Hitler’s Pre-Emptive War: The Battle for Norway, 1940 (79 page)

The Norwegian units operating on the high plateau captured prisoners from several German units. From these and some captured documents they concluded that they faced six enemy companies that had orders to defend their positions against all odds. The severity of the fighting attested to the fact that these orders were followed.

Group Windisch’s losses in the three-day period 17-19 May amounted to 32 killed, 57 wounded, and 45 missing. Such losses could not be sustained much longer, and Windisch and Dietl agreed that the group needed to retire to a shorter defensive line.

In addition to the threat from the northeast, the Germans were also concerned about the French battalion that landed at Liljedal on May 19. If it advanced northeast over Aasen (Hill 332) in conjunction with an attack by the Legionnaires against Hill 488 from Hill 621, Group Windisch’s southern flank would be threatened. One officer and 15 men from Co 3, 138th, who had landed by seaplane on May 20, were reinforced by 36 naval personnel and rushed across the Rombakfjord in small boats to the area south of the French landing site to secure Group Windisch’s flank. Hergot, south of Liljedal, was occupied by the French in the morning of May 21 but was retaken by the Germans the following evening.

A German withdrawal from the high plateau had been under discussion for several days. Positions were reconnoitered and bridges over the swollen rivers prepared for demolition. Group Windisch was near collapse, pressure was mounting along the whole front, its line of retreat was threatened, the supply situation was in chaos, and the flow of reinforcements noted below was not sufficient to replace losses or turn the tide of battle:

May 14—66 troops from the Co 1, 1st Parachute Regiment parachuted into the Bjørnefjell area.

May 15—22 paratroopers arrived.

May 16—76 additional airborne troops parachuted into the Bjørnefjell area. May 18—Two seaplanes brought in 16 mountain troops from Co 2, 138th Regiment.

May 20—Two seaplanes brought in 19 mountain troops with one anti-tank gun from Co 2, 138th. Forty specialists also arrived by train through Sweden.

May 22—Six seaplanes brought in 63 troops and an antitank gun from Co 2, 138th.

The decisive moment for Dietl and Windisch came on May 21 when Munthe-Kaas’ men stormed Hill 648. The Germans lost 50 troops killed or captured. Both officers commanding the troops on that hill died in the fighting. A breakthrough in the center, leading to heavy losses, was now a distinct possibility. Dietl decided to carry out the planned withdrawal, which would shorten and strengthen the front. The timing and conduct of the withdrawal was left to Colonel Windisch. Light infantry and engineer units covered the withdrawal, which began at 2100 hours on May 21. The withdrawal was carried out according to plans and without interference from Norwegians and French forces.

The Norwegians attacked Lillebalak during the night of the withdrawal and occupied that key terrain as well as Hill 482 in the morning of May 22. The 6th Brigade had continued its pressure around Kobberfjell, trying to isolate that dominating terrain. The German withdrawal allowed it to occupy Kobberfjell by the middle of the day on May 22. Munthe-Kaas notes with regret that the Germans managed to withdraw without being pursued:
²⁷

By the evening of May 22, most of the German units were in their new defensive positions behind the watercourse formed by Storeelven, Jernvannene, and Holmeelven. The paratroopers on Group Schleebrügge’s far right failed to get the withdrawal order because Norwegian units prevented the messenger from reaching them in time. They managed to disengage eventually and withdrew to Hills 620 and 698. The covering forces along the front succeeded in retiring behind the new front after carrying out the planned destructions.

T
HE
L
OSS OF
N
ORDLAND
P
ROVINCE

“In this Norwegian encounter, our finest troops, the Scots and Irish Guards, were baffled by the vigour, enterprise, and training of Hitler’s young men.”

C
HURCHILL’S COMMENTS IN
T
HE
G
ATHERING
S
TORM ABOUT THE OPERATIONS IN
N
ORDLAND
P
ROVINCE.

The Battle of Stien and the Loss of Mo

When the Germans reached Elsfjord early on May 14, they found that the retreating Norwegians had destroyed or taken with them all boats that could be used for crossing the fjord. With General Feurstein’s approval, Lieutenant Colonel Sorko prepared to cross the roadless mountains between Elsfjord and Korgen. The grueling march across the snow-clad mountains to Korgen took 16 hours. The troops were so exhausted when they reached their destination that Sorko was compelled to give them a short rest before continuing to Finneid along the east shore of the fjord. Holzinger’s units had already cleared the Norwegians and British from Finneid by the time Sorko reached that location from the south. Sorko continued the advance while Holzinger’s units remained to secure Hemnesøy and Finneid.

Derry writes that 1,750 Germans attacked the 1st Scots Guards at Stien on May 17.
¹
This estimate is probably more than double the number of Germans involved. While Feurstein’s forces had grown to four infantry battalions (2/136, 3/136, 2/137, and 3/138), a reconnaissance battalion, an engineer battalion, an independent company of mountaineers, a bicycle company, a tank company, and four artillery batteries, most of these forces were spread from Namsos to Mosjøen and did not participate in the action at Stien. Ziemke claims that Feurstein had six infantry battalions but this is not in accordance with reports to Group XXI on May 13 and 15. Only Sorko’s group, consisting of one reinforced battalion, took part in the fighting at Stien. Since the strength of a mountain infantry battalion was approximately 500, the size of Sorko’s force was probably between 700-800 men.

The British forces at Stien were deployed in two defensive lines. The first line was located north of the River Dalselv, covering the defile in the road to Mo between the Veten-Kobbernaglen Mountains and the fjord. Two companies from the 1st Scots Guards, the 1st Independent Co, and a supporting artillery battery occupied the first line. The two Scots Guards companies were located to the east of the Finneid-Mo road while the Independent Co and the artillery battery were located astride the road a little further to the north. The battalion battle trains and one company occupied a second line about four kilometers to the north. One company from the battalion was on its way from Bodø.

Lieutenant Colonel Roscher-Nielsen was reorganizing the Norwegian forces in the Mo area. He considered neither of his two battalions combat effective. They were demoralized and there was a critical shortage of young NCOs and officers. He sent an urgent request to the 6th Division on May 16 for young and energetic leaders. The 1/14th was less than half strength, with only about 300 effective. Both battalions had lost most of their trains.

Lieutenant Colonels Trapes-Lomax and Roscher-Nielsen had reached an understanding on how to divide the responsibilities for the defense of Mo. The British would undertake the defense of the Finneid-Mo road as described above. The Reserve Battalion of the 14th Inf would defend Mo along the Ranaelv (Rana River). The 1/14th Inf and a company from the 1st Scots Guards, with the machinegun company from the reserve battalion of the 14th attached, were positioned at Ytteren for the defense of the north end of Ranafjord. The 1/14th had one company deployed forward on the north side of the fjord. Captain Ellinger’s company, which was reduced to a machinegun platoon after the near mutiny at Finneid, was now part of the 1/14th and located in this area.

Two ski detachments of approximately 60 men each from the 1/14th Inf were sent into the mountains between the British positions and Umbukta as security. There was already a security detachment from the Reserve Battalion located north of Store Akers Vann. A group of approximately 40 returned volunteers from the Winter War was located on the southern outskirts of Mo. Despite Norwegian warnings the British failed to secure the high ground to the east and rear of their defense lines.

The Germans learned from prisoners that a British battalion was located at Stien. They also expected the units withdrawn from Finneid to join that battalion. Furthermore, they knew that there were additional Norwegian forces in the Mo area. Sorko decided to attack as quickly as possible. He sent one company from his own battalion and a platoon outfitted with skis from Holzinger’s group on a difficult flanking movement through Bjerkadalen. It was intended that this force would seize the heights of Kobbernaglen and Veten and from there move west to attack the British flank and rear at the same time as Sorko attacked frontally along the road. The enveloping force, facing a march of 50 kilometers in roadless snow-covered terrain, set out in the evening of May 16. To give these units adequate time to get into position, Sorko delayed the battle group’s advance until noon on May 17. Group XXI had toyed with the idea of a simultaneous airborne operation to cut the road north of Mo, thereby trapping all forces located in or south of that town. It was not carried out.
²

The Norwegian security detachments at Bjerkmoen and Lille Akersvann spotted the German enveloping force. They reported about 150 German soldiers moving in a northerly direction in the area southeast of Bjerkemoen. The British concluded that these were German paratroopers and their sources make frequent references to them. This faulty information even became part of the official history,
³
but there were no German parachute troops involved in the action at Stien.

The Norwegians had urged the British to occupy the close-in hills and ridgelines overlooking the British positions. While the recommendation envisioned establishing early warning outposts on the ridgeline from Hills 717 to 996, the most critical terrain was the ridgeline from Hills 441 to 796 as well as Hill 481. These heights dominated both British defensive lines, and their occupation by the enemy could trap the forces in the forward line. The British had not learned yet to respect the mountain warfare maxim: “Go high and wide.”

The two westerly Norwegian ski detachments, numbering about 120 men and fighting in familiar terrain and weather, should have been able to stop or seriously delay the German envelopment force. The detachment at Bjerkemoen withdrew without offering resistance except for some long-range rifle fire. The detachment at Lille Akersvann resisted and held its position. The Germans bypassed the Norwegian detachment without attempting to eliminate it. The Norwegians failed to prevent the continued northward movement of the German force.

Sorko’s main force approached the British positions along the Finneid-Mo road. He started probing the British positions at 1830 hours while waiting for the expected flank attack of the enveloping force. Artillery on both sides was involved. British artillery fire became ineffective after German artillery fire severed the wire communications between the guns and the forward units. The Germans were unable to cross the river near the destroyed bridge because of intense British fire and they suffered a number of casualties.

Meanwhile, there was no news from the envelopment force and Sorko concluded that the difficult terrain had prevented it from reaching its attack positions. The enveloping force finally reached Kobbernagel at 2030 hours, two hours after Sorko began his probing attacks, and its commander sent a messenger to the battalion in order to insure that their attack would coincide with Sorko’s main attack. The messenger did not reach his destination until the following morning and by then the German main force had broken into the British positions. The enveloping force commander heard sounds of heavy fighting during the night but remained confused about the situation and decided to wait until morning. Fortunately for the British, he also decided not to carry out the planned advance to the road to cut their line of retreat.
⁴

After his probing attacks were repulsed and with no news from his enveloping force, Sorko decided to carry out a more limited envelopment with Cos 6 and 8 of his main force. He moved this force eastward and managed to make an unopposed crossing of the river east of Hjelmedal. This enabled the Germans to launch a full-scale attack on the British left flank around 0200 hours. Some intense close-quarter fighting followed but within one hour, the Germans broke into the British positions. Lieutenant Colonel Trappes-Lomax tried to reinforce his left-flank company from his other forces but his men were slowly driven back over Hill 441. This forced a general withdrawal through the second defensive line.

The wider of the two German flanking forces divided into two elements after passing the Norwegian positions west of Lille Akersvann. One company proceeded to Kobbernaglen where it remained rather inactive. The ski platoon from Captain Holzinger’s company continued eastward towards its objective west of Mofjell. It reached the built-up area in the rear of the British forces around 1700 hours on May 17. The British assumed that this force included the German paratroopers believed to have landed to their east and this threat may have contributed to their decision to abandon their second defensive line.