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

29 One example of such despicable behavior took place in late May 1940 when, as a prisoner, he provided the Germans with the name of a person who could possibly serve as a guide for General Feurstein’s forces in the wilderness area between Bodø and Narvik.

Chapter 6

1 Dietl and Hermann, General Dietl, p. 70, report the following entry in Commander Erdmenger’s (Wilhelm Heidkamp’s skipper) journal: “The absence of the ship was of decisive significance for the future development of the Narvik undertaking.”

2 Jan Wellem also served as a submarine tender and carried a cargo that consisted of a mixture of diesel oil for submarine and boiler oil for destroyers.

3 As quoted by Dickens, Battles in the Fjords, p. 42.

4 Dickens,, Battles in the Fjords, p. 46.

5 This destroyer belonged to Captain Warburton-Lee’s destroyer flotilla but it was detached earlier to serve as an escort for the cruiser Birmingham. When this cruiser was sent back to England, Hostile hurried back to join its flotilla.

6 Dickens, Battles in the Fjords, p. 46.

7 Dickens, Battles in the Fjords, p. 47.

8 Churchill, The Gathering Storm, p. 597.

9 Hubatsch, p. 113, n.ote 13.

10 Donald MacIntyre, Narvik (London: Evans Brothers Limited, 1959), p.75.

11 Alex Büchner, Narvik. Die Kämpfe der Gruppe Dietl im Frühjahr 1940 (Nechargemünd-Heidelberg: Scharnhorst Buchkameradschaft GmbH, 1958), p. 24.

12 Dickens, Battles in the Fjords, pp. 56-57.

13 Dickens, Battles in the Fjords, p. 75.

14 Steen, Norges Sjøkrig 1940-1945, vol. 4, p. 113, second note.

15 Bey advanced in rank to Rear Admiral. He went down with the battleship Scharnhorst on December 26, 1943.

16 Dickens, Battles in the Fjords, p. 78.

17 Dickens, Battles in the Fjords, pp. 94-95.

18 Steen, Norges Sjøkrig 1940-1945, vol. 4, pp. 171 and 222. The salvaged equipment included 96 aerial bombs, about 320,000 rounds of machinegun and small-arms ammunition, 30,000 boxes of hermetically sealed food, 20-mm guns, cars, and motorcycles.

Chapter 7

1 Churchill, The Gathering Storm, pp. 590 and 606.

2 Richard Petrow, The Bitter Years: The Invasion and Occupation of Denmark and Norway April 1940–May 1945 (New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc.), 1974, p. 1.

3 PRO, FO 371, 24829, N4101.

4 Chr. Christensen, De som heiste flagget, pp. 74-75.

5 Tamelander and Zetterling, Niende april, vol. 3, p. 271.

6 Odd-Bjørn Fure, Norsk uterikspolitiske historie. Vol 3. Mellomkrigstid 1920–1940 (Oslo: 1996), p. 378.

7 Nicholaus von Falkenhorst, Bericht und Vernehmung des Generalobersten von Falkenhorst p. 84. “That was absolutely von Spiller’s private war. I knew nothing about it. It was in no way anticipated.”

8 PRO, FO 371, 24834, N4326, April 13, 1940; Otto Ruge, Felttoget. General Otto Ruges erindringer fra kampene april–juni 1940 (Olav Riste, ed.; Oslo: Aschenhoug, 1989), pp. 29, 37, 43, 53, and 55; and PRO FO 371, 24834 N4339 and N4579, April 14, 1940.

9 O. Lindbäck-Larsen, Krigen i Norge 1940 (Oslo: Forsvarets Krigshistoriske Avdeling, 1965), p. 77.

10 This committee had been in existence since 1923 and in April 1940, it consisted of Admiral Sir Dudley Pound, First Sea Lord, General Sir Edmund Ironside, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, and Air Chief Marshal Sir Cyrice Newall, the Chief of the Air Staff.

11 PRO, CAB 79/3 C.O.S.C. 9.4.1940 and Lord Ismay, The Memoirs of Lord Ismay (London: Heinemann, 1950), p. 120.

12 This committee was formed at the outbreak of war in 1939 and consisted of the three service ministers along with their chiefs of staff. The Prime Minister was the chair and Churchill was the deputy chair.

13 United Kingdom, Parliamentary Debates. House of Commons, vol. 359, col.511.

14 Kersaudy, Norway, p. 86. 17, “Copy of a message written out in Manuscript by C.I.G.S. for General Mackesy 2330 hours 10th April, taken by Brigadier Lund,” (Derry, The Campaign in Norway, Appendix A, pp. 247-248).

18 Loc cit.

19 Churchill, The Gathering Storm, p. 612.

20 Ismay, Memoirs, p. 111.

21 Kersaudy, Norway, p. 91 and PRO, FO 371, 24834, N4317, April 13, 1940.

22 As quoted in Kersaudy, Norway, p. 92.

Chapter 8

1 Derry, The Campaign in Norway, p. 104.

2 Ibid, p. 105.

3 Ibid, p. 106.

4 As quoted in Hubatsch, p. 128.

5 Information received from knowledgeable individuals in Norway–including long-time residents–indicate that Ramsund had a depth of 10–15 meters and that ships with a length of 120 meters could not transit safely without the use of a knowledgeable pilot. The German destroyers were about 120 meters in length and had a draught of approximately 12 meters. Others have written that the Ramsund-Kjeldsundet-Vågsfjord route can take civilian cargo ships up to 40,000 tons. The fact that the Norwegians established a coastal artillery battery of two 105mm guns at the northern entrance to Ramsund–Forholten during World War II is a further indication that the strait was navigable for warships. Even if Ramsund was not sufficiently dredged or the service of reliable pilots could not be obtained, there was the option of turning right just west of Barøy, into the more navigable Tjelsund and from there north to Vågsfjord. Large ships, such as Jan Wellem, used this route on a regular basis.

6 Dickens, Battles in the Fjords, p. 108.

7 Kurt Assmann, The German Campaign in Norway (Admiralty: Naval Staff, 1948), p. 41.

8 Munthe-Kaas, Krigen i Narviksavsnittet 1940, p. 66.

9 As quoted in ibid, p. 64.

10 Message from Admiral Whitworth to Admiral Forbes at 2210 hours on April 13 and forwarded by Admiral Forbes to the Admiralty in Derry, The Campaign in Norway, p. 51.

11 Message from Whitworth, loc cit.

Chapter 9

1 Despatch by Lord Cork, Section I, (6), as quoted in Derry, The Campaign in Norway, p. 147.

2 Kersaudy, Norway, p. 125.

3 Ziemke, The German Northern Theater, p. 90.

4 See, for example, L. E. Maund, Assault from the Sea, 29-30.

5 Report found in Despatch by Lord Cork, Appendix A, Section 6, as quoted in Derry, The Campaign