Those white Italians the Germans had been concerned about turned out to be chickens, a breed kept by caretaker Schmidt. In pockets of not more than 30, Danish soldiers in Jutlands little towns and roadsides quickly constructed roadblocks of felled trees and handcarts, then fired away with them. The Danes vowed, Aldrig mere 9 April (Never Again an April 9) and abandoned neutrality to help found NATO in 1949. Outside, German Heinkel bombers escorted by Messerschmitt fighters were overhead, requested by Himer to drop leaflets. The operation was complicated by the arrival of the British in the north and . The rest of the country was a geographic jigsaw of 500 islands, just 100 inhabited, none any more defendable than Jutland. The king finally decided it was hopeless to continue, so at 6:35 am a messenger left to deliver the capitulation to Ambassador Renthe-Fink. Though later implemented, Operation Wilfred was initially rejected by Neville Chamberlain and Lord Halifax for fear of an adverse reaction among neutral nations like the United States. Operation Weserbung (German: Unternehmen Weserbung [vezyb], transl. In Berlin, the Danish naval attach got word from the Dutch military attach, who had gotten it from an anti-Nazi officer in the Abwehr (German intelligence). The Danes replied that they needed their kings consent. Hitler had issued the order for the invasion of Norway on March 1st under the code word "Weserbung". Here, we are being gaped at like a traveling circus, a German officer commented. Prior to the war, Germany imported approximately half of its necessary iron ore from Sweden. Both men were bitterly aware of what those words were worth. In Prague, they spat at us. Significant differences in geography, location and climate between the two nations made the actual military operations very dissimilar. The order also included the invasion and occupation of Denmark. The Norwegian government protested against the mine-laying to the British, giving them 48 hours in which to sweep up the mines. It is in our interest that Norway remains neutral, General Franz Halder, chief of the German general staff, recorded in his diary on New Years Day, 1940. A small number of Finnish volunteers helped the Norwegian Army against Germans in an ambulance unit. But another message, intercepted on the 15th, ordering the submarines to disperse revealed that the peace [in Finland] had disrupted the Allied plan. On 18 June 1940, an agreement was reached. The fall of the Danish capital of Copenhagen will be the m. Denmark is so terribly close that it would be impossible to defend her.. The country was a useful base of operations for the fight against Norway. The expeditionary force began boarding on 13 March, but it was recalled and the operation cancelled because of the end of the Winter War. Mass nonviolent direct action began first with labor strikes. Historical Map of Europe & the Mediterranean (25 May 1940 - Blitzkrieg in the West: While the Allies were still dealing with the fall of Denmark and Norway, Germany struck west. [c], Two diary entries by Alfred Jodl dated 13 and 14 March did not indicate any high-level awareness of the Allied plan but also that Hitler was actively considering putting Weserbung into operation. The invasion of Denmark lasted less than six hours and was the shortest military campaign conducted by the Germans during the war. To the Danes, the Times of Londonobserved, belongs the credit of inventing a new order unthought-of by Hitler: the Order of the Cold Shoulder.. The History Learning Site, 20 Apr 2015. The canteens were packed, and songs and marches could be heard everywhere. With the tour over, the German flew home. The British government was reluctant to engage in another land conflict on the continent in the belief that would repeat the First World War. In December 1939, the United Kingdom and France began serious planning for sending aid to Finland. Apr 19, 2021 - This is a remake of this channel's most popular video, but with refined accuracy, a higher quality map with more features, and overseas territories and an ev. In February, the Royal Navy destroyer HMSCossack boarded the German transport ship Altmark in Norwegian waters. German ships then sailed up the Oslofjord leading to the Norwegian capital, reaching the Drbak Narrows (Drbaksundet). It was a last-minute addition to the invasion because of the report of those unknown white Italians. Though all he had for intelligence were a brochure and a postcard taken during a tourist visit, Giercke assured them that there would be no problem. Himer was not there to see the sights so much as to have the city in his sight, proceeding to make a busy day of it, walking the Langelinie to note if it was ice free, next circling the Kastellet and finding its weakest point at the southeast Kings Gate. Major Hans Lunding ran a spy ring in northern Germany, which sent him reports of troop concentrations, increases in military traffic, and the stockpiling of supplies. The French intended to commit about 50,000. Truck drivers coming back from Hamburg reported rolling past German troops for 30 miles. The sun appeared like a gigantic red ball above the horizon. That would force the ore transports to travel through the open waters of the North Sea, where the Royal Navy could intercept them. See one of the shortest invasions in human history finally mapped out evey 5 minutes. Prussia and Austria declared war upon Denmark. Eighty years ago today, on May 11, 1940, the world looked very different in Europe than it had just the morning before. That itself violated Norwegian neutrality. [17] Raeder had begun by asking questions such as "Can bases be gained by military force against Norway's will, if it is impossible to carry this out without fighting? 13744. Take the government to the Hosraeltelejren military base and make a stand there.. Two of the fortress guns were 48-year-old German-made Krupp guns (nicknamed Moses and Aron) of 280mm (11in) caliber. The German invasion of Denmark (German: Operation Weserbung - Sd), was the German attack on Denmark on 9 April 1940, during the Second World War.The attack was a prelude to the invasion of Norway (German: Weserbung Nord, 9 April - 10 June 1940).. Denmark's strategic importance for Germany was limited. In Berlin, that alert naval attach got a suspicious offer from the Germans to tour the Western Front, seeing it as a sign that they wanted him out of the way. It was the start of war in Western Europe - and an end to the . Activity on the runway was unceasing: trucks were supplying planes, Fallschirmjger with their parachutes ready were awaiting orders, and engines were being checked. The ground forces would be the XXI Army Corps, including the 3rd Mountain Division and five infantry divisions;none of the latter had yet been tested in battle. In just hours, they were to have a shattering, shocking, revolting return to reality, Nazi-style. A German tank rolls along the street past the Jorgensens Hotel in the town of Horsens in eastern Denmark. ", "The British held back two divisions from France, intending to put them into the field in Norway, and planned to expand their force eventually to 100,000 men. On 9 April, the German invasion was under way, and the execution of Plan R 4 was promptly started. Resistance in Southern Norway then came to an end. Considering its status as a minor nation bordering Germany, it was also seen as a country that would have to fall at some point. [6] The long northern coastline was an excellent place to launch U-boat operations into the North Atlantic to attack British commerce. Convinced of the threat posed by the Allies to the iron ore supply, Hitler ordered the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (Armed Forces High Command; OKW) to begin preliminary planning for an invasion of Norway. But Prior proved to be the lone voice of resistance. More Danes were fated to die but, ironically, some would die while in German uniform. October 21, 2015. If Denmarks invasion was almost bloodless and its occupation bloodier, its liberation came without bloodshed. However, it was determined that Germany had discussed invasion plans as early as 3 October 1939 in a memo from Admiral Raeder to Alfred Rosenberg whose subject was "gaining bases in Norway". At 04:00 on 9 April 1940, the German ambassador to Denmark, Cecil von Renthe-Fink, called the Danish Foreign Minister Peter Munch and requested a meeting with him. The German invasion of Denmark was the fighting that followed the German army crossing the Danish border on 9 April 1940 by land, sea and air. April 9, 1940 Denmark - Norway. The final plan was codenamed "Operation Weserbung" on 27 January 1940. The Danish army was in barracks, the navy was too surprised to fire a single shot, and the air force was destroyed on the ground. Crown Princess Mrtha and children, denied asylum in her native Sweden,[citation needed] later left from Petsamo, Finland, to live in exile in the United States. Answer (1 of 14): The Danes or Vikings invaded Britain in AD 793 and until the last invasionn 1066 when William the Conqueror became King after the Battle of Hastings. German airborne troops landed at the Oslo airport Fornebu, Kristiansand airport Kjevik, and Sola Air Station the latter constituting the first opposed paratrooper attack in history;[6] coincidentally, among the Luftwaffe pilots landing at Kjevik was Reinhard Heydrich. The light at this time of day made it almost impossible to distinguish sky from the sea in the mix of clouds and darkness. Date in the current year: April 9, 2022. German industry was heavily dependent on the import of iron ore from the northern Swedish mining district, and much of that ore was shipped through the northern Norwegian port of Narvik during the winter months. Giercke and his Germans did jump from 500 feet at 5:35 am, 20 minutes behind schedule. The German Occupation of Denmark, 1940-1945. Despite the surrender of the main Norwegian forces, the Royal Norwegian Navy and other armed forces continued fighting the Germans abroad and at home until the German capitulation on 8 May 1945. Our database is searchable by subject and updated continuously. The towns Nybergsund, Elverum, ndalsnes, Molde, Kristiansund N, Steinkjer, Namsos, Bod, and Narvik were devastated by German bombing; some of them were tactically bombed, others terror-bombed. So this will be - to some extent - the 'official popular historical account'. Despite superior military strength, especially in tanks and aircraft, the Soviet . In just a few hours, the German Army had overwhelmed Denmark's army and navy, and . Quick invasion video of Denmark by Germany in 1940.A slower and faster version is both shown.Notice: Video isn't perfect.#WWII Search All 1 Records in Our Collections. The soldiers moved like shadows on the runway. The result was another Danish routof the collaborators, who received just three percent of the vote. Background Second World War. In a coordinated operation, German ships began disembarking troops at the docks in . At that, Prior erupted in a burst of fury, and the outrage was not to end with just him. It would slowly dawn on the Germans just what was behind the veneer of customary Danish courtesy. That would allow all targets to be occupied simultaneously, which was impossible if transport ships were used since they travelled only slowly. Throughout the preceding Sunday, German warships were sighted off Jutland. The invasion of Norway. ID Cards. In the Second Naval Battle of Narvik, the Royal Navy defeated the Kriegsmarine on 13 April.[15]. The incident was enough for Hitler to order Norway occupied and, as an afterthought, Denmark as well. The main striking force was to land at Narvik and advance along the railroad to its eastern terminus at Lulea, occupying Kiruna and Gallivare along the way. There were two additional career casualties: Rechnitzer, scorned by his officers, and Foreign Minister Munch, who was to resign within weeks, his reputation equally in ruins. By the time they were having breakfast, they found themselves in the middle of it, and Denmarks resistance, as little as it was, was already over. Manning a 20mm Madsen rapid-fire cannon, a Danish gun crew stands vigil at a crossroads in the town of Abenra, Denmark, 16 miles from the German frontier. The plan received the support of both Chamberlain and Halifax. The target objectives of the force were the Norwegian capital, Oslo, and other population centres: Bergen, Narvik, Troms, Trondheim, Kristiansand and Stavanger. Join historians and history buffs alike with our Unlimited Digital Access pass to every military history article ever published (over 3,000 articles) in Sovereigns military history magazines. The night before, General Himer had handed him a sealed envelope with instructions to deliver it at this odd hour, and he did not have to read it to know its contents. At 7:06pm 5 Norwegian fighters were sent into battle to combat a wave of 7080 enemy planes. The start of the Winter War between the Soviet Union and Finland in November 1939 changed the strategic situation. The German diplomat warned that Copenhagen would be bombed if the Danes did not surrender. The invasion of Norway was given to the XXI Army Corps under General Nikolaus von Falkenhorst and consisted of the following main units: The initial invasion force was transported in several groups by ships of the Kriegsmarine: Shortly after noon on 8 April, the clandestine German troopship SSRio de Janeiro was sunk off Lillesand by the Polish submarine ORPOrze, part of the Royal Navy's 2nd Submarine Flotilla. Of course, the main significance of this event was to the people who were affected by it -- especially Jews in Denmark. He was an honorable Hindenburg-era holdover, too long comfortably cocooned in Copenhagen. Danes that morning walked among the Germans in a mixture of curiosity and shock. How it was done is the subject of this well-written Osprey Campaign Series book. Within two hours, the badly damaged ship, unable to manoeuvre in the narrow fjord from multiple artillery and torpedo hits, sank with very heavy loss of life totalling 6001,000 men. The Germans, under what they called their model protectorate, allowed the Danish courts and government to function, even leaving the schools and press alone. The relief of the generals surrounding me was palpable, he recalled after the war. "[17] Norway was vital to Germany as a transport route for iron ore from Sweden, a supply that the United Kingdom was determined to stop. I have not the slightest doubt that the Germans will swarm all over Denmark when it suits them, Churchill concluded. That made him become even more strongly committed to the invasion.[6]. German Invasion of Denmark and Norway (World War II) The German invasion of Denmark was the fighting that followed the German army crossing the Danish border on 9 April 1940 by land, sea and air. Three companies of paratroopers would be used to seize airfields. Conveniently, that would also allow the Allied forces to occupy the Swedish iron ore mining district. in Every Room: Blink Smart Security for Every Home Neighbors App Real-Time Crime & Safety . Inside the palace, the shooting had reduced the cabinet to pure panic. The Reich government has beginning today set in motion certain military operations which will lead to the occupation of strategic points on Danish soil, Renthe-Fink announced. The Germans even allowed the only free election in occupied Europe in 1942, expecting the local Quisling party to be voted in. He found himself in a room full of nervous generals, facing a major with a map covering the wall behind him. One gate at the Kastellet was blown down by a premature explosion, killing a German soldier. Everything took place quickly under the cover of an alert exercise. They hoped to avoid cases of desertion and Poles surrendering to troops in Germany-many Poles knew German or English (at least in numbers that were worrisome to Soviet planners), Danish was virtually unknown as was the culture and society. The fire and resulting explosions were the handiwork of Danish resistance fighters. The availability of tanks and armored cars was the greatest importance, one German officer said. [17] It was not until 2 April 1940 that German preparations were completed and the Naval Operational Order for Weserbung was issued on 4 April 1940. Some troops crossed the Jutland border into Denmark, others emerged from hiding in German merchant ships in Copenhagen harbor, and paratroops landed at key points around the country. What is the point? asked Prime Minister Thorvald Stauning. The German Army in northwestern Europe surrendered to Field Marshal Bernard Montgomerys forces inMay 1945, and the German troops in Denmark simply walked out. That made Norway the occupied country that had withstood a German invasion for the longest time before succumbing. Without consulting his counterpart, the cabinet, or the king, Rechnitzer gave the order not to fire. If nothing else, the Royal Life Guards at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen prevented the Germans from capturing King Kristian X just long enough for him to order a surrender. A few weeks later, in one of the wars great acts of resistance, the Danes smuggled almost their entire Jewish population to safety in Sweden. Planning for the expedition continued, but the justification for it was removed after the Moscow Peace Treaty between Finland and the Soviet Union had been signed in March 1940 and ended the Winter War. The dismayed Danes vented their anger elsewhere. The invasion of Denmark was a part of the operation Weserbung directed towards the invasion of Norway. He and the equally depressed and desperate foreign minister, Peter Munch, had to pin their hopesand Denmarks fateon a non-aggression pact with Germany. Answer (1 of 3): I am going to answer this based on my general knowledge as a Dane, and without any particular insight in history. On the night of April 8, 1940, almost four million people went to bed at peace in the midst of a world war. Operation Weserbung (German: Unternehmen Weserbung [vezyb], transl. Ostensibly undertaken as a preventive maneuver against a planned, and openly discussed Franco-British plan to occupy Norway, Operation Weserbung has, more than any other . On April 7, one final German tourist, General Hans Himer, arrived by train, his soon-to-be-needed uniform in protected diplomatic luggage. [21] The International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg determined that no Allied invasion was imminent and so rejected the German argument that Germany was entitled to attack Norway. The attack began with a German invasion of the Netherlands and northern Belgium. The Reich government, he droned on, declares to the royal Danish government that Germany has no intention of through her measures now or in the future of touching upon the territorial integrity and political independence of the Kingdom of Denmark.. The men listened attentively to their commander: The Fhrer has decided to attack Denmark and Norway in order to protect the Reich. Following a meeting with Vidkun Quisling from Norway on December 14th,[7] Hitler turned his attention to Scandinavia. The Danish military at the border quickly capitulat. He asked a sergeant for a tour of the fortress. I would not in any case undertake to guarantee Denmark.. Only the platoon commanders, together with their company commander, remained in the barracksthey knew the truth about the exercise, Giercke continued. The Altmark rescued British prisoners-of-war, which also violated Norwegian neutrality since she was obliged to release them as soon as she entered neutral territory. "Denmark and Norway 1940" is authored by Douglas Dildy, with illustrations by John White. Two other more desperate officers were on the move around town. This did not take long in coming. General Kurt Himer, who had been directing events from his hotel telephone until the Danish postal authorities finally cut him off, was soon back in touch with his forces in Denmark and headquarters in Hamburg when a truck transported from the Hansestadt Danzig arrived with radio equipment. After firing, the Danes were either quickly surrounded or retreated into the towns to trade shots around corners in the back streets. The threat from the fortress (and the mistaken belief that mines had contributed to the sinking) delayed the rest of the naval invasion group long enough for the Royal Family, the Cabinet and members of Parliament to be evacuated, along with the national treasury. Soviet plans envisioned Poland being the main part of invasion force against Denmark. More aircraft arrived: Stukas and bombers. Hitler was not particularly interested in Denmark in itself, but he needed to control the country and its air bases to make it easier for the German army to attack Norway. The plan was to provoke a German reaction by laying mines in Norwegian waters, and once Germany showed signs of taking action, UK troops would occupy Narvik, Trondheim, and Bergen and launch a raid on Stavanger to destroy Sola airfield. From the German point of view, the Royal Navy did just that, ignoring Norwegian sovereignty to enter its waters to storm the German supply ship Altmark, liberating almost 300 British merchant seamen held captive in its hold. [9][pageneeded]. Prior met his naval counterpart, Vice Admiral Hjalmar Rechnitzer, who would have been the controversial figure of the days events, except there would never be anyone to argue for his side. The plan also called for the swift capture of the Kings of Denmark and Norway in the hope of triggering a rapid surrender. Norway was invaded by Nazi Germany on April 9th 1940. Weser Time), was set to 05:15. The Royal Army of Poland marches to Denmark to conquer it from the Scandinavian Empire. The Norwegian government-in-exile based in London remained, therefore, an Allied nation in the war. Their helmets were also the best in human history. However, the government in Copenhagen decided that the German military superiority was too great to justify further resistance. At 05:25, two squadrons of German Messerschmitt Bf 110s attacked Vrlse airfield on Zealand and neutralised the Danish Army Air Service by strafing. I am on the server myself and so far have really enjoyed ithttps://discord.gg/h6r8DRW Under the code name ' Operation Weserbung ', Nazi Germany attacked Denmark and Norway on 9 April 1940. See this bridge? the major pointed to the map. According to original information accompanying the image, two of the soldiers in the photo were killed in action later that day. In 700 pages of postwar writing, Prime Minister Churchill gave the invasion one line: Denmark was easily overrun after a formal resistance in which a few faithful soldiers were killed. In the next five years, though, Danes were to show that if they could not fight, they could resist. In the far north, Norwegian, French and Polish troops, supported by the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force (RAF), fought against the Germans over the control of the Norwegian harbour Narvik, important for the year-round export of Swedish iron ore. My friends :DBulgarian empire mapping:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD-0LPbxri4fSvd0UoisIfgZero36 mapping:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPuMYN3dIxXAKAq. " Every collectivist revolution rides in on a Trojan horse of "Emergency". The first phase would consist of three divisions for the assault, with the remainder to follow in the next wave. Captain Giercke was en route to his target, the Storstrom Bridge, with its supposed white Italians. The German invasion of Denmark in World War II was the swiftest military conquest in historyless than three hoursbut still had moments of high drama. RM2JAHJXR - Nazi Free Corps Kaj Bertramsen (1913-1944) member of Free Corps Denmark seen with the Danish Flag on his uniform lapel. When it was rejected with just 15 minutes left, the Germans dismissed the fiction of the protectorate, imposed martial law, confined the king in his palace, dismissed the government, and moved against the Danish military. Instead, the British Cabinet voted to proceed with the mining operation in Norwegian waters, followed by troop landings. Grabbing bicycles, the paratroopers pedaled down to the bridge, captured it without resistance, and soon, as planned, linked up with advancing Wehrmacht units. German Fallschirmjger (paratrooper) units had made unopposed landings and taken two airfields at Aalborg, the Storstrm Bridge as well as the fortress of Masned, the latter being the first recorded attack in the world made by paratroopers.[8]. On 19 August 1940, Finland agreed to grant access to its territory for the Wehrmacht, with the agreement signed on 22 September. Late in the evening of 8 April 1940, Kampfgruppe 5 was spotted by the Norwegian guard vessel Pol III. Vidkun Quisling's radio-effected coup d'etat at 7.30pm on 9 April[13] was another first. Hitler has no warlike intentions toward Denmark, Renthe-Fink genuinely believed, and he reassured Munch, who remained optimistically obtuse to the very end. Yes quite a Meme based on that the 75,000,000 Asexuals can overthrow the Danish Army of 92,000 so that the population of Asexuals can all fit into the Free State to create a Utopia for Asexuals to be free from Acephobia and form a sexless country. In just a few hours, the German Army had overwhelmed Denmark's army and navy, and . A huge construction, we were upon it in no time. The German invasion of Denmark and Norway began on 9 April 1940. Two days later, the long-planned Operation Wilfred was put into action, and the Royal Navy detachment, led by the battlecruiser HMSRenown, left Scapa Flow to mine Norwegian waters. Pol III was fired at; her captain Leif Welding-Olsen became the first Norwegian killed in action during the invasion. The King and his cabinet evacuated from Molde to Troms on 29 April, and the Allies evacuated from ndalsnes on 1 May. German invasion was to protect Denmark against an Allied attack. events, and resources. The attack was a prelude to the main attack against Norway (German: Weserbung Nord). [citation needed], The 1941 Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran, and the 1940 German invasion of Norway have been argued to be preemptive, with the German defense in the Nuremberg trials in 1946 arguing that Germany was "compelled to attack Norway by the need to forestall an Allied invasion and that her action was therefore preemptive". The Winter War, also known as the First Soviet-Finnish War, was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland.The war began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peace Treaty on 13 March 1940.
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