Hitler’s Pre-Emptive War: The Battle for Norway, 1940 (42 page)

The 163rd Division, commanded by Major General Erwin Engelbrecht, operated further west with the ultimate goal of opening land communications with the forces in Kristiansand and Bergen. Since it consisted of four regiments, two of its own and one each from the 69th and 181st Divisions, it had the secondary mission of securing the area around Oslo and to the southwest of that city. There were no serious threats in this area and large forces were not required to carry out this additional task. The immediate missions were to capture the rail junction at Hønefoss and the weapons and ammunition-manufacturing town of Kongsberg along the Oslo-Kristiansand railroad.

The Germans adopted a flexible approach, a method that was to prove very effective not only in Norway but also in their later campaigns in other parts of Europe. They did not operate as battalions and regiments but switched to a system of tactical groupings, known as battle groups, which were named either after their commanders or in relation to their operational areas. These battle groups varied in strength and composition, as dictated by the terrain and Norwegian opposition, almost on a daily basis. For maximum speed, the battle groups were motorized with the help of requisitioned vehicles. The Norwegians, primarily due to the disruption of their mobilization effort, eventually adopted similar tactical groupings.

The German advance was rapid and relentless. The southeastern thrust disrupted the mobilization of the 1st Division and captured Fredrikstad, Sarpsborg, and Halden by April 14. By the same date, the eastern drive captured the border fortresses with their skeleton crews. These multiple drives captured over 1,000 Norwegian troops. Major General Erichsen and the remnants of the 1st Division, about 3,000 men, were driven across the border into Swedish internment. Southeastern Norway was in German hands five days after they landed in Oslo.

The 163rd Division captured Kongsberg on April 14 and the 3rd Norwegian Infantry Regiment surrendered the following day. Hønefoss was also captured on April 14 and a motorized column reached the southern end of Lake Mjøsa.

These drives, in all directions from Oslo, secured the beachhead and set the stage for further German advances into the interior, bringing them into areas where General Ruge intended to make his major delaying efforts. The Germans were reinforced for the next stage of operations by the arrival of a tank battalion, three motorized machinegun battalions, and a motorized infantry battalion.

The Germans in Kristiansand advanced north through the Setesdal Valley. The Norwegians gave up their forward positions without engaging the Germans and a panic developed in units of the 3rd Division as it withdrew. The Norwegians regrouped but German units appeared in front of their positions on April 12. Neither side opened fire. General Liljedahl agreed to a cease-fire and a demarcation line was established north of Evjemoen. A German parliamentarian appeared on April 13 and demanded that hostilities cease. Liljedahl agreed to a 24-hour extension of the cease-fire. He explained the situation to General Ruge and stated that his units were “depressed,” combat ineffective, and the valley was full of hungry refugees. In his reply, Ruge stated that complete capitulation would be very detrimental to the army’s morale and defeat and captivity was better for the country than willing capitulation. If the fight could not continue, Ruge directed Liljedahl to allow those who were willing to carry on the fight to join units in other areas.

Liljedahl held a conference with his officers and it was agreed not to continue the fight. At the same time, Liljedahl was notified that the soldiers in position at the line of demarcation had given notice that they would cease hostilities within 20 minutes. The only word to describe this is “mutiny,” and that by a unit that had seen little or no combat. General Liljedahl initiated negotiations with the Germans and surrendered his forces on April 15.

General Ruge’s Dilemma

On April 15, the future looked bleak for the new Norwegian Commander-in-Chief. The Germans were well into their breakout from Oslo. Almost half the Norwegian forces in the area south of Trondheim were already lost because of disrupted mobilization, the internment of the remnants of the 1st Division in Sweden, the surrender of Colonel Einar Steen’s 3rd Infantry Regiment near Kongsvinger, and General Liljedahl’s surrender in Setesdal. The 8th Infantry Regiment was isolated east of Stavanger, as was the 4th Field Brigade at Voss. Except for some scattered and ad hoc units, the 2nd Division was the only force at General Ruge’s disposal, but it had withdrawn precipitously from its main defensive line along the Nittedal River, north of Oslo. The mobilization apparatus was still functioning, but in total disorder in some places.

Any thoughts of recapturing the capital were out of the question. There were about 5,000 German troops in Oslo by the end of April 9. By April 14, German forces in and around the city had grown to two divisions, major elements of a third division, and several separate battalions. General Ruge realized that he could not undertake offensive operations with the meager and disorganized troops at his disposal.

Ruge recommended to the government that the highest priority be given to the recapture of Trondheim. The recapture of the country’s ancient capital would have an important and positive psychological effect on the Norwegian people. Furthermore, the city had an excellent harbor suitable for Allied reinforcements and a good airfield of vital importance in contesting German air superiority. The recapture of the airfield would also remove any possibility of the Germans providing air support for their forces in Narvik.

Ambassador Dormer managed to link up with the Norwegian Government on April 12. The ambassador passed on Ruge’s urgent appeal for assistance, especially the recapture of Trondheim, to London. Mr Foley from the British Embassy reached General Ruge’s headquarters on April 13. Neither the French nor the British had army attaches living in Norway. Officers designated as attachés, Commandant Bertrand Vigne and Lieutenant Colonel King Salter, arrived on April 15.

On the morning of April 9, the British Government had promised the Norwegians full assistance “forthwith.” There was still no evidence of this assistance. In a message to the British Prime Minister on April 13, Ruge stated that Norway had decided to resist based on the British Government’s promise that it would send assistance quickly. Unless immediate assistance was received, primarily in the form of air assets and limited ground forces, Ruge warned bluntly that the Germans could secure the country within a week. He had placed his trust in the British promise and he must not be let down. This was followed by messages from the Allied military representatives at Ruge’s headquarters on April 14 that stressed the need for assistance and the urgent necessity of recapturing Trondheim. These messages also vouched for the new commander-in-chief’s determination and steadfastness. The numerous appeals and warnings from Norway about a possible collapse if aid was not received quickly resulted in a message from Neville Chamberlain on April 14 that read, “We are coming as fast as possible and in great strength. Further details later.”
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General Ruge’s plan, outlined in a directive he issued on April 15, was to delay the German advance in the south while the Allies, in conjunction with Norwegian forces, eliminated the German bridgehead in Trondheim. From there, General Ruge intended to build up his forces for a continuation of the war with Allied help. The operational directive laid out the objective for his forces. “Assistance [from the Allies] is in preparation and promised soonest. In these circumstances, our task in East Norway is to win time.”
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Ruge intended to fight successive delaying actions and to destroy lines of communication in order to allow time for the arrival of Allied assistance.

General Ruge intended to establish a defensive line at the southern entrance to the three great valleys of Østerdal, Gudbrandsdal, and Valdres. Since the recapture of Bergen with Allied help did not seem likely, Ruge directed the 4th Field Brigade, mobilizing at Voss, to move to eastern Norway.

Some recent writers, among them General Hovland, question the wisdom of Ruge’s decision to conduct delaying actions. The disadvantages of delaying actions in a situation where the enemy is able to build up his strength quickly are obvious but no alternatives are suggested. Offensive operations were out of the question until the Norwegian Army could mobilize sufficient forces. The problem, however, was that the German buildup was much quicker than Norwegian mobilization and the discrepancy in combat power had become decisive by April 15. The German consolidation and expansion of their bridgehead in the first five days disrupted mobilization and led to the loss of major Norwegian combat formations. A rigid defense would no doubt have led to the destruction of the 2nd Division and this would have opened wide the road to Trondheim and Bergen.

Allied Reactions on April 9—Confusion and Discord

News about events in Norway began to filter into the various government offices in London in the early hours of April 9, but the information was fragmentary and confusing. That there would be a German reaction to the mining of Norwegian waters was fully expected, but it was believed that it would take the Germans considerable time to mount effective countermeasures. The fact that the Germans had a simultaneous operation underway against Norway came as a surprise. The British Admiralty was convinced that the German naval movements underway since April 6 were attempts to break out into the Atlantic, not an invasion of Norway.

The British command authorities had blind faith in the supremacy of their sea power and concluded that a German attack on the western Norwegian shoreline was impractical. The suddenness and scale of German naval operations in these areas dealt a hard blow to their earlier preconceptions. However, the British continued to believe that the British Navy could deal with the attackers, even after receiving news of the German invasion on April 9.

A hastily convened meeting of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (CSC)
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assembled at 0600 hours. Information about the unfolding events in Norway was fragmentary and there was great uncertainty about how much credence should be accorded the various reports. Nevertheless, it was clear that German naval operations and landings north of Stavanger, hitherto considered extremely unlikely, had become a reality. It appeared to those assembled that attacks were in progress against Oslo, Bergen, and Trondheim and that some of these cities had been occupied. The chiefs did not believe that the Germans had reached Narvik, despite the Admiralty’s warning to the Norwegians on the previous day that German forces could reach that city as early as 2200 hours on April 8, and they decided to dispatch a battalion to that city immediately. The military leaders in Great Britain did not yet appreciate the size and scope of the German operations. They also agreed that the recapture of Trondheim should be a primary objective.
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The inadequacy of the military plans developed to support the mining operations now came back to haunt the Allies as they began to grapple with the question of what to do about the German invasion. In a meeting of the British War Cabinet at 0830 hours, General Ironside presented the results of the deliberations by the CSC. He stated that it was the view of the committee that the priority task was the seizure of Bergen and Trondheim so that the Allies could use those excellent harbors. The chiefs considered the occupation of Narvik a secondary goal. Churchill pressed for immediate action against Narvik and maintained that this was within their capabilities since only small forces would be required at Bergen and Trondheim in the initial stages. Cyril Newall, the Chief of the Air Staff, argued for operations against Stavanger. He was the only one who had a true appreciation for the advantages that would accrue to the Germans from the capture of Sola Airfield.

It was decided that the main effort should be directed at the recapture of Bergen and Trondheim. However, this decision rested on the very tenuous assumption that Narvik was still in Norwegian hands and that large forces would therefore not be required in that area. There was still no definite information on what kind of resistance the Germans were encountering from Norwegian forces. However, it was agreed that the early recapture of these cities would encourage the Norwegians to continue their struggle.

The War Cabinet directed the Chiefs of Staff to prepare expeditions to wrest Bergen and Trondheim from the Germans at the same time as a force was dispatched to occupy Narvik. First, however, the naval situation needed to be brought under control. These discussions serve to explain both the earlier mentioned instructions to Admiral Forbes, and the background for Admiralty direct involvement in the tactical operations at Narvik. According to Moulton, neither Ismay nor Ironside came away from the meeting with a clear understanding of what had to be done and for what purpose.

The War Cabinet reconvened at noon—after a second CSC meeting—and it now appeared that their earlier assumption about Narvik being in Norwegian hands had fallen by the wayside. Unconfirmed news reports from Norway indicated that the Germans had occupied Narvik. Allied plans now became totally reactive and continued to illustrate a lack of understanding and logic. It was decided to send a few destroyers in the direction of Narvik to determine what was going on and to make a battalion available to support the destroyer operation. The chiefs informed the cabinet that a further seven battalions would be ready to sail by April 12. However, there was no decision made on how and where to use these additional battalions when they were ready!

The mood was still very optimistic since most of those in attendance expected that the use of overwhelming naval power would turn the German enterprise into a great Allied victory. This optimism—like the plans—was devoid of realism and logic. Churchill, who had access to the latest information from the Admiralty, optimistically told his colleagues that operations against Bergen and Trondheim were underway and he predicted that the application of British sea power would lead to the end of the landings in a week or two.