The Battles of Narvik were fought from 9 April to 8 June 1940, as a naval battle in Ofotfjord and as a land battle in the mountains surrounding the north Norwegian town of Narvik, as part of the Norwegian Campaign of the Second World War.
The two naval battles in Ofotfjord on 10 April and 13 April were fought between the British Royal Navy and the German Kriegsmarine, while the two-month land campaign was fought by Norwegian, French, British, and Polish troops against German mountain troops, shipwrecked Kriegsmarine sailors, and German paratroopers (Fallschirmjäger) from the 7th Air Division. Although defeated at sea off Narvik, losing control of the town of Narvik and being pushed back towards the Swedish border, the Germans eventually prevailed because of the Allied evacuation from Norway in June 1940 following the Battle of France.
Narvik provided an ice-free harbour in the North Atlantic for iron ore transported by rail from Kiruna in Sweden. Both sides in the war had an interest in securing this iron supply for themselves and denying it to the enemy, thereby setting the stage for one of the biggest battles since the Invasion of Poland.[1]
Prior to the German invasion, British forces had considered Narvik as a possible landing point for an expedition to help Finland in the Winter War. Such an expedition also had the potential of taking control of the Swedish mines and opening up the Baltic for the Allies.[2]
The BattlesofNarvik were fought from 9 April to 8 June 1940, as a naval battle in Ofotfjord and as a land battle in the mountains surrounding the north...
Narvik (Narvik; Northern Sami: Áhkanjárga) is the third-largest municipality in Nordland county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the...
Royal Navy and the Kriegsmarine met at the first and second naval battlesofNarvik on 10 and 13 April, and British forces conducted the Åndalsnes landings...
German Invasion of Denmark German invasion of Norway BattlesofNarvikBattleof Drøbak Sound Battleof Midtskogen Battleof Dombås Battleof Hegra Fortress...
The Narvik Shield (German: Narvikschild) was a World War II German military decoration awarded to all German forces that took part in the battlesof Narvik...
the BattlesofNarvik. After the beginning of hostilities on the Western Front, the brigade was withdrawn to France, where it fought in the defence of Brittany...
The Battleof Gratangen occurred during the first Norwegian counter-attack in the Narvik Campaign. The Norwegian 6th Division gathered forces to push the...
Weserübung, the German invasion of Norway in April; they were all sunk or scuttled during the naval BattlesofNarvik except Z20 Karl Galster which was...
the Narvik Debate, was a momentous debate in the British House of Commons from 7 to 9 May 1940, during the Second World War. The official title of the...
and the British defence at the Battleof Hong Kong. One ambush tactic used against the Germans during the BattlesofNarvik utilised hairpin bends. Defenders...
1940, he was assigned to the 5th Company of the 13th Brigade. With this unit he took part in the BattlesofNarvik, for which he won the Croix de Guerre...
helped transfer troops to seize Narvik during the invasion of Norway in April and participated in both BattlesofNarvik. She was forced to beach herself...
dive-bombers. It was present during the BattlesofNarvik, the Dunkirk evacuation and also the early stages of the Mediterranean theatre. While a capable...
Wellem departed Murmansk by the end of 6 April 1940 for Narvik harbor which she safety entered before BattlesofNarvik started. Don Kindell (17 September...
Class War Merit Cross (1939), 1st and 2nd class with Swords Narvik Shield Order of the Cross of Liberty, 2nd Class with Swords on 18 August 1943 Flugzeugführerabzeichen...
the north launched an offensive against the German forces in the BattlesofNarvik, but were forced to surrender on 10 June after losing British support...
destroyers that had ferried Dietl's troops to Narvik were sunk in the First and Second BattlesofNarvik. Dietl's mountaineers withdrew into the hills...
waters. During the early stages of the Norwegian Campaign, in April 1940, Z2 Georg Thiele fought in both naval BattlesofNarvik, on 10 and 13 April, and had...
Global Information