033 - The Invasion of Norway and Denmark - WW2 - April 13 1940

[@WorldWarTwo]

Hey all! The Phoney war is over, and although we have learned in the last months that it wasn't as uneventful as is generally believed, the war really takes off here. While this is going live, we are in France to film future events, which I won't spoil in this video. If you don't mind too much, do check out our road trip vlogs (the many specials we shot here will have to be edited and will be published over the spring). We have seen very interesting things and we will challenge many misconceptions and myths about the upcoming events of World War Two. Thank you all for your ongoing support! Cheers, Joram *LEASE READ BEFORE YOU COMMENT:* *RULES OF CONDUCT* STAY CIVIL AND POLITE we will delete any comments with personal insults, or attacks. AVOID PARTISAN POLITICS AS FAR AS YOU CAN we reserve the right to cut off vitriolic debates. HATE SPEECH IN ANY DIRECTION will lead to a ban. RACISM, XENOPHOBIA, OR SLAMMING OF MINORITIES will lead to an immediate ban. PARTISAN REVISIONISM, ESPECIALLY HOLOCAUST AND HOLODOMOR DENIAL will lead to an immediate ban.

[@luxembourgishempire2826]

Finally

[@remenir97]

No diss or something, but from this camera angle, the background looks like a green screen.

[@jack-hq4ek]

Indy -I don't know if you'll read this- but after watching some other channels talking about history as you do, I really appreciate the showmanship (in the best possible way) that you have. It takes a real talent to not bore the audience - specially when it comes to geopolitical history-. I just want to thank you for every video that you guys prepared for us, from ww1 to between two wars to ww2. I hope that 20-30 years later people will look up here and watch this channel, and even more with the archives of this show, hundreds of years later some weird historian will open this channel and look at us, look at us to see what we have thought about the past, will look at the comments to see who have watched it. This is historical bookkeeping at it's finest, both the book and the comments together.

[@studinthemaking]

World War Two never heard about about German torp problem.

[@studinthemaking]

World War Two how many ships did the Germans lose?

[@SovietDoge]

"Something might be up" - Norway, as its being invaded.

[@philippinecircularflag2023]

Will all the German POWs be put into 5 star Norwegian Prison Camps?

[@theamici]

literal lol

[@theamici]

@@philippinecircularflag2023 There were no Norwegian Prison Camps as far as I know, but I believe Norwegian PoWs will receive preferential treatment over other ethnicities due to a weird Nazi-German fetish for nordic people.

[@LukoHevia]

Norway is like that high school kid who has no game with the ladies and doesn't ever realize when one actually likes him

[@theamici]

@@mablo88123 Thanks :) I learned something new today. I suspected there had to be since the war was going to last some time, but I'd never heard of it.

[@otitomaduegbuna7539]

Indy should cover WWIII week by week while it's happening.

[@philippinecircularflag2023]

It's probably a 3 year war, just Target All Major Cities of the Enemy Country with Nukes

[@auguststorm2037]

Yes and apparently this time fans could enlist and so participate directly to the outcome of the war

[@eldorados_lost_searcher]

@@philippinecircularflag2023 So you're saying that it could potentially be over by Christmas?

[@philippinecircularflag2023]

@@eldorados_lost_searcher correct, if it starts by March

[@stanislaskowalski7461]

@@philippinecircularflag2023 With nukes, it won't take 3 years. More like 3 days. @Garret LeBuis Sure, it can be over by Christmas. If there is still someone alive on the losing side to sign the peace treaty. i mean someone with at least something that resemble authority.

[@Huntracony]

At least the Netherlands doesn't have to worry. Germany didn't need to invade them in WW1, so surely they won't do so now.

[@mennoltvanalten7260]

And if they try, we have water to stop them!

[@rosaria8384]

Planes coming in with troops

[@feonor26]

That's why we in Norway was banking on too

[@auguststorm2037]

Finland - invaded by Soviets. Denmark and Norway - invaded by Germany Sweden : *Starts to look arround nervously*

[@knutdergroe9757]

And still did nothing.

[@robertohlen4980]

@@knutdergroe9757 Apart from dancing nimbly between raging giants.

[@ballagh]

And selling everyone bofors guns.

[@Mattebubben]

And at this point the British were the only ones with Actual plans for Attacking Sweden (Taking the Swedish Iron works as mentioned in the Video).

[@Mattebubben]

@@knutdergroe9757 well just like all the other minors they did pretty much whatever they had to not get involved in the war. And at this point Sweden had no real friends as all of the Major powers were possible aggressors. Siding with the Allies against Germany would have Doomed Sweden as the Allies were in no position to help and would most likely be unable to provide enough soldiers to Swedens Aid. Swedens military was also not in a good situation as the Army and Airforces had been greatly reduced in size from peace movements in the 1920s and they had only started building up the Military in the late 1930s. And as we have seen by this point in the war the British and French are very good at promising aid while delivering very little when it comes down to it...

[@Gapeagle]

Germany: *Invades Norway* Norway: "Hold up, are you planning something?"

[@theamici]

Germany: "No no... noooo..." Germany: *Lands forces* Norway: "Okay then... but I'm watching you!"

[@panzerkampfwagenvausf.g9469]

We fought back tho

[@seneca983]

Norway: "Hey, we sunk some ship in the Oslofjord. You know what it was doing there?"

[@TheCimbrianBull]

*Seinfeld slap bass theme intensifies*

[@Gapeagle]

@@panzerkampfwagenvausf.g9469 yeah, you guys did do that.

[@FrazzP]

"Either I will be decorated, or I will be court-martialed. Fire!" - Colonel Birger Eriksen, commander of Oscarsborg fortress The Germans could have seized the Norwegian royal family, the national gold reserve and the cabinet, but his decision to put up a fight allowed all 3 to escape north to continue the fight. I highly encourage to read the wiki article on it. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dr%C3%B8bak_Sound

[@alin_ilies]

Yes i found out about him from bazz battles. In this channel you get a good overview of ww2, but some details are not mentionated. It could be used the I icon to sent you to other youtube channels that covered that event in more detail.

[@FrazzP]

@@alin_ilies I also liked the BazBattles video even though i already knew of this event. Yeah, i was kinda dissapointed they didn't at least quickly mention the background of the sinking of the Blücher since it had important consequences. But oh well, great video nonetheless.

[@plugs313]

My God! I would not have wanted to be in Eriksen's place on that night... "Do I shoot? Yes, No... Ghaaaaa!!!"

[@rogerjohnson8707]

That was a great article. What a crazy battle.

[@harisahmed8009]

That’s where the Norwegians sank blucher

[@cobbler9113]

One thing this series has made me appreciate is that despite how brutal and terrible the war would become as well as vast in scope, it certainly took a long time for the main belligerents to confront each other. I suppose even now (79 years ago), the bulk of troops on both sides are still sitting in the low countries waiting for their orders.

[@TheBespectacledN00b]

Also a very interesting contrast with 1914 and thr for their battles.

[@sharadowasdr]

Unless you count China though. Hundreds of thousands have already died there by this time.

[@paint4r]

Britannic hayyomatt Have you heard of the china-burma-india theatre? China worked in closs collaboration with the british, british indians, anzacs and the americans as well. As for japan and germany, while in practice they did not directly help the germans at all and did not even listen to hitler in invading the soviet far east, in theory they were just as allied with the germans as italy was (pre sicily invasion italy i mean)

[@c7f7c]

@@paint4r Think he means their separate wars at this point.

[@kaczynskis5721]

There were a number of disciplinary offences in both the British forces in France and the French army at this time, brought on by alcohol. Troops were bored.

[@gcircle]

"I wonder if other neutral nations in Europe are taking note" (laughs in portuguese)

[@BMTHrenan]

"kkkkkkkk"

[@philippinecircularflag2023]

Portugal above all

[@luxembourgishempire2826]

@@neues3691 And Spain only had Andorra as a buffer to France

[@louisswanepoel1614]

@@luxembourgishempire2826 Oh yeah

[@plugs313]

Hello!!! Brussels, are you watching this?

[@hawaii2k]

My grandfather fought at Narvik against the Germans. The following weeks will be interesting to watch.

[@TheCimbrianBull]

*Max Manus intensifies*

[@ICXC07]

My great-grandfather was a German soldier at narvik.

[@-ninetynine-2498]

luke peace wow I didn’t think anyone had the balls to admit that but Too you sure I congratulate to have the balls to admit ur great grandpa was a solider

[@TheLocalLt]

- Rxpe - huh? I have tons of friends in school who’s grandparents fought for the Germans in WWII. They just happened to live in Germany at the time, they weren’t Nazis… Its not something uncommon at all.

[@chrisholland7367]

Would he have been involved in some of early commando raids.That was an extremely tough campaign. Respect 👍

[@rasmussalen3363]

4:54 you guys did Göring a bit of a favor with that portrait choice...

[@benjaminmaxwell9025]

Underrated comment

[@rebecca4680]

Isn’t Goring supposed to be... bigger? I can’t believe that’s a real portrait... I’ve always known him as the fat one.

[@Dustz92]

@@rebecca4680 that's a WW1portrait I think

[@ville307]

Yeah. The picture is from 1918.

[@lel2015]

Goring is fat

[@E350tb]

Fun fact - Lieutenant Commander Roope, commander of HMS Glowworm, was posthumously awarded the VC for his attack on the Admiral Hipper. This was at least in part on the recommendation of the Hipper's captain, who wrote to the Admiralty through the Red Cross in praise of him.

[@GerritDeSmedt]

A 2 second mention in the video. Had me immediately : wait, pauze, rewind, what ?!? Amazing how such situations emerge in War.. www.thewarillustrated.info/213/now-it-can-be-told-last-glorious-fight-of-the-glowworm.asp

[@carlosandleon]

damn lol, ignoring loyalties, that was a really pathetic move lol

[@carlosandleon]

but brave

[@carlosandleon]

still hilarious though

[@Spindrift_87]

@@carlosandleon What are you talking about

[@TheKurtkapan34]

"British battleship WarSPIT" Indy nooo :(

[@Nelsonwmj]

War-SPITE!!! SPITE!!! LOTS AND LOTS OF SPITE!!!

[@kristincarey2749]

I love him but it made me cringe

[@robaitken4592]

I think Jingles from the World of Warships community should come over and help with pronunciations...or not if you know his work haha

[@mjbull5156]

@@robaitken4592 He'd apply the correct pronouciation to the wrong ship, unless they are French, then he just does not care about the pronounciation.

[@TheKurtkapan34]

@@cezaryrak-ejma2436 you don't need to play wows to know how to pronounce warspite. It is one of the most famous ships to have ever sailed. I'd think that Indy would have watched plenty of Pathe newsreels and should've known how to say it. I'll forget it and think of it as a simple faux pas. It's just it's something I'd never expect from him.

[@ignacejespers8201]

At 10:25 HMS Warspite changed her name to Warspit as her 15-inch guns litterally spat on these pesky German destroyers

[@SennaAugustus]

I spit on your war.

[@PorchPotatoMike]

4:18 “the heavy cruiser ‘Bluecher’” *horse whinnies in the background*

[@TheCimbrianBull]

ROFL! 🤣 😂 😅

[@stevepobst7953]

Heard the name "Bluecher"... immediately stopped the video to check comments to make sure somebody had this covered. All is well.

[@randallcase1009]

Here are two great movies to go with this week: The King's Choice: A movie about Norway's King Haakon VII and how he and the Norwegian responded to the invasion. April 9th: A pretty hard hitting movie that follows a squad of Danish bicycle soldiers and their experiences in the "6 Hour War". Both of these movies are pretty intense and well done.

[@Emma-eq8pm]

Also, I know this is late, but I totally want to call out the movie Max Manus: Man of War. Max Manus was an incredible person. He and all his rebels and saboteurs.

[@andromeda331]

Both are good movies.

[@robaitken4592]

Patreon Supporter of the Week - and I approve this video ^_^ Excellent video Indy & Crew - The Invasion of Norway is a fascinating example of when Land/ Sea powers fight battles in fields that are not particularly their strength. Interestingly enough the Germans will never fully replace their Destroyers losses and Raeder & Doenitz will note their lack of destroyer strength for all future naval operations planning.

[@TheAngelOfDeath01]

Got it-in-one! :-)

[@Gradius6]

No, you didn't miss it. The invasion of Denmark is covered from 4:00 to 4:04. It really was that short.

[@HoH]

It seems like a minor detail but those colourized photographs of all these men (and women) are such a nice addition to the series.

[@TheCimbrianBull]

You can thank Spartacus Olsson for doing that.

[@michaelmorley9363]

I highly recommend the Danish movie "9.April," which tells the story of a unit of cyclist infantry fighting the Germans on that morning. One of the mort accurate depictions of combat ever put to film.

[@theamici]

Of course they were cyclists... how more Danish can you get? ---Norwegian

[@rebecca4680]

Amici Nybråten . I’d have thought cyclists would be Dutch. Are the Danes challenging them to be the King of Bicycles?

[@theamici]

@@rebecca4680 Copenhagen is the bicycle capital of the world. They are crazy about it over there, according to media reports anyways.

[@emilmoserasmussen8668]

Rebecca Yeah fucking bikes they are litteraly everywhere here

[@TheCimbrianBull]

@@rebecca4680 That bicycle showdown would have been the most epic battle in WW2! 🚲

[@clamum]

Ah, the favorite part of my Saturdays. You guys got incredibly well done maps; that really aids in helping understand movements and relations between places. Much kudos to the people you have working on them.

[@xpost9381]

Well, you would probably get lost if you used their map. They aren't able to orient the map correctly. Good luck.

[@captainyossarian388]

3:08 Salute to a single British destroyer, the Glowworm, that took on an entire German task force. May her brave crew rest in peace. I was not aware of this battle and consider myself a big WW2 history buff, it never ceases to amaze me how this series continues to educate me.

[@adrianw.h2979]

my great grandfather was in the Norwegian navy and saw action in hardangerfjorden on the torpedoboat sæl, even tough they didnt acomplish much they did damage a german ship

[@TheCimbrianBull]

*Max Manus intensifies*

[@RazgulTheKind]

Considering the lack of resources available to them the Norwegian navy did a damn fine job.

[@seanklay1388]

Indy, I was a little surprised you didn't mention at the end of the episode, how the German commander of the Hipper, made the recommendation for LT Commander Roope to receive the Victoria Cross for his actions commanding the HMS Glowworm during the battle. Its a little touch of humanity in this inhumane war.

[@mcMarcin6]

Glad that you didnt forget the brave Orzel :*

[@spiritusIRATUS]

The defeated, stateless Polish probably fought more than the Danes lol

[@andrescheerrahald7035]

Whait, why the germans had a ship called Rio de Janeiro?

[@JohnJohn-pe5kr]

André Scheerrahald because it carried German passengers and Cargo to South America.

[@badoodadoodadoo7653]

because they had too many invasion ideas and needed em down somewhere

[@ihavenoidea3311]

King Håkan’s aid: My king, we are at war. King Håkan: With whom? Is it the sweds again? Im sorry i but i just had to

[@ann-catherinemorner7499]

That's Norway for you. There was a strong movement in Sweden for declaring war on the Soviet Union on November 30, 1939. However, our government was socialist, not exactly like the Soviet socialists, but... And noone else wanted to help. Not Norway, which has a border to Finland, and to the Soviet Union. Not the British/Churchill, who said that if Sweden let them occupy all our Iron ore fields, and take control of all our railroads, including the year around ice free Narvik, then, come spring, maybe a few troops could be sent to Finland... He might have thought that Norway was still in union with Sweden. After all, that union had only been disolved in October 1905. Practically yesterday. The Norweigians must still be obeying Sweden, surely? 🤣 All the time he was planning to invade Norway. And would then have continued into Sweden. With "friends" like that, who needs enemies? Wow, he must have almost had a stroke when the German got there first. I wonder what kind of a deal he had with Stalin, even before November 30? Britain sure didn't say anything when the Soviet Union invade Poland on September 16. Right. Busy. On September 16, 1939 the first bombings in WWII took place. The RAF bombed Hamburg. Civilians. "We got lost. We intended to bomb the port".

[@erikgranqvist3680]

At least in Sweden and Norway, the name Quisling has become a synonym for traitor even to this day.

[@Loganberrybunny]

In Britain too; you don't see it often now, but we still know it means. There was an editorial in The Times (spoilers) next week, 19 April 1940, headlined "Quislings everywhere", and it was being used more widely within weeks.

[@hognelarsenrhme1703]

It is an International Word actually. Churchill was the first to use it

[@arulshankarum2512]

I'm a simple man..I see the notification...I invade Poland

[@screamer5029]

Lol

[@emo8613]

I invade you if your so dumb

[@sylvadob1229]

@@emo8613 ?

[@emo8613]

sylva dob I don’t remember commenting that

[@harshraj3255]

hahahahaha

[@naits66]

Thank you for giving such a correct and detailed description of the history.I was born in drøbak where they sank bluchur so we have alot of pride regadring this. Thanks again

[@speedydb55]

Indy: "I wonder if other neutral nations in Europe are taking note...." Belgium: "....Nah. We'll be fine."

[@Duke_of_Lorraine]

Germany is at war with France, France has a fantastic defensive line meaning any attack through that would be suicide... surely Germany will attack through that, or through Switzerland, when it attacks, right ?

[@steveguild871]

@@Duke_of_Lorraine Through the Alps...drive the Panzers thru the Alps. Nobody will expect that.

[@Duke_of_Lorraine]

@@steveguild871 you'll need to rush the development of Elefant tank destroyers, then.

[@McDragoneer]

and shit has officially hit the fan, no more phoney war bois! The delaying action near oslo by the fortress actually made it possible for king haakon, the government and their gold reserves to escape, god bless you Birger Eriksen!

[@TheCimbrianBull]

*Max Manus intensifies*

[@perperson199]

Legend

[@runevverhartvig6340]

Am I the only one trying to forget my WW2 knowledge as to not spoil the future episodes for myself?

[@TheAngelOfDeath01]

Nope!

[@robaitken4592]

You are definitely not alone, I wish I could have learned this way week by week in detail,

[@poiuyt975]

You're name is Legion ;)

[@andysorensen1737]

As an American, most of what we’re taught of the war between September 1939-December 6, 1941 is “America stayed neutral so it isn’t our concern”, so at least in these early years it is nice to see everything unfold like this.

[@poiuyt975]

@@andysorensen1737 That might be the first time when a lack of education is beneficial ;)

[@anttibjorklund1869]

A few years ago a film was released about this war, called The King's Choice ("Kongens nei" or "The King's No" in Norwegian). I remember it being quite good.

[@TheCimbrianBull]

I certainly enjoyed it when I watched it some years ago.

[@legalvampire8136]

Being British myself, I am ashamed that despite having by far the largest navy in Europe, we completely failed to prevent the German sea bourn invasion of Norway.

[@elomial724]

Britain actually provoked the war in Norway

[@sigurd_7613]

yeah they did and it wasen't mentioned in the video @@elomial724

[@-lorentzen5925]

Vi er samme folk her i Danmark ;) But maybe you still remember the Danelaw days xD

[@joshntn37111]

Hitler was willing to do whatever it took to win while the Allies, early on, played by the "rules". Which shows you how weak nations become when they attempt some type of liberalism. The weak die. It's that simple.

[@freetolook3727]

Caller: "Was your milkshake filling and have a lot of calories? " Indy: "No, it was smooth and not even 50."

[@crusader7659]

Gotta love how everyone is like “we must secure the iron ore in Sweden, lets invade every other Scandinavian country to do so while leaving Sweden neutral”

[@feonor26]

Haha....well it was shipped out of Narvik by a rail road from Sweden so it made sense to take Narvik. Also Norway has a long coast which is a tactical advantage to control.

[@genericyoutubeaccount579]

Well is is the episode. From now on it is a full steam ahead and the action won't stop until the nukes drop.

[@AndreiGrozea]

I recommend "the battles of Narvik" by Drachinifel if anyone wants to learn more about the naval actions in Norway at the beginning of the war. Great channel

[@Dan-fo9dk]

....well....beside that the British sank the German navy ships there at Narvik....they didn't do much of a difference.... it was mostly a land based war (hence not a naval battle) (the so called battle of Narvik) .... It was a battle where the Norwegians were aided by French and Polish troops. The British were just tourist in that regard - just sitting on their ships. The British storytelling of what happened and what they did are totally skewed....and that concerns also what they did later during the war.... The only thing that the British did well in Norway during the WW2 years was randomly bomb civilian targets. They had no idea - at least did not show they realised the situation - that Norway did not have roads but all transport was with ships (both for passengers and cargo). Again and again the coastal express ships were bombed and sunk. The only way to get food in the Arctic was to go out to sea for fishing ....and what did the British do..??? ...well... they bombed the small boats and sunk them ...of course.... and just to be sure to make things even more complete they threw out mines all along the coast....and yeah it worked.... it did help many civilians to get a wet grave.... The single largest loss of lives was when British bomber planes randomly discovered a ship ...attacked it and sunk it. There were around 2800 people onboard ...and over 2500 of them ended their lives there..... During those 5 years of war did the British manage to kill about as many civilians in Norway as the occupying German troops did..... The British narrative of what they did .....is....that they did a heroic job .....and that the Norwegian should be thankful for that.....

[@bbcmotd]

A Norwegian meets an armed German patrol in Oslo and asks "excuse me herr soldat, do you think your country will really invade us?"

[@TheCimbrianBull]

ROFL! 🤣 😂 😅

[@shenghan9385]

This is funny

[@sanrek8877]

😸

[@jamseywamsey7476]

Umm, dette er helt sant, og denne kommentaren var ganske morsom.

[@andyharpist2938]

Talking to a stranger? Not possible at all ! He would keep his head down as he passed the Germans because he hadn't been introduced and didn't want to cause any embarrassment. But he would tell his sister-in-law who would bring it up at the Town Council meeting, tomorrow, where it would go to vote, 7 women -to-2 men , that a school dormitory would be made available for them, during the inclement winter weather ahead.

[@hannecatton2179]

Thanks for amusing me greatly with those sub-titles ! Fantastically funny. I laughed so much my stomach hurt.

[@heyjojacobi8484]

„Skag Iraq“ nearly killed me 😂

[@timmmahhhh]

Also the heavy cruiser Blucher was easily detected because every time someone said the name a horse would whinny.

[@TheCimbrianBull]

Please explain the joke to me.

[@timmmahhhh]

@@TheCimbrianBull Certainly, the classic Mel Brooks movie Young Frankenstein has a character named Frau Blucher. It is a running gag in the movie that every time someone says her name, horses whinny. kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJWseneViayqnq8

[@pnutz_2]

c'mon warspite, now's your time to shine

[@bkjeong4302]

capnazrael Because using a battleship to sink the worst-designed destroyers of WWII isn’t overkill/s

[@panzerofthelake506]

6:40 "kanai and Shawn horse" 9:33 "Hall Khan" the subtitles are on point!

[@emilbratteberg1455]

I am Norwegian and I suggest a movie called “Kongens nei” it’s about the king and his family fleeing to safety.

[@myrddinbuyens5532]

Dude this channel is such a high quality!

[@TheBeast-or1fb]

Great video! You forgot to mention the two norwegian battleships (Norge and Eidsvold) the germans sunk in Narvik. I’m from Narvik myself so this is a bit important to remember haha

[@xxioutlawixx2294]

Another awesome Episode @World War Two Staff .I love watching this unfold week by week.

[@HistoryHustle]

It's becoming heavy now. Great video and love the animations. Understandably the German invasion of Denmark gets covered less, yet I do believe it's a fascinating story. Check out the movie "9. april" (2015) by the way.

[@TheCimbrianBull]

Great movie! 😀

[@Loganberrybunny]

Tremendous episode as ever. I'm always hugely impressed by how much information you can pack into a few minutes without it seeming rushed. Small pronunciation note: Rosyth is "Ro-SYTH", stress on the second syllable.

[@A_annoying_rodent]

Denmark, see you again in 5 years.

[@astrobot4017]

@nikolai bahtin They managed to save nearly all of "their" jews

[@TheCimbrianBull]

@nikolai bahtin And it was in fact the German governor Werner von Best who tipped the Danes about the action against the Jews.

[@franciscocrouset656]

Well thanks por participanting in the show Denmark

[@ElectroIsMyReligion]

Francisco Crouset What you might consider as “poor participation” was for the Danish government at the time a matter of minimalizing civilian casulties - protecting the public, and simply just being realistic when dealing with a much superior military power that Germany was. What a stupid comment, do some reading on the subject and if you know just a little about world politics and basic warfare would you know that Denmark had no choice, but they did the best that they could given the circumstances, hence why Denmark ranks amongst the lowest of the European nations when regarding the civilian casualties during WW2...

[@Carewolf]

@@ElectroIsMyReligion Denmark could have delayed the invasion for a few weeks, effectively stopping the invasion of Norway. Though Denmark could never hold its own border for any significant amount of time. Of course this is all very easy to say in the rear-view mirror, and the price would have been much higher for Denmark.

[@Roberto-REME]

Excellent vide, well researched and very well delivered. Thank you,

[@merdiolu]

HMS Warspite (not War-spit Indy) a Queen Elisabeth class warship served to Royal Navy during both World Wars faithfully , hit and damaged several times but stood on service till 1944 when finally retired and dismantled. Narvik had been one of her first Battle Credits during World War II. She creamed those German destroyers for good.

[@Mondo762]

Amazing that after the slaughter of WW1 and the many conflicts since then the Norwegian leadership can be so clueless. It's not like they lived on the other side of an ocean. There had already been lots of fighting close by in Finland and Poland.

[@nuoksu]

And they were not the only ones hoping for the best, as the Netherlands and - especially - Belgium will soon point out...

[@perperson199]

Political incompetence, fueled by ideological fervour. A certain kind militant pacifism dominated the labour goverment and movement. It didn't last of course. That's the reason if you wondered

[@RapidAssaultEuro]

To be honest if they mobilised their whole army they would've still been subjugated, just with more casualties.

[@perperson199]

@@RapidAssaultEuro Maybe. But that would not be the result if the Norwegian labour goverment had maintained a responsible military. Norway is very defensible, it took 2 months to conquer with minimal resistance. The german plan is far too bold and would have failed

[@ricardo3760]

The resistance kept harassing the Germans through the war as well, especially in wintertime. When the Krag is hot the German is cold lol

[@sebastianhartung4407]

half a minute into the vid and already be like: "finally somebody who uses "whom" correctly! thank you! "

[@TheCimbrianBull]

Whomst!

[@nathanhubball]

Just finished Churchill's chapter(s) on the Norwegian campaign in "the gathering storm" - this vid has really helped to visualise the events more clearly thank you!!

[@WorldWarTwo]

@Nathan Hubball Thanks for watching!

[@rbeeler81]

I guess when you have a navy with 600+ ships, you'd be forced to use innocuous names such as HMS Glowworm.

[@anthonyowens3909]

On reflection... I'm not so sure I enjoy being caught up to the present. I miss the binge watching and now have to wait a week for the next one *cry*. Good job though guys

[@Sam-oz8pn]

Good for King Haakon, knowing the difference between “who” and “whom”

[@perperson199]

Luckily for Norway he also knew which side to support

[@williestyle35]

Haakon VII was a singular monarch. He was born a prince of Denmark and elected King of Norway, serving his adopted nation steadfastly for nearly 52 years. We shall see a little bit more of his resoluteness in future episodes.

[@seneca983]

Though it's possible that Indy is wrong and he actually said "Mot hvem?" or something to that effect.

[@xpost9381]

Well, I don't know if Norway's king Haakon knew the difference between "who" and "whom". But I am 100% sure that he used none of them.......simply because english is not the spoken ianguage in Norway...!!!! I don't know if this was some help in your knowledge of the world around you. But at least I tried....

[@alexandrah9824]

Hey lieber Indy,I just wanna say a big dankeschön to you & your work with the boys from Sabaton🙂.LG Alexandra.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you very much!! It's our pleasure! Danke:)

[@alexandrah9824]

@@WorldWarTwo Bitte schön sehr gerne,macht weiter so.Freut mich!!! LG Alexandra🤘

[@lukass151]

My grandfathers brother was in the Swedish army at this time and his job was to listen to the german army in case they were going to attack Sweden, instead he heard how the Germans would invade Norway and Denmark but nothing was done to warn them about the attack if I remember correctly. So the day before the invasion he and my grandfather met as my grandfather had just done his conscription in the navy and their conversation went something went something like. Grandfather: it's so nice to be done with the navy so I can go home to the farm and the family. Grandfather's brother: well don't get to comfortable, they may have to call you back in quite shortly.

[@SimonRaahauge1973]

The Danish establishment where fully aware of the comming Invasion. But in order to protect national interests, opted to not act. This lead to the German occupation being a de facto peace time occupation. The nightmare of the war of 1864 was still in vivid memory in Denmark. Since the rise of Bismarck, Danish foreign politics revolved around being good friends with Berlin. This meant that Denmark was able to stay neutral during WWI. Even today, Danish foreign politics still focuses a lot on stayin good friends with Berlin. Which is quite easy these days, as Denmark secures Germanys northern flank, both politically and millitarily.

[@peterlewerin4213]

Swedish Military Intelligence had cracked the code the Germans used to communicate with the German embassy in Stockholm, so they were able to inform Norway that something was up (dates and dispositions weren't in the communications, of course). It ultimately didn't make any difference.

[@Carewolf]

As already stated, Denmark knew. Danish sympathetic people in the German high command had warned the Danish government two weeks before. As the German troops mobilized at the border, it was also apparent to everybody, and a vote was scheduled on whether to mobilize the Danish armed forces. Knowing the timing, the government postponed the vote, until after the invasion had started. Also all the sea mines were removed and soldiers near the borders warned to not shoot at "a military exercise involving troops in German uniforms".

[@cherrycupcake6327]

Another fascinating video. I love the way you've decked out with relevant props and attire. Really high end production. Stella work - keep it up!!

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks!

[@kristincarey2749]

Good ol warspite 'the grand old lady' what a ship.

[@oslonorway547]

THANK YOU FOR THIS. Concise, yet encompassing!

[@troy9477]

Great explanation of what happened at the landings. I did not know that Germany suffered so many naval losses. Do we know what sunk the Blucher? I did not hear it mentioned. The Kriegsmarine surface fleet did not see a lot of action after this- only the subs. Love the series. Great job

[@shawngilliland243]

No weapon is obsolete in the hands of someone sufficiently desperate to use it. "Obsolete" Norwegian coastal defense sank the new German heavy cruiser Blucher.

[@ComissarYarrick]

4:19 - As far as I know, Blucher is the only one large warship in history ever to be sunk by land-based torpedo lunchers.

[@ScooterWeibels]

So at this time Denmark's government is still functioning, as such are they now considered aligned with the Axis. What happens to Danish colonies in the North Atlantic. Do ports in Iceland or Greenland now become friendly ports to the Germans and considered enemy by the allieds? (I know what happens, but in real time these are big questions)

[@noobster4779]

they propably self gouvern themself until the british invade them. Also the germans had no real use for those small ports, there was no milkitary infrastructure there to support uboats and it was not defendable against the royal navy

[@theamici]

Iceland declared independence during WW2 I believe, and retained it afterwards. Greenland was too weak economically and administratively (very large land area with very few people) to be self-governed, so it stuck with the Danish afterwards. Same for the Faroese Islands, which are too remote with too much hostile weather to do well as a micro-state. A large amount of Faroese now live in Denmark because of the isolation that the islands create, like the lack of urban benefits.

[@kaczynskis5721]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Comintern_Pact The Danish government joined the Anti-Comintern Pact after surrendering.

[@TheCimbrianBull]

The Icelandic independence question was discussed in 1918 and it was decided to hold a plebiscite in 1944. Despite the war this plebiscite was held and thus Iceland gained its independence from Denmark.

[@TheCimbrianBull]

The Germans were interested in the northeastern part of Greenland in order to make weather forecasts. Danish and Greenlandic fishers and hunters decided to take up arms and drove out the small German force.

[@VladTevez]

12:53 Well, there was one country, after all, who took notes...

[@FrazzP]

Uhhh...Switzerland? Or did you mean a non-neutral country?

[@VladTevez]

@@FrazzP Neutral in April 1940

[@marcusbierman5310]

@@VladTevez Italy?

[@VladTevez]

@@marcusbierman5310 Not spoiling 😁

[@fireinthehole1986]

Portugal?

[@calbackk]

Lindy is a really good story teller that deserves wider recognition. 👍

[@WorldWarTwo]

Spread the word!

[@noggietexan8354]

I live in Norway. On april 13th, a battle was fought where i live. I can walk in the woods the Germans were coming from, and the fields they were shooting from. I also know the location of three Norwegian machine gunner posts 200m from my house, and trenches in the woods.

[@josephkellogg8722]

You do a amazing job and I look forward to all of your videos, keep up the good work

[@qweteryFTW]

I guess the Norwegians did NAZI that coming

[@TheCimbrianBull]

This made the king absolutely Führious!

[@mojewjewjew4420]

this is gold XD

[@ElectroIsMyReligion]

Neither did Denmark

[@ElectroIsMyReligion]

Lone Star Wolf No shit, fighting against an enemy that had twice the manpower and way superior equipment. No point in resisting when there were obviously no chance to begin with.

[@godlovesyou1995]

@@ElectroIsMyReligion yes there is, if u dont resist ur country can just disappear. Also if norway had prepared properly they could have easily defended themselves

[@RyanFilmMaker]

always happy to see these new videos every week

[@JasonSputnik]

"Captain Warburton-Lee learned that the enemy was holding the place in much greater force than had been thought. The Admiralty said that he alone could judge whether to attack, and that whatever decision he made would have full support" Captain Warburton-Lee: "Going into action"

[@kaczynskis5721]

Royal Navy tradition - in the 18th century Admiral Byng was shot by firing squad for not fighting an opponent to the utmost.

[@rosaria8384]

Watching "Kongens Nei" and playing Battlefield V (hate me all you want for mentioning this game) made me interested on the Norwegian Campaign of WW2. I'm glad I found this channel and I can't wait for the land battle of Narvik (Ofotfjord and/or Bjornfjell), Belgian and French battles of 1940.

[@Michael-hb4wc]

As bad as things are, it's hard to think... It gets worse. And worse. And worse.

[@TheMorischannel]

For someone who puts this much effort in pronouncing foreign names and cities, I did not expect The Warspit :D apart from that , great as always!

[@ryanmedina5090]

When Indy was talking about Quisling, all I could think about was the book, World War Z and the fake zombies.

[@hurt_juice2295]

5:09 "lands his planes and uses them as mobile machine guns..." that is some hard core ingenuity right there. would probably look somewhat comical as well.

[@TheCimbrianBull]

For some reason I can vividly imagine a cartoon where Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny fight it out.

[@hybridh3r0]

I love these maps.

[@PrimevalDemon]

12:12 that dry bit of humor is a nice little nugget of levity

[@Sabrowsky]

I got a question. why was a german transport ship named after a brazilian city?

[@crazysarge9765]

Probably for diplomatic reasons.

[@mountainhobo]

@Sabrowsky "why was a german transport ship named after a brazilian city?" - Before the Great War Rio de Janeiro was built and owned by a private shipping company. Ships are often built in series, according to one spec, and then are named similarly for easy recognition of the class. This was class "Santa" of 1914 (there was another class "Santa" much later). Rio de Janeiro was originally called Santa Ines, and had two more sister ships named after female saints, Santa Isabel and Santa Clara. Through WWI and after the ships were repeatedly damaged. By 1931 both sister ships were gone. Santa Ines was then renamed Rio de Janeiro and taken in for more repairs. After that she was sunk by Orzeł. In 2010 the same shipping company, Hamburg Süd, resurrected the Santa class of ships and built 10 of them. The modern namesake of Rio, Santa Ines, is still in service. You can track her movements live here: www.fleetmon.com/vessels/santa-ines_9444845_3496060/?language=en

[@Tigervm07]

I would recommed watching the kings choice , its tells the story about King Haakons VII desision and how much caos was happening when the germans invaded :)

[@TheCimbrianBull]

I can also recommend this movie! 😀

[@norwegiantactician]

One interesting thing about Quisling's coup, is that while he was supported by Hitler, the german soldiers hated him, and considering the legitimate government was still in function, all Quisling had done was sow confusion, and make sure his own name became a term for traitors. Also, when His Majesty King Haakon refused the german demands, he did so over radio, and that speech became famous here in Norway. Now, for those who wonder why the German landing in Narvik went so well, it is because the commander of the soldiers stationed in Narvik, Colonel Oberst Sundlo supported NS (Nasjonal Samling), and surrendered the city to the german soldiers when they arrived. Also, while the government and the royal family fled from the germans, a skirmish happened in Elverum on the 10th April, where the Royal Guard consisting of 90 soldiers, fought 100 german paratroopers led by Erbhard Spiller. The Guard suffered 3 wounded, while the paratroopers suffered 2-6 killed (Spiller was wounded and died on Hamar hospital after the skirmish), and a number of wounded. Narvik would be Hitler's first defeat in the war, as Eduard Dietl and his soldiers were pushed almost entirely into Sweden by Norwegian soldiers (led by Major General Carl Gustav Fleischer) along with Polish, British and French forces. And I will now finish with a quote from His Majesty King Haakon VII: Alt for Norge. (Everything for Norway).

[@TheCimbrianBull]

*Max Manus intensifies*

[@kaczynskis5721]

Their attitude to Quisling's Dutch equivalent, Anton Mussert, would be pretty similar.

[@williestyle35]

Thank you. King Haakon VII was a singular leader and did his best for his adopted homeland.

[@slugger1983]

I don't know if anyone has noticed, but this series is quickly getting the feeling of 'The Great War' in terms of it's production quality.

[@TheCimbrianBull]

That's a positive development.

[@jonatanm.b4514]

Thanks for a nice episode, but it is important to note that the attack on Narvik did not go as easily as you are saying here. The German destroyers reached the entrance to the Ofot Fjord and were discovered by two small Norwegian patrolling ships, which notified the Norwegian coastal defense ships "Eidsvold" and "Norge" who laid anchored in Narvik Harbour. When the German destroyers reached "Eidsvold", they were stopped and sent over a negotiator to make the Norwegians surrender. But the Norwegian commander informed that he would not do so and had orders to fire. A few minutes later "Eidsvold" was struck by two torpedoes, broke in half and sank in a matter of 15 seconds with 175 of its crew. Only six men were picked up. "Norge" has a similar fate. It spotted the Germans a few minutes later and fired two broadsides, but both missed. It was then hit by torpedoes and sank with 101 of its crew. In a matter of an hour the Norwegian navy's pride were sunk and 276 young men are killed. This is the highest loss of men in a single incident the Norwegian armed forces have ever experienced.

[@swedish_vikings]

Thank you for making such great videos

[@dragosstanciu9866]

And so, due to the Norwegian campaign, the French and the British forget all about bombing Baku and the Caucasus oilfields.

[@nesa1126]

Awesome episode. Exciting week.

[@franciscocrouset656]

Britain: We can say there is Norway Germany is going to respect countries neutrality

[@larsmathiesen8999]

Very internesting. Please do a road trip to Copenhagen and do a special about Bohr specific the meeting between Bohr and Heisenberg in the garden of the Carlsberg honorary residence. (It would be cool if the episode was done i the actual garden, "probably Carlsberg" will help Indy with that ;) ) And the escape of Bohr via Sweden, specific all the covert air operations out of Bromma airport is super internesting, and it would be great to hear what interesting stories that Indy could dig up in his own back yard :)

[@TheCimbrianBull]

I second this motion! 😀

[@TheCatpirate]

Operation Weserübungholio! Are you threatening me?!?

[@matias826]

I just don't get the random phone calls launching each episode. Thanks for a great series!

[@magnuspeacock5857]

At least fortress France is strongly defended and will never fall.

[@TheCimbrianBull]

The baguettes and bries will surely fend off the Germans!

[@somethingawful100]

There are the two great movies about the invasions of Denmark and Norway called 9. April and The King's Choice. Anybody interested in these invasions should watch those. The King's Choice has a great scene about the sinking of the Blücher especially.

[@TheCimbrianBull]

I can confirm that those are movies worth watching!

[@franciscocrouset656]

When you think you have a bad day just think about Denmark...

[@TheCimbrianBull]

Oof!

[@vrenak]

It did, after the war, result in a complete change of military and political doctrine for Denmark. Resulting in being a founding member of both the UN and NATO, and from the early days of the cold war stockpiling EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE. And having plans for basically any eventuality, even maintaining the capability to manufacture chemical and biological weapons within 48 hours (retaliation possibility if there was a nuclear strike and lacking NATO backup)

[@ArtrexisLives]

@@vrenak Damn, son.

[@Carewolf]

@@vrenak Well, not much of that policy survived the 70s. But Denmark still has a militia that keeps military arms in the homes to form the backbone of a resistance, just in case Denmark is invaded and the official army is forced to surrender.

[@vrenak]

@@Carewolf The homeguard doesn't keep ammunition nor bolt carrier at home, these will be reissued if a threat is deemed probable. The massive stockpiles were at full readiness well into the 90's and has only gone down significantly in the last 2 decades. So a lot of those policies haven't really gone away, just toned down a bit, but with the later years russian provocations, some things are coming back, a long with the expanded military cooperation with Sweden, navy and airforce now can cross freely through each others airspace and seas, and just file the reason later, this makes intercepts much faster as they can now just take the direct route.

[@waolsful]

You are amazing how good explanation of the truth from both sides - Thanks

[@wookeye]

my grandfather was austrian and fought in narvik. he was a gebirgsjäger (mountentroops). lived a common happy life after the war and was a lifelong social democrat.

[@wookeye]

great to hear. hopefully this senseless wars never occur in europe never again. @@mablo88123

[@TheMrRonQ]

Yes it is funny, after the war it seems no germans had been nazis.

[@youngThrashbarg]

"No it was really smooth, not even fifty, all together." -No it was really smooth, not even fifty.

[@shrillbert]

In Norway, so far. There will be fighting though, including the first American death in the Western Theatre.