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

role to protecting the right flank of the 1/12th and supporting it by fire. It was ordered not to enter the valley. The Alta Bn had no contact with the 1/12th after midnight. The supporting unit was responsible for maintaining contact with the supported unit. This was apparently not done.

Fleischer’s second action dealt with the 1/16th Inf, a unit already worn down from moving around in a winter blizzard for two days without much rest. The general directed the brigade to send this battalion to Tennevoll in Levangen where it would come under the division commander’s direct control. The battalion received the movement order at 0230 hours on April 25, two and a half hours after it had reached its bivouac.

This action changed the very nature of the offensive since the northern pincer over Fjordbotneidet now became the main effort. Colonel Løken’s original command of four infantry battalions was reduced to one, with the other three now under Fleischer’s direct command. There was no obvious need for a third battalion on the northern flank and certainly no need for it to make another exhausting night move in a snowstorm. Over three feet of new snow had fallen and the battalion commander stated that he was uncertain when he could reach his destination. The battalion was then ordered to rest in a bivouac at Fossbakken before making the move.

The 1/16th Inf began its move at 1900 hours on April 25. The companies, in relays, had to clear the road as they moved since it was impossible for horses and sleds to move in the deep snow. The snow clearing was hard work but the battalion arrived at its destination around 0800 hours on April 26. It remained in Levangen for four days after which it was ordered back to Fossbakken. The 1/16th reached its destination at midnight on the 29th and went into bivouac between Fossbakken and Lapphaugen, alongside the 2nd Battalion of the same regiment, which had also been directed to that location.

The German Counterattack

The German 2nd Battalion, 139th Regiment commanded by Major Ludwig Stautner was deployed in depth from Lapphaugen to Elvenes in Gratangen. The reinforced Co 2 was at Lapphaugen. The battalion’s heavy weapons were located near Elvenes with the primary mission of supporting Co 2 and covering its possible withdrawal. Company 13 was in battalion reserve. This unit and the battalion CP were located near Storvann. One platoon from Co 13 provided flank security at Foldvik.

German patrols sent towards Fjordbotneidet and Fossbakken prior to April 24 were unable to carry out proper reconnaissance because they encountered Norwegian troops. The Norwegian attack, while expected, came as a surprise as far as timing was concerned. The daily heavy snowfall also caused severe problems for the Germans. It was difficult to bring supplies and provisions forward from Bjerkvik and impossible to conduct air reconnaissance. Except for patrols and a small number of other units, the German troops were not equipped with skis. They bought all the skis they could lay their hands on and improvised by using white bed sheets, drapes, and later white parachutes as winter camouflage cover.

Major Stautner received a radio message around 0900 hours on April 24 from Lieutenant Bauer, the commander of Co 2 at Lapphaugen, reporting that the unit had been under heavy artillery fire since 0830 hours and that the enemy was attacking. There were no further contacts with Co 2. Reports from two reconnaissance patrols reported enemy forces numbering 100-200 men advancing from the north and northeast. Stautner believed these to be part of the force that had attacked Co 2 and he concluded that the unit at Lapphaugen was cut off by the Norwegian advance. He sent a message to Colonel Windisch at Elvegårdsmoen around 1600 hours reporting his situation and asking for reinforcements. The request for reinforcements was denied.

Windisch had good reasons for denying the major’s request. The Norwegian offensive was launched on the same day the British carried out the heavy bombardment of Narvik with a battleship and several cruisers. The Germans did not know that this was just a coincidence and they had every reason to assume that the two operations were coordinated. They knew that there were two British battalions in Bogen, to the west of Bjerkvik, and it was reasonable to expect that they might advance on Bjerkvik and Elvegårdsmoen as part of a joint operation with the Norwegians. Major Lindbäck-Larsen had suggested this kind of cooperation to General Mackesy when they met on April 15.

Major Stautner decided to concentrate his forces and ordered those near Elvenes to withdraw to Storvann where Co 13 and the battalion CP were located. Reconnaissance reported that a strong enemy force had occupied the built-up area east of Elvenes in the evening but that it was not moving towards Elvenes.

Radio contact was reestablished with Co 2 around 2200 hours. Under the cover of the snowstorm, it had managed to withdraw from Lapphaugen, leaving behind the wounded and both mortars. With great effort in deep snow, the company had moved slowly southward for seven kilometers and Lieutenant Bauer reported that his men were still withdrawing and located east of the former tourist station. Another message from the company was received about 30 minutes later. It reported that the enemy had not pursued them through Oalgge Pass. The report also stated that, while they had no contact with the enemy, the Norwegians in the Gratang Valley were resting in buildings at the Moen, Nylund, and Dalsletten areas with hardly any sentries posted.

Stautner saw an opportunity and grabbed it. He did not waste time in discussing the situation with Colonel Windisch, or even ask permission to undertake his planned operation. His actions provide an excellent example of the advantages of decentralized control.

Stautner ordered Co 2 to take up blocking positions along Route 50, southwest of the former tourist station from where it could use all its weapons against the area occupied by the Norwegians. One platoon was located where it could defend against