By Ourselves

In 1940, the Norwegian army was a force completely unable to resist the Nazi war machine. Its equipment and training were mediocre. Furthermore, the German aggression took its High Command by complete surprise; such was the case of Colonel Sundlo, commanding officer in Narvik, who surrendered to General …

1940-05-11

J041

In 1940, the Norwegian army was a force completely unable to resist the Nazi war machine. Its equipment and training were mediocre. Furthermore, the German aggression took its High Command by complete surprise; such was the case of Colonel Sundlo, commanding officer in Narvik, who surrendered to General Dietl’s troops without even one shot fired! Nevertheless, throughout the campaign, numerous Norwegians fought the invaders despite an obvious lack of weapons, their arms depots having been captured early on. Their knowledge of the terrain and their ability to move great distances on skis made them very useful, although British commanders did not hesitate to criticize the lack of soldierly skills of their Nordic allies. On 11 may, after they had vainly defended together the village of Hemnesberget on the previous day, the Anglo-Norwegian troops installed in front of Finneid went their separate ways. The British retreated north while the Norwegians attacked Hemnesberget on their own.

Finneid, Norway

The Actions in Nordland were part of the 1940 Norwegian Campaign of World War II. They were a subsidiary part of the Allied attempt to recapture Narvik. When the Germans achieved victory in the Campaigns in Central Norway, they began advancing north through Nordland to relieve the German forces isolated in Narvik. To prevent the Germans either relieving Narvik or capturing airfields within easy range, some small British and French units were deployed to the southern part of Nordland county early in May. A more powerful force (mainly British, but with some local Norwegian units) was detached from the expeditionary force besieging Narvik to northern and central Nordland in the middle of May. This force's arrival was disrupted by German air attacks on the ships carrying its units. German mountain troops forced the Allies back to within a few miles of their base at Bodø. The Allies had already decided to evacuate Norway at this point, and the force at Bodø was withdrawn without incident, with the last units departing by 1 June 1940.

Norwegian

German

Scenario Type = Standard