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| Norway 1940 | |
|---|---|
| Title | Norway 1940 |
| Date | April–June 1940 |
| Location | Kingdom of Norway |
| Participants | Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe, Royal Norwegian Navy, British Expeditionary Force, Royal Navy, Kampfgruppe, German–Soviet Nonaggression Pact |
| Outcome | German occupation; Norwegian government-in-exile established |
Norway 1940
The 1940 events in Norway encompass the Invasion of Norway, the subsequent campaigns, and the beginning of a five-year occupation, involving key actors such as the Wehrmacht, Royal Navy, Luftwaffe, Vichy France, and Norwegian authorities including the Norwegian government-in-exile. The episode linked the strategic contest for North Atlantic sea lanes, iron ore resources, and bases for operations against the United Kingdom, intersecting with operations like Operation Weserübung, Battle of Narvik, and the diplomatic maneuvers of figures such as Adolf Hitler, Winston Churchill, Vidkun Quisling, and Haakon VII.
In the months before April 1940 strategic considerations in Berlin and Oslo were shaped by the German need for iron ore shipments from Kiruna, the British concern for blockade routes in the North Sea, and the broader interplay of the European theatre of World War II, the Phoney War, and the diplomatic aftermath of the Munich Agreement. Norwegian neutrality, codified under the Neutrality Acts and administered from Oslo City Hall by the Storting, confronted pressures from Reichskommissariat, British naval strategy, and covert operations by actors including the Soviet Union and Swedish transit policies centered on Narvik. Intelligence and naval planning by Admiralty staff, strategic discussions in Berlin involving Wilhelm Keitel and Alfred Jodl, and contingency planning by Winston Churchill and Neville Chamberlain set the stage for Operation Weserübung.
The German assault began with Operation Weserübung in April 1940, deploying elements of the Kriegsmarine, Fallschirmjäger, and Gebirgsjäger to seize ports such as Narvik, Trondheim, Bergen, Kristiansand, and Oslo using combined arms including Luftwaffe air transport and naval gunfire. Allied responses included a Royal Navy flotilla, Royal Air Force detachments, and Norwegian units like the Royal Norwegian Navy and the Norwegian Army, with major clashes at Battle of Narvik, Battle of Dombås, and the Battle of Oslofjord. The multinational character of the fighting featured forces from the United Kingdom, France, Poland, and Polish Independent Highland Brigade in operations to retake Narvik and to link with Norwegian regulars and Milorg elements, while commanders such as Erwin Rommel—not directly in Norway but emblematic of German command—contrasted with Norwegian leaders including Carl Gustaf Fleischer and political figures like Vidkun Quisling.
During the campaign the constitutional crisis led King Haakon VII and the legitimate Cabinet of Norway to reject collaborationist overtures, culminating in the flight of the royal family and cabinet to London and the formation of the Government of Norway in exile which coordinated with the Allied powers, Norwegian resistance movement networks such as Milorg and Komitéen, and intelligence links to the Special Operations Executive. Quisling’s proclamation of a Nasjonal Samling-led regime precipitated internal schisms between collaborationists and patriots; prominent Norwegian figures like Terje Wold and military officers including Otto Ruge resisted occupation, while clandestine publications and underground radio connected to BBC broadcasts sustained morale.
Allied actions in Norway involved operations by the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force that contravened Norwegian neutrality, including mining operations, convoy escorts, and amphibious landings coordinated from Scapa Flow and Shetland Islands. German operations likewise violated neutrality via surprise seaborne invasions, exemplified in Operation Weserübung’s seizure of strategic points and altimeter-aided paratroop insertions. Diplomatic repercussions engaged ministries in Paris, London, and Stockholm, while naval engagements such as the sinking of the German cruiser Blücher in the Oslofjord and the Second Battle of Narvik highlighted the contest between Kriegsmarine forces and Allied squadrons under orders from the Admiralty.
Following military success, Germany established administrative structures including the Reichskommissariat Norwegen under Josef Terboven and a puppet civil apparatus entwined with Nasjonal Samling and collaborationist leaders like Vidkun Quisling who later assumed nominal titles. The occupation imposed measures enforced by the Schutzstaffel, Gestapo, and Feldgendarmerie, while Norwegian institutions—the Storting, Supreme Court of Norway, and municipal authorities—faced dissolution, censorship, and coordination demands. Resistance networks, aided by Shetland Bus, Norwegian Independent Company 1, and SOE missions, sustained sabotage operations against targets such as Vemork and heavy water facilities tied to nuclear research concerns.
The invasion and subsequent occupation transformed Norway’s shipping profile with the Nortraship merchant fleet’s alignment with Allied convoys and losses in the Battle of the Atlantic; the economy shifted under requisitions by the Reich and exploitation of resources including iron ore and fisheries centered in Narvik and Bergen. Militarily, the Norwegian armed forces underwent reorganization with exile formations integrating into Free Norwegian Forces, while Norwegian units participated in campaigns across the North Atlantic and Arctic convoys escorted by the Royal Navy and HMS Ark Royal. Socially, occupation policies produced repression, deportations to Auschwitz and labor conscription, cultural censorship targeting institutions like the University of Oslo and religious bodies including the Church of Norway, and demographic strain leading to refugee flows to Sweden and internments in Grini concentration camp.
The events of 1940 left enduring legacies commemorated at sites such as Narvik War Museum, Akershus Fortress, and Vemork with public memory shaped by figures like King Haakon VII, Vidkun Quisling, and veterans of the Battle of Narvik. Legal and political outcomes influenced postwar trials before Norwegian courts and international forums including the Nuremberg Trials, restitution debates involving Nortraship assets, and the reconstitution of institutions such as the Storting and Constitution of Norway restoration. Annual observances, memorials, and scholarship from historians at institutions like the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs continue to analyze the 1940 campaign’s strategic implications for NATO-era defense planning and Nordic security cooperation.
Category:Military history of Norway Category:World War II