country taking over by hitler?

Question

what european country was taken over by Hitler?
What european country is taking over by Italy?

Answer 1

austria and czechoslovakia were anexed by germany,
germany took over (by force) poland, france, belgium, luxemburg, denmark, holland,
i think italy took over greece and the rest of the balkans, though it was probly helped by germany

Answer 2

Every country in Europe except Switzerland, Spain, and Sweden was occupied by Nazi Germany.

Italy was part of the Axis, but when Italy became an unwilling ally it was occupied. Finland, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria were Axis allies. Spain and Sweden are by some accounts Axis collaborators.

The Germans also occupied all of North Africa west of Egypt.

The alphabetical list :

Albania
Austria
Belgium
Bylorussia (part of the USSR)
Channel Islands (part of Britain)
The Crimea (part of the USSR)
Czechoslovakia (absorbed half, the other half forming the country of Slovakia)
Denmark
Estonia
France
Greece
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
The Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Russia (partially)
Silesia
The Sudentenland
The TransCaucus region (part of the USSR)
Ukraine (part of the USSR)
Yugoslovia

Answer 3

Hitler took over Austria, Poland, other mid-European countries and half of France. Mussolini took over the other part of France, Greece and Albania.

Answer 4

Lots of countries were taken over by Hitler, but for the sake of the question, Germany was dictated by Hitler (even though he was the elected chancellor) and Italy was dictated by Benito Mussolini (Check my spelling on that name)

Answer 5

The Invasion of Yugoslavia (code-name Operation 25), or the so-called April War, was the Axis Powers' attack on Yugoslavia on April 6, 1941 during World War II. The invasion ended with unconditional surrender of the Royal Yugoslav Army on April 17, 1941, the occupation of the region by the Axis and the creation of the Independent State of Croatia.Fascist Italy had attacked Greece in October 1940 and had been forced back into Albania. Adolf Hitler recognised the need to go to his ally's aid, not only to restore diminished Axis prestige, but also to prevent Great Britain from being able to bomb the Romanian oilfields from which Germany obtained most of her oil.

Following agreements with Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria that they would join the Axis, Hitler put pressure on Yugoslavia to join the Tripartite Pact. The Regent, Prince Paul of Yugoslavia, succumbed to this pressure on March 25, 1941. However, this move was deeply unpopular amongst the anti-Axis Serbian public and military. A coup d'etat was launched on March 27, 1941, and King Peter II of Yugoslavia was placed on the throne to replace Prince Paul.

This unexpected event caused Hitler to become enraged and he decided to postpone the attack on his Russian allies in order to punish Yugoslavia for its defiance. A statement from the new Yugoslavian rulers that they would after all adhere to the Axis did nothing to calm his anger.

On April 6, 1941, Axis armies invaded from all sides and the Luftwaffe bombed Belgrade. The Axis victory was swift, as Yugoslavia surrendered in only 11 days on April 17, 1941. The insistence of the Yugoslav Army on trying to defend all the borders did not help matters. Yugoslavia was subsequently divided amongst Germany, Hungary, Italy and Bulgaria, with most of Serbia being occupied by Germany. The Croatian fascist leader Ante Pavelić took the opportunity to declare an Independent State of Croatia.


[edit] Operations

[edit] The bombing of Belgrade
see: Bombing of Belgrade in World War II
The Luftwaffe opened the assault on Yugoslavia by conducting a saturation-type bombing raid on the capital in the early morning hours of 6 April. Flying in relays from airfields in Austria and Romania, 150 bombers and dive-bombers protected by a heavy fighter escort participated in the attack. The initial raid was carried out at fifteen-minute intervals in three distinct waves, each lasting for approximately twenty minutes. Thus, the city was subjected to a rain of bombs for almost one and a half hours. The German bombardiers directed their main effort against the center of the city, where the principal government buildings were located.

The weak Yugoslav Air Force and the inadequate flak defenses were quickly wiped out by the first wave, permitting the dive-bombers to come down to roof-top levels. Against the loss of but two German fighters, twenty Yugoslav planes were shot down and forty-four were destroyed on the ground. When the attack was over, more than 17,000 inhabitants lay dead under the debris. This devastating blow virtually destroyed all means of communication between the Yugoslav high command and the forces in the field. Although some elements of the general staff managed to escape to one of the suburbs, coordination and control of the military operations in the field were rendered impossible from the outset.

Having thus delivered the knockout blow to the enemy nerve center, the VIII Air Corps was able to devote its maximum effort to such targets of opportunity as Yugoslav airfields, routes of communication, and troop concentrations, and to the close support of German ground operations.


"Eleventh day" – Advancing German armored units - NiÅ¡, Serbia, April 17. 1941. Next to the advancing German column is destroyed Yugoslav column.
[edit] The Three-Pronged Drive on the Yugoslav Capital
Three separate ground forces converged on Belgrade from different directions. They were launched as follows:

1. First Panzer Croup (Twelfth Albany):
Early in the morning of April 8, the First Panzer Group jumped off from its assembly area northwest of Sofiya. Crossing the frontier near Pirot, the XIV Panzer Corps, spearheaded by the 11th Panzer Division, followed by the 5th Panzer, 294th Infantry, and 4th Mountain Divisions, advanced in a northwesterly direction toward Niš. Despite unfavorable weather, numerous road blocks, and tough resistance by the Yugoslav Fifth Army, the 11th Panzer Division, effectively supported by strong artillery and Luftwaffe forces, quickly gained ground and broke through the enemy lines on the first day of the attack. The Yugoslav army commander was so greatly impressed by this initial German success that he ordered his forces to withdraw behind the Morava. This maneuver could not be executed in time because, as early as April 9, the German lead tanks rumbled into Niš and immediately continued their drive toward Belgrade. From Niš northwestward the terrain became more favorable since the armored columns could follow the Morava valley all the way to the Yugoslav capital.

South of Paraćin and southwest of Kragujevac Yugoslav Fifth Army units attempted to stem the tide of the advance but were quickly routed after some heavy fighting. More than 5,000 prisoners were taken in this one encounter.

Meanwhile, the 5th Panzer Division became temporarily stalled along the poor roads near Pirot. After the division got rolling again, it was ordered to turn southward just below Niš and cut off the enemy forces around Leskovac. When it became apparent that the Niš front was about to collapse, the 5th Panzer Division reverted to the direct control of Twelfth Army and joined the XL Panzer Corps for the Greek campaign.

On 10 April the XIV Panzer Corps forces were swiftly advancing through the Morava Valley in close pursuit of enemy units retreating toward their capital. On the next day the German spearheads suddenly drove into the southern wing of the withdrawing Yugoslav Sixth Army, which they overran during the early hours of 12 April. By the evening of that day the First Panzer Group tanks stood less than forty miles southeast of Belgrade. The two Yugoslav armies they had encountered were in such a state of confusion that they were no longer able to make any serious attempt to delay the German thrust or cut the German lines of communications that extended over a distance of roughly 125 miles from the point of entry into Yugoslav territory.

2. XLI Panzer Corps (Independent Force):
Timed to coincide with the armored thrust of the XIV Panzer Corps from the southeast, the XLI Panzer Corps drive led across the southeastern part of the Banat and toward the Yugoslav capital. This attack was spearheaded by the Motorized Infantry Regiment "Gross Deutschland," closely followed by the 2d SS Motorized Infantry Division. After crossing the frontier north of Vršac, advance elements entered Pančevo on 11 April. Having meanwhile advanced to within about forty-five miles north of Belgrade, the main body of XLI Panzer Corps met with only isolated resistance on the following day as it raced toward the enemy capital.

3. XLVI Panzer Corps (Second Army):
When the Luftwaffe launched its attacks on 6 April, the German Second Army was just beginning to assemble its attack forces along the northern Yugoslav frontier preparatory to its projected jumped on 10 April. In an effort to improve their lines of departure, some of the Second Army units took advantage of the interim period by launching limited-objective attacks all along the frontier zone. The troop commanders had to keep their forces in check to prevent major engagements from developing prematurely, which might subsequently have impaired the army's freedom of action and jeopardized the conduct of operations.

The Army High Command was determined to seize intact the principal bridges in the XLVI Panzer Corps zone. Therefore, as early as 1 April, corps elements were ordered to capture the bridge at Bares and the railroad bridge about ten miles northeast of Koprivoica by a coup de Ann.

By early evening of 6 April, the lack of enemy resistance and the overall situation seemed to indicate that the Yugoslavs would not make a concerted stand along the border and the XLVI Panzer Corps was therefore ordered to establish bridgeheads across the Mura and Drava at Mursko Sredisce, Letenye, Zakany, and Barcs. The few local attacks carried out by the corps sufficed to create dissension in the enemy ranks. There was a high percentage of Croats in the Yugoslav Fourth Army units that were responsible for the defense of this area. Croat soldiers mutinied at several points of the Drava salient, refusing to resist the Germans whom they considered as their liberators from Serbian oppression. When strong German forces crossed the Drava bridge at Bares on the morning of 10 April and broke out of the previously established bridgeheads, the disintegration of the opposing Yugoslav forces had reached an advanced stage. Supported by strong air forces, the 8th Panzer Division, followed by the 16th Motorized infantry Division, launched the XLVI Panzer Corps thrust to Belgrade by driving southeastward between the Drava and Sava Rivers. By the evening of 10 April forward elements of the 8th Panzer Division, having met with virtually no resistance, reached Slating despite poor roads and unfavorable weather. Enemy pockets were quickly mopped up and the division drove on in the direction of the capital via Osijek, where the roads became even worse.

That the plight of the enemy was becoming more and more desperate could be gathered from the following appeal that General Dušan Simović broadcast to his troops:

"All troops must engage the enemy wherever encountered and with every means at their disposal. Don't wait for direct orders from above but act on your own and be guided by your judgment, initiative, and conscience."
On 11 April the 8th Panzer Division reached the Osijek region, while the 16th Motorized Infantry Division farther back was advancing beyond Našice. Numerous bridge demolitions and- poor roads retarded the progress of both divisions, whose mission it was to attack the rear of the Yugoslav forces that faced XIV Panzer Corps, and to establish early contact with the First Panzer Group.

At 0230 on 12 April, the 8th Panzer Division entered Mitrovica after two vital bridges across the Sava had been captured intact. The division continued its thrust with the main body advancing toward Lazarevac, about twenty miles south of Belgrade, which was the designated link-up point with First Panzer Group.

On the afternoon of 12 April, the XLVI Panzer Corps received new orders. According to these, only elements of the 8th Panzer Division were to continue their eastward drive to seize and secure the Sava bridge near the western outskirts of Belgrade. At 1830 the main body of the division turned southeastward and moved in the direction of Valjevo to establish contact with the left wing of First Panzer Group southwest of Belgrade. Simultaneously, the 16th Motorized Infantry Division, which had been trailing behind the 8th Panzer Division, turned southward, crossed the Sava, and advanced toward Zvornik. Thus both divisions were diverted from their original objective, Belgrade, in order to participate in the subsequent drive on Sarajevo.

Meanwhile, both the Second Army and the Army High Command were anxiously awaiting news of the fall of Belgrade. Of the three converging armored forces, XLI Panzer Corps was last reported closest to the capital, having reached Pancevo on the east bank of the Danube about ten miles east of the city. South of Belgrade resistance stiffened as the 11th Panzer Division, spearheading the First Panzer Group forces, neared the capital.


[edit] The fall of Belgrade
Since three separate attack forces were converging on Belgrade simultaneously, the Army High Command was not immediately able to determine which force was the first to reach the enemy capital. Toward early evening of 12 April, SS-Obersturmfuehrer (1st Lt.) Klingenberg of the 2d SS Motorized Infantry Division, finding all Danube bridges destroyed, took an SS patrol across the river in captured pneumatic rafts. The patrol entered the city unmolested, and at 1700 hoisted the Nazi flag atop the German legation. About two hours later the mayor of Belgrade officially handed over the city to Klingenberg who was accompanied by a representative of the German Foreign Ministry, previously interned by the Yugoslavs.

At Second Army headquarters, no word from the 8th Panzer Division elements, which were last reported approaching the western outskirts of Belgrade, had been received for twenty-four hours. Finally, at 1152 on 13 April the following radio message came through from the operations officer of the division:

During the night the 8th Panzer Division drove into Belgrade, occupied the center of the city, and hoisted the Swastika nag.

However, since better communications had existed between Second Army and First Panzer Group, the following flash was received shortly before the 8th Panzer Division message came in:

Panzer Group von Kleist has taken Belgrade from the south. Patrols of Motorized Infantry Regiment "Gross Deutschland" have entered the city from the north. With General von Kleist at the head, the 11th Panzer Division has been rolling into the capital since 0632.

Thus the race for Belgrade ended in a close finish with all three forces reaching their objective almost simultaneously. With the fall of the city, the First Panzer Group was transferred from the Twelfth to the Second Army, while the XLVI Panzer Corps was placed under the direct command of the panzer group for the next phase of the operation-the pursuit and final destruction of the remnants of the Yugoslav Army.


[edit] Losses

A destroyed Yugoslav Renault FT-17 or NC-27 tankThe losses sustained by the German attack forces were unexpectedly light. During the twelve days of combat the total casualty figures came to 558 men: 151 were listed as killed, 392 as wounded, and 15 as missing in action. During the XLI Panzer Corps drive on Belgrade, for example, the only officer killed in action fell victim to a civilian sniper's bullet.

The Germans took some 254,000 prisoners, excluding a considerable number of ethnic Croat, German, Hungarian, and Bulgarian Yugoslavians who had been conscripted into the Yugoslav Army and who were quickly released after screening.
Value of Norway
Both the United Kingdom and France had signed military assistance treaties with Poland, and two days after Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, both western nations declared war against Germany. However, neither country opened up a western front, and no shots were fired between the sides for several months in what became known as the Phony War.

During this time, both sides were looking for secondary fronts. For the Allies, in particular the French, it was based on a desire to avoid repeating the trench warfare of World War I, which had occurred along the Franco-German border. (see Western Front (World War I).) For the Germans, most of the military high command did not believe that it had the resources to launch an assault on France so soon. Norway was an area that each side viewed as a prime location to strike the other.

Norway, though neutral, was considered strategically important for both sides of the war for two main reasons. First was the importance of the port of Narvik, from which large quantities of Swedish iron ore, on which Germany depended, were exported; this route was especially important during the winter months when the Baltic Sea was frozen over. Narvik became of greater significance to the British when it became apparent that Project Catherine, a plan to gain control of the Baltic Sea, would not be practical. Second, the ports in Norway could serve as a hole in the blockade of Germany, allowing access to the Atlantic Ocean.


[edit] The Winter War
Main article: Winter War
When the Soviet Union invaded Finland on 30 November 1939, the Allies found themselves aligned with Norway and Sweden in support of Finland against the much larger aggressor.

This presented an opportunity to the Allies who, while genuinely sympathetic to Finland, also saw an opportunity to use the pretense of sending troop support to additionally occupy orefields in Sweden and ports in Norway. The initially planned two divisions had the potential to grow to approximately 150,000 Allied troops fighting a large campaign in central Sweden.

This movement caused the Germans concern. The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact had placed Finland within the Soviet sphere of interest and the Germans therefore claimed neutrality in the conflict. This policy caused a rise in anti-German sentiment throughout Scandinavia, as it was commonly believed that the Germans were allied with the Soviets. Fears began to crop up in German high command that Norway and Sweden would then allow Allied troop movement to aid Finland.

Such deployments never occurred though, as Norway and Sweden, wary after witnessing the "Western betrayal" of Poland when it was invaded in September, did not want to risk their neutrality and be seen as involved in the war by allowing foreign troop movement through their borders. With the Moscow Peace Treaty on 12 March 1940, any such plan by the Allies was dropped.


[edit] Vidkun Quisling and initial German investigation
It was originally thought by German high command that having Norway remain neutral was in its interest. As long as the Allies did not enter Norwegian waters, there would be safe passage for merchant vessels traveling along the Norwegian coast to ship the ore that Germany was importing.

Grand Admiral Erich Raeder, however, argued for an invasion, as he believed that the Norwegian ports offered the best facilities for German submarines for use in a siege of the British Isles, and that there was a possibility of the Allies landing in Scandinavia.

On 11 December 1939, Adolf Hitler and Raeder met with Vidkun Quisling, a pro-Nazi former Minister of Defense from Norway. Quisling reportedly told them that the threat of a British invasion of Norway was large, and that the Norwegian government would secretly support German occupation (the latter was untrue). He also informed them that he was in a position to ensure maximum co-operation with German forces, including a relaxation of the country's coastal guard, and making military bases available. Three days later, Hitler ordered Oberkommando der Wehrmacht to begin investigating possible invasion plans of Norway.

During a second meeting with Quisling on 18 December, Hitler reiterated his desire to keep Norway neutral, but indicated that should Allied forces extend the war to Scandinavia, he would counter appropriately. Suspicions arose that Quisling had overstated his strength for self-gain, and further plans for collaboration with him were dropped.


[edit] The Altmark Incident
Main article: Altmark Incident
On 14 February 1940, the German tanker Altmark, carrying 303 British Prisoners of War (POW), was permitted to travel through Norwegian waters. According to international rules any noncombatant vessel from a warfaring nation could seek shelter for some time in neutral waters if permitted. When a group of British destroyers appeared on February 16, Altmark sought refuge in a Norwegian fjord. Ignoring international rules and Norwegian neutrality, the HMS Cossack entered the fjord and attacked the Altmark, boarding it, killing several German soldiers and liberating the prisoners.

While this violation of their neutrality angered the Norwegians, it also led to debate on both sides.

The Allies saw this as a sign of Norway's inability to prevent misuse of its territory, and nearly undertook a plan, proposed shortly after the fall of Poland by First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, to mine the area. It was only postponed in the hope that Norway might still agree to permit Allied troop movement to aid Finland.

For the Germans, the Altmark Incident showed that Norway was incapable of maintaining its neutrality, and that the British were not in any compliance with Norwegian neutrality. Hitler ordered that the development of invasion plans be sped up. He did so to obtain assurance against Churchill's already existing plans to draw the Norwegians into the war and take control over the important harbour of Narvik. By 21 February, General Nikolaus von Falkenhorst was placed in charge of planning the invasion and command of the land-based forces.


[edit] Initial plans

[edit] Allied plans
With the end of the Winter War, the Allies determined that any occupation of Norway or Sweden would likely do more harm than good, possibly driving the neutral countries into alliance with Germany. However, the new French prime minister, Paul Reynaud, took a more aggressive stance than his predecessor, and wanted some form of action taken against Germany. Churchill was a strong agitator for attacking and occupying Norway, this because he wanted the battles and fighting moved away from Britain and France to avoid devastation of their territory, as in the last war. He saw the way into Germany from the north.

It was agreed to utilize Churchill's naval mining offense, Operation Wilfred, designed to remove the sanctuary of the Leads and force transport ships into international waters where the Royal Navy could engage and destroy them. Accompanying this would be Plan R4, an operation where, upon almost certain German counteraction to Operation Wilfred, the Allies would then proceed to occupy Trondheim and Bergen, and destroy the Sola airfield.

The Allies disagreed over the additional Operation Royal Marine, where mines would also be placed in the Rhine River. While the British supported this operation, the French were against it, as they also depended on the Rhine and feared German reprisals on French soil. Because of this delay, Operation Wilfred, originally scheduled for 5 April, was delayed until 8 April when the British agreed to perform the Norwegian operations separately from those on the continent.


[edit] German plans
Main article: Operation Weserübung
Already in low-priority planning for considerable time, Operation Weserübung[1] found a new sense of urgency after the Altmark Incident. The main goals of the invasion were to secure the ports and ore fields, with Narvik as a priority, and to establish firm control over the country to prevent collaboration with the Allies. It was to be presented as an armed protection of Norway's neutrality.

One of the subjects of some internal debate by the German military planners was the need to occupy Denmark as part of the greater plan. Denmark was considered vital due to its location, as it facilitated greater air and naval control of the area. While some wanted to simply pressure Denmark to acquiesce, it was eventually determined that it would be safer for the operation if Denmark were captured by force.

Another matter that caused additional rework of the plan was Fall Gelb, the proposed invasion of northern France and the Low Countries, which would require the bulk of German forces. Because some forces were needed for both invasions, Weserübung could not occur at the same time as Gelb, and due to the shortening of nights as spring approached, which were vital cover for the naval forces, it therefore had to be sooner. Eventually, 9 April was decided to be the day of the invasion (Wesertag) and 04:15 (Norwegian time) would be the hour of the landings (Weserzeit).

In Norway, the plan called for the capture of six primary targets by amphibious landings: Oslo, Kristiansand, Egersund, Bergen, Trondheim and Narvik. Additionally, supporting paratroops (Fallschirmjäger) were to capture other key locations such as airfields at Fornebu outside of Oslo and Sola outside of Stavanger. The plan was designed to quickly overwhelm the Norwegian defenders and occupy these vital areas before any form of organized resistance could be mounted. The following forces were thus organized:

Gruppe 1: Ten destroyers to Narvik
Gruppe 2: The heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper and four destroyers to Trondheim
Gruppe 3: The light cruisers Köln and Königsberg, with several smaller support vessels to Bergen
Gruppe 4: The light cruiser Karlsruhe and several smaller support vessels to Kristiansand
Gruppe 5: The heavy cruisers Blücher and Lützow, the light cruiser Emden and several smaller support vessels to Oslo
Gruppe 6: Four minesweepers to Egersund
Additionally, the battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau would escort Gruppe 1 and Gruppe 2 as they travelled together and there would also be several echelons of tankers carrying additional troops, fuel and military equipment.

Against Denmark, two motorized brigades would be used to capture bridges, troops and the Luftwaffe sent to capture Copenhagen, and paratroops would be used to capture the airfields in the north. While there were also several groups organized for this invasion, none of them contained any large ships.

It was hoped that Germany could avoid armed confrontation with the native populations in both regions, and German troops were instructed only to fire if fired upon.


[edit] German invasion

[edit] Movement of fleets

Naval movements from April 7-9The German invasion first started on 3 April 1940 when supply vessels began to head out in advance of the main force. The Allies initiated their plans on the following day, with sixteen Allied submarines ordered to the Skagerrak and Kattegat to serve as a screen and advance warning for a German response to Operation Wilfred, which was launched the following day when Admiral William Whitworth in the HMS Renown set out from Scapa Flow for the Vestfjords with twelve destroyers.

On 7 April, bad weather began to develop in the region, blanketing the area with a thick fog, and causing rough seas making travel difficult. Renown's force soon got caught in a heavy snowstorm, and HMS Glowworm, one of the destroyer escorts, had to drop out of formation to search for a man swept overboard. However, the weather aided the Germans, providing a screen for their forces and in the early morning they sent out Gruppe 1 and Gruppe 2, who had the largest distance to travel.

Though the weather did make reconnaissance difficult, the two German groups were discovered 105 miles south of the Naze (the southernmost part of Norway) slightly past 08:00 by RAF patrols and reported as one cruiser and six destroyers. A trailing squad of bombers sent out to attack the German ships found them 78 miles farther north than they had been before. No damage was done during the attack, but the German groups strength was reassessed as being one battlecruiser, two cruisers and ten destroyers. Due to a strict enforcement of radio silence, the bombers were not able to report this until 17:30.

On learning of the German movement, the Admiralty came to the conclusion that the Germans were attempting to break the blockade that the Allies had placed on Germany and use their fleet to disrupt Atlantic trade routes. Admiral Sir Charles Forbes, Commander-in-Chief of the British Home Fleet, was notified of this and set out to intercept them at 20:15.

With both sides unaware of the magnitude of the situation, they proceeded as planned. The Renown arrived at the Vestfjords late that night and maintained position near the entrance while the minelaying destroyers proceeded to their task. Meanwhile, the Germans launched the remainder of their invasion force. The first direct contact between the two sides occurred the next morning without either side's intention.

The Glowworm, on its way to rejoin the Renown, happened to come up behind the Z 11 Bernd von Arnim and then the Z 18 Hans Lüdemann in the heavy fog around 8:00. Immediately a skirmish broke out and the German destroyers fled, signalling for help. The request was soon answered by the Admiral Hipper, which quickly crippled the Glowworm. Being too damaged to outrun the larger German ship, the Glowworm proceeded to ram it instead. Significant damage was done to Hipper's starboard and Glowworm was destroyed by a close range salvo immediately afterwards. During its fight Glowworm had broken radio silence and informed the Admiralty of her situation. She was not able to complete her transmission though, and all the Admiralty knew was that the Glowworm had been confronted by a large German ship, shots were fired, and contact with the destroyer could not be reestablished. In response, the Admiralty ordered the Renown and its single destroyer escort (the other two had gone to friendly ports for oil) to abandon its post at the Vestfjords and head to the Glowworm's last known location. At 10:45, the remaining eight destroyers of the minelaying force were ordered to join as well.

At noon, the Polish submarine Orzeł confronted and sunk the German troop transport ship Rio de Janeiro in the Skagerrak. In the wreckage it discovered uniformed German soldiers and various military supplies. Though the Orzeł reported the incident to the Admiralty, they were too concerned by the situation with the Glowworm and the presumed German breakout to give it much thought and did not pass the information along. Many of the German soldiers from the wreck were rescued by Norwegian fishing boats and on interrogation disclosed that they were assigned to protect Bergen from the Allies. This information was passed on to Oslo where the Norwegian Parliament, Stortinget, dismissed it as ignorance on the part of the German soldiers and did not set about any defensive measures other than to alert the coastal guard.

At 14:00, Admiralty received word that aerial reconnaissance had located a group of German ships a considerable distance WNW of Trondheim, bearing west. This reinforced the notion that the Germans were indeed intending a break out and the Home Fleet changed direction from north east to north west to again try and intercept. Additionally, Churchill cancelled Plan R4 and ordered the four cruisers carrying the soldiers and their supplies to disembark their cargo and join the Home Fleet. In actuality, the German ships, Gruppe 2, were only performing delaying circling manoeuvres in order to approach their destination of Trondheim at the designated time.

That night, after learning of numerous sightings of German ships south of Norway, Charles Forbes began to doubt the validity of the break out idea, and he ordered the Home Fleet to head south to the Skagerrak. He also ordered the HMS Repulse, along with another cruiser and a few destroyers, to head north and join the Renown.

At 23:00, as Forbes was just learning of the incident with the Orzeł, Gruppe 5 was approached by the Norwegian patrol vessel Pol III at the entrance to the Oslofjord. The Pol III quickly sent an alarm to the costal batteries on Rauøy (Rauøy island) and opened fire on the torpedo boat Albatros with its single gun shortly before colliding with it. The Albatros and two of its companions responded with anti-aircraft fire, killing its captain and setting the ship on fire. Gruppe 5 continued into the Oslofjord and cleared the outer batteries without incident. Several of the smaller German ships then broke off in order to capture the bypassed fortifications along with Horten. This activity did not go unnoticed and soon reports had reached Oslo, leading to a midnight session of the Storting. At this meeting, the assembly issued orders for a partial mobilization (to be delivered by post) and a statement that British and French ships were not to be fired upon.

At about this time, further north, the Renown was heading back to Vestfjord after reaching the Glowworm's last known location and not finding anything. Heavy seas had caused Whitworth to sail more north than normal and had separated him from his destroyers when he encountered the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. The Renown engaged the two battlecruisers and during the short battle Gneisenau had its fire-control system damaged, causing it and Scharnhorst to flee north. Renown attempted to pursue, but by 4:00 it lost sight of them in the poor weather.


[edit] Weserzeit
In the Ofotfjord leading to Narvik, the ten German destroyers of Gruppe 1 made their approach. With the Renown and her escorts earlier diverted to investigate the Glowworm incident, no British ships stood in their way and they entered the area unopposed. By the time they had reached the inner area near Narvik, most of the destroyers had peeled off from the main formation to capture the outer batteries of the Ofotfjord, leaving only three to contend with the two old Norwegian coastal battleships standing guard, Eidsvold and Norge. Though antiquated, the two coastal defence ships were quite capable of taking on the much more lightly armed and armored destroyers. After a quick parliance with the captain of the Eidsvold, the German ships opened fire preemptively on the coastal defence ship, sinking it after hitting it with three torpedoes. Norge entered into the fray shortly after and began to fire on the destroyers, but her marksmen were inexperienced and she did not hit the Germans ships before being sunk by a salvo of torpedoes from the German destroyers.

At Trondheim, Gruppe 2 also faced only minor resistance to their landings. In the Trondheimsfjord, the Admiral Hipper engaged the defensive batteries while its destroyers sped past them at 25 knots. A well placed shot by the Hipper severed the power cables for the searchlights and rendered the guns ineffective. Only one destroyer received a hit during the landing.

At Bergen, the defensive fortifications put up stiffer resistance to Gruppe 3's approach and the light cruiser Königsberg and the artillery training ship Bremse were damaged, the former seriously. The lack of working lights reduced the effectiveness of the guns though, and the landing ships were able to dock without much opposition. The fortifications were surrendered soon after, when Luftwaffe units arrived.

The fortifications at Kristiansand put up an even more resolute fight, twice repulsing the landing and damaging the Karlsruhe, nearly running the cruiser aground. Confusion soon sprung up though when the Norwegians received the order not to fire on British and French ships and the Germans began to use Norwegian codes they had captured at Horten. The Germans used this opportunity to quickly reach the harbour and unload their troops, capturing the town by 11:00.


The OslofjordGruppe 5 encountered the most serious resistance at the inner defensive fortifications of the Oslofjord, in the vicinity of Drøbak. Blücher, leading the group, approached the forts assuming that they would be taken by surprise and not repond in time like many others in the outer fjord. It was not until the cruiser was at point blank range that fortress Oscarborg opened fire, connecting with every shot. Within a matter of minutes, Blücher was crippled and burning heavily. The damaged cruiser was soon finished off by a salvo from land-based torpedo tubes, sinking the ship which carried much of the administrative personnel intended both for the occupation of Norway and also for the headquarters of the army division assigned to seize Oslo. The cruiser Lützow, also damaged in the attack, was forced to retreat, with Gruppe 5, twelve miles south to Sonsbukten where it unloaded its troops. This distance delayed the arrival of the main German invasion force for Oslo by over 24 hours, though Oslo would still be captured less than twelve hours later by troops flown into the Fornebu airfield.

Nonetheless, the delay induced by the Norwegian forces gave time for the King, Parliament, and with them the national treasury, to flee to the north and eventually escape to Great Britain. As a result, Norway never surrendered, the Quisling government was rendered illicit, and Norway, with its large merchant marine, remained as an ally in the war, not a conquered territory.

Fornebu was originally supposed to be secured by paratroops an hour before the first troops were flown in, but the initial force became lost in the fog and did not arrive. Regardless, the airfield was not heavily defended and the German soldiers who did arrive captured it promptly. The Norwegian Fighter Wing based on Fornebu resisted with their Gloster Gladiator bi-plane fighters until ammunition ran out and then flew off to whatever secondary airfields available. The ground personnel of the fighter wing soon ran out of ammunition for their anti aircraft machine guns as well, and resistance at Fornebu came to an end. Norwegian attempts to mount a counter-attack was half-hearted and effectively came to nothing. On learning of this, Oslo itself was declared an open city and soon fully surrendered.

For Gruppe 6 at Egersund and the paratroops at Stavanger, there was no significant opposition and they quickly captured their targets.


[edit] Capture of Denmark
The Wehrmacht crossed the Danish border around 4:15 in the morning of 9 April. In a coordinated operation, German troops disembarked at the docks of Langelinie in the Danish capital, Copenhagen, and began occupying the city. German Paratroops also captured the Aalborg airport. Simultaneously, an ultimatum was presented by the German ambassador to King Christian X. Reports describing the German plans had been submitted to the government a few days earlier but were ignored. The Danish army was small, ill-prepared and used obsolete equipment but resisted in several parts of the country; most importantly, the Royal Guards located at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, and forces in the vicinity of Haderslev in South Jutland. By 6:30, King Christian X, having consulted with Prime Minister Thorvald Stauning, decided to capitulate, believing that further resistance would only result in a useless loss of Danish lives. The Danish public was taken completely by surprise by the occupation, and was instructed by the government to cooperate with the German authorities. Germany's occupation of Denmark was completed on 10 April and lasted until 5 May 1945.

An important part of the Danish commercial navy escaped the occupation, as Arnold Peter Møller, President of the Mærsk shipping company, on 8 April instructed his 36 ships on the high seas to move to Allied or neutral ports if at all possible.

In a pre-emptive move to prevent a German invasion, on 12 April 1940 British forces occupied the Faroe Islands, then a Danish amt (county). See: British occupation of the Faroe Islands in World War II.


[edit] Allied response

Naval movements from April 9-13Soon after this, the German invasions at Trondheim, Bergen, Stavanger, as well as the skirmishes in the Oslofjords became known. Not willing to disperse too thinly due to the unknown location of the two German battlecruisers, the Home Fleet chose to focus on the nearby Bergen and dispatched an attack force. RAF reconnaissance soon reported stronger opposition than anticipated, and this, along with the possibility that the Germans might be controlling the shore defenses, caused them to recall the force and instead use the aircraft carrier HMS Furious to launch torpedo bombers at the enemy ships. The attack never commenced though, as Luftwaffe bombers launched an assault of their own against the Home Fleet first. This attack sank the destroyer HMS Gurkha and then forced the Home Fleet to withdraw north when their anti-aircraft measures proved ineffective. This German air superiority in the area led the British to decide that all southern regions had to be left to submarines and the RAF, while surface vessels would concentrate on the north.

In addition to the German landings in south and central Norway, the Admiralty was also informed via press reports that a single German destroyer was in Narvik. In response to this they ordered the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla, mostly consisting of ships previously serving as escort destroyers for Operation Wilfred, to engage. This flotilla, under the command of Captain Bernard Warburton-Lee, had already detached from the Renown during its pursuit of the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, being ordered to guard the entrance to the Vestfjord. At 16:00 on 9 April, the flotilla sent an officer ashore at Tranøy fifty miles west of Narvik and learned from the locals that the German force was 4-6 destroyers and a submarine. Warburton-Lee sent these findings back to the Admiralty, concluding with his intention to attack the next day at "dawn, high water", which would give him the element of surprise and protection against any mines. This decision was approved by the Admiralty in a telegram that night.

Early the following morning, Warburton-Lee led his flagship, the HMS Hardy, and four other destroyers into the Ofotfjord. At 4:30, he arrived at Narvik harbour and entered along with the HMS Hunter and HMS Havock, leaving HMS Hotspur and HMS Hostile to guard the entrance and watch the shore batteries. The fog and snow were extremely heavy, allowing Warburton-Lee's force to approach undetected. When they arrived at the harbour itself they found five German destroyers and opened fire, starting the First Battle of Narvik. Warburton-Lee's ships made three passes on the enemy ships, being joined after the first by Hotspur and Hostile, and sank two of the destroyers, disabled one more, and sank six tankers and supply ships. The German commander, Commodore Friedrich Bonte, lost his life when his flagship Wilhelm Heidkamp was sunk. Warburton-Lee's flotilla then left the harbour, almost untouched.

At 6:00, the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla was making their way back to the entrance of the Vestfjord when from the Herjangsfjord behind them three German destroyers emerged, commanded by Commander Erich Bey, and a few minutes later two more arrived in front of them, surrounding Warburton-Lee's force. The Hardy was the first ship to be hit and was quickly taken out of action, beached by one of her officers after she was crippled. Hunter was the next ship put out of commission, coming to a dead halt in the water after several hits. Hotspur was then hit and received damage to her steering system, causing her to crash into the Hunter. Several more hits were registered on the pair until Hotspur was able to reverse out of the wreck. The Hostile and Havock meanwhile had raced ahead, but turned about and came back to aid the retreat of the Hotspur. The German ships having received a few hits and, more importantly, being critically short of fuel, were not able to pursue. As they exited the Ofotfjord, the three British destroyers managed to sink the German supply ship Rauenfels.

Shortly after the First Battle of Narvik, two more German ships were sunk by British forces. A long range attack by Fleet Air Arm from their base at Hatston in the Orkney Islands was made against Bergen and destroyed the disabled German light cruiser Königsberg; recorded as the first major warship sunk by aircraft. Additionally, the submarine HMS Truant sunk the light cruiser Karlsruhe on the night of 9 April shortly after it had left Kristiansand. The next day, 10 April, the Furious and the battleship HMS Warspite joined the Home Fleet and another air attack was made against Trondheim in hopes of sinking the Admiral Hipper. Admiral Hipper, however, had already managed to escape through the watch set up outside of the port and was on her way back to Germany when the attack was launched; none of the remaining German destroyers or support ships were hit in the assault. Better luck was had in the south when the HMS Spearfish severely damaged the heavy cruiser Lützow at midnight on 11 April, putting the German ship out of commission for a year.

With it becoming more evident the German fleet had slipped out of Norwegian waters, Home Fleet continued north to Narvik in the hopes of catching the remaining destroyers. En route the ships suffered further harassment from German bombers, forcing them to divert course west away from the shoreline. By 12 April, they were in range of Narvik and an aerial attack on Narvik from Furious was attempted, but the results were disappointing. It was instead decided to send in the battleship Warspite and a powerful escort force, to be commanded by Whitworth.


Battles of NarvikOn the morning of 13 April, Whitworth's force entered the Vestfjord using the Warspite's scouting aircraft to guide the way. Aside from locating two of the German destroyers, the scouting aircraft also sunk an enemy submarine, the first such occurrence. Warspite's destroyers travelled three miles in advance of the battleship and were the first to engage their German counterparts which had come to meet them, thus starting the Second Battle of Narvik. Though neither side inflicted notable damage, the German ships were running low on ammunition and were gradually pushed back to the harbour. By that afternoon, most attempted to flee up the Rombaksfjord, the only exception being the Künne which beached itself as it made for the Herjangsfjord and was destroyed by the HMS Eskimo. Four British destroyers continued to chase the German ships up through the Rombaksfjord, the Eskimo soon damaged by the waiting opposition. However, the German situation was hopeless, having run out of fuel and ammunition, and by the time the remaining British ships arrived their crews had abandoned and scuttled their ships. By 18:30 the British ships were making their way out of the now cleared fjord.


[edit] Norwegian situation
The German invasions for the most part achieved their goal of simultaneous assault and caught the Norwegian forces off guard, a situation not aided by the Norwegian Governments' order for only a partial mobilization. Not all was lost though, as the repulsion of German Gruppe 5 in the Oslofjord gave a few additional hours of time which the Norwegians used to evacuate the Royal family and the Norwegian Government to Hamar. With the government now fugitive, Vidkun Quisling used the opportunity to take control of a radio broadcasting station and announce a coup, with himself as the new Prime Minister of Norway. His first official act, at 19:30 that day, was to cancel the mobilization order.

That evening, the Norwegian Government settled at Elverum, believing Hamar to be insecure. All German demands were rejected and the Elverum Authorization was passed should the need for a government-in-exile arise. However, the bleakness of the situation prompted them to agree to continued negotiations with the Germans, set for the following day. As a precaution Colonel Otto Ruge, Inspector General of the Norwegian Infantry, set up a roadblock about 70 miles north of Oslo, at Midtskogen, and soon encountered a small detachment of troops, led by the Air Attaché for the German Embassy, who were racing north in an attempt to settle the matter instantly by capturing King Haakon VII. A skirmish broke out and the Germans turned back after their air attaché was killed by Norwegian Royal Guards. On April 10, the final negotiations between the Norwegians and Germans failed after the Norwegian delegates, led by Haakon VII, refused to accept the German demand for recognition of Quisling's new government.

One of the final acts of the Norwegian authorities before dispersement was the promotion of Otto Ruge to the rank of Major General and appointment to Commander-in-Chief of the Norwegian Army, responsible for overseeing the resistance to the German invasion. With the Germans in control of the largest cities, ports and airfields, as well as most of the arms depots and communication networks, repulsing them outright would be impossible. Ruge instead decided that his only chance lay in playing for time, stalling the Germans until reinforcements from the United Kingdom and France could arrive.

On 11 April, after receiving reinforcements in Oslo, General Falkenhorst's offensive began; its goal was to link up Germany's scattered forces before the Norwegian's could effectively mobilize or any major Allied intervention could take place. His first task was to secure the general Oslofjord area, then to use the 196th and 163rd infantry divisions to establish contact with the forces at Trondheim.

By 14 April, the Norwegian 1st Division, located east of the Oslofjord in the Østfold, had evacuated into Sweden and the Norwegian 3rd Division, based at Kristiansand, had surrendered. The Norwegian 4th Division, stationed around Bergen, evaded the initial German landings and were soon engaged in slowing the German troops moving eastward from the city; their effort was soon hampered by the fact that the main force of the division had to be transferred to Valdres to shore up for the critical situation on Østlandet. The Norwegian 5th Division at Trondheim had lost almost all of its stores when the invasion began and its commander had decided to remain at Steinkjer instead of attacking the Germans. The Norwegian 6th Division was located far to the north, close to the Finnish border and not in contact with any of the German occupied areas.

For General Ruge, only the Norwegian 2nd Division was available and he thus built his army around the unit. While a surge of volunteers grew the division from 3,000 to roughly 12,000 troops, and Ruge was further aided with 11.1 million kroner (4.5 million USD) smuggled to him, it would never be a force capable of direct offensive action against the Germans. Instead, he chose to focus the division at the head of the Gudbrandsdal and Østerdalen valleys which led from Oslo to Trondheim. From here he engaged the Germans where the terrain was favourable and used hit-and-run tactics, along with ambushes and selective demolitions to hinder the two German divisions northward movement. These could never hope to completely halt the Germans, who were soon using air support and small tank units to break Norwegian positions. By 20 April, the German forces had managed to advance to Elverum, 190 miles south of Trondheim. The constant combat had rendered the Norwegian forces exhausted and critically low on supplies.


[edit] Ground campaign
Main article: Allied campaign in Norway
When the nature of the German invasion became apparent to the British military, it began to make preparations for a counterattack. Dissension amongst the various branches was strong though, as the British Army, after conferring with Otto Ruge, wanted to assault Trondheim in Central Norway while Churchill insisted on reclaiming Narvik. It was decided to send troops to both locations as a compromise.


[edit] Campaign in Central Norway

Operations in Norway in April and May of 1940.The original plans for the campaign in Central Norway called for a three pronged attack against Trondheim by Allied forces while the Norwegians contained the German forces to the south. It was called Operation Hammer, and would land Allied troops at Namsos to the north (Mauriceforce), Åndalsnes to the south (Sickleforce), and around Trondheim itself (Hammerforce). This plan was quickly changed though, as it was felt that a direct assault on Trondheim would be far too risky and therefore only the northern and southern forces would be used.

On 17 April, Mauriceforce, comprised primarily of the British 146th Infantry Brigade and commanded by Major General Adrian Carton de Wiart made their initial landings at Namsos. During the trip the force had been transferred to destroyers instead of bulky transport ships due to the narrow waters of the fjord leading to Namsos; in the confusion of the transfer a great deal of their supplies and even the brigade commander were misplaced. Another great problem for Mauriceforce was the lack of air support, something the Luftwaffe took full advantage off. Shortly after General de Wiart moved his forces out of Namsos, German bombers arrived and destroyed it, leaving the Norwegian without a base. Regardless, de Wiart moved 80 miles inland to Steinkjer where he was able to link up with the Norwegian 5th Division. Constant aerial harassment prevented any kind of offensive from taking place though, and on 21 April Mauriceforce was attacked by the German 181st Division from Trondheim. The Norwegian was forced to fall back from these assaults, leaving Steinkjer for the Germans.

Sickleforce, consisting primarily of the British 148th Infantry Brigade and commanded by Major General Bernard Paget, landed at Åndalsnes on 18 April. From Åndalsnes, the British force traveled via train to the village of Dombås with the intention of then traveling north to Trondheim; they were instead met there by General Ruge who informed them that the Norwegian forces could not contain the Germans travelling up the valleys for much longer. Knowing that a German breakthrough would both cut off supplies and leave Sickleforce surrounded, Paget diverted his force south to Lillehammer. They did not stay long though, as the 148th Brigade was soon attacked by Pellengahr's forces and forced to withdraw. As they retreated through the Tretten Valley, the 148th again came under attack and were effectively eliminated as a fighting unit. By this time, the British 15th Infantry Brigade had landed in Åndalsnes and had started to move south to relieve the 148th. The British encountered the pursuing German forces at Kvam, a municipality between Trettin and Dombås, and were pushed back to Kjorem, where they weathered further heavy assault.

By 28 April, with both groups checked by the Germans, it was decided to withdraw all Allied forces from Central Norway. Sickleforce, with the help of General Ruge, managed to return to Åndalsnes and escape by 2 May at 2:00 a.m., only a few hours before the German 196th Division captured the port. Mauriceforce, their convoys delayed by thick fog, were evacuated on 3 May, though two of their rescue ships, the French destroyer Bison and the British destroyer Afridi were sunk by Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers.

The failure of the central campaign is considered one of the direct causes of the Norway Debate, which resulted in the resignation of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and the appointment of Winston Churchill to the office.


[edit] Campaign in Northern Norway
Along with the action against Trondheim, a second campaign was launched in the north with the objective of recapturing Narvik. Like the Central campaign, the Narvik expedition also faced numerous obstacles.

One of the first problems faced by the Allies was the fact that the command was not unified, or even truly organized. Naval forces in the area were led by Admiral of the Fleet William Boyle, 12th Earl of Cork who had been ordered to rid the area of the Germans as soon as possible. In contrast, the commander of the ground forces, Major General Pierse Mackesy, was ordered not to land his forces in any area strongly held by the Germans and to avoid damaging populated areas. The two met on April 15 to determine the best course of action. Boyle argued for an immediate assault on Narvik and Mackesy countered that such a move would lead to the decimation of his attacking troops. Boyle eventually conceded to Mackesy's viewpoint.

Mackesy's force, codenamed Rupertforce, consisted of the 24th Guards Brigade as well as French and Polish units. The main force began landing at Harstad, a small town on the island of Hinnøya, on 15 April, but due to confusion, bad weather, inadequate facilities, untactically packed transports and constant attacks by German bombers, unloading took well over a week to complete. In the meantime, the Royal Navy had started off on a considerably better note. On the 15 April, it captured a German U-boat (U-49) which contained documents detailing the dispositions of all U-boats in the Norwegian Sea, effectively removing them as a threat.

After the Allied failure in Central Norway, more preparation was given to the northern forces, including two squadrons of carrier-based fighters, one of them consisting of Hurricanes.

By 28 May, the Allies had succeeded in recapturing Narvik from German forces, but the German invasion of France and the Low Countries had immensely altered the overall situation of the war and the importance of Norway was considerably lessened. Operation Alphabet, the general Allied retreat from Norway, had been approved on 24 May and by 8 June, after destroying rail lines and port facilities, all Allied troops had been evacuated. The Germans had launched Operation Juno to relieve pressure on the Narvik garrison and, after discovering the evacuation, shifting the mission to a hunt and sunk two British destroyers and the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious.


[edit] Occupation
Main article: Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany
With the Allies having left the country, Norway soon surrendered to the German forces and an occupation began. There was a fairly prominent resistance movement though, in the actions of the Norwegian merchant fleet, civil disobedience, and Norwegian volunteers in British forces, such as the Royal Air Force and British Commandos. The Norwegian king and cabinet established themselves in exile in London and directed a Norwegian resistance movement which proved increasingly efficient during the later years of occupation.

A Norwegian Navy and Air Force was established in England - based on the remnants of forces saved from the Norwegian campaign - and soon saw extensive combat in the convoy-battles of the North Atlantic and in the air-war over Europe. The ranks of the Navy and Air Force was swollen by a steady trickle of refugees making their way out of occupied Norway, and their equipment brought up to standard by British and American planes and ships. Norwegian squadrons flew with the RAF Fighter and Coastal Commands operating Spitfire and Mosquito fighter planes and Sunderland and Catalina flying boats. Individual Norwegians flew with RAF Bomber Command.

A Norwegian Army was also reestablished in Scotland. However, with the exception of a small number of special forces, it saw little or no action for the rest of the war. Parts of the Scotland-based Norwegian Army participated in the liberation of Finnmark (the northernmost province of Norway) during the winter of 1944-45 after the area had been evacuated by the Germans in a scorched earth operation before the anticipated onslaught of the Red Army. In the course of this operation there were some minor skirmishes with German rear guards and patrols.

In neutral Sweden there was also a Norwegian buildup of forces in the last two years of the war through the so called "police troops" established with the support of Swedish authorities. The term "police" served as a cover up for what in reality was pure military training of a force mustering around 10,000 well trained and equipped troops by VE-day.


[edit] Analysis
The operation as planned was a decisive success for Germany. Both Denmark and Norway were occupied with relatively light casualties: 3,800 Germans killed and 1,600 wounded. Surprise was almost complete, particularly in Denmark, and only in the Narvik area did the invasion prove problematic. The Luftwaffe lost about 100 aircraft, or roughly 10% of the force committed.

At sea, however, the invasion proved a significant setback. The Kriegsmarine lost 1 heavy cruiser, 2 light cruisers, 10 destroyers, and 6 submarines, leaving the navy weakened during the summer months when Hitler was pursuing plans for an invasion of Great Britain.

The British did achieve a partial success at Narvik. Shipping from the port was stopped for a period of six months, although the Allies had believed it would be out of operation for a year.

The British also took some damage to their fleet, losing an aircraft carrier, 2 cruisers, 7 destroyers, and a submarine, but with their much larger fleet, they could absorb the naval losses to a much greater degree than Germany. Britain also gained use of the Norwegian merchant navy, one of the largest in the world.

The German occupation of Norway was to prove a thorn in the side of the Allies during the next few years. Long-range aircraft based there meant that several squadrons of British fighters had to be kept in the north during the Battle of Britain and German commerce raiders used Norway as a staging base to reach the North Atlantic with impunity. After Germany invaded Russia in 1941, air bases in Norway were also used to interdict the Allied arctic convoys there, inflicting painful losses to shipping.

The occupation of Norway would also come to be a burden for Germany, as the long, exposed coastline provided opportunities for commando raids later in the year. In addition, the country would require a sizeable occupation force. This troop commitment would peak with 400,000 men by 1944, troops that could not be put to use during the Allied landings in France that year or on the Russian Front.

Nazi Germany invaded Belgium 10 May 1940 (Belgium surrendered on May 28). The King remained in Belgium.

Belgium was liberated beginning in 1944 by Allied forces, including British, Canadian, and American armies, including a small Belgian national contingent. The British second Army seized Antwerp in September 1944, and the First Canadian Army began conducting combat operations around the port that same month. Antwerp became the most fought highly prized objective due to its deep-water port facilities and the fact that French ports remained in German hands until the end of the war. The Battle of the Scheldt in October 1944 was fought primarily on Dutch soil, but with the intent of opening the waterway to Antwerp. The port city was also the main objective of German armies in December; the inability of the Allies to end the war in 1944 meant that Allied troops had to winter in Belgium, during which time the Ardennes Offensive was launched by the Germans, resulting in heavy fighting on Belgian soil lasting into 1945.

During the war, the largest known reserves of uranium were in the Katanga (a province of the Belgian Congo). The Belgian company Union Minière du Haut Katanga provided the United States the uranium required by the Manhattan Project and the early cold war (see: history of nuclear weapons).