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

win favor with the Norwegian people and to lower the fighting morale of the Norwegian troops in North Norway. Dietl was quick to point out that the release of prisoners was not possible in his active theater of operations, since those who were set free would simply rejoin their units via Sweden. However, the most serious objection to their release had to do with the loss of their use in the supply effort and he pointed out that the prisoners were far superior to the naval personnel used for that purpose because they were in better physical condition and used to the winter climate and mountainous terrain.12 Both Group XXI and OKW were thus aware of Dietl’s use of Norwegian prisoners in this manner.

After the outbreak of panic among the naval personnel on May 13, Dietl described them as “useless for combat and a danger to our troops.” Group XXI had therefore arranged to bring the destroyer crews back to Germany via Sweden. Group XXI’s view that the end was near for Dietl’s command may have hastened these arrangements. Sweden granted permission on May 19 to evacuate these crews as “shipwrecked sailors.” Dietl had now decided that these sailors, despite their shortcomings as infantry, were critical for supply duties. This was the beginning of a series of exchanges between Group XXI and the 3rd Division. In the end, it was agreed that Dietl would decide who should be evacuated and make the necessary arrangements through the naval attaché in Stockholm.

At the end of May and in early June OKW was searching frantically for ways to bring Dietl the reinforcements he needed so that he could hold out until Feurstein arrived from the south. Göring appears to have been unwilling to support the Narvik reinforcement operations. A desire not to divert resources from the western front and to conserve them for the anticipated battle for Britain may have been reasons for this reluctance. On May 16, Hitler had ordered Göring to make gliders available to bring 600 mountain troops to Narvik. After a series of procrastinations, Göring finally ordered the gliders held in Denmark on May 29. Hitler then reduced the requirement to six gliders, but the operation was never carried out.

On May 30, Hitler decided that Dietl’s troops in Narvik were to be supported by all available means. This represented a change in Hitler’s outlook, probably caused by the successes the Germans had achieved on the western front. Dietl was promised two parachute battalions (about 1,800 men) and another 1,000 mountain troops who were given a quick parachute course. Again, this operation was never carried out.

In the beginning of June, OKW planned a new operation, code-named Naumburg, to bring relief to Narvik. The plan involved landing a strong force in Lyngefjord, about 90 miles north of Narvik, at the same time as Luftwaffe paratroopers captured Bardufoss Airfield. The plan involved the transport of about 6,000 troops and a dozen tanks to Lyngefjord in the fast ocean-liners Bremen and Europa. A similar plan was discussed when reinforcements for Trondheim were considered. It died because of Admiral Raeder’s opposition.

Raeder pointed out to Hitler that this operation would take too long to be of any help to Dietl and he suggested that it would be quicker and easier for the Luftwaffe to seize Bardufoss with a glider-borne force and then bring in troops by transports. Hitler decided that both operations (Lyngefjord and Bardufoss) should be carried out simultaneously. The plan envisioned that the ocean liners would proceed to Basis Nord near Murmansk after landing the troops.13

The OKW eventually agreed with Raeder’s conclusion that Operation Naumburg would probably come too late to save the troops in Narvik. This realization led to another plan, Operation Juno. This plan originated with the German Naval Staff and it was intended initially to be a diversionary operation by the fleet. The worsening situation in Narvik led the naval staff to scuttle the diversionary nature of the plan and substitute an operation that would bring direct help to Narvik.

The plan called for a naval sortie by the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, the heavy cruiser Hipper, and four destroyers. This fleet would undertake a surprise attack on Allied ships and bases in the Harstad area or alternatively, if reconnaissance indicated the possibility of success, an attack in Vestfjord and Ofotfjord. Hitler also wanted the coastal area between Trondheim and Bodø cleared of light Norwegian naval units that interfered with the resupply of General Feurstein’s forces. The light cruiser Nürnberg and a number of torpedo boats were assigned this mission and dispatched to Trondheim. The German warships designated for Operation Juno departed Kiel on June 4. The execution of this operation is covered in the last chapter.

Allied Air Support

The Allies were slow in taking steps to provide air support for their forces in Narvik and Nordland Province and when they did, it was inadequate. This slowness is partially explained by the reliance on aircraft carriers and the relative lack of German air operations in North Norway during the first month of the campaign. The unfortunate experience in operating from frozen lakes in the southern part of the country may also have contributed to the delay in bringing in land-based aircraft.

The aircraft carrier Furious was present in the waters off North Norway until April 26. This carrier had no fighter aircraft aboard and this, and the difficulty in keeping aircraft serviceable, severely limited its usefulness. For most of the next two weeks, the Allies had no combat aircraft other than a squadron of seaplanes in the Narvik area. The aircraft carrier Ark Royal arrived off Narvik on May 6, and remained there until May 21 when the carrier Furious delivered a squadron of Gladiators to operate from Bardufoss. The threat to the aircraft carriers from German aircraft and submarines was a grave concern in the British Navy. While the carriers operated from well offshore in order to minimize the air threat, their aircraft and those of the Norwegians were initially able