Hitler’s Pre-Emptive War: The Battle for Norway, 1940 (52 page)

The destroyer crews more than doubled the forces available to Dietl. While these men were armed and provisioned from captured Norwegian stocks at Elvegårdsmoen, their usefulness in land operations was questionable. However, they constituted valuable assets for the close protection of Narvik and other installations captured by the Germans. This allowed Dietl to send most mountain troops to the front. The naval personnel were instrumental in bringing ashore guns and ammunition from the sunken destroyers. The five British armed merchantmen in Narvik harbor on April 9 each carried two 105mm guns. These were brought ashore and two were mounted on rail cars. The sailors were also active in getting the railroad back into operation. The fact that some were dressed in captured Norwegian uniforms, a breach of conventions, was the source of much criticism.

The Germans made a concerted effort to supply the Narvik forces by air. The first aircraft to arrive was a Ju-90 that dropped ammunition at 1130 hours on April 12. A Do-24 (seaplane) landed in Narvik around 1230 on April 13 with ammunition for the destroyers, but this was too little and too late.

Eleven Ju-52s, commanded by Colonel Bauer, landed on the frozen Hartvig Lake in the evening of April 13. The aircraft brought the 2nd Battery, 112th Mountain Artillery Regiment, commanded by Captain Lochmann, from Berlin. The unit consisted of about 100 men who brought with them four 75mm guns.

The Germans had similar misfortune in using frozen lakes as landing fields as the British did in central Norway. Three aircraft were damaged while landing and one was destroyed by Norwegian aircraft. There was a sudden thaw in the weather creating a layer of water on top of the soft ice. The aircraft froze into the ice as the weather again turned cold, and this prevented all but one from taking off. The remaining aircraft on Hartvigvann were eventually captured by the Norwegians, but then unfortunately destroyed by British bombing.

After their ill-fated experience on the lake, the Germans turned to airdrop and the use of seaplanes. Three Ju-52 transports appeared over Hartvigvann at 1030 hours on April 14. They did not attempt to land but dropped their loads of medical supplies over the lake. Two Do-28s landed near Narvik in the afternoon of April 15, carrying mortar ammunition and medical supplies. Both aircraft took off later that evening. A message from Oslo at 1215 hours on April 16 stated that a flight of He-11s was on its way to attack enemy naval forces in Narvik. The 3rd Mountain Division journal notes sarcastically, “the announced flight—two planes—arrived at about 1400 hours and one dropped bombs over Narvik harbor, now empty of enemy forces.”

Attempts by the German Navy to bring supplies to Narvik by submarines did not succeed. On April 10, SKL ordered three submarines in homeports (
U26
,
U29
, and
U43
) readied for a re-supply mission to Narvik. The submarines left Germany between 12 to 16 April, each carrying 40 to 50 tons, mostly ammunition. Because of the uncertain situation in Narvik, these boats were redirected to Trondheim.

The seizure of the Bjørnefjell area improved General Dietl’s supply situation. After the German troops reached the border, the German Government demanded permission from Sweden to send supplies to Dietl’s troops through that country. The Swedish Government agreed, on April 17, to permit the transshipment of supplies of “a humanitarian nature.”
⁹
The following day, Sweden granted permission for the transit of Red Cross personnel. The first shipment reached Sweden on April 19. It consisted of 34 railroad cars with 25 tons of medicines and medical equipment, 20 tons of clothing, and 350 tons of provisions. The train arrived in Bjørnefjell on April 26. It is estimated that the provisions on the train were sufficient to sustain 4,000 troops for three months. The train also brought 30 intelligence personnel, apparently disguised as Red Cross workers.
¹⁰
The Germans were also allowed to send personnel to Germany and the first transport consisted of 514 personnel. These were primarily crews from German merchant ships sunk in Narvik as well as naval specialists that the SKL required back in Germany.

Fleischer’s Offensive Plan

While Fleischer had no precise knowledge of the German order of battle, he knew that it was possible to achieve local superiority since a large portion of the German force had to defend Narvik and the railway to Sweden. It was important to keep the Germans guessing as to the location of the attacks and to present them with multiple threats that would make it difficult for them to switch forces on interior lines to meet Norwegian thrusts.

General Fleischer’s original offensive plan, after halting the German advance along the road at Lapphaugen, involved launching attacks along multiple axes. Gratangen was the brigade’s immediate objective. The 2/15th Inf, supported by the 3rd Mountain Artillery Bn and reinforced by Co Forseth, would engage the Germans at Lapphaugen and drive them south along the road to Gratangen (Route 50) while the 1/16th Inf moved west from Bones through the wilderness in Vassdal, Gressdal, and Raudal. The 1/12th Inf would attack across Fjordbotneidet from the north. The Alta Bn would constitute the Brigade reserve from a location near Levangen, behind the advancing 1/12th Inf. The Norwegians hoped that the Germans would concentrate their defense along Route 50. The force advancing through Fjordbotneidet would threaten the German left flank and their line of retreat along Route 50. The force moving from Bones could bring about two possible successes: the destruction of the main German force by cutting their line of retreat or the early capture of Bjerkvik and Elvegårdsmoen by the force moving northwest through Raudal.

The two sides spent the time after April 13 consolidating their positions and preparing for future operations. Both sides, particularly the Norwegians, engaged in heavy patrol activities. The Norwegians needed information about German strengths and positions in preparing their offensive. From the patrol activities, the Norwegians concluded that the enemy had two battalions in the Bjerkvik-Gratangen area, with about 300-400 troops in Gratangen. They estimated correctly that the Germans had one reinforced company at Lapphaugen. German ski patrol, from 15 to 60 men in size, operated regularly to the east in the Hartvigvann-Gressdal area but a move against Bones or Lund was not attempted.

Mobilization and Deployments

The forces called for in General Fleischer’s plan were not yet available. The units envisioned for the drive through Fjordbotneidet against the German left flank, the 1/12th Infantry and the Alta Bn, were still in Finnmark, more than 300 miles from where they were needed. The distance itself fails to tell the whole story. Road communications were virtually non-existant at this time of the year, and the troops had to be transported to their new operational area by sea. Most Norwegian naval forces in Fleischer’s area of responsibility were destroyed or captured and this presented a problem. The 1/12th Inf, commanded by Major Nils Bøckman, was transported from Kirkenes to Sjøvegan in two echelons, arriving there on April 17 and 20. British warships escorted the transports. The Alta Bn, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Arne D. Dahl and consisting of 830 officers and men and 112 horses, was transported in two coastal passenger ships and one cargo ship, without naval escorts, and disembarked in Sjøvegan on April 21. The battalion arrived in the Tennevoll area in Levangen in the evening of April 23. The 2/15th Inf was located in the Fossbakken area. The 3rd Mountain Artillery Bn was also ordered to that area. The road through Salangsdal was impassable and it was not until April 22 that the 9th Battery (motorized) of the battalion reached its destination. The plan called for half of Battery 8 to support the advance of the 1/12th Inf while the other half was located in Fossbakken along with Batteries 7 and 9.

Except for the 15th Regiment and some smaller units that had their depot at Elvegårdsmoen fall into enemy hands on the first day of the German attack, the mobilization in North Norway proceeded in an orderly manner. The 1/15th Inf had problems mobilizing. Most of the weapons, equipment, and supplies required had to come from reserve depots located some distance from the new place of mobilization near Setermoen. Mobilization day was April 18 but due to equipment and personnel problems, the battalion was not fully mobilized until May 20. Major Omdal assumed command on April 24 and the partially mobilized battalion moved to Bardufoss Airfield for security on May 5. One ski platoon acted as security for the British and Polish troops in Bogen. The Reserve Battalion, 15th Inf had the same problems as the 1/15th since Elvegårdsmoen was also its mobilization depot. Attempts were made to mobilize, with a planned completion date of June 10.

The 1/16th Inf (less one company), commanded by Major Nils Hunstad, departed its mobilization depot at Setermoen on April 15 for the Lund-Bones area in Salangsdal. Nevertheless, the unit was not fully mobilized until April 21, when it numbered 720 officers and men. Co 3 was ordered to Fossbakken where it was attached to the 2/15th Inf. It reverted to the control of its parent battalion in the morning of April 22. The 1/16th Infantry’s missions were to secure the valley between Lund and Bones and prepare to take part in the upcoming offensive by moving against the German right flank through Gressdal and Raudal.

The 2/16th Inf completed mobilization on April 20 when it had 802 officers and men present for duty. This battalion had not participated in the neutrality watch and it was therefore necessary to give it some training before it was committed. The Reserve Battalion of the 16th Inf assembled at Setermoen on April 18 and it remained there until April 30.

Lieutenant Colonel Nummedal was acting commander of the 14th Infantry Regiment in the area south of Narvik. The commander of this regiment, Colonel Løken, was detached to command the 6th Field Brigade and the executive officer, Major Halfdan Sundlo, commanded the 1/14th Inf on neutrality duty in East Finnmark. This battalion returned to Mosjøen after the middle of March and was demobilized. The battalion was remobilized and ready on April 13. Fleischer, as already noted, attached this battalion to Colonel Getz’ forces in Trøndelag. The Reserve Battalion of the 14th Inf completed its mobilization on April 21. Many of its personnel participated in the Lofoten fisheries and their absence slowed the mobilization effort. The battalion, with units both south and north of Mosjøen, needed training. Nummedal was left as the local commander with orders to prepare for a possible German northward drive if the defenses in Trøndelag failed.

The Hålogaland Air Group was ordered to concentrate its aircraft at Bardufoss Airfield. One Fokker aircraft, with the group commander aboard, was captured at Bjørnefjell on April 16 and two Fokker aircraft were wrecked on April 20 and 25. Except for the 22-lb type, the availability of bombs was very limited as was ammunition for aircraft and antiaircraft machineguns. An airfield in Salagen was later expanded to support combat operations.

The 6th Brigade was partially reorganized to make it more suitable for mobile operations. Some organizations were modified for operations in the roadless wilderness on both sides of Route 50. Parts of the heavier supply organizations were transferred to District Command where they served a useful purpose as additional combat groups were organized.

Except for what was in the depots, weapons and ammunition were not available in North Norway. Ammunition for the mountain howitzers was in particular short supply; the whole inventory was limited to about 6,500 rounds. The 75mm ammunition was more plentiful. Ammunition for machineguns and individual weapons became a serious problem as the campaign progressed.

Modifications to the Offensive Plans

The final directive for the offensive was issued on April 17. Fleischer worried about the effects of the spring thaw and wanted to start the operations as quickly as possible. The 1/12th Inf was in position in Levangen on April 20 and the Alta Bn arrived shortly thereafter. From Levangen, these two units were in position for an advance through Fjordbotneidet. The 2/15th Inf was located in the Fossbakken area, prepared to attack Lapphaugen. The 1/16th Inf (minus one company) was in Salangsdal between Lund and Bones, ready to begin the envelopment through the mountains southeast of Route 50.

The deteriorating weather compelled the Norwegians to modify their earlier plan. The revised plan increased the weight of the direct drive against Lapphaugen by making it a two-battalion operation, with the 2/15th Inf on the right and most of the 1/16th Inf on the left. These battalions were to drive the Germans from their positions by frontal attack and local envelopments. Having driven the Germans from their positions, the plan called for cutting their retreat by advancing to Hill 509.

The battalion-size envelopment from the south was scrapped and the forces operating in this area were reduced, first to two and later to one company. The 1/16th Inf, minus one reinforced company, left Bones for Fossbakken at 2300 hours on April 23. The weather was so bad that even local guides did not know where on the road the battalion was located at any one time. Thoroughly exhausted, the battalion reached the woods near Fossbakken early in the morning of April 24. The revised plan made no changes to the right envelopment over Fjordbotneidet, and the Alta Bn remained as the brigade reserve. Another reserve, Co Forseth, was located behind the brigade’s left flank. The two companies from the Scots Guards landed in Sjøvegan on April 14 were placed at General Fleischer’s disposal, but only for defensive operations. More or less as a symbolic gesture, they were positioned behind the Norwegian lines at Fossbakken.

General Fleischer decided on April 22 to launch the offensive at midnight on April 23, but the launch was delayed. The brigade commander briefed his subordinates on April 22. For security reasons, the order to the companies was delayed as long as possible. This secrecy resulted in little time for the companies to prepare for action. The commander of Co 5, 2/15th Inf received his order at 2330 hours on April 23, and he was not able to brief his platoon leaders until midnight. The battery commanders in the 3rd Mountain Artillery Bn did not receive their orders until 0040 hours on April 24.