Hitler’s Pre-Emptive War: The Battle for Norway, 1940, Henrik Lunde [new ebook reader TXT] 📗

Fagernes until after 1100 hours, by which time the rear guard from Ankenes had arrived. Parts of the two companies at Ankenes appear to have withdrawn along the south side of Beisfjord. Haussels established his new CP in the village of Beisfjord at 1200 hours.

During the afternoon, the 1st Bn of the Legion pushed east along the railroad towards Sildvik while the 2nd Bn sent a motorcycle platoon along the road to Beisfjord village where contact was made with Polish troops. Haussels had meanwhile withdrawn his troops to a line running generally from Beisfjordstøtta (Hill 1448) in the north to Durmalsfjell (Hill 844) in the east.

Narvik holds the distinction of being the first city recaptured from the Germans in World War 2. General Béthouart made the official report of this accomplishment at 2200 hours on May 28. The victory announcement transmitted to the world must have seemed ironic to the privileged few who knew about the evacuation decision taken in London and Paris four days earlier. It is difficult to establish accurate casualty figures, except for those already noted in the 2/15th Inf. Most Norwegian and Allied sources apparently base their figures on those contained in General Béthouart’s official announcement on May 28 and place the French and Norwegian casualties at about 150 while they claim that 300 to 400 prisoners were taken.

Whatever the exact numbers, Churchill’s statement that the operation was “effected with practically no loss” must have seemed dismissive to the French, Polish, and Norwegian troops who participated in the operation. Buchner takes exception to the number of prisoners claimed by the Allies, stating that it is much too high. His detailed account of losses in Narvik includes 41 killed, 69 wounded, and 176 missing. Since only a small number of the missing rejoined their units, and were not captured, he concludes that many of those missing were killed.

The Polish Offensive

The flare from the cruiser HMS Cairo at 2340 hours was also a signal for Polish General Bohusz-Szyszkos’ troops to go into action on the Ankenes Peninsula. Their mission was simply to clear the Germans from this peninsula at the same time as the French and Norwegians attacked Narvik, then advance against the village of Beisfjord, and cut the German line of retreat.

While the main mission of the Polish troops was against Beisfjord, the original plan called for Polish units to make a wide encirclement through Skjomdal, Nordal, and Hundal, which would bring them into the rear of Dietl’s forces at Bjørnefjell. A company from the 3rd Polish Bn made a reconnaissance in preparation for this part of the operation. The evacuation plan caused this planned envelopment to be cancelled.

There was some repositioning of the Polish forces before the attack because it became evident that the Germans had increased their forces on the peninsula. This involved the strengthening of Co 8 at Ankenes to where it numbered nearly 180 men and the movement of Co 2, 137th Mountain Inf into the pocket on May 27. The 2nd Polish Bn’s mission was to eliminate the German pocket at Ankenes. The 1st Polish Bn and one company of the 4th Bn (Co 1) were given the mission of attacking Beisfjord. Company 1’s task was to envelop the German positions on Hills 650 and 773 from the south at the same time as the 1st Bn attacked frontally. Parts of the 4th Bn manned positions on Hills 677 and 734 and served as a link between the 1st and 2nd Battalions. The rest of the 4th Bn was located in reserve near Klubban.

The attack against Ankenes started at midnight, when Co 3 on the 2nd Battalion’s left wing attacked along the road towards Ankenes, supported by naval artillery, the British artillery battery, and two tanks. The center company in the Polish line, Co 1, began its attack towards Lyngenes and Haugen from positions southeast of Hill 295 20 minutes later. Company 2, on the battalion’s right wing did not begin its attack in the direction of Nyborg until 0200 hours.

The Polish attack started out well and Co 3 reached the outskirts of Ankenes village around 0200 hours when one of the tanks hit a mine and ended up blocking the road for the second tank. At the same time, the company came under intense crossfire, suffered heavy casualties, and was forced to withdraw towards Emmenes.

Biegański’s account is somewhat different. He writes that one of the two tanks never left the assembly area because of mechanical difficulties and the other tank became entangled in a barricade on the western outskirts of Ankenes. The 2nd Bn Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Dec, who witnessed Co 3’s fight through binoculars, wrote later, “I found with horror that the 3rd company was bouncing back in disarray. Some groups were moving towards Baathberget by road, others were sneaking amidst the shrubbery. Some of the men had no helmets and no arms. Others were dragging the wounded.”8

Company 1’s attack at 0020 hours drove the Germans back, but a space developed between Cos 1 and 3. Lieutenant Hermann Rieger, commanding Co 2, 137th, quickly took advantage of this opportunity. With 15 men, he launched a determined attack between the two Polish companies and captured Hill 295 at 0430 hours with his force, now down to eight men.

Lieutenant Colonel Dec personally directed the defense of this key terrain. He had no reserves and the defenders were members of the battalion staff, orderlies, telephone operators and others that he was able to scrape together. Most Poles on the hill were killed. Only the battalion commander and eight men survived. This was a serious setback for the Poles. Hill 295 was not only a dominant piece of terrain from which Lieutenant Rieger could bring flanking fire to bear on Co 1, halting its attack, but the hill was also the observation post for the Polish battalion commander, the brigade commander, and the artillery.

Company 2 on the right flank did not launch its attack until 0200 hours and it was stopped almost immediately