THE NORWEGIAN CAMPAIGN

The invasion of norway resulted in The occupation of The scandinavian country and inadvertently propelled winston churchill To power

In 1940 Norway was a neutral country, but Grand Admiral Erich Raeder wanted to seize Norwegian naval bases to provide Germany with key strategic positions to operate from, primarily against the Royal Navy.

After the British seized the German tanker Altmark in Norwegian waters, Adolf Hitler became determined to deny the British access to Norway and an invasion was planned. German divisions were raised on 7 April 1940 and invaded Denmark to provide a land route to Norway. Denmark surrendered within two days, but Norway resisted and sunk the German cruiser Blücher near Oslo. The Norwegian army prepared to face northern and coastal attacks and an Allied expeditionary force of 12,000 British, French and Polish troops was dispatched.

The campaign was chaotic. The British retreated from Gudbrandsdal, but the Germans lost two naval battles at Narvik, where their troops came under siege. Nevertheless, the invasion generally went to plan and German air superiority was decisive against the Royal Navy, which had a lack of radar control and high-quality fighter aircraft.

The Allied expeditionary force was compelled to evacuate following the invasion of France, and Norway remained occupied until 1945. Ironically, one of the few Allied beneficiaries of the invasion was Winston Churchill. As first lord of the Admiralty, Churchill had been responsible for many mistakes during the campaign. Nevertheless, when Neville Chamberlain was ousted from office following the failure in Norway, it was Churchill who succeeded him as prime minister.

“DENMARK SURRENDERED WITHIN TWO DAYS, BUT NORWAY RESISTED AND SUNK THE GERMAN CRUISER BLÜCHER”

German troops enter Oslo on the first day of the invasion of Norway. they would occupy the country for five years

the German cruiser Blücher lists heavily to port after being hit by cannon fire and torpedoes from Norwegian coastal defences