Allied Destroyer Ambush - First Battle of Narvik Animated

[@historigraph]

Play War Thunder now for free with my link , and get a massive bonus pack including vehicles, boosters, and more: playwt.link/historigraph

[@Mechanized85]

no fucking thanks of that shit game offer.

[@brokenbridge6316]

Nicely done video. Can't wait for part 2.

[@philhawley1219]

Historiograph. Could you please cover the attack made by Captain Onslow with four British and one Dutch destroyers in South East Asia against a Japanese held port the name of which escapes me. They steamed in at full speed whilst the Japs were having lunch and they shot the place to pieces. I think it was in 1944.

[@alexandrejosedacostaneto381]

You have to admire the spirit and aggressiveness of British naval officers. While surely one of the reasons for this was their overwhelming superiority in the sea, their daring and their borderline reckless behavior always made sure that the British had the upper hand even when outnumbered. It's really impressive.

[@steriskyline4470]

The entire British destroyer force were just bread differently i think! Some incredible stories to be read.

[@bgdancer100]

"No captain can go far wrong who places his ship right alongside the enemy." - Lord Nelson

[@nowthenzen]

The good fortune borne of audacity.

[@jorgejustin461]

it is a common note in history, the smaller the British ship, the more batshit insane the Captain

[@user-lp7wo7og4x]

Well said, the meritocratic system and the fact that you could be face a tribunal for cowardice and the fact that navy admirals were rewarded for daring produced these results

[@tomjowitt8554]

My uncle was on HMS Hunter. He helped drag some of his shipmates onto floats in the freezing waters of the fjords. Most of his shipmates didn’t survive. Years laters, he was interviewed by the Imperial War Museum. RIP Uncle Marshall

[@jedimastertom9267]

My grandad was on that ship too huge respect to you

[@LegitimateCK4120]

You know when a warship called "Warspite" is leading an attack, you're in for a bad day

[@bionicgeekgrrl]

The ship that tried its best to avoid the cutters torch. Should never have been scrapped, alas the country was an utterly broke mess at the time.

[@cliffthelightning]

Tell that to the chaps who blew up along with Hms Invincible

[@theblackprince1346]

Your first videos on the invasion of Norway were what brought me to your channel. Your narration and story telling is always top class.

[@madmaximus2836]

If you like this channel check "The Operations Room" out. That channel also has a good narrator and excellent battle stories. It seems the Brits have a neck for good narration

[@yungcaco1443]

Same

[@theblackprince1346]

@@madmaximus2836 don't worry already subbed to operations room and it's sister channel: the intel report. Great channels.

[@larswilhelms1]

@@madmaximus2836 I find Yarnhub quite entertaining aswell. not as in depth in strategies/tactics and so, but more in detail of individuals people/groups and experiences during combat missions and such.

[@grahamdominy8309]

I think you need to add a postscript: as the British ships withdrew into the Vest Fjord they encountered a German supply ship on its way to replenish the GErman destroyer force. It was blown sky high and thus the German force could not replinish ammunition or fuel. They were sitting ducks for Warspite and her bigger destroyers a day or two later.

[@nowthenzen]

When German magnetic torpedoes failed to explode the German Navy fixed it. When US Navy torpedoes failed to explode the Bureau of Ordinance said "You are doing it wrong"

[@wedgeantillies66]

One cannot not help admire the bravery and fortitude of Warbarton Lee and his destroyer force, acting in the finest traditions of the service when it comes to seeking out and engaging the enemy without waiting for backup with only speed and surprise on their side.

[@bionicgeekgrrl]

Sometimes speed and surprise are a damn good weapon in themselves. The sas in Africa being a good example or the raid on St nazare. Neither of which would likely have been considered as remotely possible. Sometimes the Germans were arrogant in their belief of superiority over their foes, another example being that they didn't consider that enigma could be broken, especially the kreigsmarine 4 rotor version. They definitely didn't consider the lorenz to be breakable either and that was possibly more important as the high command used it.

[@wedgeantillies66]

@@bionicgeekgrrl Indeed, they are at that, particular in respect of the examples, you raise as well as the actions of the long range desert group. True, arrogance and hubris can affect and hamstring any military force in history and yes, during World War 2, all sides let themselves get caught in its trap and receive a bloody nose, because of it.

[@colinmackenzie8616]

My uncle was a sub lieutenant on Hotspur, and this was his first experience of action which made a life long impact on him. While Commander Layman, Hotspur’s captain, was aft trying to restore the steering, her bridge was hit, killing all personnel except himself and one other officer, and at that moment they collided with Hunter. He never forgot the sense of relief he felt when he saw Havock and Hostile coming back to assist Hotspur out of danger. The German ships broke off the action, and as they left the fiord they encountered the German ammunition carrier, Rauenfels, which was blown up with a mighty bang after her crew had been allowed to take to their boats

[@stc3145]

The whole invasion of Norway could have been a huge disaster for the Germans had the British and Norwegians been a bit better prepared. Without taking the airfields in the south which they did, mostly by luck they would have very limited air support. And supplying their troops in the country if the Royal Navy was active would be impossible

[@gitfoad8032]

There seems to be a case to suggest Hitler took Norway because he knew Britain was planning to. British supplies for the army were packed & selected badly. I seem to remember something about skis without the fixtures to boots, & even then the troops weren't ski-trained. Frozen lake RAF base, which the Luftwaffe bombed.. Murky history.

[@noobster4779]

The fact they managed to drive an invasion fleet through the british blockade in the first place was one of Britains biggest naval emberessmeants in history. The fact this invasion worked was a compleat lack of imagination on the britishs part that the germans would even try such a thing. What the british lacked to understand though was that securing iron ore transit through norway was a question of life and death for Germany, so they were willing to risk it all on one huge gamble.

[@user-sc9oy1kz8g]

​@noobster4779 Tbf it was understandable. It was such a stupid idea the British didnt think the Germans would do it.

[@KanJonathan]

Curiously enough, Dr. Alexander Clarke is discussing what if Norway mobilizesd earlier and repelled German invasion at this moment.

[@noobster4779]

@@user-sc9oy1kz8g Except it wasnt. Without securing Norway the war would have been over latest in 1941 because germany would run out of steel. Anybody who had even a slight idea of economics and ressources in europe knew Germany would not accept Norway becoming british, the moment the brotosh announced to place minefields on Norways cost it was obvious germany would have to act. It was more complacancy on the british side then anything else. Arrogance breads stupidity after all and the british were high on themselfs after WW1 and the High Sea Fleet surrender. Same bullshit again in 1942 with the channel dash which only succeeded do to british complacency and arrogance.

[@kebabsvein1]

Always good to see content from Norway, my country! I recently did an article about the re-discovery of HMS Hunter's wreck in 2008.

[@larsbundgaard5462]

Where can I find your article?

[@steriskyline4470]

Id also love to read your article if thats possible please?

[@Hackofjarten]

Hey my brother im swedish

[@goodshipkaraboudjan]

Could you link to the article?

[@Kamadrion]

Some background on the engagement. Corvette captain Gerlach was sent to Captain Willoch (Eidsvold) to offer a surrender. Willoch refused, but asked for 10 minutes to consider the offer. He used these 10 min to inform Captain Per Askim (Norge) of his intentions of armed resistance - to fight. Willoch informed Gerlach of his final decision. Upon leaving on his boat, Captain Gerlach fired a signal flare to inform the German flotilla and shortly after, both, Norge and Eidsvold were sunk by torpedos without ever firing a shot.

[@loungelizard3922]

Thank you for the added context.

[@--Dani]

Can you imagine HMS Warspite cutting loose with 15" shells in a that small an area...the RN wasn't messing around the second time, Warspite wasn't alone either 👍great content

[@xxnightdriverxx9576]

It was also a huge risk, since Warspite couldn't maneuver as freely as the destroyers due to her much higher draft. It might have easily resulted in Warspite being sunk by torpedoes, but that was a risk the Royal Navy was willing to take.

[@CalasTyphon488]

I could be wrong but I believe warspite may of actually had 16 inch guns, but yeah I agree a very formidable ship , the only thing that managed to sink her was herself.

[@xxnightdriverxx9576]

@@CalasTyphon488 No Warspite had 15" guns. Nelson and Rodney were the only British ships completed with 16" guns, the Lion class had 6 ships planned with new 16" guns but were cancelled when WW2 broke out.

[@CalasTyphon488]

@@xxnightdriverxx9576 ahh ok sorry about that I did a quick search myself then as well , thanks for the headups

[@xxnightdriverxx9576]

@@CalasTyphon488 happy to help :)

[@jackthedragon612]

What a battle! Definitely looking forward to the next one where Warspite shows her might!

[@jamesscalzo3033]

Loved the video @Historigraph! Can't wait for the next video man! Nice to see a Return to the Norwegian Campaign with the Battles of Narvik. Most People usually focus on Drøbak Sound and Oscarsbourg Fortress sinking Blücher but the Fact that there was fighting within the Fjords to the North is what's always grabbed my attention. Trying to play these battles as a Game in "Axis & Allies: War at Sea" might prove Interesting to set up as each Space is supposed to be 5,000 yards (or 15,000 Feet which is under 3 Miles) and each Turn is Supposed to be 10 Minutes of Combat. Being able to get as much Representation as possible will be very tricky, but it should still be fun to play and work things out.

[@jimmiller5600]

The Norwegian coastal defense ships Norge and Einvolde could have chopped up the incoming Germans. But visibility was terrible, allowing the Germans to close the distance to the more heavily gunned defenders. The torpedo attacks were brutal since the Norwegian ships were not designed with modern torpedo defense.

[@FinnishDragon]

Yep. Those Norwegian coastal defense ships were about 40 years old. They were also very unlucky because German torpedoes did not experience any malfunctions.

[@notapuma]

A coastal defense ship wouldn't have chopped up a modern destroyer. That's an exaggeration.

[@ronanmcn4967]

Destroyer Captains of that era had the biggest balls. Change my mind

[@deaks25]

No point to even try. ORP Piron, HMS Eskimo, HMS Glowworm and USS Johnston all prove that destroyers had the most massive brass balls of any ship type. And that's just the most famous ones.

[@ChrisbyFlanker]

facts

[@simonnance]

Its worth pointing out that on top of the 2:1 numerical superiority of the germans, their destroyers were significantly larger. H-Class: 1860tn, 4x4.7in guns, 8x21in torpedoes 1936 class: 2806tn, 5x5in guns, 8x21in torpedoes 1936A class: 3600tn, 4-5x5.9in guns, 8x21in torpedoes

[@rpmfabrication801]

Thankyou for a great animation and story. My Grandad was serving on the Havock during this battle and latter received the dsm for his services on another ship

[@demis.farrugia]

The photo of Warspite was taken in the Grand Harbour of Malta 🇲🇹 thanks for an epic video!

[@LiamDennehy]

When showing the larger picture outside of the battle map, a date would help to put the movements and action in context, especially at these latitudes where sunlight can vary widely.

[@Manxx1990]

Why does it always seem to be the British who pull off these crazy attacks?

[@seductive_Octopus]

Did you ever have seen British food? 😂 That food will take your sanity and make you a Combat Genius.

[@nemiw4429]

They can try and even if it fails, swim back to the safety of their island.

[@NoNameAtAll2]

because brits control the sea and had enemies nearby selection bias for naval operations

[@wayfaringman8418]

Interesting theory. The UK invaded and colonized half the world to gain access to better food.@@seductive_Octopus

[@jordankidd4443]

Because it takes 3 years to build a ship, and 300 years to build a tradition. (Admiral Cunningham)

[@jakeconner2813]

I enjoy the royal naval's response being: we need a bigger boat!

[@tbalmer1207]

God i know the battles of Narvik off by hart but love seeing the animations you guys do. As soon as i saw this all i was thinking was Warspite and the best dive bomber of the war swordfish.

[@deaks25]

While on paper, this was a draw or tactical victory for the German's it was actually a disaster for them. Germany had few proper modern fleet destroyers and so to lose two, 20% of the force in Narvik, was a huge loss, as well as several others being damaged. Worst still was the loss of supply ships and their stores and the absolute mess the raid made of the harbour. The H-Class was a capable but otherwise fairly standard (And replaceable) destroyer of the time, but the sheer audacity of Warburton-Lee's raid, outnumbered 2 to 1 had essentially pinned the German destroyer force in place, essentially removing it as a usable force, meaning that for me it is a massive strategic victory for the Royal Navy. When Warspite and the Tribal-class, the Royal Navy's most powerful destroyers (And apparently very angry ones at that), the Germans had little ammo or fuel to fight back with meaning that was essentially an impossible battle for the German ships.

[@ruperterskin2117]

Right on. Thanks for sharing.

[@ryanmack99]

I think Norwegian campaigns both German and Allied sound the most horrific to be in. The Pacific theatre was hell for troops on the ground, but at least if you won you got some ice cream. Every time I learn about another engagement in the fjords, it just sounds like a frozen hell

[@PeterC5263]

No captain can do very wrong if he places his ship alongside that of his enemy. Admiral Horatio Nelson

[@felipeseguraiv2578]

Stupid algorithm I genuinely thought you werent making videos anymore only to see that you got like 20 new vids made!!!

[@LiamDennehy]

The bravery and terror of this kind of action is beyond my comprehension. Worth remembering, thanks!

[@inklinggirl6724]

Brilliantly done as usual, such an underrated battle

[@verysurvival]

Going to what is basically a duck pond to fight a battle. Unbelievable fortitude

[@williamashbless7904]

German Destroyers may have been more advanced(entirely arguable on either side), but Royal Navy Officers and men were, well, Royal Navy.

[@silverhost9782]

Advanced? Nope, bigger? Absolutely. The third battle will show how much better the Royal Navy's best destroyers were compared to their German counterparts😉

[@williamashbless7904]

@@silverhost9782 Germany got a late start with destroyers and opted for destroyers that were technologically superior to their enemies as they could never produce enough to match the Royal Navy. Most of their improvements were new tech and prone to failure. New higher pressure steam systems and lighter, more powerful engines were developed. These were a nightmare to keep running during any extended operations. While larger, they were unstable and fuel/ammo had to be reduced to keep them from capsizing. They went to 6” main guns, but never got turrets to operate properly and found that this size of cannon was not any longer range or more accurate than the previous 5” guns. Germany constructed Super Destroyers to give them an edge, that ended up being inferior to other Navies Standard Destroyers.

[@micahistory]

Interesting video, I never knew about this battle previously

[@bigsarge2085]

Incredible documentary, always learn something new!

[@RustyPetterson]

Absolutely brilliant, as always! Can't wait to see one about my favourite ship (because of its name!) the HMS Warspite. BTW I would love to hear you as a guest on the "We Have Ways" podcast with James Holland and Al Murray, I think you'd be great and it would be very cool to hear about how you do all this wonderful stuff.

[@deejj9766]

Excellent video

[@Xeonerable]

Havock turning around solo to aid the other ships, chad destroyer alert!

[@dgoodey]

My father was on Havock in the battle.

[@Booze_Rooster]

3:25 The U-25 was a Type 1A, not a Type VII

[@historigraph]

You are right, my mistake

[@johnnymartinjohansen]

I live not that far from Narvik, and knew about this battle, but not the details. Thanks for this fantastic video, gonna check out your other videos now :)

[@TankerBricks]

Excellent as always!

[@SidlingNine]

Great videos as usual. Keep them up!

[@MousePADDING]

Always a pleasure when these videos come out.

[@pierogi_samurai]

OMG! First Indochina War and now Narvik Campaign! You are a BOSS

[@micahistory]

this is the only channel that can keep me interested in naval warfare, congrats

[@jedimastertom9267]

My grandad was lead torpedo gunner Alfred holt he was in the HMS hunter that day and was instrumental in bringing Hitler his first defeat

[@nomanvardag1]

Admirable initiative and courage.

[@jimmiller5600]

The US had similar problems with its torpedoes in the Pacific. They'd been calibrated for a different latitude of magnetic fields making them unreliable.

[@morgan97475]

Interesting. I'd never heard of such a problem like this. But then, what do I know about torpedoes...?

[@firstcynic92]

​@@morgan97475Here's a video covering all the problems with the Mk 14 torpedo. In addition to the magnetic explorer problem they... Ran too deep Had a faulty contact exploder Occasionally they didn't run straight Production was too slow Were only tested twice before the war kzbin.info/www/bejne/m4KYg6htj9qSZ6ssi=rpAkC-lvKMPhCgCd

[@AaronRMG]

@@morgan97475It rendered the US torpedo planes useless except as distractions for the dive bombers. And the successful US submarines might've had double the success had the torpedoes been fixed sooner.

[@richardstone5552]

Thanks

[@eurogael]

Great video, cant wait for the second battle coverage.

[@zacharycha4791]

Very well done video.

[@LiamDennehy]

@7:15 wow that's future admiral Bey! Worth noting IMHO.

[@napoleonibonaparte7198]

I am convinced this is also a subtle HOI4 DLC ad.

[@historigraph]

Nope- I’d love to have done an integration for that, but they didn’t reach out

[@gitfoad8032]

Hurrah for us. I've read about this several times but still didn't realise it was so exciting.

[@neilwilson5785]

Really good video, thanks so much.

[@m.streicher8286]

The Royal navy really knows how to name a destoryer

[@commando4481]

nice video! Cant wait for part 2.

[@coyote4237]

Thank you.

[@DarklordZagarna]

Narvik was such an underrated, epic disaster for the Germans. The losses in destroyers that they suffered in that battle were a key factor in the later abandonment of Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain, as OKW was (probably rightly) not keen to attempt a cross-channel invasion with only the few surviving German destroyers, a dozen or so light torpedo boats, and some unbelievably obsolete pre-Dreadnaught battleships as cover against the entire British Home Fleet. Even if they had achieved air superiority in the Battle of Britain, that would have been a tough ask.

[@ryderbond7966]

It’s crazy how many commanders and officers are killed in naval combat. It almost amplifies the stakes when you have the possibility of losing leadership at every battle.

[@Roixiong]

I’ve been playing quite a bit of Norway since the new dlc for hoi4 came out so it’s a nice coincidence this came out :D

[@geoffburrill9850]

What a battle, interesting that the losses were similar and you have to admire how quickly and effectively the Germans responded.

[@Fizzyguys.]

Great video as always🎉

[@Lord_Lambert]

fantastic video as always :)

[@james_chatman]

Warspite: Never a ship with a more fitting name.

[@yungcaco1443]

Brilliant video 👌🏻 top notch

[@lexington476]

Oh and you'll leave us hanging when the excitement was about to start... To be continued... 🙂.

[@kommandantgalileo]

Can't wait to see the Grand Old Lady in the next episode, show them what you got Warspite!

[@RoboticDragon]

great video, I dont know if I have ever heard this much detail on this battle before.

[@Martiniboy22]

As always nice informative video

[@goodshipkaraboudjan]

Got to love that Warspite got all the tough jobs.

[@maxkennedy8075]

Your sound effects are fantastic, have you recently improved them? Looking forward to part 2 and Warspite’s entry

[@moonface978]

That was epic

[@asrer579]

Wow those torpedoes failing completely changed this outcome.

[@Shakkystrip]

The RN knows how to name ships

[@ChrisbyFlanker]

New video lets gooooo

[@MsEliasc]

...U-47 fired 3 torpedos on warspite, 2 hits but no explosion...the german torpedo crisis.....

[@Isura101]

pretty good bro

[@collinsx62]

Great video

[@bluephoenix8470]

German gunnery was not up to snuff and their torpedoes were junk. Got to bring your A game guys if you want to fight the English and "A Game" means torpedoes with magnetic detonators that work and gunners who can hit sh__. Should have known that already.

[@lohphat]

Huh. I've actually been to Narvik. Had no idea there was a battle here. Narvik is the northern terminus of the Swedish train system into Norway. I took a bus from Tromsø where I had disembarked the Hurtigruten ship from Bodø, the northern terminus of the Norwegian train system the day before.

[@dna0303]

Funnily enough, I just recently watched a Norwegian film about the battle and German occupation of Narvik - there's quite an interesting story about the land and naval action that went on there. It centers around that Norway-Sweden rail line you mentioned since the Germans were aiming to seize the rails and port to maintain safe exports of iron from Sweden. (Film is called Narvik)

[@akumaking1]

Was Drachinifel’s video an inspiration?

[@jarenmanpk]

Good job

[@Blueboy0316]

Do Samar sir. Center Force and the largest battleship on earth vs the tin cans of Taffy 3. "Damnit boys, they're getting away!"

[@christopherhanton6611]

wow i knew it was battle BUT THIS WAS BIG BRAWL between both sides.

[@aussie807]

And then round 2, Warspite emerges from the mist :)

[@chetanjejurkar7449]

Previous music during video was very connecting

[@Jameskn1]

Real interesting that being so far north caused the magnetic detonators to fail

[@warspite1995]

HMS Warspite enteres the game

[@Mag_Aoidh]

It was briefly shown in the movie Narvik, watched to 4 times already.

[@ComradeLy]

Cool

[@arthurfisher1857]

Awesome!

[@harrysmith1070]

Baby wake up historigraph has just uploaded

[@rem26439]

Warspite! Warspite! Warspite!

[@dgoodey]

The most definitive and accurate history of this battle is in Geirr Haarr's 'The German Invasion of Norway'. My book 'Destroyer at War', the history of HMS Havock and her eleven battle honours, uses Geirr's history plus adds from my research into my father's (Stoker Albert Goodey) ship HMS Havock (H43). He unveiled a monument at Narvik in 2003 with much pomp, including Admirals and politicians.

[@limeychefboy]

I dont get why the tribals weren't used for this mission, they were designed for this, but not, go with H class instead

[@normanboyes4983]

Where were the tribals exactly at the time in question?

[@zillsburyy1]

operations room

[@EricDKaufman]

Warburton-Lee It is in his name.

[@Fae-Fey]

Pardon my forgetfulness but isn't Bey the captain of one the pocket battleship? I kinda remember him being an admiral (or a captain mayhaps?)

[@Ao_Taisan04]

He commanded Scharnhorst during the Battle of the North Cape as a Rear Admiral

[@tomasa-m5643]

Should be giving away the HMS Hood for your War Thunder giveaway, really.