Hitler’s Pre-Emptive War: The Battle for Norway, 1940 by Henrik Lunde (the reader ebook .TXT) 📕

responsible. Placing all of Co 1 in the two main buildings without any outposts or forward positions to keep the Germans away was not wise. In addition, Co 3 should have kept about one third of the men in the defensive positions at all times. This defensive force could have been relieved periodically to give the personnel rest and shelter from the elements. These are elementary and routine precautions for properly trained, disciplined, and well led units. While the weather conditions were miserable, they were no more so for the Norwegians than the Germans.

The German Situation in Mid-April and Early Supply Efforts

The loss of Bjørnefjell was a serious Norwegian setback and an encouraging development for the Germans. By securing the railroad from Narvik to the Swedish border, Dietl had accomplished all immediate objectives spelled out in his operational order except for capturing Bardufoss Airfield. The seizure of Bjørnefjell could alleviate the acute supply and reinforcement problems if the Swedes were prevailed upon to allow trans-shipments.

After securing the railroad to Sweden and the occupation of good defensive positions along the northern front, Dietl decided that was all he could do with the resources at his disposal in face of stiffening Norwegian resistance. The Germans were aware that Norwegian mobilization was proceeding rapidly and that the forces confronting them in the north were growing in strength daily. At the same time, they worried about Allied landings on the coast.

Dietl’s troops did not have much heavy equipment and weapons when they landed. Most of their artillery washed overboard on the stormy passage and the supply ships destined for Narvik never reached their destination. The Germans were helped immeasurably by the early capture of Elvegårdsmoen, with its ample supplies of weapons and provisions. However, the mountain troops were not clothed and equipped for operations in the terrain and climate in the Narvik area. Instead of their usual winter gear, their clothing and equipment were more suitable for spring conditions. Things such as sleds, skis, and winter bivouac and camouflage equipment were lacking. One can only conclude that the Germans, like the British, misjudged the climate in Narvik at this time of the year or that they did not expect the Norwegians to offer any serious opposition after the capture of their main cities.

The destroyer crews more than doubled the forces available to Dietl. While these men were armed and provisioned from captured Norwegian stocks at Elvegårdsmoen, their usefulness in land operations was questionable. However, they constituted valuable assets for the close protection of Narvik and other installations captured by the Germans. This allowed Dietl to send most mountain troops to the front. The naval personnel were instrumental in bringing ashore guns and ammunition from the sunken destroyers. The five British armed merchantmen in Narvik harbor on April 9 each carried two 105mm guns. These were brought ashore and two were mounted on rail cars. The sailors were also active in getting the railroad back into operation. The fact that some were dressed in captured Norwegian uniforms, a breach of conventions, was the source of much criticism.

The Germans made a concerted effort to supply the Narvik forces by air. The first aircraft to arrive was a Ju-90 that dropped ammunition at 1130 hours on April 12. A Do-24 (seaplane) landed in Narvik around 1230 on April 13 with ammunition for the destroyers, but this was too little and too late.

Eleven Ju-52s, commanded by Colonel Bauer, landed on the frozen Hartvig Lake in the evening of April 13. The aircraft brought the 2nd Battery, 112th Mountain Artillery Regiment, commanded by Captain Lochmann, from Berlin. The unit consisted of about 100 men who brought with them four 75mm guns.

The Germans had similar misfortune in using frozen lakes as landing fields as the British did in central Norway. Three aircraft were damaged while landing and one was destroyed by Norwegian aircraft. There was a sudden thaw in the weather creating a layer of water on top of the soft ice. The aircraft froze into the ice as the weather again turned cold, and this prevented all but one from taking off. The remaining aircraft on Hartvigvann were eventually captured by the Norwegians, but then unfortunately destroyed by British bombing.

After their ill-fated experience on the lake, the Germans turned to airdrop and the use of seaplanes. Three Ju-52 transports appeared over Hartvigvann at 1030 hours on April 14. They did not attempt to land but dropped their loads of medical supplies over the lake. Two Do-28s landed near Narvik in the afternoon of April 15, carrying mortar ammunition and medical supplies. Both aircraft took off later that evening. A message from Oslo at 1215 hours on April 16 stated that a flight of He-11s was on its way to attack enemy naval forces in Narvik. The 3rd Mountain Division journal notes sarcastically, “the announced flight—two planes—arrived at about 1400 hours and one dropped bombs over Narvik harbor, now empty of enemy forces.”

Attempts by the German Navy to bring supplies to Narvik by submarines did not succeed. On April 10, SKL ordered three submarines in homeports (U26, U29, and U43) readied for a re-supply mission to Narvik. The submarines left Germany between 12 to 16 April, each carrying 40 to 50 tons, mostly ammunition. Because of the uncertain situation in Narvik, these boats were redirected to Trondheim.

The seizure of the Bjørnefjell area improved General Dietl’s supply situation. After the German troops reached the border, the German Government demanded permission from Sweden to send supplies to Dietl’s troops through that country. The Swedish Government agreed, on April 17, to permit the transshipment of supplies of “a humanitarian nature.”9 The following day, Sweden granted permission for the transit of Red Cross personnel. The first shipment reached Sweden on April 19. It consisted of 34 railroad cars with 25 tons of medicines and medical equipment, 20 tons of clothing, and 350 tons of provisions. The train arrived in Bjørnefjell on April 26. It is estimated that the provisions on the train were