed German soldiers and military supplies. Though Orzeł reported the incident to the Admiralty, they were too concerned by the situation with Glowworm and the presumed German breakout to give it much thought and did not pass the information on. Many of
6380-416: The confined quarters of the trenches. These tools could then be used to dig in after they had taken a trench. Modern military digging tools are as a rule designed to also function as a melee weapon. As the war progressed, better equipment was issued, and improvised arms were discarded. A specialised group of fighters called trench sweepers ( Nettoyeurs de Tranchées or Zigouilleurs ) evolved to fight within
6496-650: The danger to Germany of Britain seizing the initiative and launching its own invasion in Scandinavia, for if the powerful Royal Navy had bases at Bergen , Narvik and Trondheim , the North Sea would be virtually closed to Germany, and the Kriegsmarine would be at risk even in the Baltic. Controlling Norway would also be a strategic asset in the Battle of the Atlantic . The capture of ports would create gaps in
6612-630: The defenders were forced to flee with the civilian population, seeking the sanctuary of the local Catholic church, the Santa Maria al Monte dei Cappuccini , in Turin, also known at that time as the Capuchin Monastery of the Monte . In early modern warfare , troops used field works to block possible lines of advance. Examples include the Lines of Stollhofen , built at the start of the War of
6728-487: The destroyer could not be re-established. In response, the Admiralty ordered Renown and her single destroyer escort (the other two had gone to friendly ports for fuel), to abandon her post at the Vestfjord and head to Glowworm ' s last known location. At 10:45, the remaining eight destroyers of the minelaying force were ordered to join them as well. On the morning of 8 April, the Polish submarine ORP Orzeł sank
6844-428: The diggers exposed above ground and hence could only be carried out when free of observation, such as in a rear area or at night. Sapping involved extending the trench by digging away at the end face. The diggers were not exposed, but only one or two men could work on the trench at a time. Tunnelling was like sapping except that a "roof" of soil was left in place while the trench line was established and then removed when
6960-532: The end of which German and Allied armies had produced a matched pair of trench lines from the Swiss border in the south to the North Sea coast of Belgium. By the end of October 1914, the whole front in Belgium and France had solidified into lines of trenches, which lasted until the last weeks of the war. Mass infantry assaults were futile in the face of artillery fire, as well as rapid rifle and machine-gun fire. Both sides concentrated on breaking up enemy attacks and on protecting their own troops by digging deep into
7076-557: The entire length of a battlefield's trench line, in multiple lines, sometimes covering a depth 30 metres (100 ft) or more. Methods to defeat it were rudimentary. Prolonged artillery bombardment could damage them, but not reliably. The first soldier meeting the wire could jump onto the top of it, hopefully depressing it enough for those that followed to get over him; this still took at least one soldier out of action for each line of wire. In World War I, British and Commonwealth forces relied on wire cutters , which proved unable to cope with
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#17328023646217192-400: The fighting, including 19,000 soldiers, mainly in six infantry divisions. The Norwegian Army had around 60,000 trained soldiers, with 3,750 troops per regiment. However, by the Germans' speed and surprise, only 52,000 ever saw combat. The Allied expeditionary force numbered around 38,000 men. The German invasion began on 3 April 1940, when covert supply vessels began to head out in advance of
7308-505: The first encounters, such as short wooden clubs and metal maces , spears , hatchets , hammers , entrenching tools , as well as trench knives and brass knuckles . According to the semi-biographical war novel All Quiet on the Western Front , many soldiers preferred to use a sharpened spade as an improvised melee weapon instead of the bayonet, as the bayonet tended to get "stuck" in stabbed opponents, rendering it useless in heated battle. The shorter length also made them easier to use in
7424-446: The first meeting with Quisling, Hitler ordered the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) to begin investigating possible invasion plans of Norway. Meeting Quisling was central in igniting Hitler's interest in bringing the country effectively under his control. The first comprehensive German plan for the occupation of Norway, Studie Nord , ordered by Hitler on 14 December, was completed by 10 January 1940. On 27 January, Hitler ordered that
7540-670: The first stages of the New Zealand Wars. However, this has been criticised by a few academics of the same period, with Gavin McLean noting that while the Māori had certainly adapted pa to suit contemporary weaponry, many historians have dismissed Belich's claim as "baseless... revisionism ". Others more recently have said that while it is clear the Māori did not invent trench warfare first —Māori did invent trench-based defences without any offshore aid— some believe they may have influenced 20th-century methods of trench design identified with it. The Crimean War (1853–1856) saw "massive trench works and trench warfare", even though "the modernity of
7656-409: The fjord at 22:20 local time, the Norwegian vessels did not intervene when the British boarded Altmark in the late hours of 16 February. The boarding action led to the freeing of 299 British prisoners of war held on the German ship. The boarding party fought in hand-to-hand combat with the crew of Altmark , killing seven German sailors. Following this, the Germans sent strong protests to Norway, and
7772-400: The focus of a determined struggle simply because it was the largest identifiable feature. However, it would not take the artillery long to obliterate it, so that thereafter it became just a name on a map. The battlefield of Flanders presented numerous problems for the practice of trench warfare, especially for the Allied forces, mainly British and Canadians, who were often compelled to occupy
7888-520: The forward zone, the conventional transport infrastructure of roads and rail were replaced by the network of trenches and trench railways . The critical advantage that could be gained by holding the high ground meant that minor hills and ridges gained enormous significance. Many slight hills and valleys were so subtle as to have been nameless until the front line encroached upon them. Some hills were named for their height in metres, such as Hill 60 . A farmhouse, windmill, quarry, or copse of trees would become
8004-509: The front and reserve lines. Fires were lit in the support line to make it appear inhabited and any damage done immediately repaired. Temporary trenches were also built. When a major attack was planned, assembly trenches would be dug near the front trench. These were used to provide a sheltered place for the waves of attacking troops who would follow the first waves leaving from the front trench. "Saps" were temporary, unmanned, often dead-end utility trenches dug out into no-man's land. They fulfilled
8120-409: The front line. The trench-line management and trench profiles had to be adapted to the rough terrain, hard rock, and harsh weather conditions. Many trench systems were constructed within glaciers such as the Adamello-Presanella group or the famous city below the ice on the Marmolada in the Dolomites . Observing the enemy in trench warfare was difficult, prompting the invention of technology such as
8236-411: The front system of trenches there were usually at least two more partially prepared trench systems, kilometres to the rear, ready to be occupied in the event of a retreat. The Germans often prepared multiple redundant trench systems; in 1916 their Somme front featured two complete trench systems, one kilometre apart, with a third partially completed system a further kilometre behind. This duplication made
8352-505: The ground. After the buildup of forces in 1915, the Western Front became a stalemated struggle between equals, to be decided by attrition. Frontal assaults, and their associated casualties, became inevitable because the continuous trench lines had no open flanks. Casualties of the defenders matched those of the attackers, as vast reserves were expended in costly counter-attacks or exposed to the attacker's massed artillery. There were periods in which rigid trench warfare broke down, such as during
8468-443: The heavier gauge German wire. The Bangalore torpedo was adopted by many armies, and continued in use past the end of World War II. The barbed wire used differed between nations; the German wire was heavier gauge, and British wire cutters, designed for the thinner native product, were unable to cut it. The confined, static, and subterranean nature of trench warfare resulted in it developing its own peculiar form of geography . In
8584-512: The invasion were to secure the port of Narvik and the Leads for ore transport, and to control the country to prevent collaboration with the Allies. It was to be presented as an armed protection of Norway's neutrality. One subject debated by German strategists was the occupation of Denmark. Denmark was considered vital because its location facilitated greater air and naval control of the area. While some wanted to simply pressure Denmark to acquiesce, it
8700-524: The length of the front to be defended, soon led to frontline trenches being held by fewer men. The defenders augmented the trenches themselves with barbed wire strung in front to impede movement; wiring parties went out every night to repair and improve these forward defences. The small, improvised trenches of the first few months grew deeper and more complex, gradually becoming vast areas of interlocking defensive works. They resisted both artillery bombardment and mass infantry assault. Shell-proof dugouts became
8816-513: The longest distance to travel. Although the weather did make reconnaissance difficult, the two German groups were discovered 170 km (110 mi) south of the Naze (the southernmost part of Norway) slightly after 08:00 by Royal Air Force (RAF) patrols and reported as one cruiser and six destroyers. A trailing squad of bombers sent out to attack the German ships found them 125 km (78 mi) farther north than they had been before. No damage
8932-504: The low ground. Heavy shelling quickly destroyed the network of ditches and water channels which had previously drained this low-lying area of Belgium. In most places, the water table was only a metre or so below the surface, meaning that any trench dug in the ground would quickly flood. Consequently, many "trenches" in Flanders were actually above ground and constructed from massive breastworks of sandbags filled with clay. Initially, both
9048-609: The main force. The Allies initiated their plans on the following day, with 16 Allied submarines ordered to the Skagerrak and Kattegat to serve as a screen and give advance warning of a German response to Operation Wilfred, which was launched the following day when Admiral William Whitworth in HMS ; Renown set out from Scapa Flow for the Vestfjorden with twelve destroyers. On 7 April, bad weather began to develop in
9164-474: The new French prime minister, Paul Reynaud , took a more aggressive stance than his predecessor and wanted some form of action taken against Germany. Churchill was a strong agitator for action in Scandinavia because he wanted to cut Germany off from Sweden and push the Scandinavian countries to side with the United Kingdom. This initially involved a 1939 plan to penetrate the Baltic with a naval force. This
9280-632: The nights, which provided vital cover for the naval forces, were shortening as spring approached, it therefore had to be sooner. Eventually, on 2 April, the Germans set 9 April as the day of the invasion ( Wesertag ), and 04:15 (Norwegian time) as the hour of the landings ( Weserzeit ). In Norway, the German plan called for the capture of six primary targets by amphibious landings: Oslo , Kristiansand , Egersund , Bergen, Trondheim and Narvik. Additionally, supporting Fallschirmjäger (paratroops) were to capture other key locations, such as airfields at Fornebu outside Oslo and Sola outside Stavanger. The plan
9396-686: The north, and heavy fighters of the Luftwaffe would destroy the Danish aircraft on the ground. While there were also several naval task groups organized for this invasion, none of them had any large ships. Unescorted troopships would transport soldiers to capture the Danish High Command in Copenhagen . The following German naval forces used to invade Denmark were as organized: The Germans hoped they could avoid armed confrontation with
9512-457: The outset—in 1904, sixteen units were equipped with the 'Maschinengewehr'—and the machine gun crews were the elite infantry units; these units were attached to Jaeger (light infantry) battalions. By 1914, British infantry units were armed with two Vickers machine guns per battalion; the Germans had six per battalion, and the Russians eight. It would not be until 1917 that every infantry unit of
9628-510: The parapet and parados of the trench were built in this way, but a later technique was to dispense with the parados for much of the trench line, thus exposing the rear of the trench to fire from the reserve line in case the front was breached. In the Alps , trench warfare even stretched onto vertical slopes and deep into the mountains, to heights of 3,900 m (12,800 ft) above sea level. The Ortler had an artillery position on its summit near
9744-416: The parapet was the trench periscope – in its simplest form, just a stick with two angled pieces of mirror at the top and bottom. A number of armies made use of the periscope rifle , which enabled soldiers to snipe at the enemy without exposing themselves over the parapet, although at the cost of reduced shooting accuracy. The device is most associated with Australian and New Zealand troops at Gallipoli, where
9860-519: The planned landings put immense French pressure on Neville Chamberlain's British government, and eventually led to the Allies laying mines off the Norwegian coast on 8 April. The German high command originally thought that having Norway remain neutral was in its interest. As long as the Allies did not enter Norwegian waters, there would be safe passage for merchant vessels transporting ore via Norwegian coastal waters to Germany. Großadmiral Erich Raeder, however, argued for an invasion. He believed that
9976-443: The post and flee to safety. They were instructed to do this though because through the war there were only around 1,100 trained trenchmen. They were highly valued only by officers higher on the chain of command. The banked earth on the lip of the trench facing the enemy was called the parapet and had a fire step. The embanked rear lip of the trench was called the parados , which protected the soldier's back from shells falling behind
10092-432: The primary infantry weapons of trench warfare. Both sides were quick to raise specialist grenadier groups. The grenade enabled a soldier to engage the enemy without exposing himself to fire, and it did not require precise accuracy to kill or maim. Another benefit was that if a soldier could get close enough to the trenches, enemies hiding in trenches could be attacked. The Germans and Turks were well equipped with grenades from
10208-423: The region, blanketing the area with thick fog and causing rough seas, making travel difficult. Renown ' s force was soon caught in a heavy snowstorm, and HMS Glowworm , one of the destroyer escorts, had to drop out of formation to search for a man swept overboard. The weather aided the Germans, providing a screen for their forces, and in the early morning they sent out Gruppe 1 and Gruppe 2 , which had
10324-624: The residents of both countries, and their troops were instructed to fire only if fired upon. The German forces used in the campaign were some 120,000 troops in seven divisions and one Fallschirmjäger battalion, as well as panzer and artillery units. Most of the Kriegsmarine 's major units were also earmarked for the campaign. The Luftwaffe's 10th Air Corps deployed against Norway consisted of 1,000 aircraft, including 500 transport planes and 186 Heinkel He 111 bombers. The Norwegian Armed Forces fielded around 55,000 combatants involved in
10440-596: The start of the war, but the British, who had ceased using grenadiers in the 1870s and did not anticipate a siege war, entered the conflict with virtually none, so soldiers had to improvise bombs with whatever was available (see Jam Tin Grenade ). By late 1915, the British Mills bomb had entered wide circulation, and by the end of the war 75 million had been used. Since the troops were often not adequately equipped for trench warfare, improvised weapons were common in
10556-459: The strength of Nazi forces. Following protracted negotiations between 25 September and 20 November 1939, the Norwegians agreed to charter 150 tankers , as well as other ships with a tonnage of 450,000 gross tons. The Norwegian government's concern for the country's supply lines played an important role in persuading them to accept the agreement. Norway, although neutral, was considered strategically important for both sides for several reasons. First
10672-445: The top as an improvised defence from shrapnel. The static movement of trench warfare and a need for protection from snipers created a requirement for loopholes both for discharging firearms and for observation. Often a steel plate was used with a "keyhole", which had a rotating piece to cover the loophole when not in use. German snipers used armour-piercing bullets that allowed them to penetrate loopholes. Another means to see over
10788-573: The trench war was not immediately apparent to the contemporaries". Union and Confederate armies employed field works and extensive trench systems in the American Civil War (1861–1865) — most notably in the sieges of Vicksburg (1863) and Petersburg (1864–1865), the latter of which saw the first use by the Union Army of the rapid-fire Gatling gun , the important precursor to modern-day machine guns . Trenches were also utilized in
10904-566: The trench was ready to be occupied. The guidelines for British trench construction stated that it would take 450 men 6 hours at night to complete 250 m (270 yd) of front-line trench system. Thereafter, the trench would require constant maintenance to prevent deterioration caused by weather or shelling. Trenchmen were a specialized unit of trench excavators and repairmen. They usually dug or repaired in groups of four with an escort of two armed soldiers. Trenchmen were armed with one 1911 semi-automatic pistol , and were only utilized when either
11020-415: The trench. The sides of the trench were often revetted with sandbags , wire mesh , wooden frames and sometimes roofs. The floor of the trench was usually covered by wooden duckboards . In later designs the floor might be raised on a wooden frame to provide a drainage channel underneath. Due to the substantial casualties taken from indirect fire, some trenches were reinforced with corrugated metal roofs over
11136-790: The trenches. They cleared surviving enemy personnel from recently overrun trenches and made clandestine raids into enemy trenches to gather intelligence. Volunteers for this dangerous work were often exempted from participation in frontal assaults over open ground and from routine work like filling sandbags, draining trenches, and repairing barbed wire in no-man's land. When allowed to choose their own weapons, many selected grenades, knives and pistols. FN M1900 pistols were highly regarded for this work, but never available in adequate quantities. Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless , Savage Model 1907 , Star Bonifacio Echeverria and Ruby pistols were widely used. Various mechanical devices were invented for throwing hand grenades into enemy trenches. The Germans used
11252-472: The two sides occurred the next morning without either side's intention. Glowworm , on her way to rejoin Renown , happened to come up behind Z11 Bernd von Arnim and then Z18 Hans Lüdemann in the heavy fog around 08:00 on 8 April. Immediately a skirmish broke out and the German destroyers fled, signalling for help. The request was soon answered by Admiral Hipper , which quickly crippled Glowworm . During
11368-410: The view of friendly soldiers along their own trench, this ensured the entire trench could not be enfiladed if the enemy gained access at any one point; or if a bomb, grenade, or shell landed in the trench, the blast could not travel far. Very early in the war, British defensive doctrine suggested a main trench system of three parallel lines, interconnected by communications trenches. The point at which
11484-506: The war for the first time against the French on 25 June 1915, then against the British 30 July in Hooge. The technology was in its infancy, and use was not very common until the end of 1917 when portability and reliability were improved. It was used in more than 300 documented battles. By 1918, it became a weapon of choice for Stoßtruppen (stormtroopers) with a team of six Pioniere ( combat engineers ) per squad. Used by American soldiers in
11600-414: The war. Following World War I, "trench warfare" became a byword for stalemate, attrition , sieges , and futility in conflict. Field works have existed for as long as there have been armies. Roman legions , when in the presence of an enemy, entrenched camps nightly when on the move. The Roman general Belisarius had his soldiers dig a trench as part of the Battle of Dara in 530 AD. Trench warfare
11716-445: The warring countries. The first such violations were the sinkings in Norwegian territorial waters of several British ships by German U-boats . In the following months, aircraft from all the belligerents violated Norwegian neutrality. Almost immediately after the outbreak of war, the British began pressuring the Norwegian government to provide them with the services of the Norwegian merchant navy, being in dire need of shipping to oppose
11832-497: The weapon too "unsporting" and encouraging defensive fighting; and they lagged behind the Germans in adopting it. Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig is quoted as saying in 1915, "The machine gun is a much overrated weapon; two per battalion is more than sufficient". The defensive firepower of the machine gun was exemplified during the first day of the Battle of the Somme when 60,000 British soldiers were rendered casualties, "the great majority lost under withering machine gun fire". In 1915
11948-703: Was also documented during the defence of Medina in a siege known as the Battle of the Trench (627 AD). The architect of the plan was Salman the Persian who suggested digging a trench to defend Medina. There are examples of trench digging as a defensive measure during the Middle Ages in Europe , such as during the Piedmontese Civil War , where it was documented that on the morning of May 12, 1640,
12064-428: Was bombarded. Between 90 and 270 metres (100 and 300 yd) further to the rear was located the third reserve trench, where the reserve troops could amass for a counter-attack if the front trenches were captured. This defensive layout was soon rendered obsolete as the power of artillery grew; however, in certain sectors of the front, the support trench was maintained as a decoy to attract the enemy bombardment away from
12180-546: Was common to use the coils of barbed wire as delivered only partially stretched out, called concertina wire . Placing and repairing wire in no man's land relied on stealth, usually done at night by special wiring parties , who could also be tasked with secretly sabotaging enemy wires. The screw picket , invented by the Germans and later adopted by the Allies during the war, was quieter than driving stakes. Wire often stretched
12296-545: Was designed to quickly overwhelm the Norwegian defenders and occupy these vital areas before any form of organized resistance could be mounted. The following forces were thus organized: Additionally, the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau would escort Gruppe 1 and Gruppe 2 as they travelled together, and there would also be several echelons of transports carrying additional troops, fuel and equipment. Against Denmark, two motorized brigades would capture bridges and troops; paratroops would capture Aalborg airfield in
12412-636: Was established in 1880 and operated until 1983. The Ulvin railway tunnel is located in Morskogen. 60°28′13″N 11°14′22″E / 60.47028°N 11.23944°E / 60.47028; 11.23944 This Akershus location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Norwegian Campaign Nazi Germany occupies Norway Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups Finland Iceland Norway The Norwegian campaign (8 April – 10 June 1940) involved
12528-476: Was eventually determined that it would be safer for the operation if Denmark were captured by force. Another matter that caused additional reworking of the plan was Fall Gelb , the proposed invasion of northern France and the Low Countries , which would require the bulk of German forces. Because some forces were needed for both invasions, Weserübung could not occur at the same time as Gelb , and because
12644-685: Was far higher in WWI than in any previous conflict. Horses and carts were insufficient for transporting large quantities over long distances, so armies had trouble moving far from railheads. This greatly slowed advances, making it impossible for either side to achieve a breakthrough that would change the war. This situation would only be altered in WWII with greater use of motorized vehicles. Trenches were longer, deeper, and better defended by steel, concrete, and barbed wire than ever before. They were far stronger and more effective than chains of forts, for they formed
12760-579: Was inflicted by the attack, but the German group's strength was reassessed as being one battlecruiser, two cruisers and ten destroyers. Because of a strict enforcement of radio silence , the bombers were not able to report this until 17:30. On learning of the German movement, the Admiralty came to the conclusion that the Germans were attempting to break the blockade that the Allies had placed on Germany and use their fleet to disrupt Atlantic trade routes . Admiral Sir Charles Forbes , Commander-in-Chief of
12876-409: Was overruled by his superior, Admiral Henry Diesen , and she was escorted through. Per Norwegian neutrality regulations, government ships operated by the warring countries were forbidden from such strategically important Norwegian ports. This violation of the regulations was because Diesen feared that the British would intercept Altmark if she was forced to sail further out. On 16 February, Altmark
12992-403: Was placed in charge of its planning and in command of the land-based forces. The official approval for the invasion and occupation of Denmark and Norway was signed by Hitler on 1 March. With the end of the Winter War, the Allies determined that any occupation of Norway or Sweden would likely do more harm than good, possibly driving the neutral countries into an alliance with Germany. However,
13108-605: Was soon changed to a plan involving the mining of Norwegian waters to stop iron ore shipments from Narvik and provoke Germany into attacking Norway, where it could be defeated by the Royal Navy . It was agreed to use Churchill's naval mining plan, Operation Wilfred , designed to remove the sanctuary of the Leads and force transport ships into international waters, where the Royal Navy could engage and destroy them. Accompanying this would be Plan R 4 , an operation where, upon almost certain German counteraction to Operation Wilfred,
13224-488: Was spotted by three British aircraft. This led the Royal Navy to send one light cruiser and five destroyers that were patrolling nearby. Under the attack of two British destroyers (HMS Ivanhoe and Intrepid ), Altmark fled into the Jøssingfjord. She was escorted by the Norwegian torpedo boat Skarv . She was joined later in the fjord by a second – Kjell – and the patrol boat Firern . As HMS Cossack entered
13340-418: Was the cause of most failed attacks in trench warfare and their very high casualties. Liddell Hart identified barbed wire and the machine gun as the elements that had to be broken to regain a mobile battlefield. A basic wire line could be created by draping several strands of barbed wire between wooden posts driven into the ground. Loose lines of wire can be more effective in entangling than tight ones, and it
13456-587: Was the importance of iron ore from Sweden – upon which Germany depended – exported through the Norwegian port of Narvik . This route was especially important in the winter months when much of the Baltic Sea was frozen over. Narvik became of greater significance to the British when it became apparent that Operation Catherine , a plan to gain control of the Baltic Sea, would not be realized. Großadmiral Erich Raeder had pointed out several times in 1939
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