The Battles of Narvik - 3 battles, 3 sides, 1 week

Today we look at the three Battles of Narvik and how they both shaped and could have shaped the future of the war.
Sources:
Dr Alexander Clarke - / @dralexclarke
ADM 199/473 - Royal Navy Archived Battle Reports and History (National Archives - Kew)
www.amazon.co.uk/German-Invasion-Norway-April-1940-ebook/dp/B00KEURQAI
www.amazon.co.uk/Operations-Campaign-Norway-April-June-Histories/dp/0714651192
Want to support the channel? - / drachinifel
Free naval photos and more - www.drachinifel.co.uk
Model ships of many periods - store.warlordga...?aff=21
Want a shirt/mug/hoodie - shop.spreadshi...
Want a poster? - www.etsy.com/u...
Want to talk about ships? / discord
Want to get some books? www.amazon.co.uk/shop/drachinifelDrydock

[@Drachinifel]

Pinned post for Q&A :)

[@fabianzimmermann5495]

Georgios Averoff replaces either HMS Good Hope or HMS Monmouth at Coronel. What happens

[@ibbi32]

Could the emden realistically speaking done any more without endangering herself more or even survived till and throughout 1915

[@fghgkyuuyk6116]

Norish= Norge=Norway. and Eidsvoll was the birthplace of the Norwegian constitution.

[@blogsblogs2348]

Jan used correctly.... rather than as a female name... this week

[@ukaszgrzesik7231]

Can you make episode like the one about boilers, but for history of watertight bulkheads and compartmentalisation of ships? Who first implemented it? Is it true that medieval Chinese ships had watertight sections already?

[@tronellefsen5519]

My fathers uncle was the telegraph operator on board Eidsvold, and one of the 8 survivors. He allowed me to hear the story once before he died, because he knew how interested I am in history, but never again, because of the trauma. Couple things: He said Eidsvold did not have enough heat in the boilers to start accelerating or steer. Also he heard the conversation with the German coming aboard the bridge, as he was located just on the side. They did try the "you are now protected", but it soon turned into a threat the Norwegian captain did not respond too. Also, when the german boat was returning, my fathers uncle watched the German officer give a hand signal on the way, and that set the torpedo attack in motion immediately, so there was no time ti initiate attack before the torpedo hits. He fell in the water, managed to find something floating from the ship, and eventually got to the shore and lived.

[@JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

Glad your grand uncle survived. It is hard to imagine the boilers weren't ready for action.

[@elysiankentarchy1531]

The torpedoes fired at Warspite didn't suffer premature detonation because of the torpedoes being faulty, they suffered premature detonation because they entered into Warspite's Angry Field and exploded.

[@sawyerawr5783]

Violating Warspite's personal bubble has the tendency to quickly turn that bubble into a violence bubble...in rapid fashion

[@Sherwoody]

She just stared them down.

[@chrisj683]

Anti-Torpedo field. A.T. field. Warspite was a mecha, knew it.

[@michaelbrogan7537]

She really has an "angry field" you are exactly right! What a warship!

[@standard-carrier-wo-chan]

You can say that sheer spite caused that torpedo to explode early

[@jimtalbott9535]

42:40 - "Who issued us with these damn torpedoes??" US Ordnance Bureau - whistles quietly and walks quickly away.....

[@blanca-borb]

The perfect Sabotage

[@nukclear2741]

Zachy Pwner the oss was more active than we thought...

[@sawyerawr5783]

USS Tinosa: "And I thought we had it bad."

[@benwilson6145]

The naval staff and the U-boat command had expected great results from the use of U-boats. Because of the confined waters and the probable counter-action, it seemed likely that there would be frequent contact with the enemy; but the result of the U-boat activity was extraordinarily disappointing. The chief reason for this was torpedo failures. If a torpedo shortage had been evident in the early months of the war, it was now torpedo ineffectiveness in the Norwegian expedition which became disastrously apparent. As a result of being in contact with the enemy for extended periods, the U-boats were forced to remain submerged for a very long time. This caused pressure in the boat which penetrated the depth chamber of the torpedo and considerably increased its depth setting. For example, Klt. Prien was able to fire at close range at the big English transports near Harstad, but the torpedoes went too low. The reason for the increasing number of torpedo misses was only understood by the German Navy at a very much later date when the individual technical faults of the torpedoes were ascertained by systematic testing. It was actually true that, despite numerous opportunities to fire, there were few, if any, successes. The effect on the crews was marked. They lost confidence in the weapon, and the personal influence of the U-boat commander in chief was necessary to restore their morale. At the same time everything possible was done to overcome torpedo faults.

[@stevevernon1978]

@@benwilson6145 and almost everything you say about the German torpedoes, would be said later about the USN torpedoes... except the last line.

[@admiraltiberius1989]

No one expects HMS Warspite at point blank range. And no one survives either.

[@peternickle1884]

Not everything she rammed sank

[@alacrityaudiooffice7716]

Hahaha!!! And HMS Hostile. What great names and great braveness.

[@bkjeong4302]

To be honest, in this situation a Town-clsss would probably have been an overall better option (still more than big and tough enough to dismember the crappy German destroyers with ease, while being less costly to operate and easier to maneuver in a fjord).

[@admiraltiberius1989]

@@bkjeong4302 yes but the crushing morale effect of a battleship coming in and firing its guns over open sights right down at almost level elevation is pretty back breaking.

[@dropdead234]

Point-blank range. Battleship main battery. Ick. "If the BB hits, do not roll for damage."

[@gwtpictgwtpict4214]

Animation on the Swordfish was sheer genius, took me a few seconds close watching to realise it actually was moving. Well done Sir!

[@davidbrennan660]

At one point to almost floated up a bit.... . Great gag.

[@thomaskositzki9424]

I didn't even notice. XD

[@paquebot_T6]

"Took me a few seconds to realize it was moving". Just like actual history.

[@jakublulek3261]

And I would expect that it would fly faster when dive-bombing. But seeing Swordfish dive-bombing is hilarious to watch and scary to experience.

[@warhistory1895]

@@paquebot_T6 you can't defend if you don't don't know your being attacked.

[@GaldirEonai]

An interesting side note: The survivors from the german ships were organized into an impromptu infantry force that got named the _Gebirgsmarine._ "Mountain Navy".

[@notshapedforsportivetricks2912]

Didn't Switzerland have one of those?

[@hazchemel]

Fair dinkum? How do you know this?

[@benwilson6145]

@@hazchemel Karl Doenitz reported it. "On the other hand, the destroyers' survivors formed a welcome reinforcement to the land forces, and, according to Colonel-General Dietl, the holding of the Narvik area for so long a time thereafter would have been impossible without them."

[@hazchemel]

@@benwilson6145 thanks

[@stevengoodloe3893]

@@benwilson6145 That is fascinating

[@Isolder74]

Warspite. The Forest Gump of Battleships. It was everywhere and did everything. And always was doing something important.

[@ThroneOfBhaal]

And then she was scraped. Perhaps the greatest naval history crime I can think of.

[@Ealsante]

Life is like a box of chocolates. I jest chaps, this is a box of fiery death and this old lady is about to open it!

[@drewjohnson-85]

@@ThroneOfBhaal I can think of one other just as great, USS Enterprise CV-6, The embodiment of the Pacific War scrapped by the same nation who she brought hope to in those dark days just after Pearl Harbor, I honestly cannot say which is the greater crime the Grand Old Lady’s scrapping or the Grey Ghost’s

[@casematecardinal]

*cough cough* USS Texas *cought* And she is still around...

[@drewjohnson-85]

@@casematecardinal Yes USS Texas is a great battleship as well, we can only hope that unlike Warspite and Enterprise, she can be saved and will be with us for many more years to come.

[@shooter2055]

Cossack's pom-pom gunner was an American ex-pat following standard USN counter-sniper doctrine. ;-) Remember! If there's deck space, bolt a gun to it!

[@isaiahcampbell488]

Unused deck space is wasted deck space!

[@warhistory1895]

@@isaiahcampbell488 unless it's a flight deck or in the blast zone of 8in+ guns.

[@danhammond8406]

If you love it put a gun on it

[@dalehawthorne6301]

Somewhere I came across a story that Admiral Ernie King had been disappointed with the performance of the cruiser Boise in the Battle of Cape Esperance, and he walked the deck and directed that an AA gun be placed where every crew's poker game normally took place. I'm not sure of the truth of this at all, but it does reflect your point.

[@masterskrain2630]

He might have ended up on the U.S.S., Enterprise, suggesting less armor and MORE AA Guns...

[@tonygibson6806]

Laws of physics don't apply to Swordfish, they operate in a different paradigm of reality.

[@artbrann]

someone stole the plans from a reality operating on anime physics

[@ahmedrazick4946]

Germany: Swordfish OP plz nerf

[@derekjohnstone4888]

For a plane named after a fish, they really seemed to be allergic to going in the water.

[@jakublulek3261]

As were Gloster Gladiators. Who else than British (and Soviets at the start, fair enough but that was not deliberate choice on their part) went into WWII with bloody biplanes and still won.

[@warhistory1895]

@@jakublulek3261 Malta: I'll take your entire stock! Or three might do.

[@Dedfaction]

The idea of a random boatload of British sailors barreling ashore in a launch, stealing the first things they see that aren't nailed down (or are, crowbars are a thing) then hightailing it back has me giggling.

[@Colt45hatchback]

Bloke spots motorcycle with binoculars, drops binoculars, before they hit the ground he's in a boat heading for the shore 😂

[@GaldirEonai]

Let's be fair, they did leave a destroyer's bow behind in trade...

[@thehandoftheking3314]

Scouse crew?

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

It's called mine sweeping, as in "It's mine sir, and I'm sweeping it away to my locker."

[@bradymenting5120]

"Hans, where did we park the motorcycle?"

[@karlvongazenberg8398]

The most reliable torpedoes in this theater were produced about 40 years ago, in Whitehead factory, in the late Austro-Hungarian Empire... Unfortunately in the side of the Blucher.

[@ineednochannelyoutube5384]

Whithead Mk-1s were slower than most ships involved and had a shorter range than a roman era onager, but they would work for all eternity, and blow up a modern dreadnought just as well, as an ironclad. One wonders what happened to torpedo fusing in the intervening decades.

[@TheKingoftheKongs]

@@ineednochannelyoutube5384 Someone rotated it 90 degrees, apparently

[@michealmatthews9377]

whitehead a fellow boltonian

[@warhistory1895]

@@TheKingoftheKongs US Bururo of Ordenense: *Backs away slowly*

[@jedimasterdraco6950]

@@warhistory1895 USS Barb: Oh no you don't. We need a target for our shore-related combat practice.

[@davidford85]

42:24 I can just imagine this like a scene from a Carry On film. The U-boat Commander asking for a time out while he radios command to rage and the British force politely and patiently waiting for the Commander to finish his rant, before continuing the battle 😂😂

[@B1ENTERTAINMENT30]

and the brits can hear him yelling obscenities from his post without the hydrophones 🤣🤣

[@beachboy0505]

Oddly enough, the British have a derogatory opinion of the naval Swordfish but the German and Italian navy have found this plane yo be absolutely deadly.

[@overboss9599]

Unsurprising. It's an out of date biplane that has literally been outrun by a destroyer. Compared to the spitfire, it's an embarrassment. But to the people facing the darn thing, it's a surprisingly deadly weapon that cost them a great deal of men and material.

[@advorak8529]

@@overboss9599 Bismark's AA directors could not cope with such a *slow* aircraft. It still hit almost all of them and was very impressive to the crews of the Swordfish in question. But there's a lot of not-that-critical fabric on these biplanes you can hit and shred and make the plane looking like a really bad AA shrapnel day ... without affecting the performance and structural strength much. But one single tiny shrapnel to the pilot or engine or POL reserves in just the right spot ... and down she goes ...

[@Debbiebabe69]

The reason the Swordfish is held in such low regards by the British is because something like 95% of Swordfish pilots in the war ended up killed. They were known by the wives and children of pilots as 'flying coffins', and groups of those whos husbands/fathers were lost flying those things soon formed, and passed the hatred of them onto their children, grandchildren, and so on. When the later generations asked what their father/grandfather/great grandfather did in the war, they often reply they were 'killed by the Royal Navy forcing them to fly those wooden death traps'. Thats why everyone else seems to love the Swordfish and how they managed to defeat much more modern warships, but the British hold them in such low esteem - because it was British people's relatives who were sent out to die in them. Think of it another way. You have more chance of surviving by visiting Hiroshima on the day the nuke went off, than being assigned to fly Swordfish in the war.

[@Fulcrum205]

Imagine what they would have thought if the Fleet Air Arm had decided to field an outdated torpedo bomber instead of archaeological artifact

[@SennaAugustus]

@@Debbiebabe69 What are you talking about, the Swordfish was the favourite of the fleet air arm, and their reputation was instead to always bring their pilots back home (only the Channel Dash was a disaster). Go to the Armoured Carriers KZbin channel and listen to how the real pilots remember the Swordfish.

[@Big_E_Soul_Fragment]

Germans: You are being defended from the British. *Please do not resist.* Norwegians: *Press X to doubt*

[@theleva7]

British: *Looking at Warspite entering fjord with Jaws theme playing in the background* Defended? From us? You know, it would be a shame if all those destroyers you got there suddenly stopped existing, wouldn't it?

[@Battleship009]

@@theleva7 Congrats, you amused me.

[@raymondmoomaw5423]

Lmfao!

[@bradymenting5120]

"Did we say you? we meant us. We are defending us from the British, using your land. Please do not resist."

[@Assassinus2]

“We’ve invaded Europe. Please respect us or else we might invade you as well.” “Okay,” said Norway. So the Germans came over, ready for war, but died in a fjord. But they tried again, and had a nice time fighting with the Royal Navy, but then died in a fjord. With apologies to Bill Wurtz.

[@SennaAugustus]

A ship with a broken rudder called "the most manoeuvrable" is insane.

[@mancubwwa]

TBH at low speeds and in confined spaces manouvering by engines is way more effective. So the 4 vs 2 screws argument is perfectly valid.

[@bara922]

There is the famous line about how the Grand Old Lady can move when she wants to

[@nozdormu89]

Hero's crew: "so when do we get Prize money?" The Admiralty "wait what?"

[@johnevans7261]

Prize money was paid for ships that could be valued and sold in the Admiralty Courts to be used again, and no longer applied in WW2. The German destroyers were all sunk or wrecked, so no prize money would have been payable anyway. But under the old system, RN crews would have been entitled to 'gun money' and 'head money', paid for the number of enemy guns lost and enemy seamen killed or captured respectively.

[@notshapedforsportivetricks2912]

U63 crewman: Captain, is that aircraft trying to dive bomb us? U63 Captain: I'm ... not ... sure.

[@USS_ESSEX_CV-9]

U63 Captain: possibly... Maybe?

[@thehandoftheking3314]

Hes... still up there...

[@warhistory1895]

U-63's Captain: *looks at watch* Still diving.

[@craigmesh9210]

Warspite decides a new destroyer policy for Germany, dont have any

[@merkavamayhem5846]

That section with the swordfish was utterly hilarious. I tip my hat to both of you

[@Maddog3060]

It's amazing how the Swordfish constantly did things that other aircraft couldn't do, in spite of AND because of its obsolescence. One might cheekily wonder why the dang thing isn't still in service with the RN to this day. ;)

[@fluffly3606]

I wonder how much a dipping sonar set weighs...

[@Debbiebabe69]

The reason the Swordfish is held in such low regards by the British is because something like 95% of Swordfish pilots in the war ended up killed. They were known by the wives and children of pilots as 'flying coffins', and groups of those whos husbands/fathers were lost flying those things soon formed, and passed the hatred of them onto their children, grandchildren, and so on. When the later generations asked what their father/grandfather/great grandfather did in the war, they often reply they were 'killed by the Royal Navy forcing them to fly those wooden death traps'. Thats why everyone else seems to love the Swordfish and how they managed to defeat much more modern warships, but the British hold them in such low esteem - because it was British people's relatives who were sent out to die in them. Think of it another way. You have more chance of surviving by visiting Hiroshima on the day the nuke went off, than being assigned to fly Swordfish in the war.

[@901Sherman]

Given what pilot casualties and attrition rates were like (especially with torpedo planes in genersl), its unliekly that they'd be significantly better of had there been a more modern alternative for thos stringbags.

[@JPKelly-xr7tr]

​@@Debbiebabe69Sources to substantiate your comments - ?

[@B1ENTERTAINMENT30]

well I mean, we are apparently bringing back the PBY, soooooooooo 😂

[@seandevitt00]

Penelope and the Tribals is my new band name.

[@Scoobydcs]

Penelope and the destroyers. Good band name that

[@letoubib21]

And where's Ulysses?

[@ivanthemadvandal8435]

I prefer George Thorogood and the Destroyers myself

[@notshapedforsportivetricks2912]

@@letoubib21 Not due in for another 20 years.

[@ElwoodPDowd-nz2si]

Sounds like a '70s Saturday morning cartoon as well.

[@GeordieSwordsman]

Three way battle between the Tribals, Warspite and the U-boat captains to decide which is the angriest thing afloat.

[@warhistory1895]

Probably the 20 year old battleship with a outstanding service history in both World Wars.

[@nicholas209]

Ah yes, Narvik, aka when German destroyers started checking for Warspite under their bed before they went to sleep.

[@warhistory1895]

But didn't check the fjord.

[@Boxghost102]

There weren't any left to check under their bed after.

[@warhistory1895]

@@Boxghost102 A checklist for doing reconnaissance: Step 1: Have working ships.

[@B1ENTERTAINMENT30]

nah, they don't get no bed, warspite took it from them out of sheer rage

[@robinpayne125]

Given Warspite's history of "rudder issues" I find the whole notion of her being manoeuvrable somewhat amusing

[@warhistory1895]

She doesn't need to be manverable, because she can go through the land.

[@grahamstrouse1165]

Maneuvering on screws as a very viable option under the circumstances. The fully modernized QEs would have been slightly more optimal but if you find yourself in a spot where you really need a BB that can operate as a destroyer leader Warspite’s still a pretty good choice…😉

[@B1ENTERTAINMENT30]

All I can see now is Nelson broadcasting "skill issue" to Bismarck 😂

[@daviddb2528]

The thing I like about these videos is that they work quite well as 'radio' with just an occasional glance at the screen if one is ostensibly busy with something else like DIY or household chores

[@thecrackpotfarmer9488]

I have rarely watched any of his videos, as most of my time is operating farm machinery, I can rarely watch, but I always listen. Fantastic material for long days on the tractor. Puts the kids to sleep too.

[@joshthomas-moore2656]

54:36 Swordfish ignoring physics sounds about right. Honestly this thing is an anime hero at this point and we should just declare it a god.

[@jeebus6263]

I'm pretty sure Dragon Ball Z would conjure an appropriate sense of waiting in anticipation throughout an entire episode for a single pair of shots to land, complete with cutscenes from other storylines before flashback to the divebombing facial expressions.

[@thomaskositzki9424]

Lulz!

[@ahmedrazick4946]

@@jeebus6263 5 episodes of the swordfish pilot deciding to dive. Another 5 for the dive itself. Another 5 for the bombs to hit and sink the sub. The Swordfish is clearly the inspiration for One Punch Man.

[@joshthomas-moore2656]

@@ahmedrazick4946 That is believeable, hillarious and some what terrifying.

[@Assassinus2]

I feel like “scones and jam” may have become a British euphemism for “a generous helping of explosives delivered via cannon shell and torpedo.”

[@Patrick-pm1sn]

I have no Sense for stuff like this. We also do not refer to „sending 2419 German Bratwurst“ to London (as V1 flying bombs), so I kind of dislike such belittling.

[@sanitarycockroach9038]

Kind of like 18 inch freedom packages in America

[@GaryNumeroUno]

@@Patrick-pm1sn Don't fret Patrick. Euphemisms are a truly British thing; like our humour. It is unique and makes us who we are.

[@sjonnieplayfull5859]

@@Patrick-pm1sn no problem, the German take on humor is known...

[@Assassinus2]

sjonnie playfull To quote someone (I want to say it’s Bismarck from Military Aviation History), German humor is no laughing matter. :)

[@pierQRzt180]

in the age of short videos and attention span, 1h long videos from independent creators. Yes. Quality !

[@sadwingsraging3044]

Hour and a half huh? Cap'n dished out double rations this week boys! Three cheers are in order I think!

[@mikefischer8576]

Praise the navel history

[@trevortrevortsr2]

You guys are total geeks - not only is this post full of detail you even had fun with it

[@Nipplator99999999999]

I feel right at home, and it's nice that you can trade knowledge without toxic interference.

[@warhistory1895]

@@Nipplator99999999999 yeah, it's nice.

[@wbnc66]

German Navy: Destroyers can't fight battleships! Taffy 3: I beg to differ.

[@johngregory4801]

Taffy 3 wasn't made up of destroyers, it was made up of men who used what little they had to do the impossible. It's amazing those tin cans could carry so many men with solid steel balls.

[@wbnc66]

@@johngregory4801 Point well taken :D A five-inch gun did all this damage?.... No sir we captured a Destroyer crewman and he bashed his way out with his scrotum...

[@Big_E_Soul_Fragment]

Oh boy 1 hour and 24 minutes of Drach and Dr. Clarke

[@slinkerdeer]

Ahh, 84 minutes of excellent naval history told by our favourite Naval Historian. Life is good

[@adenkyramud5005]

Even makes depression fuck off for once xD works even better than a bottle of rum. And without the hangovers.

[@pioneer_1148]

84 mins mate. There aren't 100 minutes in an hour

[@lukewest7216]

> 124 minutes Oof

[@slinkerdeer]

@@pioneer_1148 happy?

[@caelestigladii]

Slinkerdeer Thank him brother. Not mock him.

[@yalelingoz6346]

Ooh perfect timing. I just got home with pizza, the kettle has boiled, and here's an hour and a half long Wednesday special.

[@bjrnarestlen1234]

As for why the Eidsvold didn't open fire, one can only speculate. But as norwegian officer-training had been woefully inadequate in the past 20 years, and if we are to compare to the army's reaction to fighting the germans, one can speculate that the resistance towards firing, can stem from a lack of mental training to commit to actually defend the country. One has several examples from the land-campagin that the norwegian officers caved in, when fighting started, or one experienced collateral damage to civilian property. One honourable exception, was the commander at Oscarsborg; Colonel Birger Eriksen, who has become famous in Norwegian history for stating -when asked by one of his subordinates if they really were to fire on the Blücher: "Visst fanden skal der skytes med skarpt!" (Which roughly translates into "We are sure as hell going to shoot live ammo"

[@norsenomad]

Not "one honourable exception", but an honourable exception - because there were many. Yes, oberst (colonel) Birger Eriksen certainly is one of the honourable exceptions, for his leadership, resolve and spectacular result of attacking and sinking the German heavy cruiser, during the important and fateful Battle of Drøbak Sound, on early morning of 9 April and until surrender on morning of 10 April 1940. Nevertheless, since the title of this video is "The Battles of NARVIK", I would say that FIRST AND FOREMOST should the following man of war be mentioned - because he is tied directly to the Narvik campaigns, had higher strategic responsibility, delivered military excellence consistently over time, his men were Arctic locals that showed remarkable perseverance, and even outlasted all allied support: Generalmajor (major general) Carl Gustav Fleischer of the Norwegian Army. This man of war led the command of the Norwegian 6th Army Division (5 infantry battalions and 1 mountain artillery battalion), and mobilized from the Nordland, Troms and Finnmark populous already on 8 April 1940, long before national mobilization was eventually ordered by the incoming Chief of Defense, at 6 o'clock in the morning of 11 April 1940. For the allied assembly, Fleischer was given responsibility for cooperation with the allied forces in Narvik. Fleischer's defense strategy was a series of aggressive, offensive operations against the invaders. Pushing back parts of German Operation Weserübung from Narvik, his forces of 6,000 Norwegian soldiers delivered during 62 days the longest military defense against German invasion on European soil in WW2 (except for the UK and Soviet Union). Fleischer is said to be one of the first Allied generals to inflict defeat on German forces in WW2. Many operations were executed in the high mountains north-east of Narvik during late winter storms of April (at latitude 68° North). Their adversaries were 2,000 alpine trained and better armed 139th Gebirgsjäger regiment of Austria, among other German units, in hard contact numerous times. Decorations awarded to generalmajor Fleischer for outstanding planning and management of operations during the campaign in North Norway: - Krigskorset; med sverd (War Cross with Star, the highest Norwegian military award). - The Most Honourable Order of the Bath; Knight Grand Commander (4th highest of the British Order of Knights). - Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari; Silver cross (the highest Polish military award). - Croix de Guerre; with star (the French War Cross with star). A comment to the statements "the resistance towards firing" and "the Army's reaction to fighting the Germans": these statements are too generalizing and unconditionally discrediting, which is unfortunate. Several Norwegian Army regiments in West and North-West Norway, some in Trøndelag, and even a full Army Division from North Norway, did mobilize properly and fought German forces for weeks and months - with great courage and determination. Some examples: the Norwegian troops at Hegra Fortress (during the 25 day siege), 4. feltbrigade of Voss (4th field brigade), and Infantry Regiment of Møre (IR 11) - all mobilized fully and fought well and in series of hard contacts, e.g. the neutralization of the 180-man strong German Fallschirmjägerregiment 1 raid, clearing of the escape route for the King and government of Norway, and more, until early and mid May 1940. While there could have been many instances of officers that "caved in", as you phrased it, the officers and soldiers from the units I mention above were not hesitant to fight. Instead, these officers and conscripts mobilized in full numbers (IR 11 even added an extra battalion of volunteers) and fought well against a formidable and highly prepared invading enemy, for a month or more (disarmed on 29 April/1 May/15 May). As mentioned earlier, Norwegian 6th Army Division with transferred regiments from Trøndelag (IR 12 and IR 13) fought for more than two months - long after the capitol fell (6th Division disarmed on 10 June 1940). And finally, the last Norwegian officer to surrender command to the enemy was oberstløytnant (lieutenant colonel) Edvard Os, who had command of the Varanger Battalion/6 Div in East Finnmark until 23 July 1940 - three and a half months after the invasion of Norway started.

[@warhistory1895]

He also said when asked about firing on the Blucher (translated) "I will either be decorated, or I will be court-martialed, fire!"

[@OmmerSyssel]

@@norsenomad Honestly the conflict between honourable Fleischer and his pacifist army leaders and government should be mentioned. He actually committed suicide because of their humiliation, and were only decorated after his death ...

[@norsenomad]

@@OmmerSyssel I agree, completely. How Fleischer (and even his widow) was treated is a disgrace. That whole government was a disgrace, and from what I have found, probably the worst in the modern history of our country. (For the sake of Norway, I hope there never was, and never will be, any worse than that...). I can recommend two first-hand witness books: "General Fleischers efterlatte papirer", published on his widow's request after her death (1947) and "6. divisjon" (1946) by Odd Lindbäck-Larsen, his 2nd in command for many years and during the Narvik land battles, April - June 1940. Both books are written in Norwegian language, and will bring you as close to the facts of that great war history as you can ever get.

[@firstkaiser472]

Yes I have been searching for a ww2 battle of Narvik in KZbin & google ,man your a life saver

[@sebastianriemer1777]

A dive bombing swordfish? Imagine the dialog between the pilot and the bomber: Bombs out? Not yet. Now? Wait a little. Now? No. Now? Just a little closer. Now? Soon. Now? Getting closer.... 🤣

[@laughingtraitor1969]

... we're going to have to level out for a bit, they're getting away!

[@duvetofreason16]

Tea's ready, bombs out? Just a little more

[@warhistory1895]

"Should I start building this 1000-piece puzzle of Norway?" "Sure, we might have time."

[@danhammond8406]

Are we there yet, are we there yet, are we there yet, Don't make me turn this plane around, we will get there when we get there

[@masterskrain2630]

"Penelope and The Destroyers"...sounds like a great band name!

[@nitsu2947]

oof Hardy would never realize Hunter would never wake up from that nap

[@fsuffering5143]

Is that an AL reference?

[@nitsu2947]

@@fsuffering5143 yeah

[@propellhatt]

I visited the Narvik War museum this summer, it has an incredibly impressive collection of items and stories from the fighting in and around Narvik. Highly, highly recommended.

[@leftnoname]

Regardless of of the outcome of the battle and the war, it should be said that the men on both British and German side did their duty until the last means were exhausted or their lives were cut short.

[@MultiEinsteinium]

I can only call that a thrilling re-telling. I'd love to see a Band of Brothers style TV series of these three battles.

[@wagram]

The father of a friend of mine witnessed parts of this battle as a kid. He was out on the fjord in a row boat. He told he saw an german sea plane that by the looks of it was to heavy loaded to take off, it just sped across the water until it was destroyed by british gun fire.

[@Odin029]

I'm starting to think the Swordfish is the best plane of all time that everybody thinks is terrible.

[@Cailus3542]

The Swordfish sunk more Axis shipping than any other Allied aircraft during WW2. Yeah, seriously.

[@looinrims]

@@Cailus3542 of course, there were more of them in higher traffic areas

[@johnevans7261]

When I saw Swordfish III NF389 starting and running up her engine at RNAS Lee-on-Solent I lost all interest in the trials of prototype hovercraft SRN1 that I was supposed to be watching and fell in love with the Stringbag there and then instead. I was six years old. Now i'm sixty-seven and still besotted with Pusser's Favourite Flying Machine, even if my friend Eric 'Winkle' Brown wasn't. We agreed to disagree on that one.

[@warhistory1895]

It's the bane of large Axis Warships everywhere, so yeah.

[@chrisoddy8744]

Didn't the SBD Dauntless also have a similar story? Yes it might not look as antiquated but it was due for retirement in a similar manner and yet they still nailed four flat tops in a day.

[@adenkyramud5005]

Rate your German pronunciation with 7.5 out of 10, I will. I could understand most of the names without knowing these ships, but still not quite there xD TH in German is just T for example. V in German is more like F. Von would therefore be pronounced as fon for English Speakers. But hey you're getting better at it with each video you make. Also, replace the rum with Jägermeister before saying the names. Gives you an immediate Stat boost of +5 german😂

[@stefanjoeres7149]

JÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄGAAAAAAAAAAAAMEISTAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

[@jimmywrangles]

Lolz

[@ulrikschackmeyer848]

Agree with pronunciation comment above. And please check your Weserübung video for the stream of correction and suggestions to your pronunciation of 'Norge'. Otherwise another stellar performance as one has rightly come to expect from you.

[@22KaTsh]

Ulrik Schack Meyer +10 for “pronunciation of Norge” .... esp. as it’s named after the motherland 😱

[@77thTrombone]

Drach - almost totally agree with A'den, but I'd've given you an 8. I wasn't going to mention the "th" thing, but he's right, and only as a minor point. Happily _Derfflinger_ was not involved here. That one was particularly hard on my ears. If ever we cross paths, the Jägermeister will be on me!

[@Eboreg2]

I think sending in the H-class was a case of "Ablative Reconnaissance" i.e. finding the enemy by getting cheap assets killed/destroyed in their location.

[@ulrikschackmeyer848]

I think that is what 'Chieftan' (Irish-American tank commander) in American calls 'recon by fire' or 'recon by death'.

[@jeebus6263]

Lol, reminds me how we use to joke about my grandma "parking by braille".

[@111doomer]

It's the naval equivalent of "advance to contact".

[@roscoewhite3793]

Swordfish gunner to pilot of dive-bombing Swordfish; "Are we there yet?"

[@LankyAssMofka]

Ask me one more time and I swear I'll turn this plane around.

[@danhammond8406]

Are we there yet, are we there yet, Are we there yet, are we there yet, Are we there yet, are we there yet,

[@JWagener10]

@@LankyAssMofka Turn it around?!? I thought we were flying backwards already!

[@christianoutlaw]

HMS Dreadnought: “I rammed and sank a U-boat” HMS Warspite *launches Swordfish* “Hold my beer” And the Koellner when it sees the destroyers coming into sight holds up a sign saying “yipe!”. Then when Warspite comes into sight the sign changes to “YIPE!!!!”

[@ewok40k]

No one: Especially not Kriegsmarine: RN sending BB into narrow fjord

[@letoubib21]

Well, the perfidious Albion --- again *. . .*

[@piritskenyer]

"Sir, they sank two destroyers and killed the flottila leader. *UNGABUNGA IT IS* "

[@cutelasscutlass876]

Warspite time, fellas! Time to break out the 15” fun!

[@Scoobydcs]

I wonder if she was notorious to the Germans already

[@cutelasscutlass876]

eatthisvr6 Probably some from Jutland, but I’m not sure if she was quite as famous so she would’ve been in ‘45.

[@antonyborlase3965]

And just because it’s been mentioned never, it’s a shame she was sent to the scrappers.

[@robertyoung6396]

Brilliant video, I visited Narvik in the winter 1981 in HMS Ardent. So much history in a beautiful setting. Thanks👍

[@nowthisisgaming117]

Thank you so much for all the Naval history. It is quite awesome stumbling upon such a gem of a channel! Please keep it up!

[@alganhar1]

Talking about the Royal Marine Division, the real shame about that is it never really got formed, and other than the Headquarters it never saw action, being dissolved in 1943. This is a real irony, as the Headquarters saw action, including its tanks, but the Division was dissolved because it was never able to get its infantry complement to anywhere close to full strength. This is, in my opinion, due to the massive proliferation of Commando, a huge proportion of whom were of course Royal Marines. The constant shift of Royal Marine infantry into the Commando's pretty much sounded the death knell of the Royal Marine Division. The only time the 'Division' saw action was Operation Ironclad, the invasion of Madagascar, there is at least one picture I have seen of Armoured vehicles bearing the insignia of the Royal Marine Division on board an LCT heading for that operation. It is one Dr Clarke has put up actually, trying to ID the vehicle type if I remember correctly. It was some months ago. However, the Division, even by 1942 essentially had no infantry, despite it being a Light Infantry Division.... As a result it is, to my knowledge, the only Division in the British Army to have won a Battle Honour without actually have anything in the way of actual troops! It's tanks turned out to be quite useful, they did not have many, 6 lights and 6 Infantry tanks, I would need to check the sources but I believe they were 6 Tetrarchs and 6 Matilda II's. Could be wrong there though. Fairly certain the Matilda's is right but I may be wrong with the lights.....

[@piney4562]

Well, as far as I understand it, the RM division, was just a left over from the RMLI. And frankly the RMLI was an obsolete concept by this point. The need for a commando force far out stripped the need for elite light infantry. Except of course in the far east. But the far east could manage with the Chindits and the Gurkhas. For a long time, commando units were the only British land forces able to do any real damage to German occupied Europe. Although in some ways it is indeed a shame that the RMLI didn't get a big, showy, last hurrah. In the wider context of the war, it was for the best. (Excluding this particular incident, wherein a compliment of marines could have quite easily had a major impact on the war in Norway, and Europe as a whole.)

[@heavytube7890]

I understand this is quite late however you're right on the lights being Tetrarchs - i believe the infantry tanks were however Valentines.

[@wackysparrow1768]

That moment I realized that the diving swordfish actually moved really slowly across the screen :D

[@Shadooe]

I thought it was actual footage from the day.

[@MrBITS101]

1:19:43 the number of German destroyers that were lost in Norway was a significant factor for the cancelling of the invasion of Britain.

[@alanpennie8013]

I doubt the invasion would have been viable anyway, but the loss of destroyers didn't help.

[@mattwoodard2535]

When given orders to fire you FIRE. Don't give the enemy a freaking warning. In the 2nd battle HMS Hostile lived up to her name in spades. sm

[@imergence9628]

However, when you're an officer who never expected to have to fire and who did not want to start a war he wouldn't want to immediately open fire and so he hesitated. Yes you can critique him but he had good intentions at heart but yes he did ignore orders and should've opened fire

[@mattwoodard2535]

@@imergence9628 The war had already started. It would have been one thing if only he was killed, but most of his men died with him. He failed not only his crew, but his entire nation. sm

[@jpacker7977]

"one of the set running along the surface and slamming into Eskimo's bow, which promptly folded down vertically complete with "A" turret. And somewhat irritated by this turn of events, "B" turret decided to keep firing, as did the aft turrets" I love properly applied English understatement.

[@timsimms65707]

Just finished watching. I must say this is one of the best videos yet. I hope you two will collaborate on more of them. The respect you show and your knowledge and wit make it all work very well. Now I must have my second coffee and go to work, thank you gentlemen.

[@kidmohair8151]

53:34 - 57:03 that was one useful Swordfish flight I'd say...recon and divebomb... I love the Swordfish, obsolete, but still hugely effective, and cute to boot

[@Debbiebabe69]

The reason the Swordfish is held in such low regards by the British is because something like 95% of Swordfish pilots in the war ended up killed. They were known by the wives and children of pilots as 'flying coffins', and groups of those whos husbands/fathers were lost flying those things soon formed, and passed the hatred of them onto their children, grandchildren, and so on. When the later generations asked what their father/grandfather/great grandfather did in the war, they often reply they were 'killed by the Royal Navy forcing them to fly those wooden death traps'. Thats why everyone else seems to love the Swordfish and how they managed to defeat much more modern warships, but the British hold them in such low esteem - because it was British people's relatives who were sent out to die in them. Think of it another way. You have more chance of surviving by visiting Hiroshima on the day the nuke went off, than being assigned to fly Swordfish in the war.

[@5000mahmud]

@@Debbiebabe69 Source?

[@JPKelly-xr7tr]

​@@5000mahmudDoesn't have any and keeps cutting and pasting the exact same set of paragraphs throughout this comments section.

[@TomFynn]

One of my granddads was a stationed in northern Norway, driving and maintaining trucks and snowplows. He fired his sidearm only once, out of a window, curious to see if it would actually work. The bang shocked him so much, he never fired it again. Only combat he ever saw was against the ever present mosquitos. The insects not the...anyway. One day his company commander came to him and said "The war is over, we're going home." So they boarded a freight train, rode down the length of Sweden for several days, got on a ferry to Germany and that, as they say was that. He always said, we should count ourselves lucky we lost the war, otherwise we would have had to salute every lamppost. Or he said we'd have had to salute at every lamppost. Can't quite recall. The way things were going, it would probably wouldn't have made much of a difference.

[@keeroy]

the tribal class was one of the best destroyer classess of WWII, if not the best. definitely my favourite. it´s a shame most of them were lost...

[@McNubbys]

Drachinifel: ...40mm pom poms might be a bit overkill for a sniper... USS Texas: (wiggles 14in guns) Are they really overkill lol🤣

[@chrisoddy8744]

It's similar to that incident with the (insert correct battleship here - I think it was the USS New Jersey) who got shot at by a single North Korean 152mm artillery piece. So naturally, she turned all of her turrets round and blew the poor gun to pieces with a full broadside of 9 16" guns. Following this, one of her escorting ships radioed over "Temper, temper!!" Basically, don't shoot at a battleship no matter how small your gun is.

[@McNubbys]

@@chrisoddy8744 It was the Wisconsin 😊

[@chrisoddy8744]

@@McNubbys Thought I'd got it wrong! Thanks for the correction.

[@McNubbys]

@@chrisoddy8744 Nope, nailed it😊

[@christopherconard2831]

Ahh, that wonderful moment when a Swordfish chose to self identify as a Stuka.

[@antonalerte1189]

Christopher Conard or a Harrier in full “hover” mode!

[@Hidensee]

@@antonalerte1189 Harrier: That is my grandfather

[@88porpoise]

Interesting hearing how the destroyer force considered themselves elite and had significant prestige. I think the public’s view is generally the destroyers would get whatever’s left after manning the larger ships.

[@ryanh2621]

I can just hear the u48 captain screaming from here

[@ShadrachVS1]

Across the pond, US Commanders who are being issued Mk14s have an involuntary shudder, unfortunately they ignored this as merely insignificant.

[@scootergsp]

I imagine him throwing binoculars off the conning tower...🤣

[@ryanh2621]

@@scootergsp or periscoped

[@timsimms65707]

Thanks for this, you guys make me laugh. A great way to unwind after work. Warspite is one of my favorites and the swordfish routine left me in stiches. :D

[@markusmarkus7683]

13:07: states ship “Norway; with the corpse of Björnsons aboard.”

[@Maddog3060]

4:40 Geeze, Norway's coastline looks like someone took a computer drawing a fractal and made it drink until it passed out.

[@Switcharoo12]

The coast of Maine, where I live, is pretty similar for obvious reasons; not as spectacular mind you, just similar. Fun note: of you stretch out the coast of Maine it is as long if not longer than the rest of the entire east coast of the United States. Cheers

[@ibbi32]

Not German but 7/10 try

[@christophpoll784]

Yep, 7/10 from a naitive german as well 😅

[@Natogoon]

Sounded more like Swedish to be honest

[@kimbonzky]

Norwegian 3/10

[@adenkyramud5005]

I think I finally understand why you call these rum rations. Rum makes me happy and keeps the depression at bay, these videos do too. Keep up the great work mate, you're awesome!

[@Mattiniord]

British destroyers closing to boarding range. Because why not.

[@davidbrennan660]

Something was thought not to be nailed down, perhaps?

[@onin-zh2wm]

Tradition

[@RCAvhstape]

Nelson cast a long shadow.

[@sawyerawr5783]

Lucky Jack is smiling somewhere

[@Flapjackbatter]

21:45 Here come the Brits. Their idea of dealing with the enemy by firing upon them seemed in hindsight to be a superior tactic to our own.

[@erikgranqvist3680]

If any of you get the chanse to visit Narvik and Lofoten - take it! Norway in general, and Lofoten in particular has some of the worlds most beatuiful scenery. Cash up before you go, though. Restaurants, bars etcetera is not even close to cheap. But the Norweigians are friendly and very nice people.

[@clemi6739]

Just rewatched your Operation Weserübung episode, and than this comes up. Perfect timing!

[@seafreedom334]

I really enjoy and appreciate Drachinfel videos and I usually enjoy Drach's dry humour when applied to the foibles of Admirals and ship designers. This video deserves praise for it's clear and comprehensive overview of the event and it's implications. But I have to say that I was a bit shocked by the jocular atmosphere, particularly the comments from Dr Clark. A lot of good men (on both sides) suffered horrific deaths and injuries in this action. My uncle Stan served as a stoker on destroyers in WW2, including Ashanti and Harvester. He was not present at Narvik but I do remember the look on his face and the shudder that went though him whenever I asked him about his time in Destroyers. I think that the tone of this video would have upset him. Please continue to make your excellent videos, but please have a bit more respect for those that suffered. (I did appreciate the memorial screen at the end)

[@OlavDeng2]

I got confused by what ship you were talking about whenever you said "norge" lmao, was very confused untill i realized what you were talking about. For future reference, its a hard g as in gift and you pronounce the e.

[@letoubib21]

But Mark Felton is much worse *. . . ;-)*

[@BPF3Z02]

It made me wince when I heard the first "Norj" so I searched the comments and was glad to see your already explained. Maybe Drach should train the robot voice to say "Nor-ge" with a hard G and overdub it each time. :D

[@22KaTsh]

“Noorsh” 😱 just throw in the towel, say “Norway”

[@BulletMagnet1337]

It's like the beginning of Carpenter's The Thing: "It says Nor-je on the side of that chopper!"

[@martinsportfoto2423]

To expand a little on the big What if Narvik had been captured and remained - at least for a bit - in British control. Lets assume the British had gotten control of Narvik and - at least the northern part of - Norway throughout the war or for a extended period of it. Then I rather suspect the Swedish iron ore mines in Kiruna and Malmberget might have been either straight out occupied, or in case of a more temporary stay in northern Norway, raided and destroyed. Which would also carried some substantial ramafications for Germany and the rest of the European war. As a sidebar, it then also would have meant Sweden no longer would be a part of the rather small and, to a degree exclusive, club of countries never (yet!) invaded by Britain :)

[@OmmerSyssel]

Of course an immensely important resource like iron ore would have been used by the British.. It was war time and all available ressources had to be used against the megalomaniac Germans!

[@Depipro]

Hello Drachinifel! A little tip on pronunciation: I, for example, am not Norwegian. So when I want to know how "Norge" is actually pronounced, I go to the (English) Wikipedia page on Norway, and in the first line of the article I see a link to an audiofile of the word. Works with a lot of the more common/general terms in foreign languages.

[@karlbark]

I used to be in Narvik when I was (about) 13-14. -I always found it absolutely Awesome! to be able to speak with people who lived through these things ❗ I remember in the regards to the German yships

[@MakeMeThinkAgain]

1:15 What interested me about this is that it sounds like the Royal Navy and the IJN had a similar scheme of having officers specialize in destroyers. The USN on the other hand just used destroyers as a way to vet their younger officers to see which ones were capable of rising to more impressive commands. While this meant that US destroyer captains were less experienced, they were also young and ambitious. Also, virtually all US naval officers had experience in destroyers and flag officer had experience commanding a destroyer squadron. The USN scheme worked well enough at Samar.

[@dovetonsturdee7033]

To a degree. There were 'big ship sailors' and 'small ship sailors,' but it was not unusual to move between the two. Andrew Cunningham, for example, always regarded himself as a small ship sailor, but went on to larger things. Generally, a RN destroyer flotilla between the wars had nine vessels, eight destroyers and a leader, which was usually a slightly larger destroyer. The flotilla would be commanded by a Captain (D) who might well subsequently take command of a cruiser or battleship. One of the other destroyers would be a half-leader, commanded by the second in command of the flotilla, usually of Commander rank, and the remainder were captains were Lieutenant-Commanders. During the RN expansion during WW2, command of smaller RN destroyers such as the Hunt class often went to comparatively junior Lieutanants. Forbes, C-in-C of the Home Fleet in 1940, on the other hand, never commanded anything smaller than a cruiser. Most RN senior officers, much like US ones, did spend some time in destroyers.

[@OperaFanDallas]

I just recently found your channel. I love it. Especially your sense of humor and the amount of detail you go into. I can just imagine the swordfish pilot in the battle of Narvik having his tea and biscuit in the middle of a divebombing run as you described. Wonderful work, very enjoyable.

[@BrbWifeYelling]

Guy Sherbrooke VC... I think we just heard the first rumblings of a Drach/Alex Clarke collaboration on the Battle of the Barents Sea! 🤞😁

[@wolfbyte3171]

I wish you would have mentioned the last call from the Eidsvold's captain as he ran to the bridge: "På plass ved kanonene. Nå skal vi slåss, gutter!" ("Man the guns. We're gonna fight, boys!") Also, while three battles is pretty impressive, the, FOUR battles of Topolobampo during the Mexican Revolution. All four focused on the plucky gunboat Tampico. Would be cool if you could feature her at some point, as Wikipedia doesn't really do it justice.

[@gunnargundersen3787]

Skål for Norge

[@GaldirEonai]

54:40 Gotta love that visual gag :P.

[@rickashcroft8226]

Prior to mid-ish 1943 plenty of American submarine captains would have had the same sentiment about torpedoes as their German counterparts at Narvik

[@MsZeeZed]

I think remember seeing “Penelope and the Tribals” playing before The Clash at Fiddler’s Green under the Westway in 1977. Heady dayz 😹

[@richardschaffer5588]

Surigao strait, Guadalcanal, the Harwitch force, the KMS and RN at Jutland. The fighting record of the well named destroyers is awesome. To lose a Battleship is a disaster, to lose destroyer expected. So they dare to fight. Also a Destroyer crew is only bit bigger than the ideal work group size (supposedly 150) a battleship or cruiser is a bureaucracy afloat. Lastly life in a destroyer crew is tough for both OFFICERS and men so Freddy Faintheart finds an easier berth. I read in a book that Swordfish torpedo attacks started with a steep dive from cruising altitude to torpedo attack altitude, sea level. In any case all biplanes warplanes make good dive bombers. The huge parasite drag is a built in dive brake. The first “modern” dive bombers were nothing more than standard Curtis fighters. The pilots just dive on the target dropped their bomb and pulled out. Many pre war military aircraft were certified capable of Terminal Speed in a dive! I doubt if any modern aircraft can claim that! Magnetic Torpedo Exploder -not ready for prime time. Great description of a very confusing battle, as is your description of Savo Island.

[@bryantcurtis2665]

Thanks for the upload.War is a tragedy, but it sure makes for great footage.

[@BattlestarDamocles]

Those H-class destroyers were savage in that action.

[@johnlaccohee-joslin4477]

My Grandfather was on the ship that was run aground and spent the night keeping tbe crew doing exercises to stop them fron freezing. I never did know how the got off but i think one of the other destroyers picked them up the day after. He had fought in ww1 and i think he was decorated for his efforts to keep everyone alive. He was on a number of ships that were in fact sunk and he always said that he thinks he spent more time in the water than enough. He had his " ditty box" and it was full of medals many of which were never worn, so much so that i think the are now on desplay in the naval museun. As the only grandson i have some ofbhis first world war medals, again never worn as i feel although i too served in the navy i am of the opinion that they really should only be worn by the person who deserved them. He was a great man, one of the best and i know that for what ever it means he was gazzetted on two occasions, he served on "Q" boats as well. My best thing about him was that he servived both wares although i think he did suffer from all the time he spent in the water, he lived into his seventies and was me idial, as he was a man always ready to listen before he gave any adives, he .was bruried at sea, and it took a long time to getvover loosing him, still a case of being dearly missed to this day, i was give his surname so that it would carry on as he only had a daughter( my mother).

[@Koernestori]

Some say that the Swordfish is still in the dive.

[@Duececoupe]

Spent many a day in Narvik and Trondheim, while still living in Sweden (Östersund), seen plenty of leftovers from WWII.... Most excellent video, as one come to expect from you.... Btw, have you got yourself a 1/200 HMS Hood and Bismarck yet? 😉

[@charleslarrivee2908]

No matter how fast we go, no matter how many hits we take, I shall never spill my tea!

[@hannesbaumann8509]

For your german pronunciation I give you 7/10 for accuracy, and 10/10 for effort. Very good for a native english speaker.

[@TheDisinformationProjectNz]

No ads. Now this is what I'm talking about👌👍

[@ProbablyTooLoud]

"Peaceful Occupation" sounds very similar to; "Peaceful Protesting".

[@stefanjoeres7149]

Right. Occupying countries is very similar to people shouting "Black Lives Matter". It's true.

[@charlesbechen821]

One is almost inherently violent and the other is enshrined in most democratic countries as a right. But yeah I'm sure we can compare the occupation of Europe in the 40s to people protesting perceived wrongs in a democratic system

[@Thomas-rk4rl]

This meme brought to you by comparing the actual, we wanted to kill approximately 85% of Eastern Europe and turn the other 15% into illiterate slaves, we started the bloodiest conflict in human history Nazis with some people protesting that maybe cops shouldn't be shooting people and then proceeding to get shot at

[@Kennethah81]

Being from Narvik (tough I dont live there anymore) I have hoped you would make a video on these battles for a long time! Excellent video as always, tough it is about time you figure out how to pronounce "Norge"! :)

[@stuartpeacock8257]

Tenacious fighting at close quarters against superior sized ships and numerous with professional well trained and disciplined crews. Reminiscent of times 135 years earlier, a lasting legacy