Misplaced Pages

#495504

111-582: 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 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

222-540: A government in support of occupying Germans. Although Hitler remained unreceptive to the idea, he gave orders to draft up plans for the possible military invasion of Norway. Hence, on the first day of invasion, Quisling, using his own initiative, burst into the NRK studios in Oslo on 9 April and made a nationwide broadcast at 7:30 pm declaring himself prime minister and ordering all resistance halted at once. This did not please

333-522: 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

444-448: A largely unified command, something which greatly facilitated the transfer of power in May 1945. A distinction was made between the home front ( Hjemmefronten ) and the external front ( Utefronten ). The home front consisted of sabotage, raids and clandestine operations (as was often performed by members of Milorg ), as well as intelligence gathering (for which XU was founded). Meanwhile,

555-590: 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

666-637: 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

777-433: A relatively new concept, dating from the later years of the 19th century. Before this, technology had simply not supported the idea of carrying bulk liquids. The market was also not geared towards transporting or selling cargo in bulk, therefore most ships carried a wide range of different products in different holds and traded outside fixed routes. Liquids were usually loaded in casks—hence the term " tonnage ", which refers to

888-735: A single product or simultaneously transport mixed cargoes such as several different chemicals or refined petroleum products. Among oil tankers, supertankers are designed for transporting oil around the Horn of Africa from the Middle East . The supertanker Seawise Giant , scrapped in 2010, was 458 meters (1,503 ft) in length and 69 meters (226 ft) wide. Supertankers are one of the three preferred methods for transporting large quantities of oil, along with pipeline transport and rail . Tighter regulation means that tankers now cause fewer environmental disasters resulting from oil spills than in

999-433: A tactical retreat while awaiting reinforcements from Britain. The British Navy cleared the way to Narvik on 13 April, sinking one submarine and eight destroyers in the fjord. British and French troops began to land at Narvik on 14 April. Shortly afterward, British troops landed at Namsos and Åndalsnes , to attack Trondheim from the north and from the south , respectively. The Germans, however, landed fresh troops in

1110-750: A training camp known as " Little Norway " was set up near Toronto , Canada , on 10 November 1940. However, a unified Royal Norwegian Air Force was only founded as a separate branch of the military of Norway on 10 November 1944; until then it operated in two distinct branches—then known as the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service and the Norwegian Army Air Service . The Air Force operated four squadrons in support of Allied forces: A number of Norwegian volunteers also served in British RAF units. Combined,

1221-512: A wide variety of purposes, ranging from fuel to coffee, tea, and tobacco. At the beginning of the occupation, there were at least 2,173 Jews in Norway . At least 775 of these were arrested, detained, and/or deported. 742 were killed in concentration camps , 23 died as a result of extrajudicial execution, murder, and suicide during the war; bringing the total of Jewish Norwegian dead to at least 765, comprising 230 complete households. In addition to

SECTION 10

#1732765429496

1332-574: The Allgemeine-SS established the 127th SS- Standarte , which was the last command of the General-SS ever created. The battleship Tirpitz was stationed in Norway for most of the war, acting as a fleet in being in her own right and tying up considerable Allied resources until she was eventually sunk in the last of many attacks. The economic consequences of the German occupation were severe. Norway lost all its major trading partners

1443-669: The Altmark incident in Jøssingfjord , put great strains on Norway's ability to assert its neutrality. Norway managed to negotiate favorable trade treaties both with the United Kingdom and Germany under these conditions, but it became increasingly clear that both countries had a strategic interest in denying the other warring power access to Norway and its coastline. The government was also increasingly pressured by Britain to direct ever larger parts of its massive merchant fleet to transport British goods at low rates as well as to join

1554-936: The Eastern Front . The Schutzstaffel (SS) maintained a strength of six thousand in Norway during the Second World War, under the command of Obergruppenführer Wilhelm Rediess , the Higher SS and Police Leader (HSSPF) from June 1940 to the end of the war. Most of these troops were under the authority of the Waffen-SS and the SS and Police Leader hierarchy. In November 1944, three SS and Police Leaders (SSPF) subordinate to Rediess were appointed: SS- Oberführer Heinz Roch for Northern Norway, Oberführer Richard Kaaserer for Central Norway and Gruppenführer Jakob Sporrenberg for Southern Norway. Also in 1944,

1665-587: The German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until the capitulation of German forces in Europe on 8 May 1945 . Throughout this period, a pro-German government named Den nasjonale regjering ('the National Government') ruled Norway, while the Norwegian king Haakon VII and the prewar government escaped to London , where they formed a government in exile . Civil rule

1776-635: The German nuclear energy project . Prominent resistance members, among them Max Manus and Gunnar Sønsteby , destroyed several ships and supplies of the Kriegsmarine . Radical organizations such as the Osvald Group sabotaged a number of trains and railways. However most organizations opted for passive resistance . Illegal newspapers were distributed, including Friheten , Vårt Land , Fritt Land . Illegal trade union periodicals included Fri Fagbevegelse . About 80,000 Norwegian citizens fled

1887-552: The Guinness brewery used tankers to transport the stout across the Irish Sea . Different products require different handling and transport, with specialised variants such as " chemical tankers ", " oil tankers ", and " LNG carriers " developed to handle dangerous chemicals, oil and oil-derived products, and liquefied natural gas respectively. These broad variants may be further differentiated with respect to ability to carry only

1998-958: The Nasjonal Samling did increase slightly in the first few years of the occupation, but never reached significant levels, and eroded towards the end of the war. Military forces such as the Army Norway ( Heer ) and Luftwaffe remained under direct command of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht in Germany throughout the war, but all other authority was vested in the Reich commissioner. The Nazi authorities made attempts to enact legislation that supported its actions and policies; it therefore banned all political parties except NS, appointed local leaders top down and forced labour unions and other organizations to accept NS leaders. Although there

2109-651: The Norwegian government-in-exile . Fighting continued in Northern Norway until 10 June, when the Norwegian 6th Division surrendered shortly after Allied forces had been evacuated against the background of looming defeat in France. Among German-occupied territories in Western Europe , this made Norway the country to withstand the German invasion for the longest period of time – approximately two months. About 300,000 Germans were garrisoned in Norway for

2220-592: The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht ordering the entire 20th Mountain Army out of Finland to take up new defensive positions around Lyngen and Skibotn just to the north of Tromsø —a new operation which came to be called " Operation Nordlicht " (Operation Northern Light). This proved to be a huge logistical undertaking. General Lothar Rendulic , replacing General Eduard Dietl , who had been killed in an air crash, set about evacuating supplies by sea through Petsamo and

2331-578: The Oslofjord , but were stopped when the Krupp -built artillery and torpedoes of Oscarsborg Fortress sank the German flagship Blücher and sank or damaged the other ships in the German task force. Blücher transported the forces that would ensure control of the political apparatus in Norway, and the sinking and death of over 1,000 soldiers and crew delayed the Germans, so that the King and government had

SECTION 20

#1732765429496

2442-725: 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 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

2553-590: The Royal Norwegian Navy , including their 500 operating personnel, followed the King and parliament to Britain. Throughout the war, some 118 ships served the Royal Norwegian Navy, of which 58 were in active service at the end of the war. By then the Royal Norwegian Navy had continuously and actively served Allied forces since the summer of 1940, and had suffered the loss of 27 ships and 650 men. In order to develop and train an Air Force,

2664-537: The United States Maritime Administration 's statistics count 4,024 tankers of 10,000 LT  DWT or greater worldwide. 2,582 of these are double-hulled. Panama is the leading flag state of tankers, with 592 registered ships. Five other flag states have more than two hundred registered tankers: Liberia (520), The Marshall Islands (323), Greece (233), Singapore (274) and The Bahamas (215). These flag states are also

2775-480: The average freight rate assessment (AFRA) system, which classifies tankers of different sizes. To make it an independent instrument, Shell consulted the London Tanker Brokers' Panel (LTBP) . At first, they divided the groups as General Purpose for tankers under 25,000 tons deadweight (DWT); Medium Range for ships between 25,000 and 45,000  DWT and Large Range (later Long Range) for

2886-415: The 1970s. Amoco Cadiz , Braer , Erika , Exxon Valdez , Prestige and Torrey Canyon were examples of accidents. Oil spills from tankers amounted to around 1,000 tonnes in 2020 from three incidents (an all-time low), down from 636,000 tonnes from 92 incidents in 1979 - a fall of 99.8%. Many modern tankers are designed for a specific cargo and a specific route. Draft is typically limited by

2997-600: 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

3108-479: The Army consisted of the following units: Throughout the war, Allied planners remained wary of the strategic significance of Norway. Commando raids were carried out in several locations; some with the intention of deceiving German commanders as part of Operation Fortitude North , others with the explicit aim of disrupting German military and scientific capabilities, such as sabotaging the German nuclear energy project . Many of these allied raids were achieved with

3219-604: 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 the North Sea and attack convoys heading to Great Britain. When

3330-553: 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

3441-652: 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

Norwegian campaign - Misplaced Pages Continue

3552-503: The British. On 5 May, the last Norwegian resistance pockets remaining in South and Central Norway were defeated at Vinjesvingen and Hegra Fortress . In the north, German troops engaged in a bitter fight at the Battle of Narvik . Holding out against five times as many British and French troops, they were close to surrender before finally slipping out from Narvik on 28 May. Moving east,

3663-411: 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 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

3774-497: The German authorities, who initially wanted the legitimate government to remain in place. Nevertheless, when it became obvious that the Storting would not surrender, the Germans quickly came to recognise Quisling. Hitler not being aware of anyone better, supported him from the evening of 9 April. They demanded that King Haakon formally appoint him as prime minister and return his government to Oslo; in effect, giving legal sanction to

3885-727: 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

3996-559: 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

4107-482: The German invasion of Norway to begin on 9 April; on 8 April, while the Norwegian government was preoccupied with earnest protest about the British mine-laying, the German expeditions were already mobilizing. Soon after British and French mined the Norwegian coast to disrupt iron shipments, Germany invaded Norway for several reasons: Through neglect both on the part of the Norwegian foreign minister Halvdan Koht and Minister of Defence Birger Ljungberg , Norway

4218-667: The German offer, as did Sweden and Finland . By the autumn of 1939 there was an increasing sense of urgency because of its long western coastline facing access routes into the North Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean , as Norway had to prepare, not only to protect its neutrality, but indeed to fight for its freedom and independence. Efforts to improve military readiness and capability and to sustain an extended blockade were intensified between September 1939 and April 1940. Several incidents in Norwegian maritime waters, notably

4329-584: 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

4440-511: 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

4551-440: The Germans were surprised when the British started to abandon Narvik on 3 June. By that time the German offensive in France had progressed to such an extent that the British could no longer afford any commitment in Norway, and the 25,000 Britons and Frenchmen were evacuated from Narvik only 10 days after their victory. King Haakon VII and part of his government left for England on the British cruiser HMS  Glasgow to establish

Norwegian campaign - Misplaced Pages Continue

4662-480: 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. German occupation of Norway Finland Iceland Norway The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung . Conventional armed resistance to

4773-479: 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

4884-583: The Norwegian fighter squadrons (No. 331 and 332) and Norwegian fighters operating in RAF service accounted for a total of 247 enemy aircraft destroyed, 42 assumed destroyed and 142 damaged. By the war's end, the Norwegian Air Force had a total of 2,700 personnel and had suffered a total of 228 losses. The Norwegian Army was given the lowest priority of all the exiled Norwegian forces; it never exceeded 4,000 men. Following its last reorganisation in 1942,

4995-532: 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 the danger to Germany of Britain seizing

5106-426: 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

5217-541: The Norwegian resistance, hence managing to capture and murder many of its members. Other collaborators were Statspolitiet (STAPO), a police force that operated independently of the regular police. Statspolitiet was closely related to the Quisling regime and took also orders directly from the German Sicherheitspolizei . Hirden was a fascist paramilitary force with party members subordinate to

5328-653: The Norwegian town of Kirkenes . In early October 1944, some 53,000 men of the German 19th Mountain Corps were still 45 mi (72 km) inside Russia along the Litsa River and the neck of the Rybachy Peninsula . The plan was for them to reach Lakselv in Norway, 160 mi (260 km) west, by 15 November. By 7 October however, the combined Soviet 14th Army and Northern fleet , consisting of 133,500 men under Field Marshal Kirill Meretskov , attacked

5439-446: 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 was the importance of iron ore from Sweden – upon which Germany depended – exported through

5550-431: 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

5661-477: 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

SECTION 50

#1732765429496

5772-633: 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

5883-725: The Soviets at bay whilst vital supplies amounting to some 135,000 short tons (122,000 t) could be shipped to safety. Five days later, when the German army prepared to withdraw, only around 45,000 short tons (41,000 t) had been saved. Tanker (ship) Tankers can range in size of capacity from several hundred tons , which includes vessels for servicing small harbours and coastal settlements, to several hundred thousand tons, for long-range haulage. Besides ocean- or seagoing tankers there are also specialized inland-waterway tankers which operate on rivers and canals with an average cargo capacity up to some thousand tons. A wide range of products are carried by tankers, including: Tankers are

5994-418: 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

6105-480: The airfield entered the city. The first troops to occupy Oslo entered the city brazenly, marching behind a German military brass band. Just 1,500 paratroopers were involved in taking over the Norwegian capital. On establishing footholds in Oslo and Trondheim, the Germans launched a ground offensive against scattered resistance inland in Norway. Allied forces attempted several counterattacks, but all failed. While resistance in Norway had little military success, it had

6216-400: 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

6327-589: The best equipment to the Germans in the first 24 hours of the invasion, the unclear mobilisation order by the government, and the general confusion caused by the tremendous psychological shock of the German surprise attack. The Norwegian Army rallied after the initial confusion and on several occasions managed to put up a stiff fight, delaying the German advance. However, the Germans, quickly reinforced by Panzer and motorised machine gun battalions, proved unstoppable due to their superior numbers, training, and equipment. The Norwegian Army therefore planned its campaign as

6438-479: The chance to escape from Oslo . In the other cities that were attacked, the Germans faced only weak or no resistance. The surprise and the lack of preparedness of Norway for a large-scale invasion of this kind gave the German forces their initial success. The major Norwegian ports from Oslo northward to Narvik (more than 1,200 mi (1,900 km) away from Germany's naval bases) were occupied by advance detachments of German troops, transported on destroyers. At

6549-408: 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

6660-691: The country during the course of the war; apart from political and military forces they included intellectuals such as Sigrid Undset . Since the Norwegian parliament continued to operate in exile in Britain, many of these exiles voluntarily came to serve in the Allied military forces, often forming their own distinct Norwegian units in accordance with the Allied Forces Act . By the end of the war, these forces consisted of some 28,000 enlisted men and women. In June 1940, some 13 warships and 5 aircraft of

6771-513: The depth of water in loading and unloading harbors; and may be limited by the depth of straits or canals along the preferred shipping route. Cargoes with high vapor pressure at ambient temperatures may require pressurized tanks or vapor recovery systems. Tank heaters may be required to maintain heavy crude oil , residual fuel , asphalt , wax , or molasses in a fluid state for offloading. Tankers used for liquid fuels are classified according to their capacity. In 1954, Shell Oil developed

SECTION 60

#1732765429496

6882-434: 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

6993-407: The external front included Norway's merchant fleet , the Royal Norwegian Navy (which had evacuated many of its ships to Britain), Norwegian squadrons under the British Royal Air Force command and several commando groups operating out of Great Britain and Shetland . One of the most successful actions undertaken by the Norwegian resistance was the Norwegian heavy water sabotage , which crippled

7104-435: The few who survived concentration camps, some also survived by fleeing the country, mostly to Sweden , but some also to the United Kingdom . Of the Norwegians who supported the Nasjonal Samling party, relatively few were active collaborators . Most notorious among these was Henry Rinnan , the leader of the Sonderabteilung Lola (locally known as Rinnanbanden or "the Rinnan gang"), a group of informants who infiltrated

7215-450: 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 the main force. The Allies initiated their plans on

7326-444: 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

7437-408: 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

7548-409: 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 the region, blanketing

7659-402: 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 the strength of Nazi forces. Following protracted negotiations between 25 September and 20 November 1939,

7770-458: The help of exiled Norwegian forces. However, Churchill was obsessed with an invasion of Norway and kept badgering Alanbrooke ; see Operation Jupiter (Norway) . Notable military operations in Norway include: With the beginning of the German withdrawal from Lapland , the initial German plan was to retain the essential nickel mines around Petsamo in the far North held by the 19th Mountain Corps under General Ferdinand Jodl , but events led to

7881-427: 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 the blockade of Germany , giving access to

7992-512: 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

8103-406: The invasion. When the German ambassador to Norway, Curt Bräuer , presented his government's demands to Haakon, the king let it be known he would abdicate before appointing Quisling prime minister. The Germans reacted by bombing the village they believed the king was occupying. He had been, but had left the village when the sound of bombers was heard. Standing in the snow in a nearby wood, he watched

8214-513: 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

8325-444: The mining should be followed by the landing of troops at four Norwegian ports: Narvik , Trondheim , Bergen and Stavanger . It was hoped that the mining would trigger German agitation, thereby necessitating an immediate response from the Allies. However, because of Anglo-French arguments, the date of the mining was postponed from 5 April to 8 April. The postponement was catastrophic. On 1 April, German führer Adolf Hitler had ordered

8436-441: The moment it was occupied. Germany became the main trading partner, but could not make up for the lost import and export business. While production capacity largely remained intact, the German authorities confiscated a very large part of the output, leaving Norway only 43% of its production. Combined with a general drop in productivity, Norwegians were quickly confronted with a scarcity of basic commodities, including food. There

8547-518: The need for a strengthened military and expanded the budget accordingly, even by assuming national debt. As it turned out, most of the plans enabled by the budgetary expansion were not completed in time. Although neutrality remained the highest priority, it was known throughout the government that Norway, above all, did not want to be at war with Britain. On 28 April 1939, Nazi Germany offered Norway and several other Scandinavian countries non-aggression pacts. To maintain its neutrality, Norway turned down

8658-586: 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

8769-631: 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

8880-686: 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

8991-527: 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 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

9102-522: 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 the warring countries. The first such violations were the sinkings in Norwegian territorial waters of several British ships by German U-boats . In

9213-517: 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

9324-508: The rear of the British at Namsos and advanced up the Gudbrandsdal from Oslo against the force at Åndalsnes. By this time, the Germans had about 25,000 men in Norway. By 23 April, there was open discussion about evacuating Allied troops, and on 24 April Norwegian troops, supported by French soldiers, failed to stop a Panzer advance. On 26 April the British decided to evacuate Norway. By 2 May, both Namsos and Åndalsnes were evacuated by

9435-620: 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

9546-472: The rest of the war. By occupying Norway, Hitler had ensured the protection of Germany's supply of iron ore from Sweden and had obtained naval and air bases with which to strike at Britain. Prior to the invasion, on 14 and 18 December 1939, Vidkun Quisling , the leader of Norway's fascist party, the Nasjonal Samling ("National Gathering"), had tried to persuade Adolf Hitler that he would form

9657-573: The ruling party. Hirden had a broad mandate that included the use of violence. Furthermore, about 15,000 Norwegians volunteered for combat duty on the Nazi side; of the 6,000 sent into action as part of the Germanic SS , most were sent to the Eastern front. Over time, an organized armed resistance movement, known as Milorg and numbering some 40,000 armed men at the end of the war, was formed under

9768-413: The same time, a single parachute battalion took the Oslo and Stavanger airfields, and 800 operational aircraft overwhelmed the Norwegian population. Norwegian resistance at Narvik, Trondheim (Norway's second city and the strategic key to Norway), Bergen , Stavanger, and Kristiansand was overcome very quickly, and Oslo's effective resistance to the seaborne forces was nullified when German troops from

9879-465: The significant political effect of allowing the Norwegian government, including the royal family , to escape. The Blücher , which carried the main forces to occupy the capital, was sunk in the Oslofjord on the first day of the invasion. An improvised defence at Midtskogen also prevented a German raid from capturing the king and government. Norwegian mobilisation was hampered by the loss of much of

9990-477: The sole means to use violence as a political tool, which he did on several occasions (e.g. by imposing martial law in Trondheim and ordering the destruction of the village of Telavåg ). Quisling believed that by ensuring economic stability and mediating between the Norwegian civilian society and the German occupiers, his party would gradually win the trust and confidence of the Norwegian population. Membership in

10101-499: The then-enormous ships that were larger than 45,000  DWT . The ships became larger during the 1970s, and the list was extended, where the tons are metric tonnes : At nearly 380 vessels in the size range 279,000 t  DWT to 320,000 t  DWT , these are by far the most popular size range among the larger VLCCs. Only seven vessels are larger than this, and approximately 90 between 220,000 t  DWT and 279,000 t  DWT . [REDACTED] As of 2005,

10212-624: The top six in terms of fleet size in terms of deadweight tonnage . Greece, Japan, and the United States are the top three owners of tankers (including those owned but registered to other nations ), with 733, 394, and 311 vessels respectively. These three nations account for 1,438 vessels or over 36% of the world's fleet. Asian companies dominate the construction of tankers. Of the world's 4,024 tankers, 2,822 (over 70%) were built in South Korea, Japan and China. Petroleum Tables ,

10323-547: The trade blockade against Germany. In March and April 1940, on the pretext of German aggression, British plans for an invasion of Norway were prepared, mainly in order to reach and destroy the Swedish iron ore mines in Gällivare . It was hoped that this would divert German forces away from France and open a war front in south Sweden . The British plan was to place mines in Norwegian waters ( Operation Wilfred ) and that

10434-472: 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

10545-452: The village of Nybergsund be destroyed. This prompted the Norwegian government to unanimously advise him not to appoint any government headed by Quisling. The invaders realised Quisling's party could not muster any significant support, and quickly pushed him aside. An administrative council led by Ingolf Elster Christensen was therefore established on 15 April to administer those areas which had so far come under German control. The council

10656-581: The volume of the holds in terms of how many tuns or casks of wine could be carried. Even potable water, vital for the survival of the crew, was stowed in casks. Carrying bulk liquids in earlier ships posed several problems: Tankers were first used by the oil industry to transfer refined fuel in bulk from refineries to customers. This would then be stored in large tanks ashore, and subdivided for delivery to individual locations. The use of tankers caught on because other liquids were also cheaper to transport in bulk, store in dedicated terminals, then subdivide. Even

10767-505: The weakest point of the German line, the junction between the 2nd and 6th Mountain Divisions. A Soviet Naval Brigade also made an amphibious landing to the west of Rybachy, thereby outflanking the Germans. Rendulic, fearing an encirclement of his forces, ordered the 19th Mountain Corps to fall back into Norway. With the Soviets hard on their heels, the Corps reached Kirkenes by 20 October. The German High Command ordered Rendulic to hold

10878-461: Was a real risk of famine. Many, if not most, Norwegians started growing their own crops and keeping their own livestock. City parks were divided among inhabitants, who grew potatoes, cabbage, and other hardy vegetables. People kept pigs, rabbits, chicken and other poultry in their houses and out-buildings. Fishing and hunting became more widespread. Gray and black market provided for flow of goods. Norwegians also learned to use ersatz products for

10989-416: Was abolished on 20 September 1940, when Reichskommissar Josef Terboven took over power by forming his own cabinet. Terboven attempted to negotiate an arrangement with the remaining members of the Norwegian parliament that would give a Nazi cabinet the semblance of legitimacy, but these talks failed. Quisling was consequently re-instituted as head of state on 20 February 1942, although Terboven retained

11100-545: 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

11211-491: Was effectively assumed by the Reichskommissariat Norwegen (Reich Commissariat of Norway), which acted in collaboration with the pro-German puppet government. This period of military occupation is, in Norway, referred to as the "war years", "occupation period" or simply "the war". Having maintained its neutrality during the First World War (1914–1918), Norwegian foreign and military policy since 1933

11322-476: 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

11433-578: 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

11544-491: Was largely influenced by three factors: These three factors met resistance as tensions grew in Europe in the 1930s, initially from Norwegian military staff and right-wing political groups, but increasingly also from individuals within the mainstream political establishment and, it has since come to light, by the monarch, King Haakon VII, behind the scenes. By the late 1930s, the Norwegian parliament (the Storting ) had accepted

11655-502: Was largely unprepared for the German military invasion when it came on the night of 8–9 April 1940. A major storm on 7 April resulted in the British Navy failing to make material contact with the German invasion fleet. Consistent with Blitzkrieg warfare, German forces attacked Norway by sea and air as Operation Weserübung was put into action. The first wave of German attackers counted only about 10,000 men. German ships came into

11766-496: Was much resistance against most of the Nazi government's policies, there was considerable cooperation in ensuring economic activity and social welfare programs. Norway was the most heavily fortified country during the war: several hundred thousand German soldiers were stationed in Norway, in a ratio of one German soldier for every eight Norwegians. Most German soldiers considered themselves fortunate to be in Norway, particularly in comparison with those experiencing savage combat duty on

11877-408: 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

11988-400: 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,

12099-603: 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,

12210-488: 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

12321-570: 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 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

#495504