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

in any case, a rather muddled and belated clarification to an operation that was about to begin. While the word “attack” in the highlighted portion of the message is probably a reference to the French landing in Bjerkvik, not to the attack by the 6th Bn, 27th CA on Ørnefjell, this last minute amendment should have been clearer. The failure of the 7th Brigade to move forward until May 14 is probably due to Fleischer’s earlier order that it not move forward until it was “determined indisputably that the French advance has actually begun,” meaning the 6th Bn CA’s attack on Ørnefjell. This delay and the French failure to seize Ørnefjell until late on May 14 facilitated Windisch’s escape.

The 14th CA was unable to link up with the Legionnaires moving north from Bjerkvik on May 13 and it was not until around 1300 hours on May 14 that contact was established with the Poles and Legionnaires near Skoglund. The 6th CA captured Ørnefjell late on May 14, despite considerable losses to German air attacks. The battalion reached a position from which the troops could observe their compatriots in the Skogfjell area, but the attack was not pressed. Instead, the French battalion was withdrawn to an area near Gratang (Fjellhøgda) to rest and treat the large number of troops suffering from frostbite.

The Alta Battalion did not begin its advance until May 14. Part of the battalion advanced over Hills 676 and 664. Other parts advanced in the area east of Storevann and made contact with units of the 1/13th Half-Brigade southeast of Kvandal. The rifle companies were sent forward to the area north of Hartvigvann while the machinegun company took positions two kilometers southeast of Kvandal. From that position, the machineguns were able to cover the southern shore of Hartvigvann. By then, the Germans had made good their escape. They were not fired on as they withdrew in full view from Vassdalfjell since the 6th Brigade did not secure that area until May 14.

It is uncertain whether an earlier advance by the 6/27th CA and the Alta Bn would have trapped the withdrawing Germans, but the possibilities of closing the escape route for a major portion of the 1/139th were promising. Instead of timing their advance to coincide with the amphibious assault, as planned, the 6th Bn CA did not move against Ørnefjell until the following day. Fleischer’s amended orders to the 7th Brigade kept that unit from advancing until the French began their forward move. The planned coordinated attack against the Germans north of Bjerkvik from two directions failed and this greatly facilitated Colonel Windisch’s ability to extricate his forces.

The German account of the operation credits Group Windisch’s escape to effective delaying actions, poor cooperation between the allies, failures by the French and Norwegians to attack weak covering forces aggressively, and ineffective naval fire support.15

The Norwegians Seize Footholds on the High Plateau

General Fleischer allowed the 6th Brigade to begin its operations one day before the Bjerkvik landing. It was directed to seize Hill 697 (south of Læigasvann’s eastern end) and to be ready to launch the attack after 0100 hours on May 12. Unless otherwise directed, the brigade commander was to set the time of attack. As of May 9 when the 1/16th Inf reverted to its control, the 6th Brigade consisted of three battalions. The under-strength 1/12th Inf relieved the 1/16th Inf in the area around Lake 780 on May 11. The 2/16th Inf was located at the southern end of Gressdal. The 1/16th (minus one company under Brigade control) was moved to the vicinity of Hill 437. The battalion received orders in the afternoon of May 11 to attack Hill 697. The 1/12th and 2/16th were to support this attack by fire.

The attack against Hill 697 was cancelled at 2200 hours on May 11 by orders from the division, who wanted the attack to take place at the same time as the Allied landing in Bjerkvik. The slow progress of the French advance from Bjerkvik so delayed the move of the 7th Brigade against the Vassdal Mountains that the Germans had managed to establish a new defensive line in the mountains south of Vassdal. This may be one reason why the attacks by the 6th Brigade were never carried out as planned.

However, the views of the new 6th Brigade commander, Lieutenant Colonel Berg, may have been the primary factor. He took command of the 6th Brigade on May 9 and he visited the units at Lake 780 the following day. This personal reconnaissance convinced him that a main attack from the Læigastind-Gressvann area would not succeed because the terrain was characterized by level mountainsides that gave troops little cover from German fire. In his view, the opening of Gressdal was best accomplished by capturing Vassdalsfjell or by first seizing Storebalak. He saw better maneuvering possibilities in the area from Nævertind eastward and suggested that the 1/16th Inf advance through Raudal to Nævertind and from there to Storebalak. This opened the possibilities of a drive southward between Nævertind and the Swedish border or into the Jernvann area.16 Unless Gressdal was opened in the near future by an attack from the west by the 7th Brigade, Berg suggested that the 6th Brigade hold the Læigastid-Bukkefjell area while the 1/16th conducted its operation to the east. General Fleischer disagreed with Berg’s suggestion.

Despite Fleischer’s rejection, Berg was apparently able to carry out part of the plan outlined in his May 12 proposal. The sources are silent on this issue and the archives are missing. It is unlikely that Berg disobeyed Fleischer’s orders and got away with it. It is more likely that the two officers worked out a compromise solution. Berg, for his part, must have agreed to drop his more ambitious suggestion of a southward drive between Næverfjell and the Swedish border and agreed to have the 1/12th Inf conduct the attack against Hill 697. Fleischer, in turn, probably agreed to allow Berg to move the 1/16th Inf eastward to