Misplaced Pages

#144855

65-549: Bossekop was destroyed by the Germans during their retreat from occupying Norway in November 1944. The only building left standing in Bossekop was Alta Church . The rest of the village was rebuilt after the war. In 2000, the villages of Bossekop, Alta, and Elvebakken were merged to form the town of Alta . The new Northern Lights Cathedral was built in Bossekop as the new main church for

130-589: A German invasion of Norway the same month, it was not carried out as designed. Similar plans had been drawn up during the proposed Anglo-French intervention in the Winter War . Germany did not have a sufficient domestic supply of iron ore, which is used in the production of steel . Before the war, large quantities of iron ore had been imported from mines in the French region of Lorraine . Since September 1939, that supply had no longer been available and so shipments from

195-533: 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

260-445: 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,

325-433: 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

390-720: 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,

455-508: 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

520-610: 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

585-908: 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,

650-671: 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

715-929: 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

SECTION 10

#1732851270145

780-801: 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 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

845-684: 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

910-582: 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

975-565: 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

1040-572: 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,

1105-632: 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 was effectively assumed by the Reichskommissariat Norwegen (Reich Commissariat of Norway), which acted in collaboration with

1170-499: The ice-free port of Narvik , in the far north of Norway. In a normal year, 80 per cent of the iron ore was exported through Narvik. The only alternative in winter was a long rail journey to Oxelösund on the Baltic Sea , south of Stockholm , which was not obstructed by ice. British intelligence suggested that Oxelösund could ship only a fifth of the weight that Germany required. Travelling inside Norwegian territorial waters for most of

1235-479: 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

1300-545: 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,

1365-492: 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

SECTION 20

#1732851270145

1430-482: 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

1495-452: The Germans have violated Norwegian Territory, or there is clear evidence that they intend to do so". Both authors agree that the plan assumed the Norwegians would not actively resist the British forces. Plan R 4 could not be executed as planned, as most of the German navy was reported to be in Norwegian waters. Allied troops were swiftly sent to Norway to fight with the Norwegians but success

1560-440: 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

1625-571: 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,

1690-525: 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

1755-635: 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

1820-591: 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. Plan R 4 Plan R 4 was an unrealised British plan to invade Norway and Sweden in April 1940, during the Second World War . As a result of competing plans for Norway and

1885-504: 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 the trade blockade against Germany. In March and April 1940, on

1950-480: 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

2015-589: 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

Bossekop - Misplaced Pages Continue

2080-479: 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

2145-674: 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

2210-473: 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

2275-601: 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

2340-458: 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

2405-458: 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 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

2470-406: 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

2535-460: 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

2600-484: 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 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

2665-441: 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

Bossekop - Misplaced Pages Continue

2730-461: The original Allied plan for using aid to Finland as a pretext for sending troops but on 12 March, the Allies decided to try a "semi-peaceful". Troops were to be landed in Norway and were to proceed into Sweden to capture the Swedish mines. If serious military resistance from the Norwegians was encountered, the Allies were not to press the issue. Finland sued for peace on 13 March and the revised version of

2795-508: The other large supplier, Sweden , were essential for the production of tanks, guns, ships, railcars, trucks and other implements of war. In the northern part of the Baltic Sea , the Gulf of Bothnia , lies the Swedish port of Luleå from where in the summer a quantity of ore was shipped. It was frozen in winter and so for several months each year, the Swedes shipped most of their iron ore by rail through

2860-582: The plan was abandoned. The Germans knew something of the Allied plans. Intercepted radio traffic showed that Allied transport groups had been readied. Later interceptions informed Germany that the Allies had abandoned the plan and redeployed their forces. Adolf Hitler feared that the Allies would launch their invasion sooner or later and 9 April was set as the date of Operation Weserübung , the German attack on Denmark and Norway. Britain had two parallel plans, Operation Wilfred and Plan R 4. Operation Wilfred, set to commence on 5 April (but delayed to 8 April),

2925-455: 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 the mining should be followed by

2990-579: 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 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

3055-502: 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

3120-464: 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

3185-558: 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

3250-413: 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

3315-460: 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

SECTION 50

#1732851270145

3380-472: 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

3445-502: The town. This article about a location in Finnmark is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . 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 the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until

3510-460: The trip, the shipping from Narvik was virtually immune to British interception. To Britain, stopping the shipping and thus starving German industry were vitally important. The Allies devised a plan to use the Soviet Union 's 30 November 1939 attack on Finland as a cover for seizing both the Swedish ore fields in the north and the Norwegian harbours through which it was shipped to Germany. The plan

3575-452: 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

3640-476: The war being waged on their territory, the Swedes and the Norwegians refused the transit requests. The Germans, having realised the Allied threat, were making plans for an invasion of Norway to protect their supply of iron ore. The Altmark Incident of 16 February 1940 convinced Hitler that the Allies would not respect Norwegian neutrality and he ordered the plans for an invasion hastened. The Scandinavian reluctance to allow Allied troops on their territory halted

3705-500: 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

3770-525: Was a British naval operation intending to place two minefields inside Norwegian territorial waters. Ships carrying ore would have to sail into international waters and run the gauntlet of the Royal Navy , which could prevent the transport of Swedish iron ore to Germany. The Norwegian and the Swedish governments were to be publicly informed some days beforehand and to be accused of inability to uphold their neutrality. R 4 consisted of According to Ziemke, it

3835-461: 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

3900-416: 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

3965-462: Was achieved only against the Germans in the Narvik area who were brought close to surrender. The Allied troops consisted of 24,500 British, Norwegian, French and Polish troops, in particular marine infantry, French Foreign Legionnaires and Polish mountain troops. The German troops were composed of 2,000 mountain troops and 2,600 seamen from the sunken German invasion flotilla. On 17 April 1940, Hitler ordered

SECTION 60

#1732851270145

4030-411: Was hoped that Operation Wilfred would provoke a German reaction in the form of troop landings or threats thereof and R 4 was to be executed "the moment the Germans landed in Norway 'or showed they intended to do so.'" The first battalion transports were to sail within a few hours of the mines having been laid. Claasen wrote that orders as "it is not intended that any Forces shall be landed in Norway until

4095-496: 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

4160-496: 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

4225-458: Was to get Norwegian and Swedish permission to send an expeditionary force to Finland across Sápmi , ostensibly to help the Finns. Once there, they were to proceed to take control of Swedish harbours and mines, to occupy cities such as Gävle and Luleå and to end German access to Swedish ore, presenting Norway and Sweden with a fait accompli . Because of the danger of Allied or German occupation and of

#144855