Invasion of Norway & Denmark - Operation Weserübung

Operation Weserübung was the German Invasion of Norway and Denmark in April 1940. It involved troops from the Army, Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe. It involved the ships Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Blücher, Lützow, Admiral Hipper on the German side and HMS Glowworm, Warspite and Glorious on the British. Although it was an operational success, strategically it wasn't.
Military History Visualized provides a series of short narrative and visual presentations like documentaries based on academic literature or sometimes primary sources. Videos are intended as introduction to military history, but also contain a lot of details for history buffs. Since the aim is to keep the episodes short and comprehensive some details are often cut.
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Germany and the Second World War. Volume II.
Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg. Band 2.
Potter, E.B.; Nimitz, Ch. W.: Sea Power - Naval History
Potter, E.B.; Nimitz, Ch. W.; Rohwer, Jürgen: Seemacht - Von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart.
Dildy, Douglas C.: Denmark and Norway 1940.
Amundsen, Steinar: STRATEGIC DECISIONS AND IMPLICATIONS OF THE GERMAN ASSAULT ON NORWAY IN 1940
Lindemann, Timothy F.: JOINT OPERATIONS CASE STUDY WESERÜBUNG NORD: GERMANY’S INVASION OF NORWAY, 1940
Blair, Clay: Hitler’s U-Boat War - The Hunters 1939-1942
en.wikipedia.o...
uboat.net/fates...
Cambridge History of the Second World War. Volume I.
Faulkner, Marcus: The Kriegsmarine and the Aircraft Carrier: The Design and Operational Purpose of the Graf Zeppelin, 1933-1940. In: War in History, Vol. 19, No. 4, 11.2012, p. 492-516
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[@jeffreymcfadden9403]

during the narvik occupation, a young german soldier became romantically involver with a young norweigan woman. he left for germany, and the woman was told he died on his way back. later, she found that she was pregnant. the woman had a daughter named Anni-Frid. the woman and daughter moved to sweden after the war, where the woman died and the young girl was raised by her grandmother. Anni-Frid became Frida,of ABBA. In 1976 a young german fan of ABBA read a story of Fridas life and the father of Frida was mentioned, he had the same name of her LIVING uncle. So, in 1976, Frida met her father for the first time.

[@edlaprade]

Jeff - Almost right. Anni-Frid's mother died in Norway. She was taken to Sweden by her grandmother.

[@johndesohn7973]

The Stoned Videogame Nerd I guess Norwegians more lighter than Germans.

[@JDahl-sj5lk]

jeffrey mcfadden I didn’t know she was a “tyskerunge”, learn something new every day. (The term is derogatory, even though it just literal translates to GermanKid/young) So i understand why she moved to Sweden, we weren’t especially kind to them after the war; which is a shame. Shaving the heads of women that had been romantically involved with Germans; while the people that got rich often got away with it.

[@andraslibal]

Unlike in many other countries, in Norway, German soldiers were encouraged intermixing with Norwegian women as they considered them racially pure. Here is a paragraph from Wikipedia: During the five-year occupation, several thousand Norwegian women had children fathered by German soldiers in the Lebensborn program. The mothers were ostracised and humiliated after the war both by Norwegian officialdom and the civilian population, and were called names such as tyskertøser (literally "whores/sluts of [the] Germans"). Many of these women were detained at internment camps such as the one on Hovedøya, and some were even deported to Germany. The children of these unions received names like tyskerunger (children of Germans) or worse yet naziyngel (Nazi spawn). The debate on the past treatment of these krigsbarn (war children) started with a television series in 1981, but only recently have the offspring of these unions begun to identify themselves. Fritz Moen, the only known victim of dual miscarriage of justice in Europe, was the child of a Norwegian woman and a German soldier, as was ABBA member Anni-Frid Lyngstad.

[@JDahl-sj5lk]

Andras Libal I knew there were quite a few yes. We treated them horribly, even heard rumors of Tyskerrunger that were taken from their mothers and placed in institutions for no good reason.

[@MakeMeThinkAgain]

My favorite result of Operation Weserübung was the UK's deciding they needed a mountain division for situations like that. So they spend most of the war training the 52nd Division to fight in mountains and then deployed it on the flooded polders of Belgium. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/52nd_(Lowland)_Infantry_Division#Second_World_War

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

lol mountain lions degraded to swamp rat duty, I guess they got a bit angry :D

[@MakeMeThinkAgain]

Did you read the Wiki section? After all the mountain training they were trained to support airborne operations and then they didn't do that either. Military planning at its best. And now I'm remembering there was a Panzer Division on garrison duty in Norway for most of the war. When the Eastern Front was collapsing, they were sent to Poland to meet their new Panthers and fight the Soviets, only the Soviets got there first.

[@looinrims]

MakeMeThinkAgain is there a primary source as to why the Norwegian occupation force had a damn Panzer division assigned to it? Those resistance fighters man hardly able to patrol without getting HE’d by a Matilda II

[@MakeMeThinkAgain]

@@looinrims I'm only speculating here but you can cover more ground with a panzer division than with several infantry divisions. Also, the Allies went to some trouble to make the Germans think they might attack in Norway or in Greece so that German forces were stretched as thin as possible everywhere. It was the German equivalent of the armored units in Burma still equipped with M3 medium tanks in 1944.

[@Liam8015]

@@looinrims There was plans to invade Sweden, and the Germans had some concerns about the Swedish potentially declaring for the Allies, or deciding they wanted to rule Norway again. Also the USSR was, like, right next door to Norway, so maintaining a more significant occupation force might've made sense for the purpose of responding to the USSR launching a counter attack through Norway. Also also, there would be the potential for a raid by either the Western Allies or the USSR against Narvik, and destruction of the port there would cause quite a lot of damage to the Germans ability to manufacture... pretty much anything. Then again, this being the Nazi's we're talking about, it could well just be that the commander of the occupation was real buddy-buddy with Hitler and so when he asked real nice like for his very own "My First Panzer Division Playset", Hitler just couldn't say no to his puppy dog eyes.

[@lomax343]

One strategic effect of the German invasion of Denmark which you don't mention was that it turned Denmark into an Allied power. This allowed Britain (and, later, the US) to legitimately site air and naval bases in Iceland and Greenland (Danish protectorates), which was a great advantage during the Battle of the Atlantic.

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

good point, forgot about Iceland in this case.

[@lomax343]

OK, a "Cloak of legitimacy." Either way, it couldn't have happened without the German invasion of Denmark proper in 1940.

[@norwayitalo]

Military History Visualized they took iceland for strategisk reson protect the convois to USSR

[@norwayitalo]

Charles McCarron and they only lasted 4 hours .. Norway 3 mnds!? thats 2.5 mnds longer then france we are only then 4 million

[@norwayitalo]

Yes part true Churchill had plan take controll of iron malm so only that point in sweden

[@gavinweber9091]

A fact about the gloworm is that the German commander of the hipper wrote a letter to the British after the battle saying that the commander of the gloworm should get the Victorian cross for his bravery which was the final rat Victorian cross given out in ww2

[@trauko1388]

Another fact is that the sole bridge survivor Lt. Ramsay doesnt record any order to ram and declared the rudder and wheel to beunmanned and damaged...

[@cybertronian2005]

never heard that expression, 'rat VC'

[@williamlydon2554]

I'd like to see a video on Operation Dragoon (D-Day's forgotten brother landing in the south of France)

[@dzejrid]

I just googled that. I had completly no idea such operation had taken place, it was never mentioned in any of my historical references. Thanks for the tip!

[@williamlydon2554]

dzejrid I saw a film on it a few years ago (Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed) and was the same as you, supprised to find id never heard of it.

[@lx_phx]

william lydon whats the name of the film

[@jonathancarshow9573]

Rain (It's in between)

[@martinlaird4738]

It was a terrific demonstration of the powerhouse the free French army. I think Dragoon was their debut as the 1st French Army.

[@MrJohanBD]

Note the HMS Glorious is the only carrier ever sunk by Battleships witch is kinda cool fact

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

how glörious :D

[@MrJohanBD]

Military History Visualized ^^

[@MrJohanBD]

*****​​​​ No she didn't. Some say Yamato hit the escorts carrier Gambier Bay but many also protest that ever happening. What we do know however is that Gambier Bay got into range of the Japanese cruisers and the fatal blow was an 8 inch cruiser shell that fucked up the forward engines caused the carrier to slow to a crawl witch made her an easy target and caused flooding that would finally sink her. So yes the Glourius is still the only carrier ever sunk in action by battleships alone

[@uegogeta]

Also that the shot from Scharnhorst is the longest hit on moving vessel (along with Warspite's hit on Giulio Cesare)

[@coling3957]

Glorious was evacuating RAF Hurricanes - who'd landed on carrier without carrier training - and was not operating her own patrol aircraft. if they been able to they'd have spotted the German force and been able to avoid it. Glorious was an old carrier and couldn't outrun the 2 battle-cruisers .. the heroic destroyers caused considerable damage and sent their foe limping home , very low in the water at the bow.

[@GenghisVern]

"It seems like the approach of not offending crazy people didn't work back in 1940.. either"... lol

[@mab7727]

It had nothing to do with offending though ... It's all about strategy ...

[@dannya1854]

@@dadoogie He was talking about Denmark, get your borderline racist opinions out of history.

[@dadoogie]

@@dannya1854 "Borderline" so not racist then?

[@frother]

I disliked the video because of that single absolutely garbage take. Appeasing literal Nazis is not the same thing as asking you to be considerate of other people.

[@logiconabstractions6596]

Yeah I found that quote pretty funny too;

[@Baltahfeek]

Straight forward, logical and indisputable historical recount with actual evidence...thanks Military History Visualized!

[@photo7779311]

"The approach of not offending crazy people didn't work in 1940, either..." LOL, great quote, and adding a bit of humor to history! Keep it up, love your work!

[@irishrapture67]

Criminally underrated KZbin channel I hope it grows and achieves the respect it deserves :)

[@abhaymishra30]

another great video by MHV. keep up the good work

[@tommyscaletta]

Erwin Rommel You watched in 2x speed?!

[@abhaymishra30]

Eating Flashbang I knew that was coming. ;)

[@tommyscaletta]

Wasn't it obvious?

[@humboldt777]

Although he has a very heavy German accent! :-D

[@SuprAtheAceofSpades]

Great video! I was already familiar with the operation but the way you analized the events from operational vs strategic standpoints won me over. Very well put together. Looks like you have a new subscriber. :)

[@Vikinger119]

French Troops represented as baguettes...

[@christofferjeffers8460]

funny as hell!!

[@kaiserwilhelmii1827]

Talk about historically accurate

[@testhamster123]

IMO this is one of your best videos. Please make more like this.

[@hoegild1]

Excellent work! You just keep on producing high quality videos on complicated and often misunderstood subjects!

[@rorythecomrade4461]

Thanks for this video, I am currently writing a book that has to do with ww2 in Scandinavia and your videos are helping with my book effort. Keep up the good work on these videos!

[@rorythecomrade4461]

the book is a fictional scenario by the way but it uses many historical events and tactics.

[@Henskelion]

Thanks for making this video, this answers the question I've always had as to why Germany was so hesitant/unable to use its surface navy throughout the course of the war.

[@kalamaroni]

I really love this map-based visualization. Just a tiny note which I'm sure you already noticed: the text sometimes does not fade in time before the map starts moving, which creates a bit of a weird effect.

[@sondrecalmeyer8659]

You missed out on the battles in Bagn, Norway. This is the first time the Germans met real resistance during WW2. Two German battalions were held back for several days, and the battles there were actually very chaotic. Both sides tried to flank, at the same time. This led to 27 civilians being caught in the crossfire at a farm way up in the mountainside. They were locked in a room of 8 square meter, laying on top of each other to try to evade gunfire from three machine guns firing at the old house. A kid in the room was crying, his mother tried to give him his pacifier, and it was shot in two, just as she put it in his mouth... A lot of interesting war history happened there, at Bagn, at Bagnsbergatn and in Gråbeinhølet.

[@christyler9007]

Thank you, very much. I am grateful for your enlightening, informative and wry videos. Please, keep up your excellent productions. May, I please request directing your well developed skills towards conflicts post WWII. Again, thank you, very much.

[@quentinsanchez8088]

I'm so happy I had the opportunity to travel to Norway in December of 2020 to March of 2021. I visited many famous landmarks and museums, such as the industrial museum in Vemork, Norway. Just a few minutes away from Rjukan, it was a very surreal feeling looking at the pictures of the norwegian resistance fighters. Along with their personal stories of their daily jobs and what their responsibilities were within the norwegian resistance. Especially learning about the Sabotage mission norwegian resistance carried out on the heavy water factory in February of 1943 destroying vital equipment the Germans were using to create the heavy water compound necessary for an atomic device. All sacrifices from the British and norwegians shall never be forgotten and will continue to live on through Norway's freedom they have to this day, thanks to their selfless sacrifice.

[@maximinomorgado2150]

Im a student of history of La Plata Argentina, near the sinking place of Admiral Graff Spee. I love your videos, your accent and the music! Keep it up! I would love to see some North África campaign videos in your channel.

[@ScawerGaming]

Interesting facts: First: The Gneisenau turrets were disassembled in Norway and built in what you germans called "Festung Fjell", still preserved today. Second: The Battleship Tirpitz (Bismarcks sistership) became a "fleet in being", and was stationed in Norway indefinitely until it was sunk in 1944 by the RAF. Third: The Blücher was first shot by Oscarsborgs 28cm cannons (ironically made by Krupp) from a range of 1,5-2 kilometers. The two first shots (and the only two shots from the 28's) hit around the bridge and made a huge inferno. The next shot was a direct hit by the 15cm armstrong cannons on the rudder connection between the rudders and the Bridge. By this point, Blücher was doomed. Torpedoes or not. BUT torpedoes came anyways and both hit and made the final killing blow to the ship. The invasion fleet, seeing the torpedoes hitting Blücher, assumed it was mines and turned around. The fort was still able to heavly damage the Cruiser "Lützov". The capture of Oslo was delayed, the Royal family escapes, Luftwaffe bombs the fort for a whole day (even while there was 550 german survivor prisoners there). And the fort finally surrendered after seeing it was effortless to continue fighting, and after the luftwaffe threatened to bomb Oslo if they did'nt give up (This might be a myth). I could go on, but the reason I wrote this is just to illustrate that it was'nt just two torpedoes from an unknown location. But several crippling hits from a large island fort. Today the Blücher still rests were it was sunk, and last time I was there, it was possible to scubadive to see the wreck but I think they changed that recently. Thanks!

[@hansvonmannschaft9062]

Forgot to say that the torpedoes were also, ironically, German, too, and 40 y/o, shot from a base built at the beginning of the century by... also the Germans! haha and the Norges didn't really know whether the torps were going to work or not... which makes us wonder how proud of German engineering was the Führer that day...

[@georgenygaard9636]

Scawer

[@hedgehog3180]

Scawer Considering Germany most definitely threatened to bomb Copenhagen to rubble I doubt it's a strech to imagine they would also bomb Oslo.

[@DebatingWombat]

Nope, the torpedoes weren't German but actually aging Austro-Hungarian Whitehead torpedoes, invented by an Englishman and produced in what is now the Croatian city of Rijeka in 1900 when it was one of the Austria-Hungarian Navy's most important ports, mainly inhabited by Italians and known as Fiume. Thus, the sinking of the Blücher in the Drøbak Sound is almost a microcosm of links to European history from the late 19th century to today.

[@kjellg6532]

Gneisenau A turret was splitt in three and reused at Hoeck van Holland. B-turret complete was installed at Fjell, West of Bergen. The complete C-turret was reinstalled as costal battery at Austraat, West of Trondhjem

[@BigboiiTone]

I know it was probably very unrealistic but I loved the Trondheim sub-pen mission in MOH:AA. Very cool to see a correct video on this topic.

[@HerrmannThompson]

If you ever decide to do on location filming in Norway, I'd like to suggest you check out Gneisenau's C turret installed as a coastal battery at Trondheim.

[@JonathanB00K3R]

Great video! really deepened my understanding of the situation in Norway :]

[@graemesydney38]

A good final summary. Norway is probably the classic example of 'win the battle and lose the war'. The resources lost took operation Sealion from marginal to a 'no go'. Also an example of the confused, if not non-existent, Hitler/Germany strategic thinking or planning. Norway was a long war strategy, GB was a short war strategy. Trying to do both was strategic confusion and fatal.

[@VisciousPhishes]

Great Video. That map-work was solid!

[@Fluffy1877]

French troops represented by baguettes. Love it. Great lesson as always, thanks for your work!

[@LEEboneisDaMan]

Wait wait wait. Great video but you kind of skimmed over something there. Two ships meet at the beginning of the battle. They're in the freezing Northern Waters and they BOTH come to the conclusion of "Yeah ramming that ship seems like a good idea" I mean what?! I'm sure it made sense to them, but out of context it just seems sort of strange that that's the course of action they would chose to take

[@eternaltwilight2574]

LEEboneisDaMan It has logic because what's funnier than ramming another ship?

[@aquila4460]

If i remember correctly they tried to fight normally first, and after the glowworm had taken several hits and was burning their captain decided that fuck it, he would take the germans with his. And the Germans seeing that the glowworm was closing in fast and that they would probably not be able to sink them in time tried to counterram to minimize damage on their ship.

[@martinseguicotano7346]

From Wikipedia: While steaming off the Norwegian coast, Admiral Hipper was ordered to divert course to locate the destroyer Bernd von Arnim, which had fallen behind Group 1. In the mist, the destroyer encountered the British destroyer HMS Glowworm; the two destroyers engaged each other until Bernd von Arnim's commander requested assistance from Admiral Hipper.[15] Upon arriving on the scene, Admiral Hipper was initially misidentified by Glowworm to be a friendly vessel, which allowed the German ship to close the distance and fire first. Admiral Hipper rained fire on Glowworm, scoring several hits. Glowworm attempted to flee, but when it became apparent she could not break away from the pursuing cruiser, she turned toward Admiral Hipper and fired a spread of torpedoes, all of which missed. The British destroyer scored one hit on Admiral Hipper's starboard bow before a rudder malfunction set the ship on a collision course with the German cruiser. The collision with Glowworm tore off a 40-meter (130 ft) section of Admiral Hipper's armored belt on the starboard side, as well as the ship's starboard torpedo launcher.[17] Minor flooding caused a four degree list to starboard, though the ship was able to continue with the mission.[15] Glowworm's boilers exploded shortly after the collision, causing her to sink quickly. Forty survivors were picked up by the German ship.

[@trauko1388]

Please... "Lieutenant Ramsay, the senior surviving officer, told his rescuers that neither the helm nor the emergency rudder were manned when the ships collided so the destroyer's turn towards Hipper was probably accidental." We are a bit old for fairy tales and propaganda... whats next? Ghost archers at Mons? Ha!

[@trauko1388]

So are stories by one guy claiming to have been there, in clear contradiction of what the officer that was there said... www.rna-10-area.co.uk/files/vanguard/Vanguard_Apr_09.pdf Only Ramsay survived from the birdge personnel so the people claiming a ram order simply made up a cute story during their boring imprisonment. And the source is at the end of the paragraph, took me 5 seconds to google it aswe ll: books.google.com.ec/books?id=pNw7BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA421&lpg=PA421&dq=glowworm+captain+ram+ramsay+rudder+helm&source=bl&ots=q0QYM9jqQJ&sig=oskn_HGWpO5kRhNhTlj9EjkcHas&hl=es-419&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=glowworm%20captain%20ram%20ramsay%20rudder%20helm&f=false Ghost archers, ramming captains, magical, carrots, paratrooper massacres at Crete, Stuka massacres at the BoB...

[@raylast3873]

"BLÜCHER!" *pause* *horses neighing*

[@Malcalore]

Your norwegian pronunciations are near perfect, keep up the great work!

[@ScawerGaming]

Wellll some of them. Would'nt say "perfect" :P

[@Malcalore]

That's why i said near, nobody outside scandinavia has a chance at perfect pronunciations of our language.

[@ScawerGaming]

That's also debatable. But you said near, and I did'nt see that. My bad

[@svenstajduhargaming5999]

but his german pronunciations are hideous

[@chaostheory6954]

Funny how I got notified of this video when doing the "Operation Weserubung" mission in "Glory of generals"....

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

perfect timing is crucial in warfare

[@dariusniederer856]

Military History Visualized If only the Americans had known that...

[@josemiguelcaballerorestrep2101]

And here I thought barely anyone played it (I also play it).

[@justinpyke1756]

Great video mein dude!

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

:D you will love the next one, it even mentions you in name again :)

[@Arcexey]

If my name was Hitler I would be mentioned in every of your videos!! =) my fucking parents didn't think ahead

[@dzejrid]

Adolf was also quite popular name in Poland before the war. Afterwards... not so much.

[@Mars_junior]

Always great to start my day with one of these.

[@HojozVideos]

I like how you said mining while talking about the exploding type of mines, and mines when talking about the resource gaining ones

[@878SurvivorFM]

Would love to see you do one on Gallipoli and Beersheba

[@brandonalsop1281]

I know this episode is a bit old at this point but I think you are overlooking the importance of Norway and Denmark to the German war effort. The naval implications especially for the U-boat effort since the naval bases, where both closer to and more Northernly than any ones Germany had access to. Controlling Denmark and Norway also cut down on the available bombing baths for allied counter bombing campaigns. It also made it much harder for the allies to supply the USSR, but its hard to know if this was a planned effect at the time. Also, Don't forget the heavy water supply in Norway. Norway was the closest source that Germany could get heavy water from to continue their Nuclear research. Also capturing Norway shut off the strait for the rest of the war and made it safe for German merchant traffic to bring in the large quantities of steel from Sweden. It also kept the royal navy and red navy from combining, although once again hard to say if that was an intended effect at the time. Taking denmark was more about controlling the strait and removing a easy "neutral" staging area like Greece became for the entente in WWI. The biggest question of the war other than why did Hitlar invade the Soviet union when he did ( I think he would have eventually) is why did Germany invade the Netherlands? The Dutch supply line was vital the the German war effort in WWI and keeping it open would have allowed, at least for a while, rubber and rare metals to continue to come into Germany, not to mention oil. It would have been imo, much more difficult for the Allies to have used the Netherlands as a forward staging area than denmark. This isn't even talking about the potential ability to launch strategic bombing runs out of norway and take advatange of the "over the pole" route against scotland and northernengland. Or the potential for launching a northern invasion prong as part of sealion. Or for that matter a northern paratrooper invasion combined with a naval invasion. Norway just opened the door to too many opportunities in material, logisistics and strategy to Germany to ignore it and they couldn't take Norway with out taking Denmark.

[@JasperKlijndijk]

keep up the good work! enjoying ur videos a lot :)

[@eternaltwilight2574]

Last time i was so early,Germany was preparing the invasion of Norway

[@abhaymishra30]

Eternal Twilight lol

[@elliotwagstaff8685]

StarFox514 Unfortunately much of Rommel's fame is myth and propaganda.

[@eternaltwilight2574]

StarFox514 Yeah,Kaminski Brigade's commander was the smartest guy of the Third Reich

[@jovialmadness]

Elliot Wagstaff my humble opinion of what makes a superior tactician is not what he is capable of when fully supplied with a superior force but what he is capable of with less than ideal supply and an inferior force. Rommel proved that. Patton proved that. Model proved that. Zhukov proved that. Now take a truly over rated officer such as Montgomery and see perfectly how even a 15 year old can win battles when you wait till your forces are fat and over equipped while facing tired, starving and underequipped forces that lack air power. Rommel was hyped up no doubt, but he was chosen to be propagandized for a reason...

[@orkhepaj]

Yes, they are looking for places to send their muslim peacelovers.

[@tommy-er6hh]

Kudos on another clear video lesson!

[@aryan4264]

Loving the new videos!Keep it up!

[@stannisvonhapsburg6883]

If anyone is interested in this look up "The Battle of Drobak sound" on youtube, there is a cool scene from a Norwegian film of the Heavy Cruiser Blucher being sunk

[@TaoQiBao]

The Element of Surprise. Best ever at 3:30 :D

[@binaway]

After the evacuation from Skaanland the convoy carrying (troops of 151 Battery 51st City of London AA) was spotted by a long range patrol aircraft in the North Sea. The sailors told the soldiers they would soon be attacked by the Luftwaffe. Fortunately a thick fog rolled across a calm North Sea and completely hid the Convoy. Those on the ships could hear engines from above but were unable to see anything and conclude the aircrew would likewise not be able to see them. The aircraft dropped their bombs into the fog where they must have assumed the ships would be. Men in the Convey could hear the bombs exploding around them, some not to far away but fortunately none were hit. If not for the weather allied losses would have been much heavier.

[@torharaldols]

Great video!

[@Duececoupe]

Love these videos....they're bloody brilliant! 👍👌👏 How about a video on Germany's plans to invade Sweden....if they had, when, where, how and which units... Keep up the excellent work!

[@Litany_of_Fury]

We asked for more Naval stuff and we got it!

[@podprogowikandydaci4858]

those baguettes icons are amazing :D

[@Laudrengen]

The humour around 7:10 got you my like :)

[@mikhailiagacesa3406]

there were still over 200,000 troops in Norway in 1945; they could have been better used elsewhere.

[@mikhailiagacesa3406]

Definitely of the same mentality. 'We'll link up with the troops in Kurland when we counter-attack!' But the troops in Norway were just sitting on there butts, relatively speaking.

[@SNIperofDARKness02]

I think some of the soldiers stationed there preferred it.

[@mikhailiagacesa3406]

I'm sure they did. ;-)

[@TheHammerDedicated]

Thats the thing, resistans in norway were just waiting for their time to come. Only way to hold a country as stretched out and with as rugged a terrain as norway is with a massive force big enough to scare any thought of resisting. In retrospect it was quite a waste indeed.

[@UGLEIV]

Where did you get the number 200 000 from? I have read anything from 350 000-500 000, with most accounts puttingthe number at around 380 000, 11 division,5 brigades and support+Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe. In total almost twice your estimate. While many of these troops were decidedly rear echelon troops, there were a significant portion of combat troops as well, not only mountain divisions but also a panzer division, its equipment was the basis for both the post war Norwegian as well as finnish armies armoured components.

[@threeone6012]

Great upload!

[@monophthalmos9633]

I don't know whether this has already been mentioned, but conquering Norway made it easier for the Germans to attack supplies for the Russians via the northern route. One suggestion: could you maybe do a video about Polish forces after the Polish surrender? Nationalist Poles still seem to think they played an important role in the war in Europe and I don't know how it really was, a flaw that many people share, I guess.

[@UGLEIV]

The British did pretty much everything, they provided the shipping, the artillery, the aircover and supplies, and about 1/4th of all troops involved. All allied troops in the narvik campaign lacked ski's except the Norwegians, this was because of some screwup when they offloaded the Troops in the UK to fight a great naval battle that never happened.

[@Artur_M.]

Gerhard Thiel I liked your comment, even though it's phrasing rubs me the wrong way a little, because I would really love to see such video. I don't view myself as overly nationalistic, but I do think that Polish contribution in WWII is generally overlooked/underappreciated. As far as I know the most comprehensive books on this subject in English are No Greater Ally by Kenneth K. Koskodan and The Eagle Unbowed by Halik Kochanski. Also technically there was no "Polish surrender", as Poland never capitulated.

[@ewokrothaar8434]

+Artur M. I think that it is stupid to not capitulate, when you have lost your whole country.

[@Artur_M.]

Ewok Rothaar No, it is not. Especially as long as you have the means to continue fighting abroad alongside your allies and the war is going one.

[@ewokrothaar8434]

+Artur M. The french capitulated and they still fought against the Germans (as far as I know under a general named Charles de gaule)

[@Logotic]

I love the icon for Surprise Attack...

[@and15re1]

Could you make later videos about what-if operations, like Sealion, Tannerburn or Downfall or about the "elephant" of the USN, the Alaska-class cruiser?

[@joacimandreasenberthelsen8967]

I think I'm a bit late but here goes. According to a book writhen with the assistance of the Norwegian defence forces titled "Norsk forsvarshistorie 1905-1940" which is translated to "Norwegian defence forces history 1905-1940" by Rolf Hobson and Tom Kristiansen claimes that a total of 8 submarines of the German navy were sunk in the Norwegian campaign, their names were: U-1, U-13, U-22, U-44, U-49, U-50, U-54 and U-64.

[@HaakonTheViking]

Interesting take on the invasjon of Norway and Denmark, but I'd love to see more about the actual land-war in Norway. Why did this take so long considering the vast german advantage?

[@maciejniedzielski7496]

one of best vidéos in your chaîne

[@eisscrat5667]

Will u also made a longer Video about the Battle of France, Operation Barbarossa etc. how they work and what was the most importent moves and units for Example the 7. Panzerdivision (Gespensterdivision)?

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

could be, right now it seems my operation videos are rather not well received, just about 10 % of my audience watched this one. This is extremely low. Although France and definitely Barbarossa are more popular. There will be definitely more Eastern Front videos.

[@danielhall6354]

really good video - very interesting

[@preshlock]

Very good video. I understand you were providing an overview of Weserubung. But I would suggest adding comments about Sweden during the battle of Narvik. The Germans were able to pressure Sweden into permitting the use of Swedish rail lines and harbors. This was instrumental in the Germans being able to supply the defensive position around Narvik. Prior to Barbarossa the battle of Narvik was the longest sustained action of the German army.

[@PettX2k]

dont forget the use of human shields, during the opnening weeks of the battle german soldiers where sorrounded by Norwegian soldiers in a small fjord close to narvik. Here they used captured Norwegian soldiers from the Telemark Bataljon and civiliance as human shields trying to brake out.

[@DerDitchwater]

As a norwegian, that fact is a source of animosity between us to this day. Even now there are politcal voices calling for reperations for this betrayal.

[@Leaffordes]

Sweden didn't permit Germany to send fighting troops towards Narvik. Every request by Germany was denied. Sweden however agreed upon transporting medical supplies and personal among other things (could be ammo also, I'm not completely sure) which the Germans requested. Thing was that the Germans sent troops in that train, dressed as medical personal etc which made the Swedes kinda upset. The Swedish-German relation got worse and worse as Sweden denied German requests over and over again, and shot down a few German planes in Swedish airspace and hacked the German communication line over Sweden to Norway, twice. People think that Sweden did whatever Germany demanded from them but it's not true, therefore invasion plans of Sweden were created but never executed

[@AnonyMous-ql9nj]

@@Leaffordes True, however the transports etc was only a long time after Norway had surrendered. The troop transports everyone talks about aswell were only when it came to Finland as "totally unbiased Sweden" let the germans pass to support finland in the winter war.

[@AnonyMous-ql9nj]

Thats not true, i understand you hear these rumours alot so its kinda understandable that you think it happened but history says it didnt. So simply, No.

[@baldviking1970]

Landing with an initial force of some 10,000 men, making a surprise naval attack on so many different cities despite the threat from a superior, naval enemy interfering, handeling the alien nature and lack of infrastructure of Norway, I would call this a very sucessful operation. And the germans did not even have an unified command as that was not invented yet in those times: General von Falkenhorst, Admiral Boehm and Leutnant General Geisler were coordinating on a operational and sometimes ad hoc level. It was bold like a grand bluff in a poker game and so typical for many german victories in 1939 and 40.

[@leftcoaster67]

The effect of not trying to offend crazy people didn't seem to work in 1940. LOL.

[@ironmaidenforever665]

I remember having read about the german ship "aviso grille" running into a danish boat full of pigs before the invasion, this damaged the hull so badly that it could not join the invasion.

[@sgtspiffywiffy5799]

have you ever considered doing a Binkov's Battlegrounds stile of videos on planed operations that never got past planing, like operation Sealion or Downfall?

[@ph5832]

The Allies used the fear of invading Norway and Sweden to great effect as a deception to tie down key resources (ie Divisions). This diverted several divisions away from the European mainland. Perhaps a video on Military Deceptions of WWII? May I recommend an book called 'The Deceivers"

[@cervandante9021]

When you watch the operations Timeline Documentary and the names Scharnhorst and Gnisenau are forever in your memory.

[@QALibrary]

Not sure these two points are important but Norway had fish possessing linked to chemical factories that help feed and make explosive (a part of fish was an ingredient of making explosive) that why the royal marine commandos had a number of raided upon the plants to stop production. Also Norway had a number of ore mines and supply which would be important to the German war machine eg tungsten ~ a part of making armour piercing shells - where the allies could improve armour piercing penetrations shells with more ingredients etc the Germans always had issues of short supply.

[@rickj895]

good video make more in this way!

[@arsenal-slr9552]

You're the best man

[@markkringle9144]

I read a book which said the the Brits were attempting to invade Norway when they heard the German fleet was out in force. Their task force reversed out to sea to engage the German fleet which they didn't find (with notable exceptions) because German fleet headed in to invade Norway. This is why the Brits just happened to have an expeditionary force they could land to "defend Norway".

[@eedwardgrey2]

10:05 Of course the German didn't expect to capture Lorraine that easily and were still thinking of WWI when they were cut of the Swedish ore by the British blockade.

[@michellepeoplelikeyoumurde8373]

Were not cut off from Swedish ore,check again

[@95spades]

Just some trivia, not entirely on topic, but concerning norway and the german occupation; my grandfather was a "fjälljägare" (kind of winter/mountain special forces-ish) in the swedish military during the war and took part in operations to smuggle american model weapons, ie thompsons, M1s and whatnot, secretly bulit by husqvarna (swedish metal industry) to the norweigian resistance. Which is a bit funny considering Swedens official stance as a neutral nation (that was alsokind of cozy with the jerries.)

[@anderskorsback4104]

As far as I know, the purpose of Denmark not mobilizing was to make sure that if they got invaded, it'd be over quickly and with as little harm done to them as possible. I doubt Denmark would anyway have lasted more than a few days even fully mobilized. The way it played out, Denmark had successfully opted out of having to do any fighting, while not paying any diplomatic price for it due to feigning having been taken by surprise.

[@AndresRodriguez-pj3xj]

just got this in my class

[@FelixTheory]

Enjoyed watching this, did not expect to see a video based around my country. Pretty much everything that was important to note was there, tho I was not sure if those Norwegian ships ("Norge and "Eidsvoll") at Narvik was prepared for the attack from the Axis tho I could be wrong. Otherwise, they say that the sinking of Blucher made it possible for the Monarch of our kingdom to escape to Great Briten, but who knows if it would make a difference.

[@fremewer6487]

Could u please write the names of the ships i sometimes dont understand german names.

[@homebrandrules]

Execellent thankyou

[@tiscotisa9731]

Finally. Thanks.

[@MyLateralThawts]

Norwegian neutrality had already been violated by the Allies (Altmark incident, February 16 1940). Along with the violation of Belgian and Dutch airspace by armed RAF bombers flying to Germany, the claim by the Germans that Denmark had to be seized as a preventative measure isn't as insane as presented. That is especially the case in light of Allied plans to to occupy parts, if not all of Sweden. Furthermore, one would be very hard pressed to find anyone in the world who thought Germany, in the summer of 1940, would manage to seize the iron ore producing region of France (not to mention the conquest of France) or that France upon losing their iron ore mines, would fail to at least damage it making it next to useless to the Germans.

[@hedgehog3180]

Christian Unger I think we would have preferred it if Germany didn't invade.

[@Powerofriend]

It's interesting how the naval losses and casualties were similar on both sides, yet the Germans were still able to achieve their planned objectives.

[@partytor11]

Luleå is pronounced Lu-le-å or lu-lè as the locals say it, not lu-le-o! Great video, I just wanted to point this out. ;)

[@apudharald2435]

Luleå, inte Lulela. Luleo, nicht Lulela. Tack så mycket! ( And simply Lule in the local accent. )

[@dl4350]

the survivors of the German destroyers in Narvik formed a further 5 battalions to Deitl's 139th Gebirgs-Regiment, and I think I am right in saying that the 138th Gebirgs-Regiment was given a brief parachute training, and then flown to Narvik.

[@prussiankingdom7840]

you should do a video on the magnot line (if you did it i haven't found it)

[@rajj8074]

The things at 7:03 Is very wrong, Because the Prime Minister of Denmark, wouldn't let the Jutland division forces get to position, as he knew the invasion was gonna happened. And the war did last 2 hours, at least on sealand, but on Jutland, they fought for 6 whole hours. But they also had time to prepare, as the first forces that was engaged, was laid a couple of kilometers away from the german pact, and so the Danes did have time, And all Seargants & over, did know it would happen.

[@esbendit]

It is worth mentioning that the germans also gained total control of the acces to the baltic and control of the danish agriculture.

[@gorillaguerillaDK]

The occupation of Denmark made perfect sense, as it could be used as a bridge head by allied forces if it wasn't seized and controlled.. I was wondering, have you read "Festung Hanstholm - Nordeuropas größte Befestningungsanage des Zweiten Weltkreiges" by Knud Hendriksen and Bent Baagøe Anthonisen....???

[@JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

Excellent!

[@craigfazekas3923]

For truly in depth reading on this subject ? Pick up Geirr Haarr's book, "The German Invasion of Norway, April 1940". This volume mainly concentrates on the naval aspects of the invasion, but also covers the political end as well as air & ground actions. He truly researched this as well as anyone could possibly do; and it's well written and very readable- very intriguing !! Well worth the purchase, especially where the Kriegsmarine is concerned. 🚬😎

[@rhylsaldar]

By the scale, and before Overlord, this was considered has the most well and huge op. of all the war. the distance was that huge ships were at the maximum of their range. This was a masterpiece plan considering germans did not play at their advantages (naval, amphibous landing etc...) In UK field.

[@WildBillCox13]

Great coverage. Note to self: Cruisers are the wolves of the sea . . . commerce raiders, scouts, foils-all of which require considerable freedom of maneuver and the ability to use speed to great advantage. They are not heavily armored against enemy gun fire. Nor are they well defended against broadside torpedo attack. Ergo, a simple maxim of battle is: one must NEVER NEVER NEVER use them as monitors, coastal defense battleships, or capital ships*. * Either that or the new military government of the occupation should be taught to schwim.

[@johnlansing2902]

In regards to Norway the book BY Joseph P Farrell reich of the black sun opens a new line of thinking about why a lot of troops and material were in this country at the closing of the war when they were needed desperately elsewhere

[@wookeye]

my grandfather was a gebirgsjäger stationed in narvik.

[@ThePRCommander]

Here in Denmark, several governments had made sure that we couldn't put up a real fight. For instance, Copenhagen's tiny anti air defence, was materialized from private donations! It was a Danish General, who after what had happened to Warsaw, (the Luftwaffe bombing) decided to run his private donation campaign, in order to buy at least a few anti air weapons. Also, the around 100 German vessels, passing safely through the danish straits up to April the 9th, well, they were able to do so because our government handed over the mine-field maps to the Krigsmarine! See, we had plenty of mines deployed, but our government was afraid to use them. They feared the personality of Adolf Hitler. In theory Denmark could have mobilized some 130.000 troops, but at the end of the day, we mobilized between 500 and 1000 men. Due to the quick capitulation, after some symbolic defence at the border, the vast majority never saw any fight. In both the army, navy and air-force, the politicians quick capitulation was experienced as tremendous shameful, and so, several officers committed suicide on the same day. A single commander ensured that his mobilized battalion could flee to Sweden, which it managed to do. The battalion, totally surprised the Swedish authorities who dad no idea about the invasion. In fact, Sweden was as unprepared for an invasion as was Denmark and Norway. The shame from not being allowed to fight against the invasion, became the main motivating factor behind some 12.000 Danes, later voluntering to the WaffenSS. 6000 of them served at the front. Some 2000 was killed and further 2000 wounded. They fought as battalion sized units attached to Germanunits. From Demjansk to the Caucasus and even in the battle of Berlin. A few hundreds of them even ended up serving in 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking. After the war, most of the veterans comming back to Denmark was percieved as traitors.

[@martinaberg6157]

Sweden had mobilized during finnish winter war, and nearly 100 000 men stood nekar the finnish border. The main defense line along the Kalix river was made for an attac from East= Soviet. No defense in southern Sweden.Huge amounts of material had been sent to Finland and was not replaced april 9, sw army stood almost without ammunition, granades etc.

[@TheTrollTeamNL]

can you do a video about the invasion of the netherlands belgium and luxembourg

[@Scattman101]

There was also one more important reason why the Germans wanted control of Norway. Norway had a very large 'heavy water' storage facility that was vital to the Germans if they wanted to make Atomic bombs.

[@kjellg6532]

Heavy water are probably not used in any atomic bomb, but important for nuclear research.

[@abyssaljam441]

When you were talking aboutallied losses you said it included; british, French and Polish ships? Not Norwegen ships?

[@VonDredd]

The Norwegian navy did not possess large ships. There was an armed whaler lost in the invasion of Oslo and at least two coastal defense ships in the battle of Narvik. Additionally a handful of destroyers, most of which were captured rather than sunk in combat. The 'armed whaler', which was in operation as a patrol ship, was responsible for spotting the Blücher group and allowing the coastal defense to prepare.

[@toreugelstad909]

HMS Norge sunk in Narvik, more than 200 Norvegian sailers died

[@norwegiantrol1377]

a realy good video, I like it alot but one detail u have forgotten is that if blucher hadn't been sunk in the oslofjord, the king of Norway wouldn't had time to escape and continue the fight from England.

[@brianpendell6085]

Question. Is part of the reason Operation Sealion never happened because the Kriegsmarine essentially gutted itself off of Norway? That Norway was a pyrrhic victory for the Germans, at least as far as the Navy was concerned, which limited their options down the road?