Eighty years on. 19th April 1940

Historical

General de Wiart’s 146th Brigade joined Norwegian forces at Steinkjer, at the Northern end of the Trondheimfjord, and pushed forward to Verdal where they engaged the German 138th Gebirgsjäger Regiment advancing North from Trondheim.

Further South, Brigadier Morgan met the Norwegian General Ruge at Ruge’s HQ in Øyer, near Lillehammer.  

The German 196th Division took the towns of Hamar and Elverum 50 miles south of Øyer.  Morgan abandons his orders to move on Trondheim and instructs 148th Brigade to move from Åndalsnes 200 miles south-east to reinforce Ruge’s troops blocking the German advance from Oslo.

Overnight, three battalions of French Chasseurs Alpins arrived at Namsos, to reinforce 146th Brigade, but their skis, mules, trucks and anti-aircraft guns did not. When their skis did arrive, the straps were missing.

Three German prototype Neubaufahrzeug heavy tanks arrived in Oslo paraded through the before joining the drive to Trondheim.

The Fallschirmjägers at Dombås surrendered, surrounded, outnumbered, out of ammunition and bombarded by a railway howitzer.  Of 185 that parachuted in, only 45 survived.  Oberleutnant Schmidt remained in command despite serious wounds to the hip and stomach.

Norway was declared by the Germans a “Reichskommissariat”, in the charge of Josef Terboven and controlled by the German Foreign Office.

The Swiss government issued instructions for mobilization in the event of a German invasion.

Japan told the United States that the Japanese had no aggressive intentions towards the Dutch East Indies.

Game day 232. Germany

Six battalions of infantry embarked on three transport ships at Trondheim and sailed north for Narvik.

Between Trondheim and Oslo there were two battles.  In the first five German battalions attacked three Norwegian battalions but were beaten back with the loss of two battalions.  The Norwegians suffered no losses.  In the second attack four German battalions attacked three Norwegian Battalions and lost one battalion for no gain.

Maybe shipping the six battalions to Narvik was not such a good plan? Elsewhere troops began to move westwards from Poland and Czechoslovakia.