Battle of Narvik (Norway) 1940

02-16-2004 #1

Senior Member

Battle of Narvik (Norway) 1940

Allied troops landed in Narvik to prevent germans from using it as a transfer harbour to transport iron ore form Sweden, and also hoped that remaining Norvegian units aided by allies can stop germans here and then counteratack. Germans were repealed from city and withdrawned into the mountains but in may 1940 war started in france and allies retreated to focus on french front without being defeated.

Allied commander at the Ankenes region: (from 17th May) Gen. Bohusz-Szyszko.
Allied Commander all land forces: Gen. Behouart

The only Allied tank force present in Norway
in 1940 was the French 342nd and 343rd ”Compagnie Autonome de Chars” (Independent
Tank Company), equipped with 15 Hotchkiss H-39 light tanks (342rd, Capt. Dublineau) and 15 Renault FT-17 (343rd).

Three Battalions from the French “1st. Légerère de Chasseurs Alpins” (arriving 27th April in Foldvik and Skånland), without most of their ski equipment).

Two Battalions French Foreign Legion, Commander: Col. Magrin-Verneret, the “13th Legion d´Etranger Demi-Brigade”, arrived 5th May, (1st Batallion: Maj. Boyer-Resses, 2nd Battalion: Maj. Gueninchaut)
Most of the men were Germans, Spanish, and English, and some had participated in the Spanish Civil War)

Four Battalions Polish ”Chasseur de Nord”, the Carpathian “Podhale” Brigade
1st Demi-Brigade (Col. Chlusewicz) w/ 1st Battallion (Maj. Kobylinski) and 2nd Battalion (Col. Dec)
2nd Demi-Brigade (Col. Kobylecki) w/ 3rd Battalion (Lt.Col. Mackowski) and 4th Battalion (Maj. Jasowski)

Two Companies of “The South Wales Borderers”, (landed at Harstad April 14th, and Ballangen 26th April)

“24th (Scots & Irish) Guards Brigade”, Gen. Mackesy. (The Brigade lost all their heavy equipment on May 14th, when Hauptmann Kowalski from” X-Fliegerkorps” got an direct bomb hit with his He 111 on the Polish liner ”Chrobry” in the Vestfjord.) /Hmm this kowalski looks like polish name... but maybe he was volksdeutsh.../

One RAF squadron (46th Sqn.) equipped w/ Hurricanes, first at Skånland, later Bardufoss Arrived 26th May.
One RAF squadron (263rd Sqn.) equipped w/ Fairey Swordfish, also at Bardufoss. Arrived 21st May.

These aircraft were transported on the carrier “Glorious” when the Allied retreated; it was shortly after attacked and sunk by “Scharnhorst”

All together 25 000 men.
*

German OOB

Commanding officer: Gen. Dietl

“Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 139 / 3. Gebirgsjäger-Division” (about 2000 men)
*

Gebirgsjaegers near Narvik.
“1st Battallion / Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1” (arriving May 15th as reinforcement)

“Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 137 / 3. Gebirgsjäger-Division” (2 companies, arriving May 21st by parachute after attending a crash course at “Fallschirmjägerschule Stendal”)

About 2500 sailors from sunken German ships (“Marine-Battalion Erdmenger”) A.K.A ”die Gebirgsmarine”) This included the surviving crewmembers of “U64”, who later adapted the “Edelweiss” as their symbol of their next U-boat.

All together about 6000 men.

Military losses during the Norwegian Campaign:

Norway 1 335 killed (Army and Navy)
Allied Forces 6 100 killed or missing. (British losses at land: 1869, French/Polish: 530)
Germany 5 636 killed (Army, navy and airforce)

First Battle of Narvik
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

In the First Battle of Narvik on April 10th, 1940, five Royal Navy destroyers entered the harbour of Narvik where five destroyers of the Kriegsmarine were seriously damaged, thereof two sunk. Six other German ships were also sunk. And also two British destroyers sank. Both the German Commander, Commodore Bonte, and the British Commander, Captain Warburton-Lee, were killed in the battle.

Warburton-Lee was later awarded the Victoria Cross, the UK's highest award for gallantry in the face of enemy action.]

The Second Battle of Narvik occurred three days after the First Battle of Narvik on 13 April 1940.

Vice Admiral William Whitworth and his forces arrived at the fjord to finish off the eight remaining German destroyers and two U-boats that were virtually stranded in a trap due to lack of fuel, a result of the First Battle of Narvik. The British forces consisted of the HMS Warspite (probably the best known 20th century Royal Navy battleship) and nine destroyers and planes from the carrier "Furious".

During the battle, a Fairey Swordfish catapult aircraft launched from the HMS Warspite sank the submarine "U-64", making it the first U-boat to be sunk by an airplane in World War II.

The Royal Navy easily wiped out the remaining eight German destroyers.

Polish destroyers "Wicher" and "Burza" which took part in fights