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

assistance. Later, Norwegian medical personnel received permission to evacuate wounded soldiers through Gratangen. Four fishing vessels with medical personnel were dispatched from Sjøvegan to Gratangen. From there, medics and litter bearers moved east through the German lines, picked up the wounded, brought them back through German lines to Gratangen, and evacuated them to Harstad.

There were two reasons the fighting died out around noon. The determined attack by Co 3, 1/12th Inf came close to overwhelming the Germans in Co 2, 139th. The unit needed rest. The second, and probably more important reason, was that Major Stautner learned from prisoner interrogation and from what the Germans had observed in the direction of Fjordbotneidet, that a fresh Norwegian battalion was located on those heights, threatening their flank and rear. In fact, if the Alta Bn had moved forward into the valley during the morning, most of the German forces would have had to break contact quickly or be isolated.

An operational plan seldom survives long past the first shot and Fleischer made a serious mistake when he did not alter the plan and order the Alta Bn forward. While the centralized philosophy of the Norwegian military frowned on the kind of individual initiative displayed by Major Stautner, it is nevertheless difficult to understand why Dahl did not question the wisdom of remaining inactive on the forward slope of Fjordbotneidet where all he could do was be a witness to what happened in the valley. His primary mission was to protect the right flank of the 1/12th. After the 1/12th moved into the valley, the Alta Bn could no longer provide effective flank cover from the location specified in the orders. Dahl should also have made a concerted effort to reestablish communications with the 1/12th when that communication was lost around midnight.

Having confirmed that there was a fresh Norwegian battalion in the area and knowing that an additional battalion or two were located about 8 kilometers to the north, Stautner made the prudent decision to terminate the attack and withdraw from the valley. In order to maintain strict control of the troops as they withdrew, Stautner directed the units to assemble in their attack positions. The ski platoon covered the withdrawal, accomplished without losses despite artillery shelling from Fjordbotneidet. Company 13 and the heavy weapons company took up defensive positions at the entrance to the pass across the Gratangen Isthmus. Company 2, worn out after several days of fighting and moving in snowstorms, moved further east.

Major Bøckman was able to assemble the various subordinate units during the afternoon and decided to withdraw and reorganize the battalion after nightfall. The medics were left behind to care for the wounded. All heavy equipment was hidden, to be retrieved later. The Germans took note of low Norwegian morale. A message from the 139th Regiment to General Dietl’s at 1240 hours on April 26 states that prisoners expressed great bitterness against the British. The message suggested that the time was right for leaflet drops.

While the offensive resulted in a German withdrawal from their forward positions at Lapphaugen and within a few days, a withdrawal from Gratangen to new defensive positions in the defile on the Gratangen Isthmus, the price paid by the Norwegians was high. Their attack was in fact a costly failure. They had nearly 2,500 troops to throw into the attack against 300–400 Germans, and only about 150 of these were in forward positions at Lapphaugen. According to the Germans, only 230 Germans participated in the attack on the 1/12th. The two platoons from Co 13, for example, had a strength of only 74 men.13

The 1/12th was combat ineffective because of the losses it sustained and General Fleischer decided to pull the battalion back to Levangen to reorganize. The losses were so great that when it again took part in operations at the beginning of May, the 1/12th had only two rifle companies, a machinegun platoon, and a mortar platoon.

The final tally of Norwegian losses was 34 killed, 64 wounded, and 180 captured. Initial reports after a battle are often inaccurate and this is illustrated in the 3rd Division’s war diary. The entry for 1900 hours on April 25 gives the Norwegian losses as 200 killed, including a battalion commander, at least as many wounded, and 114 prisoners. German losses were listed as 16 killed and about 40 wounded. The numbers are corrected in an entry three hours later when their own losses are placed at eight killed, 15 wounded, and six missing.

The Norwegian Offensive in Retrospect

The fighting in Gratangen demonstrated that the individual Norwegian soldier could fight well when properly led and it was only a matter of time and experience until he was equal to the German mountain troops. Company 3’s attack against Co 2, 139th nearly succeeded. The fact that three company commanders were killed shows that they did not hesitate to expose themselves in trying to rally their troops. The higher leadership, from General Fleischer down to the battalion commanders proved weak. The Norwegian plan looked good on a map, but it was something else to put into operation on the ground in a violent blizzard with inadequate communications between units. The result was an uncoordinated, piecemeal effort and less than one quarter of Fleischer’s attacking force was involved at any one time. Only the 2/15th participated in the attack on Lapphaugen while the plan called for a two-battalion attack. On the second day, only the 1/12th was involved in fighting. The troops in the Alta Bn were passive onlookers. No orders were given for the 2/15th to resume its attack that day and the 1/16th was sent on a useless march to Levangen.

The 1/12th made glaring mistakes, not unlike those made by the 1/13th in Narvik and Bjørnefjell. Whole units were allowed to seek the comfort of shelter at the same time while at least one third of each company should have remained in the prepared positions. This is all the more remarkable since the Norwegians were the ones used