Norwegian Campaign

Norwegian Campaign
Part of the Second World War
German forces advancing near Bagn in Valdres · Norwegian artillery in action near Narvik · King Haakon VII of Norway and his son Crown Prince Olav during a German air raid on Molde · German Gebirgsjäger troops near Narvik · German bombing of the Norwegian coastal fortress Oscarsborg
Date 9 April – 10 June 1940 (62 days) Location Norway Result German victory Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany Evacuation of the Norwegian government and royal family Establishment of the Norwegian Armed Forces in exile Reichskommissariat Norwegen
Belligerents
Germany	Norway  United Kingdom  France Polish Armed Forces in the West
Commanders and leaders
Nikolaus von Falkenhorst	Kristian Laake (9–10 April) Otto Ruge (from 10 April) Lord Cork
Strength
c. 100,000 7 divisions 1 Fallschirmjäger battalion	Total: c. 93,000 Norway: 6 divisions (c. 55,000 combatants involved in the fighting) Allies: c. 38,000
Casualties and losses
Official German figures: 5,296 (1,317 killed on land, 2,375 lost at sea, 1,604 wounded) Material losses: 1 heavy cruiser 2 light cruisers 10 destroyers 6 U-boats 2 torpedo boats 15 light naval units 21 transports/merchant ships 90–240 aircraft	Total: c. 6,602 British: On land: 1,869 killed, wounded and missing At sea: c. 2,500 lost 1 aircraft carrier 2 cruisers 7 destroyers 1 submarine 112 aircraft French and Polish: 533 killed, wounded and missing 2 destroyers 2 submarines Norwegian: c. 1,700 total, of whom 860 were killed 107 naval ships sunk or captured c. 70 merchant ships and transports sunk (combined Norwegian/Allied total)
Civilian (Norwegian) casualties: c. 400 killed

German victory

The Norwegian Campaign (9 April to 10 June 1940) was fought in Norway between Norway, the Allies and Germany in World War II after the latter's invasion of the country. In April, the United Kingdom and France came to Norway's aid with an expeditionary force. Despite moderate success in the northern parts of Norway, Germany's invasion of France in May eventually compelled the Allies to withdraw and the Norwegian government to seek exile in London. The campaign ended with the occupation of Norway by Germany, and the continued fighting by exiled Norwegian forces from abroad. The 62 days of fighting made Norway the nation that withstood a German invasion for the second longest period of time, after the Soviet Union.

Britain and France had signed military assistance treaties with Poland and two days after the German invasion (on 1 September 1939), both declared war on Nazi Germany. However, neither country mounted significant offensive operations and for several months no major engagements occurred in what became known as the Phoney War or "Twilight War". Winston Churchill in particular wished to move the war into a more active phase, in contrast to Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain.

During this time both sides wished to open secondary fronts. For the Allies, in particular the French, this was based on a desire to avoid repeating the trench warfare of the First World War, which had occurred along the Franco-German border.

Following the outbreak of the Second World War, the Norwegian government had mobilized parts of the Norwegian Army and all but two of the Royal Norwegian Navy's warships. The Norwegian Army Air Service and the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service were also called up to protect Norwegian neutrality from violations by the warring countries. The first such violations were the sinkings in Norwegian territorial waters of several British ships by German U-boats. In the following months aircraft from all the belligerents violated Norwegian neutrality.

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Wikipedia