Good Night, Sweet Prince

Strong German motorized forces crossed the Danish border early in the morning of April 9th. Several German armored cars were damaged or destroyed, and the Germans learned to fear the 20mm guns mounted on the Nimbus motorcycles poised for ambush at every major road intersection. By the time …

1940-04-09

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Strong German motorized forces crossed the Danish border early in the morning of April 9th. Several German armored cars were damaged or destroyed, and the Germans learned to fear the 20mm guns mounted on the Nimbus motorcycles poised for ambush at every major road intersection. By the time the Germans reached Haderslev, 60km north of the border, they had the tanks in the forefront.

Haderslev, Denmark

The German Invasion of Denmark, sometimes known as the Six Hour War due to the short length, was the German attack on Denmark on 9 April 1940, during the Second World War. The attack was a prelude to the invasion of Norway (German: Weserübung Nord, 9 April – 10 June 1940). Denmark's strategic importance for Germany was limited. The invasion's primary purpose was to use Denmark as a staging ground for operations against Norway, and to secure supply lines to the forces about to be deployed there. An extensive network of radar systems was built in Denmark to detect British bombers bound for Germany. The attack on Denmark was a breach of the non-aggression pact Denmark had signed with Germany less than a year earlier. The initial plan was to push Denmark to accept that German land, naval and air forces could use Danish bases, but Adolf Hitler subsequently demanded that both Norway and Denmark be invaded. Denmark's military forces were inferior in numbers and equipment, and after a short battle were forced to surrender. After fewer than two hours of struggle, the Danish Prime Minister Thorvald Stauning stopped the opposition to the German attack, for fear that the Germans would bomb Copenhagen, as they had done with Warsaw during the invasion of Poland in September 1939. Due to communication difficulties, some Danish forces continued to fight, but after a further two hours, all opposition had stopped. Lasting approximately 6 hours, the German ground campaign against Denmark was one of the shortest military operations of the Second World War.

German

Danish

Scenario Type = Standard