SJ0SLAGET I OFOTFJORDEN 9.-10. OG 13. APRIL 1940

THE NAVAL BATTLES OFNARVI/(, 9th-10th AND 13th OFAPRIL 1940

Av kommandE'rkaptein Marcus Einarson Osen

Published by Norsk Tidsskrift for Sj0vesen Sj0SLAGETI OFOTFjORDEN 9.-10. OG 13. APRIL 1940

THE NAVAL BATTLES OFNARVIK, 9TH-10THAND 13TH OFAPRIL 1940

Av kommand0rkaptein Marcus Einarson Osen

Published by Norsk Tidsskrift for Sj0vesen Omslag: Aksel Revolds maleri «Narvik i krig». Maleriet ble skjenket til Kiruna kommune av Narvik kommune som takk for all svensk hje/p under krigen. Cover: Aksel Revolds painting «Narvik at war». The painting was granted to Kiruna district by Narvik district in gratitude of Swedish assistance during the war.

STIFTET 1835

S]0MILITJERE SAMFUND OG NORSK TIDSSKRIFT FOR S]0VESEN Sj0milit

© 2003. Utgivet: Sj0milit;ere Samfund ved Norsk Tidsskrift for Sj0vesen, Boks 187,4086 Hundvag. Redakf0r: Svein Carl Sivertsen Layour: Bard Tirlesrad ISBN: 82-92217-05-3 Opplag: 4000 Trykk: Nikolai Olsens Trykkeri NS

2 Utover vinteren 1940 oket Norges strategiske betydning. Bade flrdi Norskekys­ ten utgjor halvparten av Europas kyst mot Atlanterhavet, ogfordi den tyske krigsokonomien i vesentlig grad baserte segpajernmalm fra Nord-Sverige. Vin­ terstid var havnene i 0stersjoen gjenfrosset, og jernmalmen matte sendes over havnen i Narvik.

Norge ble angrepet den 9. april 1940 av overlegne tyske sjostridsskrefter. I denne nodens stund var det Royal Navy som kom oss til unnsetning. Den inn­ sats britene gjorde for Norges sak i Narvik oggjennom krigens lange ar, flrtjener respekt og evig takknemlighet. Dette heftet er til minne om de britiske skips innsats og de menn som bemannet demo

Kontreadmiral Kjell-Birger Olsen Generalinspektorfor Sjoforsvaret

Throughout the winter of1940 Norway's strategic importance became increasingly clear. One reason was our country's vast coastline, halfofall Europe's, towards the Atlantic. The other; the greater part ofGermany's iron core, on which her war economy depended absolutely, was mined in North Sweden and normally shippedfrom her Baltic ports; but when those ports froze it had to be sent through Narvik.

Norway was attacked by superior German navalforces on april 9th 1940. In our darkest hour the Royal Navy performed herfinest. The British support at Narvik and the help through five long years, deserve respect andgratitude. This booklet is written in memory ofour British allies who foughtfor the liberation of Norway in Ofoten and on the high seas in 1940.

Kjell-Birger Olsen, Rear Admiral ChiefofStaff Royal Norwegian Navy

3 SJ0SLAGETFOFOTFJeJRDEN9.-10. OG 13. APRIL 1940 av kommand0rkaptein Marcus Einarson Osen

AdolfHitler overtokall makt Polen. Den kongelig norske lofjord allerede 8. april. Tyske i Tyskland i 1933. En delvis marine ble mobilisert til n0y­ tropper inntok en rekke kyst­ skjult og avtalestridig opp­ tralitetsvakt 3. september byer tidlig om morgenen 9. rustning tok til i stort om­ samme ilr. Angrepet pa Dan­ april. Inn Ofotfjorden til fang. Den andre verdenskrig mark og Norge kom natten Narvik stevnet 10 tyske de­ startet 1. september 1939 mellom 8. og 9. april 1940. stroyere med til sammen med det tyske angrepet pa Marinenvar i kamp i ytre Os- 2000 tropper om bordo

Den britiske marines inn­ kyndighet, besluttsomhet og kernes krigf0Cing. sats under sj0slaget om Nar­ tapperhet som fortjener stor Nilr Narvik kommune i dag, vik i aprildagene 1940 er lys­ respekt den dag i dag. med st0tte av Sj0forsvaret, punkt i et ellers m0rkt ka­ I 10pet av 3 dager ble den reiser en minnebauta er det pittel i norsk okkupasjons­ tyske marinestyrken besta­ for a gi de britiske sj0folka historie. ende av 10 destroyere sen­ den :Ere og oppmerksomhet De 5 engelske destroyerne i ket og uskadeliggjort. Tapet de fortjener for sin innsats "First Battle" under ledelse utgjorde ca 42 % av den og offervilje de den gang ut­ av Captain (D) B.A.W. tyske destroyerstyrke, et tap viste for a komme Norge til Warburton - Lee, Second som tyskerne i 10pet av kri­ "!Jnnsetning. British Destroyer Flotilla et­ gen aldri lyktes a erstatte. Skal vi ikke snart bli ferdige terfulgt av "Force B" med MaIet var a stoppe den tyske med 2. verdenskrig og slagskipet HMSWarspite og erobringen for derved a hin­ komme oss videre, vii 9 destroyere under kom­ dre den strategisk betydelige mange sp0rre? Mitt enkle mando av Rear Admiral St malmtransporten over Nar­ svar er neil Den som ikke J.A. Micklethwait utviste en vik som var sa viktig for tys- kjenner historien vil V:Ere

4 THE NAVAL BATTLES OFNARVIK, 9TH-10THAND 13THOF by Captain Marcus Einarson Osen, RNON APRIL 1940

on Denmark and Norway came on the night between April 8th- 9th 1940 and the Norwegian navywas already involved in hostilities in the In 1933 Adolf Hitler took following the German attack outer waters of Oslo Fjord. over complete power in Ger­ on Poland (Britain and German troops successfully many and a huge program­ France declaring war on occupied a series of Norwe­ me of rearmament, which Germany on September gian coastal towns in the was in part hidden, was set 3rd) and the Royal Norwe­ early morning ofApril 19th. underway in contravention gian Navy was mobilised to In the Ofot Fjord outside of of international treaties. guard the country's N arvik 10 German destroy­ The Second World War neutrality on September 3rd ers were anchored with started on September 1st ofthe same year. The attack 2,000 soldiers on board.

JntrlJviuctilJn

The part played by the Bri­ Admiral St J.A. Mickle­ The goal was to stop the Ger­ tish naval forces during the thwait displayed skill, man conquest and by so sea battle of N arvik in the resolution and bravery doing stop the strategically April days of1940 is a bright which deserves great respect important ore transport spot in an otherwise dark to this day. through Narvik which was chapter in the history ofthe In the course of three days crucial for Germany's war occupation of Norway. the German naval force effort. The 5 English destroyers in composed of 10 destroyers When the local authorities in "First Battle" under the was sunk and put out of Narvik today, with the sup­ leadership of Captain (D) commission. This represen­ port ofthe Royal Norwegian RA.WWarburton - Lee, Sec­ ted a loss of some 42% of Navy, erects a memorial in ond British Destroyer Flo­ the overall strength of Ger­ remembrance of the British tilla followed by "Force B" man destroyers and a sailors, it is to show them with the battleship HMS setback they were not able the honour andacknowl­ Warspite and 9 destroyers to recover from in the edge-ment they deserve for under the command ofRear subsequent years ofthe war. the self-sacrificing efforts

5 Georg Thiele hensatt til a gj0re de samme Operasjon «Weseriibung» «feil «som generasjonen den I mars 1940 undertegnet gang gjorde. AdolfHitler planene og direk­ torium. Den 8. aprilla britene Fra min side ligger det en tivene for operasjon «Weserii­ ut minefelt blant annet uten­ intensjon om at den «yngre bung». Planen var grundig for­ for Landego ved Bod0 og garde» om mulig kan dra en beredt. I kone trekk gikk den Stadlandet. Senere er det fast­ viss LErdom av det som ut pa angrep og okkupasjon slatt at feltet ved Stad var en skjedde pa godt og ondt. av Danmark og Norge. bl0ff. Historiekunnskaper b0f Tyskerne var ikke alene om a Den tyske flatestyrken som kunne ha samme funksjon legge planer. Omtrent pa dro nordover samme dag som sladrespeilet pa bilen samme tidspunkt vedtok ogsa hadde vc£ret pa sin side. Storm nar vi kj0rer. britene en plan som gikk ut og dadig sikt gjorde det van­ I dag, 63 ar etter er det fort­ pa at Narvik skulle besettes. skelig a oppdage de 10 de­ satt sterke band mellom Britene hipet at nordmennene stroyerne med destinasjon Storbritannia og Norge. Bri­ ikke ville motsette seg dette Narvik. Likevel ble styrken tene er var nc£rmeste alli­ med makt. Men da Finland og oppdaget utenforTmndelag, erte. La oss hape at vi ogsa i Russland sluttet fred den 12. men pa grunn av den vestlige fremtiden, i samvirke i alli­ mars, var det ikke lenger kuts de styrte pa det tids­ ert sammenheng, er i stand grunnlag for et allien ekspe­ punkt, trodde man ikke at til a overbevise fremmede disjonskorps. tyskerne skulle invadere makter om at et hvert makt­ Tropper som britene og Norge. Det var derfor ingen bruk mot Norge og andre franskmennene allerede hadde britiske kampfart0yer i Vest­ demokratiske land vil vc£re samlet ble opph"st og hele sa­ fjorden til a stoppe dem. De kostbart og ul0nnsomt. ken lagt pa is. Likevel dmftet britiske fart0yene som skulle La oss starte med begynnel­ de alliene fonsatt planer om bevokte minefeltet ved Land­ sen: en «aksjon» i Norge som endte ego, var ogsa trukket vekk. med en beslutning om a legge Med andre ord, tyskerne minefelt i norsk sj0terri- hadde fritt leide.

6 they displayed at the time As for the German naval force when they came to Norway's which sailed towards the assistance. north the same day the Many people will probably weather conditions were ask if it is now the time to Operation "Weseriibung" favourable. Stormy weather forget the SecondWorldWar In March 1940 Adolf Hider and poor visibility made it and move on? My straight­ signed the plans and directives difficult to detect the 10 forward answer is "no" it for operation "Weseriibung". destroyers that were sailing isn't! Those who don't The plan was meticulously towards the destination of know their history are con­ prepared and in brief Narvik. Despite this the force demned to repeat many of encompassed the attack and was spotted offTf0ndelag but the "mistakes" made by occupation of Denmark and because ofthe westerly course previous generations. Norway. they steered at that moment As far as I'm concerned my The Germans were not alone it was believed that the Ger­ intention is to give the in making plans as more or less mans were not planning to "young guard" the possibility at the same time the British invade Norway. Therefore, of learning from the past, were adopting a plan for the there was no British military for good or bad. Knowledge occupation of N arvik and vessel at that time in the Vest­ of history should have the were hoping that the fjorden to confront them, and same function as a rear-view Norwegians would not opp­ the British ships that had been mirror in a car when we are ose this by force. However, stationed to guard the driving. once Finland and Russia made minefield off Landego had Today, 63 years after the sea peace on March 12th there also been withdrawn. In other batde, there are still strong was no longer the basis for an words, the Germans were gi­ bonds between Great Bri­ allied operation, and the Bri­ ven a clear field. tain and Norway and the tish and French troops that British are our closest ally. had already been assembled for Let us hope that in the future such an action were dispersed The Germans sail into the too, working together as and the whole project was put Vestfjorden allies, we are able to on Ice. On the night ofApril 9th the convince foreign powers that Nevertheless, the allies contin­ German attacking force sailed any use offorce against N or­ ued to discuss plans for an "ac­ into the West Fjord at a speed way and other democratic tion" in Norway and finally of27 knots. It was composed countries will be cosdy and they took the decision to lay of the following 10 des­ futile. a minefield in Norwegian ter­ troyers; the Bernt von Arnim, ritorial waters and on April the Wolfgang Zenker, the Hans Let us start at the beginning: 8th the British lay mines off, Ludemann, the Georg Thiele, among other places, Landego the Erich Koellner, the Her­ at Bod0 and Stadland. Later mann Kunne, the Anton it was established that the Schmitt, the Wilhelm minefield at Stad was a bluff. Heidkamp, the Erich Giese and

7 Tyskerne seiler inn Vestfjor­ Erich Giese, som hadde fatt standplasser for et batteri. Ka­ den maskinhavari grunnet det nonene hadde ligget pa lager i Om natten den 9. april seilte darlige va:ret. N arvik i lengre tid uten a bli den tyske angrepsstyrken med montert, og deretter sendt til 27 knops fart innVestfjorden. Bergen hvor de senere ble tatt Den besto av 10 destroyere; «Angrepet» pa kystbatteri­ over av tyskerne. Bernt von Arnim, Wolfgang ene Ramnes og Hamnes Resten av destroyerstyrken Zenker, Hans Ludemann, Ved 0300 tiden passerte styr­ fortsatte innover Ofotfjorden. Georg Thiele, Erich Koellner, ken Ramnes - Hamnes linjen Tre fart0yer; Wolfgang Zenker, Hermann Kunne, Anton ytterst i Ofotfjorden hvor Erich Koellner og Hermann Kunne ble detasjert fra hoved­ styrken og styrte inn i Herjan­ gen for a landsette tropper med det formal a besette Elve­ gardsmoen leir med lagre.

Tyskerne besetter Elvegc1rds­ moen Ca ved 0100 tiden landsette de 3 destroyerne avgitt perso­ nell inne ved Bjerkvik for a besette Elvegardsmoen. «Kampgruppe Elvegaard» Minefeltet i Vestfjorden. / The minefieldin Vestfjorden. m0tte liten motstand. Leir­ vakten pa 17 mann var ikke i Schmitt, Wilhelm Heidkamp, Hans Ludemann og Anton stand til a gj0re noe som helst, Erich Giese og Dieter von Schmitt stoppet og landsatte fordi de ikke hadde fatt utle­ Roeder. Den tyske styrke­ tropper for a uskadeliggj0re vert ammunisjon. Saledes sik­ sjefen, kommand0r Friedrich batteriene der. ret general Dietl gratis vinter­ Bonte, hadde Wilhelm Her gikk tyskerne helt «fern forsyning for alle sine trapper, Heidkamp som sitt komman­ pa «. De to kystbatteriene ek­ inklusiv utstyr til oppkledning dofart0Y sammen med sjefen sisterte ikke i virkeligheten. av ca 2600 matrosene fra far­ for landgangstroppene, Tyskerne lette forgjeves i den t0yene, som senere skulle bli generalmajor Eduard We. dype sn0en etter kanonstillin­ innlemmet i hans landstyrke. Dietl. Troppene talte 2000 ger. Pa s0rsiden (Hamnes) Dette bevirket at kampene ble mann fordelt pa 10 fart0yer. fant de ingenting. Pa nordsi­ betydelig mer langvarige enn Diether von Roeder stoppet den (Ramnes) registrerte de de ellers kunne blitt. ute ved Bar0Y for a assistere kun utsprengninger til kanon- At Elvegardsmoens lagre ble

8 the Dieter von Roeder. The lea­ (Hamnes) they found nothing General Dietl was able to der ofthe German flotilla was while on the north side (Ram­ ensure free winter provisions Commodore Friedrich Bonte, nes) they registered just the for all his troops as well as who had the Wilhelm areas prepared for the supplies for equipping the Heidkamp as his command positioning of guns for a 2600 sailors (crew members) ship together with the soldier battery. The cannons had been on the ships who were later in overall charge of the lan­ stored in N arvik for a long integrated into his land force. ding troops, Major General time without being mounted, Consequently, the subsequent Eduard W.e. Dietl. The after which they were sent to fighting that broke out was troops numbered a total of Bergen where they later on much more long drawn-out 2000 in and were divided were taken over by the Ger­ than it would otherwise have between the 10 warships. The mans. been. Dieter von Roeder remained The rest of the force of dest­ The capture of Elvegards­ moored at Baf0Y in order to royers proceeded into the moen's depot prevented assist the Erich Giese, which Ofatfjorden. Three ships; the equipping of the Norwegian had experienced damage to its Wolfgang Zenker, the Erich division that had been design­ engine as a result of the bad Koellner and the Hermann ated the camp in the event of weather. Kunne were detached from mobilisation. the main body and headed for At 04.00 hours the Wilhelm Herjangen to disembark Heidkamp, the Bernt von The "attack" on the coastal troops with the aim of Arnim and the Georg Thiele defence batteries Ramnes occupying Elvegardsmoen arrived at Narvik harbour. and Hamnes army camp with its stores and At 03.00 hours, the attacking provIsIons. force passed the Ramnes ­ The sinking ofthe warships Hamnes line in the outermost Eidsvold and Norge part ofthe Ofatfjorden where The Germans occupy Elve­ The warships Eidsvold and the Hans Ludemann and the gardsmoen Norge were at anchor in Nar­ Anton Schmitt stopped and At approximately 01.00 vik harbour. On the evening disembarked soldiers in order hours, at the 3 destroyers of April 8 th the Eidsvold to neutralise the two batteries landed the troops chosen to weighed anchor and sailed to there. carry out the assault at Elve­ Framnesodden (the inlet of Here the Germans were gardsmoen. "Combat Group Framnes) where it positioned completely "caught out" as the Elvegaard" met little opposit­ itselfas a guard ship. two coastal batteries did not ion as the camp guard of 17 The Norge weighed anchor at really exist. Thus the Germans men was not in a position to 03.20 hours, and secured searched in vain in the deep do anything whatsoever as alongside the quay that was snow for the gun emplace­ they had not been supplied used for the transport of the ments. On the south side with any ammunition. Thus, ore. A short time after this,

9 inn10pet ved Ankenessiden. fyre sine kanoner ble hun ram­ tatt, forhindret ogsa oppset­ Eidsvoldsignaliserte «stopp» til met av to torpedoer fra Wil­ tingen av de norske avdelin­ n;Ermeste fart0y (Wilhelm helm Heidkamp. I l0pet av 15­ gene, som hadde sitt planlagte Heidkamp) , som stoppet. Far­ 20 sekunder brakk Eidsvold i fremm0tested for mobilise­ t0yet svarte at de ville sende to og sank. 175 menn om­ ring der. en parlament;Er over til Eids­ kom, bare 6 ble reddet. Ved 0400 tiden ankom Wil­ voId. Wilhelm Heidkamp og Bernt helm Heidkamp, Bernt von Kort etter ankom orlogskap­ von Arnim seilte na innover Arnim og Georg Thiele Nar­ tein Gerlach ombord i Eids­ havnen. Begge ble oppdaget vikhavn. voId og ba sjefen, komman­ pa kloss hold fra Norge. Plut­ d0rkaptein Willoch, om a selig forsvant ryskerne i sn0­ overgi seg. Han ba om beten­ drevet. Da dette lettet apnet Senkningen av panserskip­ kningstid for a ddf0re seg Norge ild, men bommet grun­ ene Eidsvold og Norge med sin sjef pa Norge. Dette net den darlige sikten. Bernt IN arvik havn la panserskipene ble ikke innvilget. Allikevel von Arnim, som hadde lagt til Eidsvold og Norge til ankers. lyktes det Willoch og fa kon­ kai, begynte landsetting av Den 8. om kvelden lettet Eids­ takt med kommand0rAskim, tropper. Samtidig besvarte far­ voId anker og la seg ute ved som svarte: «Apne ild - jeg gar t0yet ilden med kanoner og Framnesodden hvor krigsvakt til angrep». fyrte samtidig 4 torpedoer ble satt. Gerlach oppfordret Willoch mot Norge. To traff og Norge Norge lettet anker ved 0320 pa ny til a gi opp, men fikk fant sin grusomme skjebne tiden, kastet loss, og ble lig­ avslag. I det den ryske barkas­ som Eidsvold. Panserskipet gende utenfor malmkaien. sen var kommet klar av Eids­ sank pa minuttet og tok med Kort etter observerte man 2 void skj0t ryskerne opp et t0dt seg 101 mann i dypet. 90 ble fremmende fart0yer i havne- signallys. F0r Eidsvold rakk a reddet. En lettbat fra Bernt von Arnim plukket opp 9 mann, derav kommand0rAs­ kim som bevisstl0s ble brakt i land. Klokken var na blitt ca 0500 og general Dietl gikk i land med 400 soldater SOJ11 mar­ sjerte inn mot Narvik sen­ trum. Den ryske generalen ble m0tt av den ryske konsulen. De kj0rte direkte til byens kommandant oberst Sundlo, som var tyskvennlig. Han Panserskipene Norge og Eidsvoldpa Narvik havn likefor overfilllet. / The overga byen uten kamp bare battleships Norge andEidsvold in Narvik harbour shortlyprior to the attack. en time senere.

10 two strange vessels were centre ofthe harbour and the observed at the entrance ofthe Norge spotted both vessels at harbour on the Ankenes side. close quarters. Suddenly the The Eidsvold signalled to the Germans disappeared in a nearest of the two (the Wil­ snowstorm. When the storm helm Heidkamp) to "stop" subsided, the Norge opened which it duly did and the fire but missed because of a vessel communicated that it bad aim. The Bernt von would send a negotiator over Arnim, that had docked at the to the Eidsvold, whereupon quay and begun to disembark Commander Gerlach embar­ soldiers, simultaneously retur­ ked shortly after and asked the ned fire with its guns and commander of the Eidsvold, launched 4 torpedoes. Two hit Oberst Konrad Sundlo / Colonel Captain Willoch, to surrender. the Norge which suffered the Konrad Sundlo Willoch asked for some time same cruel fate as the Eidsvold, to consider the matter and to sinking in the space ofa min­ District Command North consult with the commander ute and taking with it 101 Norway (DKN) in Harstad, ofthe Norge. This request was men - 90 were rescued. A light he issued an arrest order for denied butWilloch neverthe­ boat from the Bernt von Sundlo, that could not be less succeed-ed in making Arnim was able to pick up 9 carried out because at that contact with Captain Askim, members of the crew point in time Sundlo was of the Norge, who told him: including the Captain, Askim, regarded as ::t German held "Open fire -I will attack". who was brought ashore, prisoner of war. Sundlo's Once more Gerlach encour­ unconscIOUS. actions were considered aged Willoch to give up but The time was now approxi­ treacherous by many Norwe­ to no avail and once the Ger­ mately 05.00 hours and Ge­ gians but the Colonel was man launch had come clear of neral Dietl went ashore with acquitted of this charge, but the Eidsvold they fired a red 400 soldiers who marched in not others, in a court case signal light and before Eids­ towards the centre ofNarvik. after the war. void could make use ofany of The general met the German its guns it was struck by two consul and together they torpedoes from the Wilhelm drove directly to the German­ Heidkamp. In the friendly Norwegian Army space ofjust 15-20 seconds the commander of the town, Eidsvold was broken in two Colonel Sundlo, who and sank with the loss of 175 surrendered N arvik without a men, just 6 were rescued. fight just an hour later. The Wilhelm Heidkamp When the surrender of the together with the Bernt von town became known to Ma­ Arnim sailed towards the jor-General Fleischer at the

11 Da overgivelsen av byen ble kjent for generalmajor Fleischer ved Distrikts­ kommando Nord-Norge (DKN) i Harstad, utstedte generalen arrestordre pa Sundlo, men arrestasjon ble ikke iverksatt, fordi Sundlo pa det tidspunkt var a betrakte som tysk krigsfange. Blant mange nordmenn ble dette senere betraktet som forr~­ deri. Etter krigen ble kom­ mandanten imidlertid frikjent pa dette punktet i anklagen under rettsaken etter krigen.

F"rste sj"slag ved Narvil< den 10. april (First Battle)

Destroyerne forbereder sin 10se uten bunkers. Deres hjemreise eneste tankskip Jan Wellem, Straks den tyske destroyer­ som var moderskip for uba­ flaten hadde landsatt troppene ter, var omdirigert fra Mur­ i Narvik og Bjerkvik, startet mansk og ankommet Narvik bunkring og klargj0ring for den 8. april. Fylling av driv­ returseilas til Tyskland. Etter stoff kunne skje med kun 2 planen skulle styrken seile S0r­ fart0yer samtidig og en bunk­ over allerede samme kveld. ring tok ca 7-8 timer. Styrkesjefen, kommand0r Tyskerne hadde ogsa Bonte visste sa altfor godt at deployert 3 ubater i omddet, den britiske «Homefleet», som skulle gi varsling. som befant seg utenfor i Vest­ Ubatene hadde f0lgende ut­ Kommandor Friedrich Bonte. fjorden et sted, representerte gangsposisjon; U51 iVestfjor­ Commodore Friedrich Bonte. en alvorlig trussel for hans de­ den, U25 ved Baf0Y og U46 stroyere i en slik felle, som i omradet Ramnes. Bade Ofotfjorden lett kunne bli. Dietl og Bonte var alvorlig be­ Samtidig var fart0yene hje1pe- kymret. Tankeren Kattegatog

12 The first sea battle of Narvil<, April 10th

The destroyers prepare for Wellem, which was the mot­ their return journey to Ger­ her ship for U-boats, had been many redirected from Murmansk Immediately after the fleet of and arrived at N arvik onApril German destroyers had 8th. Only two ships at a time disembarked their troops at could be refuelled and bunker­ Narvik and Bjerkvik, the ing took about 7-8 hours in crews started bunkering and duration preparing for their home The Germans had also U46 journey to Germany. stationed 3 U-boats in the area According to plan, the to give forewarning of any warships should already have threats. Theywere deployed in sailed southwards the same the following positions; the journey to Germany for 24 evening. Their leader of the U51 in the Vestfjorden, U25 hours in order to be able to naval force, Commodore at Baf0Y and U46 in the area sail all destroyers together Bonte, knew all to well that ofRamnes. instead of leaving the the British "Homefleet", Both Died and Bonte were Ofotfjorden in groups after which was somewhere just seriously worried. There were each ship had finished outside the Vestfjorden, also no signs oflife from the refuelling. Even though the represented a serious threat to tanker the Kattegat nor of the situation was uncertain as to his destroyers if they were depot ships the Rauenfels and what possible course ofaction trapped in the Ofotfjorden. the Alster that should have the British "Homefleet" At the same time the vessels been in N arvik at this time. would take, no special major were helpless without enough Bonte made a decision to initiatives were taken. fuel. The only tanker, theJan postpone the return sea However, the following

U25

13 Tyskerne f0lte seg relativt soldatenes transportskip. Han depotskipene Rauenfels og trygge i dette v<£rer. I havnen fikk ogsa myndighet til etter Alster, som ogsa skulle befun­ la ca 40 skip tett i tett og ven­ eget skj0nn, a ga inn til Nar­ net seg i Narvik pa dette tids­ ter. vik og landsette en styrke med punkt, var det heller ingen oppdrag a gjenerobre byen. livstegn fra. Bonte besluttet a Pa dette grunnlag besluttet utsette returseilasen til Tysk­ «2nd Destroyer Flotilla» sei­ Warburton - Lee a seile til land i 24 timer for a kunne ler inn Ofotfjorden N arvik med 5 destroyere: seile samlet, i stedet for a for­ Allerede ved 1200 tiden den HMS Hardy, Hunter, late Ofotfjorden gruppevis, 9. april fikk sjefen for 2. Havcock, Hotspur og Hostile. etter hvert som fart0yene destroyerflottilje Captain (D) Utpa ettermiddagen ved 1600 hadde ferdigbunkret. Selv om Bernard A.w. Warburton ­ tiden stoppet styrken ved situasjonen var usikker vedr0­ Lee, som befant seg ute i Vest­ Tran0Y, hvorpa sjefen sendte rende hva den britiske fjorden, en melding direkte fra to offiserer i land tillosstasjo­ «Homefleet» eventuelt ville Admiralitetet om at tyske nen for a fa avklart hvor stor foreta seg, ble likevel ikke tropper var landsatt i N arvik styrke tyskerne hadde seilt inn iverksatt s<£rlig omfattende til­ og ordre om a kapre eller senke med. Blant lospersonell og tak. unge gutter, alle med sprak­ F0lgende deployeringer ble problemer, lyktes det a fa stad­ dog gjennomf0rt: Georg festet at minst 6 krigsskip og Thiele og Bernt von Arnim til en ubat hadde passert med Ballangen, Wolfgang Zenker, kurs nord0stover fjorden. Erich Giese og Erich Koellner i Klokken 1715 rapporterte Herjangsfjorden. I Narvik kommand0rkapteinen dette havn, Hans Liidemann, Her­ til Admiralitetet, og til admi­ mann Kunne, Anton Schmitt ralen pa egen kommandolinje, og Wilhelm Heidkamp. Bonte at han aktet a angripe neste beholdt sistnevnte som dag, (l0. april) ved h0yvann. kommandoskip. Ca ved 1830 tiden beordret Herfra hadde de ogsa eneste Warburton - Lee a legge om samband til Tyskland. Av den kursen sydvestover i Vestfjor­ grunn fikk Dietl tilbud a bli den. Etter en tid (kl21 00) ble om bord til neste dag, men de britiske fart0yene oppdaget han takket nei. Han ville hel­ av U51 som rapporterte di­ ler ta natten pa land sammen rekte til kommand0r Bonte at med sine n<£rmeste. Sistnevnte Kommanckrkaptein B. Warburton­ den britiske 2nd Flotilla beslutning reddet hans liv. Lee som ledet detfimte angrepet mot hadde kurs sydvest. Meldin­ tyskerne i Ofotfjorden / Captain B. Natten falt pa, over det hele Warburton-Lee who led the thefirst gen kom etter alt a d0mme sn0dde det stille og tett. Sik­ strike against the Germans in frem, uten forsinkelse. Det ten varierte fra 0 til ca 400 m. Ofotfjorden. som ikke ble rapportert var at

14 found himselfin the Vestfjor­ den, received a message directly from the Admiralty that German troops had been disembarked in N arvik and he was ordered to seize or sink their transport ships. He was also given the authority, based on his own judgement, to sail to Narvik and land a force with the objective ofrecaptur­ ing the town. On this basis Warburton - Lee decided to sail to Narvik with 5 destroyers: the HMS Hardy, Hunter, Havcock, Hotspur and Willhelm Heidkamp fires its torpedoes against PS Eidsvold/ Willhelm Heidkamp skyter sine torpedoer motPS Eidsvold. Hostile. In the afternoon at 16.00 hours the force stopped deployments were carried out: low soldiers, a decision that at Tran0Y, whereupon the Georg Thiele and Bernt von was to save his life. Warburton - Lee sent two Arnim to Ballangen, and the With the approaching night officers ashore to the pilot stat­ Wolfgang Zenker, Erich Giese snow continued to fall and ion to clarify how large a force and Erich Koellner were to be visibility varied from 0 to the Germans had sailed in in the Herjangfjord. In Nar­ approx. 400 m. The weather with. From the pilot personal vik harbour stayed the Hans conditions gave the Germans and young lads, despite the Ludemann, Hermann Kunne, a feeling ofrelative safety and language difficulties, it was Anton Schmitt and Wilhelm about 40 ships lay tightly possible to establish' that at Heidkamp. Bonte retained the packed in the harbour, least 6 warships and a V-boat last named as his command waiting. had passed on a northeast ship. course across the fjord. It was here that there was the At 17.15 hours, the Captain only connection (communi­ "The Second Destroyer Flo­ reported this information to cation's link) to Germany and tilla" sails into the Ofotfjor­ the Admiralty and to the Ad­ it was because of this that it den miral in his own chain of was suggested to Dietl that he Already at 12.00 hours on command and that he stay on board until the next April 9th the leader ofthe sec­ intended to launch the attack day, an offer he declined. He onddestroyer flotilla, Captain the next day (April 10th) at would rather spend the night (D) BernardA.W Warburton high- tide. Then at abour ashore together with his fel- - Lee, who at that moment 18.30 hours Warburton - Lee

15 Like f0r ki 0430 styrte Over det hele sn0dde det tett, Warburton - Lee endret kurs Warburton - Lee Hardy med sikten varierte fra et par hun­ bare en halv time senere, i den paf0Igende Hunter og dre meter opp til kanskje hensikt a seile inn Ofotfjor­ Havcock inn i N arvik havn. 1000. den. Saledes var nevnte mel­ Hostile og Hotspur ble Iiggende ding korrekt men fatalt mis­ utenfor havneinnI0pet for a visende. sikre mot overraskelser. Infernoet bryter 108 Den 10. april klokken 0136 Kl 0430 gikk alarmen hos tys­ fikk den britiske styrkesjefen kerne. Sekunder etter ble Wil­ signal fra Admiralitetet om at Situasjonen pa Narvik havn helm Heidkamp truffet av tor­ han selv kunne avgj0re om han kl 0430 pedoer fra Hardy. Akterski­ ville angripe under disse om­ Destroyerne Hermann Kunne pet gikk i Iufta og komman­ stendigheter, og at han ville bli og Hans Ludemann Ia Iangs d0r Bonte samt ca 80 av hans st0ttet hvilken beslutning han Jan Wellem og bunkret. Wil­ menn ble drept 0yeblikkelig. enn matte tao Pa dette tids­ helm Heidkamp (med Bonte Kart etter bIe Anton Schmitt punkt hadde han allerede tatt ombord) og Anton Schmitt Ia truffet av torpedo og sank sin beslutning om a angripe. I til ankers inne i havna. Diet­ momentant, 63 omkom. ettertid kan man jo kanskje si her von Roeder hadde ankret Forvirringen blant tyskerne at Warburton Lees opp like innenfor havne­ var total. F0rst trodde man at etterretningsmessige grunnlag innI0pet, pa tross av deres or­ angrepet kom fra Iuften. Et­ for a angripe ikke var det beste. dre om a patruljere farvannet ter torpedoangrepet apnet bri­ Ca kl 0145 passerte styrken her. Ca 25 handelsskip Iiopp­ tene ild med sitt artilleri. Diet­ Baf0Y med 12 knops fart un­ ankret pa havna, samt her von Roeder besvarte be­ der stormkast og tett sn0drev. oppsynsskipene Senja, Mic­ skytningen med kanonild og U25 hadde saledes ingen mu­ hael Sars og bevoktnings­ skj0t 8 torpedoer uten a Iigheter a observere de britiske fart0yet Kelt. treffe. Britene forsatte heIr inn fart0yene. Ved 0230 tiden hadde de pas­ sert Ramnes/Hamnes. Ogsa her Iyktes styrken a seile forbi uten a bli observert av U46. Bonte fikk da f0Igelig intet varsel om den britiske inn­ trengingen. I tillegg hadde han tidligere sagar mottatt mel­ ding fra U51 om at britene hadde sydvestlig kurs utVest­ fjorden. Dette bidro i h0y grad til at Warburton - Lee Kaiene i Narvik 11. april. Diether von Roeder holder vakt mothavneinnlopet. fikk den fulle overraskelses­ The harbour ofNarvik 11th April. Diether von Roederguards the entrance to effekten pa sin side. the harbour.

16 ordered southwest course through the Vestfjorden. M­ ter some time (21.00 hours) the British vessels were spotted by U51, which reported directly to Commodore Bonte that the British second flotilla was at a south-westerly course. The message came immediately through, as far as can be judged. However, what U46 wasn't reported was that Warburton - Lee changed passed Ramnes/Hamnes and Just before 04.30 hours course just half an hour later also here the force successfully Warburton - Lee on the with the aim of sailing into sailed past without being Hardy together with the Hun­ Ofotfjorden. Thus the message detected by the U46. ter and the Havcock entered was correct in itselfbut fatally Consequently, Bonte received Narvik harbour. The Hostile misleading. no warning of the British and Hotspur were lying just On April 1Oth at 01.36 hours intrusion. Furthermore, the outside the harbour entrance the leader of the British flo­ fact that he had earlier received to secure against any surprise tilla was signalled from the a message from the U51 that attack from the rear. Admiralty that it was up to the British had set a southwest him whether or not to attack course out ofthe Vestfjorden and that he would be largely contributed to the fact The situation in Narvik supported in whatever that Warburton - Lee had the harbour at 0430 hours decision he made. At that time element of surprise on his The destroyers Hermann he had already decided that he side. Kunne and Hans Ludemann would attack. With the lay side by side with the Jan benefit ofhindsight it can be said that the intelligence background Warburton - Lee had on which to launch an attack was not the best it could be. The flotilla passed Baf0Y at about 01.45 hours at a speed of 12 knots under gusty conditions and heavy snowfall so the U25 had no possibility ofobserving the British ships. Hermann Kanne i Trollvika. / Hermann Kanne in Trollvika. By 02.30 hours they had

17 i Beisfjorden f0r de snudde. Diether von Roeder fikk mange granattreff og kom i brann. Sjefen, orlogskaptein Holtorf, lyktes imidlertid a ta fart0yet til dampskipskaien hvorpa brannen ble slukket. De to destroyerne som la langs Jan Wellem hadde na kastet loss. Hans Ludemann ble raskt skutt i brann. Det Vraket av HMS Hardy drev av og ble liggendeytterst i SkJomen. / The wreckage aktre ammunisjonsmagasinet ofHMSHardy drifted andgrounded in Skjomen. satte besetningen under vann for a berge skipet. Hermann skip. Da ingen tyske kamp­ Ca kl 0530 trakk britene seg Kunne ble ikke beskutt, men fart0yer var observert utenfor tilbake til omradet Skjomnes. fikk maskinskade forarsaket havnen, iverksatte Warburton Warburton - Lee antok at ikke av sjokkb01ger fra eksplosjo­ - Lee en angrepssrunde nr 2 i flere enn 2 av de 6 antatte nene i havna. havnen og angrep tyske han­ tyske destroyerne kunne be­ Hotspur, som hadde bevoktet delsskip med artilleri. De fleste Finne seg utenfor N arvik havneinn10pet, styrte na inn hadde tyske krigsforsyninger havn. I virkeligheten var det 5 alene og torpederte 2 handels- om bordo av 10. Britene foretok na et tredje angrep med Hardy i teten. Antallet tyske handelsskip som var truffet ble na 0ket til 6. BareJan Wellem og 3 andre var fremdeles uskadd. Ved 0530 tiden gjorde britene retrett ved a sette vesdig kurs ut Ofotfjorden. Til na hadde hellet fulgt dem, bare Hostile hadde ran tyske treff. Men det skulle snart vise seg at retret­ ten kom til a bli skjebnesvan­ ger, i S;Er for Warburton - Lee personlig, og hans to fart0yer Hardy og Hunter. Polske tropperJager tyskeme over Beisfjorden. / Polish troops drive the Germans across Beisfjorden.

18 Wellem and were in the and the Dieter von Roeder process ofrefuelling. The Wil­ responded by firing its guns tish withdrew to the area of helm Heidkamp (with Bonte and launched 8 torpedoes Skjomnes. Warburton - Lee aboard) and the Anton none ofwhich hit their target. assumed that no more than 2 Schmitt were anchored in the The British continued to sail of an estimated 6 German harbour while the Dieter von right into the Beisfjord until destroyers were to be found Roeder had anchored just at the they turned. The Dieter von outside of Narvik harbour ­ inlet of the harbour, despite Roeder was hit many times by in reality there were 5 of an orders to patrol the open shells and caught fire, the overall force of 10. waters here. Approximately ship's captain, Commander The British carried out a third 25 cargo ships were anchored Holtorf, managed to man­ attack this time with Hardy in in the harbour, together with oeuvre the vessel alongside the the lead and the number of the Norwegian patrol boats steamship quay where the fire German merchant ships hit Senja and Michael Sars and was extinguished. grew to 6 with just the Jan the guard ship Kelt. There was The two destroyers, which Wellem and 3 others heavy snowfall and visibility had been positioned, alongside remaining undamaged. varied from a couple ofhund­ the Jan Wellem had now cast The British finally beat a red to a thousand metres. off. The Hans Ludemann was retreat at 05.30 hours and set hit and quickly caught fire on a westerly course out ofthe and the crew ensured that the Ofotfjorden. Up until now, The inferno breaks loose ammunition magazine in the they had been very lucky - only At 04.30 hours the alarm was rear of the vessel was flooded the Hostile had been hit by raised by the Germans but a in order to save the ship. The German fire. However, the matter of seconds later, Wil­ Hermann Kunne was not hit British withdrawal was to helm Heidkamp was hit by but suffered engine damage as have disastrous consequences, torpedoes that were fired from a result of shock waves from in particular for Warburton ­ the Hardy. The stern of the the explosions in the harbour. Lee personally and his two ship was lifted into the air and The Hotspur, which had been ships the Hardy and Hunter. Commander Bonte was killed guarding the entrance, instantly, together with some proceeded alone into the 80 of his men. A short time harbour and torpedoed 2 The loss of the Hardy and afterwards the Anton Schmitt merchant ships. As no Ger­ Hunter was also hit by torpedoes and man warships had been Under the cover ofthe smoke subsequently sank, with 63 observed outside of the the British force headed out men killed. harbour Warburton - Lee across the fjord. In the There was total confusion launched a second round of meantime, up until that mo­ amongst the Germans who at attack and attacked German ment there were still 5 Ger­ first believed they were under merchant ships with artillery, man destroyers that hadn't attack from the air. After the the majority of them were been involved in the fight and torpedo attack the British carrying war supplies. they now came pouring out opened fire with their artillety At about 0530 hours the Bri- into the Ofotfjorden to eng-

19 Den andre verdenskrig som mennene pa Lofotfiske. Kvin­ Hardy og Hunter gar tapt fikk Victoria Cross post mor­ nene var redde etter a ha h0rt Under dekke av myk styrte tem, den h0yeste britiske ut­ om kampene i Narvik. Tidlig britene utover fjorden. Imid­ merke1se i krig. Vraket av neste morgen kom et bren­ lertid var det fortsatt 5 tyske Hardy la brennende inntil det nende krigsskip (Hardy) inn i destroyere som til na ikke fl0t av ved h0yvann og drev fjeera nedenfor huset. De ble hadde veert involvert i kam­ over til Skjomnes, hvor far­ sa redde at de l0p inn i skogen pen. Disse kom na fossende ut t0yet kantret i fjeera. og gjemte seg. Besetningen fra i Ofotfjorden for a engasjere Samme skjebne fikk Hunter. Hardy tok inn i huset deres. britene etter beste evne. Fra Etter mange treffere, hoved­ Da fru Christensen kom fra sine posisjoner i Ballangen sakelig fra Georg ThieLe og skogen sammen med ei jente kom Georg Thiele og Bernt von Bernt von Arnim og en ulykk­ og fikk se hva som hadde Arnim. Med kurs fra salig kollisjon med Hotspur, skjedd, gikk hun straks i gang Herjangsfjorden styrte Erich kantret Hunter og sank midt­ med a gi mannskapet mat og Giese, Erick Koellner og Wolf fjords mellom Ballangen og varme. gang Zenker. Det utviklet seg Forra. Ca 50 mann fra Hun­ Hele huset og fj0set ble fylt til en knipetangmamwer, 5 ter ble berget av tyskeme. med ca 120 mann. Mange var mot 5 med kraftig artilleriild Britenes jager Hotspur fikk hardt saret. Fruen delte ut alt hvor granatene ble konsentrert ogsa store skader, seerlig etter hun hadde av kleer. En av be­ om flaggskipet Hardy, som treffere fra Georg TieLe. Med setningen fikk sagar hennes kom under dobbel ild. Tys­ sikk-sakk kurs, 2 ammuni­ brudekjole. Oppholdet i hen­ keme fikk inn flere fulltreffere sjonsmagasiner under vann og nes hus og fj0S samt hennes i Hardy, og hun ble satt i uten ildledning, seilte Hotspur barmhjertige innsats, berget brann. Warburtons- Lee's siste vestover fjorden og unnslapp livet til flere briter. Vi kan jo melding til sin flotilje var: ved et mirakel a bli senket. tenke oss i dag hvilken situa­ «Keep on engaging the HostiLe sin dristige man0ver i sjon som der hersket. enemy». sluttfasen hadde trukket tys­ I mellomtiden hadde hennes Pa broen var de fleste drept kemes oppmerksomhet vekk mann retumert fra fisket og eller saret. Fart0yet seilte iring. fra Hotspur i grevens tid. kommet i land i nabobygda. Intendanten var eneste offiser Ryktene der fortalte at huset pa bena. Med en avrevet fot hans var inntatt av flyktnin­ styrte han den brennende Petra Christensens modige ger fra N arvik. Da han kom skuta pa land ved Vidrek. innsats hjem samme ettermiddag var Mannskapet SV0mte til land Familien Christensen bodde britene begynt evakueringen og berget seg som de best avsides i et lite hus i Vidrek. fra huset og videre til Ballan­ kunne. Pa stranden d0de Kvelden f0r den 9. april hadde gen, hvor befolkningen tok Warburton - Lee bare 1 time fru Petra Christensen, som var seg av dem. Fruen hadde av­ etter sin «kollega» Bonte alene med sine to smajenter, klart situasjonen. Hun hadde inne i Narvik. Warburton ­ ratt bes0k av sin svigerinne og tidligere bodd en tid i USA og Lee ble den feJrste brite under hennes 7 barn. Begge hadde snakket flytende engelsk. Et-

20 age the British as best they burning until it drifted at could. The Georg Thiele and high tide over to Skjomnes, two little girls, was being Bernt von Arnim came from where the vessel capsized. visited by her sister-in-law and their positions in the Ballan­ The Hunter experienced the her 7 children. Both had gen and the Erich Giese, Erick same fate. After being hit husbands who were out Koellner and Wolfgang Zenker many times, for the most part fishing at the Lofoten. The sailed towards the British on from the Georg Thiele and women were greatly a course from the Herjangs­ Bernt von Arnim and a concerned after they had heard fjord. A pincer manoeuvre disastrous collision with the ofthe fighting in Narvik and began to take form,S against Hotspur, the Hunter capsized early the next day a burning 5, with sustained artillery fire and sank in the middle ofthe warship (the Hardy) drifted where shells were targeted on fjord between Ballangen and into the tideway just outside the flagship, Hardy, which Forra. The Germans saved the house. They were so came under fire from two approximately 50 men from frightened that they ran off positions. The Germans the Hunter. into the wood and hid while managed to score several The British destroyer, the the crew of the Hardy went direct hits on the Hardy and Hotspur also received serious ashore and entered the house. she burst into flames. damage in particular after tak­ When Mrs Christensen came Warburton - Lee's last ing hits from the Georg Tiele. out ofthe wood together with message to his flotilla was: With a zig-zag course, 2 her daughters and saw what "Keep on engaging the ammunition magazines the situation was she enemy". flooded and without support­ immediately started giving the On the bridge most were kil­ ing fire, the Hotspur sailed members ofthe crew warmth led or injured and the vessel westerly through the fjord and and food. was circling, the quartermaster miraculously avoided being The whole house and was the only officer still on his sunk. Daring manoeuvres by cowshed was packed with legs. Minus a foot he managed the Hostile during the end about 120 men many of to steer the burning ship phase of the confrontation whom several were seriously aground at Vidrek, and had drawn the attention ofthe wounded. Mrs Christensen Warburton - Lee died on the Germans away from the shared out all she had in the beach only 1 hours after his Hotspur in its time of way ofclothes and one ofthe opponent and "co11 eague" desperation. crew was even given her Bonte had met his end in wedding dress. The shelter, Narvik. Warburton - Lee was and care they were given the first Briton to be awarded, Petra Christensen's bravery undoubtedly saved the lives of post mortem, a Victoria Cross The Christensens lived in a a number of them. We can during the SecondWorldWar, remote spot in a little house imagine today what the Britain's highest award for in Vidrek. On the evening of situation must have been like. th valour shown during war. The April 9 Mrs Petra Christen­ In the meantime, the woman's wreck of the Hardy lay sen, who was alone with her husband returned from

21 som tidlig hadde gatt i batene, nerte deretter til sin posisjon ter krigen bes0kte hun Eng­ reddet seg i land men ble tatt ved Ramnes-Hamnesodden. land og noen av Hardys beset­ til fange av folk pa stedet. En Senere er det klart at ubatenes ning under operasjonen i Nar­ mann omkom. innsats var lik null. Ubat­ vik. Britene satte kurs mot Skjell­ krigen i Ofotfjorden er en Ut over dette hadde familien fjord i Lofoten. Tyskerne «merkelig studie» for seg selv. aldri fatt noen offisiell aner­ vendte tilbake til sine anker­ Bey mottok ordre om a retur­ kjennelse eller takk fra britiske plasser. Klokken var ca 0815. nere til Tyskland, men n0lte. myndigheter. Det f0rste sj0slaget var over. Han ante urad. I den lyse var­ I 1996 tokjeg opp saken med Slagets fasit var f0lgende: To natta var det umulig a styre Royal Navy. Jeg antydet at destroyere, herunder flaggski­ usett ut i Vestfjorden. Siste datteren til (da avd0de fru pene, senket pabegge sider. En sjanse var natten mellom 11. Christensen) burde fa en takk destroyer hver med meget og 12. april. Hans 4 destroy­ og anerkjennelse. Saken gikk omfattende skader. Tapene var ere var oppbunkret og klare, helt opp til First Sea Lord. «noksa like», tross tyskernes men noen avreise skjedde ikke. Etter kort tid fikk familien i overmakt regnet i tonnasje og Risikoen ble bed0mt til a vGCre Narvik et flott brev fra First bestykning. Fra britenes side for stor. Sea Lord med takk og bef0m­ hadde overraskelsesmomentet U64, som var beordret inn i melse. Brevet ble slatt opp VGCrt avgj0rende. Ofotfjorden om kvelden den beh0rig i byens avis. Med 12. april, rapporterte om bri­ dette hadde saken fatt en god tenes sterke vakthold og avslutning. 11. og 12. april :Tyskerne lyskastersperre ute i fjorden, reorganiserer sine styrker f0r den seilte videre inn i Kommand0rkaptein Bey Herjangsfjorden. Tyskernes Rauelfels ble blast overtok etter at Bonte hadde U51 kom ogsa inn natten til til himmels falt. Han disponerte kun 3 den 13. for bunkring. U25 Under sin seilas ut uskadde destroyere med halv stoppet i sin posisjon ved Ofotfjorden hadde britene ammunisjonsbeholdning, Lilandsgrunnen. uventet hell med seg. Ytterst, men nesten uten drivstoff. De Om kve1den ble det slatt pa s0rsiden i fjorden m0tte andre 4 hadde drivstoff men alarm. Britene gjennomf0rte de det tyske transportskipet var sa sterkt skadet at de seilte da et flyangrep ved 18 tiden. Rauenfels, som var pa vei 0st­ inn til Narvik havn for a fa To fly gikk tapt. over mot N arvik, lastet med reparert det som var mulig. Oppsynssipet Senja ble truf­ artilleri, ammunisjon, kj0re­ Bunkringen fralan Wellem ble fet og sank. Michael Sars fikk t0yer og diverse utrustning til intensivert. Det skulle vise seg sa store skader at den sank da­ general Dieds alpejegere. a bli «den siste olje» de pum­ gen etter. Etter granattreff fra Havcock pet. Flyene vendte tilbake til han­ gikk skipet i luften inne i U 46 ble beordret til N arvik garskipet Furious vest i havet, Finnvika. Deler av fart0yet ble den 11. april for a bedre ko­ med full oversikt over de tyske slengt pa land. Besetningen, ordinering mellom ubhene farwyer og lufrvernbatterier i og destroyerne. U 46 retur- og rundt Narvik havn. Bey

22 fishing and had landed in the The German Rauelfels is neighbouring parish and it was blown into the sky decisive. rumoured that his house had While they were sailing out in April 11th and 12th: The been taken over by emmi­ the Ofotfjorden the British Germans reorganise their grants from Narvik. When he had some unexpected luck. At forces arrived home the same the furtherest, southerly end Captain Bey took over after afternoon, the British had ofthe fjord they met the Ger­ Bonte had been killed. He had begun an evacuation of the man transport ship Rauenfels available only 3 undamaged house to Ballangen where the which was on its way destroyers with half their people welcomed them. His eastwards towards N arvik, ammunition stocks consu­ wife had coped with the loaded with artillery, med and with virtually no situation. She had earlier lived ammunition, vehicles and fuel left. The other 4 ships had for a time in the USA and assorted forms ofarmaments fuel, but were so seriously spoke fluent English. After for General Dietl's alpine damaged that they sailed into the war she visited England troops. N arvik harbour to have as and met some of the crew of Mter being hit by a shell fired much repaired as possible and the Hardy who had taken part from the Havcock the ship was refuelling from theJan Welfern in the operation in N arvik. blown up in Finnvika and was intensified. This turned Other than this the family has parts of the Rauelfels were out to be "the last oil" they never received any official flung ashore. The crew who pumped into the various recognition or appreciation had earlier taken to the ships. from the British authorities. lifeboats managed to come On April 11 th the U 46 was In 1996 I personally took up ashore where they were taken ordered to proceed to Narvik the issue with the Royal Navy prisoners by the local people. in order to improve the and suggested that the Just one man was lost. coordination between the U­ daughter ofthe now deceased The British set course for boats and the destroyers after Mrs Christensen be given Skjellfjorden in Lofoten and which the U 46 returned to some form ofofficial thanks. the Germans returned to their its position at Ramnes­ The matter went right up to anchorages. The time was Hamnesodden. Later it the First Sea Lord. After a approximately 0815 hours and became clear that the short period, the family in the first sea battle had ended contribution of the U-boats Narvik received a generous let­ with the following result: two to the German fighting force ter from the First Sea Lord destroyers, including the was zero. The U-boat war in expressing thanks and praise. flagships, sunk on both sides the Ofotfjorden is in itself a The letter was duly printed in and one destroyer with "strange study". the town's newspaper andwith extensive damage. The losses Bey received orders to return this the issue had been given a were "fairly equal", in spite of to Germany but he hesitated. good ending. the German superiority in He felt something was up. In terms of tonnage and arma­ the light spring nights it was ments. From the British side impossible to steer a course the element of surprise was

23 med ordre om a ta opp f0rste Herjangsfjorden (Bjerkvik) gjorde opp sitt bestikk. Han artillerikamp med britene. og angrep med bomber. U64, innsa na at det var bare timer Hermann Kunne fulgte ut til splitter ny av type IX B, ble igjen f0r britene ville angripe Tjeldbotll. truffet og sank.. 36 mann av i havnen igjen. Ved 11 tiden passerte britene 44 ble berget. Ca kl1257 pas­ Tran0y. Styrken besto av slag­ sene Warspite Ramnes­ skipet Warspite eskortert av 9 Hamneslinjen. Erich Koellner 13. april: Annet sjeslag (The destroyere, 4 pa hver side og ble tatt under ild blam annet Second Battle) en akter. Ved 12-tiden passerte av slagskipets 38 em skyts og Ved 10-tiden mottok kom­ Warspites Swordfish-fly «bat­ gikk ned inne i Djupvik. Ca mand0rkaptein Bey f0rste teriene» pa Ramnesodden og 35 mann, mesteparten saret, fiendemelding om at britene Hamnes «uten tegn til aktivi­ berget seg i land men ble tatt styrte inn Ofotfjorden. Han tet». Minutter senere fikk flyet til fange av stedets befolkning. bestemte seg for f0rst a ofre kontakt med Hermann Hermann Kunne, som ble Erich Koellner. Fart0yet ble Kunne. Flyet resulterte i at kraftig beskutt, la r0yk og omgjort til et flytende batteri, dette fart0yet ble i stand til a fortsatte mot Narvik. og strippet for alt inklusive observere britene. Tyskeren De tre tyske destroyerne Wolf torpedoer. 70 mann gikk i slo full alarm ogseilte vestover. gangZenker, Hans Ludemann land. Resten, i hovedsak Britene hadde mistet og Bernt von Arnim seilte ut artillerimannskaper, utgjorde overraskelsesmomentet. fra havnen. Mot dem kom­ en "himmelfartskommando" U 25ved Lilandgrunnen, som mer britene. V~ret var klart. Det resterende mannskapet ogsa sa flyet, dykket straks. Ca Tyskerne hadde heist sin t0de seilte fart0yet ut til Tarstad 1215 observerte flyet U64 i dobbeltstander «Z» og en-

HMS Warspite.

24 out of the Vestfjorden would be just a matter of without being observed and hours before the British that the British plane was the last chance was deemed to attacked the harbour again. spotted, and the Germans be the night ofApril 11 th and signalled action stations and th 12 • His 4 destroyers had sailed in a westerly direction. been refuelled and were ready April 13th: The Second The British had lost the adv­ for the journey but they ne­ Battle antage of the element ofsur­ ver sailed as the risk was At 10.00 hours Captain Bey pnse. judged to be too great. received the first report on the The U 25 at Lilandgrunnen, The U64, which had been British steaming into the which had also seen the plane, instructed to move into the Ofotfjorden and he decided as submerged immediately. At Ofotfjorden on the evening of his first response was to about 12.15 hours the plane April 12th reported extensive sacrifice the Erich Koellner. observed the U64 1ll surveillance the British had The ship was turned into a Herjangsfjord (Bjerkvik) and instituted, and the searchlights floating battery and stripped attacked with bombs, the they were directing towards of everything including its brand new submarine of the the fjord, before she sailed on torpedoes. 70 men were sent type IX B, was hit and sank. into the Herjangsfjord. ashore while the rest, for the All in all 36 of the 44 crew The U51 also entered the most part gunners, remained were saved. Later at 12.57 the harbour on the night ofApril on board as an "ascension Warspite passed the Ramnes­ 13 th for refuelling, but the command". These crew Hamnes line and the Erich U25 remained in position at members sailed the vessel out Koellner came under fire from Lilandsgrunnen. to Tirstad with orders first to the battleship's 38 cm guns In the evening, the alarm was start firing their guns against and it sunk in Djupvik. Some given as the British carried out the British. The Hermann 35 men, most of them an air attack at 18.00 hours ­ Kunne followed out to Tjeld­ wounded, managed to get the patrol boat Senja was hit born. themselves ashore where they and subsequently sank and the By 11.00 the British passed were taken prisoners by the Michael Sars was damaged so Tram"y, their force consisting local people. The Hermann seriously that it sank two days of the battleship Warspite Kunne, which had been badly later. Just two planes were escorted by 9 destroyers, 4 on damaged, laid a smoke screen lost, the rest returned to the each flank and one astern. At to hide behind and continued aircraft carrier Furious, noon, the Swordfish aero­ to sail towards N arvik. stationed west of Lofoten plane from the Warspite flew The 3 German destroyers the area. They broughtwith them over the "batteries" on Wolfgang Zenker, Hans a full view ofall the German Ramnesodden and Hamnes Ludemann and Bernt von vessels and the anti-aircraft "showing no signs ofactivity". Arnim moved out of the guns in and around Narvik Minutes later the Swordfish harbour to face the British harbour. Bey evaluated ofthe made contact with the Her­ who were coming towards situation and realised that it mann Kunne, with the result them. The weather was clear

25 Kampen utenfof havnen dri glemme dette, fordi den gelskmennene f0rte sitt hvite Erich Giese som fors0kte a samme Erich Giese, den 10. odogsflagg med f0dt kors og styre ut fra havnen, m0tte en april hadde tatt seg sa bra av «Union Jack» i 0vre hj0rne. yegg av ild fra 6 britiske de­ mannskapet de reddet fra Kampen var i full gang. Wolf stroyere og kom i brann, etter Hunter. gang Zenker pf0vde med tor­ ca 21 treffere fra blant annet Diether von Roeder, som la pedoangrep mot Warspite, "Warspite, men sank f0rst etter skadd ved dampskipskaia ap­ men presses tilbake av brite­ a ha truffet Cossack med en net na ild. Britene trodde det nes ild. I en time raser artilleri­ torpedo. Mannskapet fodot var et batteri pa land. Warspite's kampen uten at tyskerne far det brennende skipet, som fl0t granater traffden uten st0rre skader. Britenes effekt. Punjabi far sapass Diether von Roe­ skader at den mid­ der fikk inn flere lertidig blir kampu­ treffere i Cossack dyktig. 10 fly fra f0r tyskerne hangarskipet sprengte sitt eget Furious utf0rer tor­ skip med synke­ pedoangrep, men miner etter at treffer ikke. To fly ammumsJonen skytes ned. var slutt. Ved 1315 tiden er KI 1422 gikk de 4 tyske destroy­ Cossack pa grunn erne nesten tomme og ble sraende for ammunisjon. fast. Kommand0rkap­ tein Bey gir ordre til de 4 om tilbaketrekning til Erich Giese skutt i brann like utenfor Rombaksbotn «Nalley ofthe Rombaken. Hermann Kunne Narvik. / Erich Giese shot ablazejust Shadow») var «siste anl0P» outside ofNarvik. som ikke mottok ordren, sei­ Ved 1350 tiden fikk de 4 gjen­ ler inn Herjangsfjorden for­ lenge etterpa f0r det sank vcerende destroyerne Hans fulgt av Eskimo og Forester. Ca langt utenfor Framnesodden. Ludemann, Wolfgang Zenker, kl 1410 settes fart0yet pa Mange av besetningen ble pe­ Bernt von Arnim og Georg grunn iTrollvika og klargj0res pret med britiske MGer fra Thiele ordre fra Bey om til­ for sprengning, samtidig som kloss hold mens de la i sj0en, baketrekning til Rombaken. Eskimo kl 1412 fyrte torpe­ forsvarsl0se ikledd sine Straumen ble passert ved 14­ doer mot tyskeren. Om tor­ SV0mmevester. I ettertid har tiden. Akterst seilte Georg pedoene traffeller egne demo­ undertegnede fatt verifisert Thiele, som la f0ykteppe for leringsladninger sprengte den dette via et TV-intervju og a gi egne en "pustepause". Et­ i lufra er uklart. Mannskapet filmopptak. Tyskerne kunne ter dem fulgte britene med 4 berget seg i land. pa det tidspunkt av krigen al- fart0yer ledet av Eskimo.

26 and the Germans had hoisted but the ship was blown up. their red double pennant "Z" The crew survived by mana­ British who thought they and the British flew their ging to get to dry land. were coming under attack white naval flag with a red from a coastal battery. A num­ cross and a "UnionJack" in the ber ofhits by shells from the upper corner. Battle commen­ The battle outside of the Warspite seemed to have little ced and the Wolfgang Zenker harbour effect and the Diether von Roe­ attempted a torpedo attack The Erich Giese which der scored several hits on the against the Warspite, but was attempted to sail out of the Cossack before the Germans forced back under the harbour met a wall of fire blew up their own ship with intensity of the British fire. from the 6 British destroyers depth charges after they ran For an hour a gun battle raged and burst into fire after 21 hits out ofammunition. At 14.22, without the German ships from amongst others the the Cossack ran aground and being significantly hit but the Warspite, and finally sank af­ remained stuck fast. British vessel the Punjabi was ter having torpedoed the damaged just enough to take Cossack. The German sailors it temporarily out of action. abandoned the burning ship Rombaksbotn ("Valley ofthe A torpedo attack by 10 planes which remained afloat for a Shadows") was the "last call" from the aircraft carrier long time before it sank a At 13.50 hours the 4 Furious failed to make any hits good distance from Frammes­ remaining destroyers, the and in the process two oftheir odden. Many of the crew Hans Ludemann, Wolfgang number were shot down. were peppered with British Zenker, Bernt von Arnim and However, by 13.15 hours the machine gun fire from close Georg Thiele, were given 4 Germans were virtually out quarters while they were floa­ orders by Bey to pull back to of ammunition and Captain ting helplessly in the sea in Rombaken. They passed Bey gave orders for a their lifejackets. This has been Straumen at 14.00 hours. In withdrawal ofthe 4 destroyers subsequently verified in front sailed the Georg Thiele, to Rombaken. The Hermann interviews conducted by the which made a smoke screen in Kunne, which failed to get the writer in television interviews order to give the German force order, sailed into the and film recordings. What a "breathing space", while in Herjangsfjord with the Eskimo happened, at this stage in the pursuit were 4 British vessels and Forester in pursuit. At war, was never forgotten by led by the Eskimo. The 14.10 hours the German ship the Germans as it was the Warspite lay back at the went aground in Trollvika and same ship, the Erich Giese, entrance of the fjord, prepared to blow itselfup but that had done so much on described as "a place for trolls at that moment the Eskimo April 1Oth for the members of rather than humans". (14.12) fired torpedoes against the crew it had saved from the When the Bernt von Arnim them. Whether it was the Hunter. and Wolfgang Zenker, both of effects of torpedoes or the of The Dieter von Roeder, which which had run out of the explosives that had been lay damaged at the steamship ammunition, reached the tidal primed to go offis unknown quay, now opened fire at the flat at the head of the fjord

27 «gjenglemt» tysk matros ble observert og evakuert over til Hero, men d0de straks etterpa. Bordingsmannskapet heiste "White Ensign» over «Svastika'en» og ville taue Hans Ludemann ut, men fikk stoppordre. De skulle ut fra Rombaken snarest mulig grunnet trussel om flyangrep. En siste tor­ pedo ble fYrt og traff vraket som sank ved 16-tiden. Bri­ tene snudde og seilte ut med kurs for N arvik. Aktenfor Vraket av Georg Thiele. / The wreckage ofGeorg Thiele. dem la Rombaksbotn stille som en kirkegard, «grimmer Warspite la tilbake ved inn­ flyktet oppover mot jernba­ even than before». l0pet til fjorden som ble be­ nen. Ved 18-tiden satte Warspite skrevet som "a place for trolls Georg Thiele ble liggende og kurs vest og utover. Imidler­ rather than humans." fikk kraftig medfart. Med sin tid snudde slagskipet ute ved Da Bernt von Arnim og Wolf siste torpedo traff det tyske Tran0Y ca kl 2030 og retur­ gang Zenker, som var utskutt fart0yet forreste brite, Eskimo, nerte til Narvik for a yte hjelp for ammunisjon, nadde fj

28 they opened the sea valves and sank the ships with explosive charges. The Hans Ludemann and Georg Thiele, still had a little ammunition left as well as some torpedoes on board, and lay just within Straumen in order "to give the British the last of what they had". After the Hans Ludemann had run dry of ammunition and unsuccessfully used its last torpedoes, it ran into the tidal flat at 14.45 and the vessel was sunk by its own crew. The German crew congregated on land and began to move further in up to the railway track. The Georg Thiele remained stationary and received rough treatment. With its last tor­ pedo the German vessel scored a hit on the British ship in the lead, the Eskimo, which had HMSEskimo. the whole of its bow blown away. Alone on the bridge, surrounded by dead members light craft to board her. On leave Rombaken as quickly as of the crew, the commander the bridge they found burnt possible because ofa possible Wolff pushed the engine­ restricted papers and a serio­ air attack, so a final torpedo room telegraph to full speed usly injured, "overlooked", was fired into the wreck sink­ ahead and ran his vessel up the sailor was discovered and ing it at 16.00. The British mountain side at Sildevik evacuated to the Hero, but he turned back and sailed away where it capsized and sank at died almost immediately with a course set towards Nar­ 15.00 hours. These final death afterwards. The boarding vik and astern of them lay throws had cost Wolfsome 14 party raised a "White Ensign" Rombaksborn as quiet as a dead and 28 wounded. in place ofthe"Swastika" and churchyard, "grimmer even When the British reached the wanted to tow the Hans than before". head of the fjord the Hans Ludemann free, but were gi­ At 18.00 the Warspite sailed Ludemann was still afloat and ven orders to stop. out to the west. However, the the Hero and Icarus sent two It was felt that they should battleship turned atTran0Y at

29 Vestfjorden returnerte britene Narvik-fronten. resultat (torpedofeil?). U 48 til sin midlertidige base i Under lansettingen 15.-18. ute ved Tran0Y ble oppdaget Skjellfjorden(Lofoten) hvor april opererte 4 tyske ubater i og angrepet av Eskimo, men de reorganiserte sine styrker Vagsfjorden. Det var U 47 ( unnslapp. Noe senere i samme med tanke pa en tilretteleg­ Prien), U 38 ( Liebe), U 49 omrade angrep U48 Warspite. ging av en kommende alliert (von Gossler) og U 65 ( von Slagskipet unngikk savidt et landgangsoperasjon. Stockhausen). Ubatene angrep hekkskudd fra ubaten. Detvar Konvoien NP 1 med land­ flere ganger uten a lykkes. siste skudd (torpedo) som ble gangsstyrker med kraftig es­ Hovedarsak: Tekniske feil avfyrt under slaget «Second korten var pa vei fra Scapa med torpedoene. U 49 ble Battle». Flow den 12. april med nord­ senket ved Ro1l0ya og mann­ Warspite ble langt ute i Vest­ 0stlig kurs. Utafor Namsos skapet tatt til fange. Ca 24 fjorden, 2 dager senere, angre­ satte en del av styrken kursen 500 mann ble landsatt ved pet av U 47med den ber0mte mot land for landgang i Nam­ hjelp av ca 1000 fiskesk0yter, tyske ubatsjefen, kapteinl0yt­ sos, resten forsette nordover deriblantMIKAndholmen fra nant G. Prien som sjef. Prien mot Harstad-omradet. S0n­ B0 i Vesteralen og nyrestaur­ fyrte 2 torpedoer pa 800 m dag 14. april kom de f0rste ert i 2002. Deres innsats var avstand hvorav begge gikk for fart0yene inn Toppsundet og avgj0rende for hele operasjo­ dypt (torpedofeil?). U 47var satte styrker i land i Harstad nen fordi ingen dypvannskaier da i transitt fra Vagsfjorden til under ledelse av general P.J. var tilgjengelige. Herunder Kiel, men det er en helt an­ Mackesy. nevnes Sub. Lt. Patrick Dalze­ nen historie. Hovedstyrken seilte dagen et­ I Job, Royal Navy. Han fikk Sj0slagene i Ofotfjorden 9., ter inn Vagsfjorden. Styrken senere heltestatus for sin inn­ 10. og 13. april hadde sin pris besto blant annet av: SIS sats i N arvik-omradet. der alle matte betale: Batory , SIS Reina del Pasific, Britene mistet to destroyere, og SIS Monarch. Dette var to fly og til sammen ca 200 store troppeskip pa 8 -16 000 Operasjonene frem til alli­ falne og 70 sarede. tonn. Disse var eskortert av ert tilbaketrekning Tyskernes tap var 10 destroy­ slagskipet HMS Valiant, krys­ Britene etablerte sin marine­ ere og en ubat, til sammen ca seren HMSAurora, en fransk, ledelse i omradet Skanland. 316 falne og 69 sarede. Den lett krysser og ubatjagerne De allierte operasjonene 0kte norske marines tap var to HMS Valiantog HMS Brazen. i omfang og styrke. Her nev­ panserskip og to oppsynsskip Troppetransportskipene la seg nes noen av de viktigste h0y­ med til sammen ca 282 falne. pa Bygdenfjorden. depunkter: Ovensdende tall er noe usikre Om bord pa Aurora hadde • 28. aprillandsette britene en da kildemateriale varierer. admiral "Ginger Boyle", jar­ bataljon S0r ved Skjomneset len av Corck and Orrey heist for a angripe Narvik s0rfra. sin kommando.Han ble fra Avdelingene ble tvunget til Landsettingen i Harstad­ 20. april 0verstkommande­ retrett den 2. maio omcadet rende for alle tre forsvarsgrener • 4. mai ble den polske jage­ Etter operasjonene i Ofot- og av unnsetningsstyrkene pa ren Grom senket utenfor byen.

30 lay on the bot­ tom at Lilands­ to pay: the British lost two grunnen saw destroyers, two aircraft and all nothing. in all about 200 dead and 70 Although It IS wounded. The Germans' los­ correct that the ses were 10 destroyers and a U 25 did, from U-boat, 316 dead and 69 the Lilands- wounded. The Norwegian grunnen area, navy lost two warships and fire two torpe­ two patrol boats with does at the Cos­ approximately 282 dead. sack, the attack These figures may not be exact gave no results given the fact that there are (perhaps because variations in the source mate­ of torpedo rial to the history of these failure). The U battles. 48 at Tran0Y was detected and MIKAndholmen attacked by the Eskimo, but Disembarkation in the Har­ escaped and later in the same stad area spot the U48 attacked the After the actions in the Warspite but a torpedo fired Ofotenfjorden and Vestfjor­ about 20.30 and returned to at the ship's stern went wide den, the British returned to Narvik in order to assist the - it was the last shot fired in their temporary base in the vessels that had remained to the "Second Battle". Skjellfjord (Lofoten) where evacuate the injured personnel The Warspite was put way out they reorganised their forces and help the Cossack, which in the Vestfjorden, and the U with the idea of arranging a had run aground, the Eskimo, 47 under the command ofthe future allied invasion in the without its bow, and the famous U-boat officer, Lie­ Harstad/Narvik area and Punjabi, with major damage. utenant-Commander G. throw out the Germans. It was not until the day after, Prien, attacked the warship 2 On April 12th the Convoy onApril 14th that the Warspite days later. Prien fired 2 NP 1 with several thousands sailed outwards to the west for torpedos at a distance of troops accompanied by a a second time. During its 800m but bothwent too deep powerful escort was on its the voyage it passed several Ger­ (torpedo failure?). The U 47 way from Scapa Flow steering man U-boats. The U 51 was in transit from Vags­ a north-westerly course. When followed the British warship fjorden to Kid - but this is the convoy approached N am­ from its hiding place in Bal­ another story. sos inTmndelag, a part ofthe langen but was not in a The sea battles in Ofotfjorden force headed towards the coast position to make an attack. on April 9th, 10th and 13th had in order to disembark there Another U-boat, U 25, which a price all those involved had while the rest continued

31 To britiske jagere kom til unn­ setning, men st0rstedelen av besetningen pa Grom om­ kom. • 6. mai iverksatte admiral Cork et kraftig bombarde­ ment mot N arvik med ild fra slagskipet HMS Warspite, 3 kryssere og 8 destroyere. Grunnet vanskelige vcerfor­ hold gjorde ildgivningen min­ dre virkning enn forventet. Men angrepet medvirket til at general Dietl flyttet sitt ho­ HMS Effingham vedkvarter ut fra Narvik og til Sildevik. Det h0rer med at britene da­ • 13. mai gjorde franske legio­ gen etter mistet luftvern­ ncerer landgang i Bjerkvik krysseren HMS Effingham 26. mai ble luftvernkrys-seren st0ttet av dekningsild fra slag­ utenfor Bod0. HMS Curlew bombet og sen­ skipet HMS Resolution, ket ved Skanland. krysserene HMS Effingham, Samtidig fIkk slagskipet HMS HMSAurora og 5 jagere, samt Tilbaketrekning Resolution skader fra bombe­ luftsikring med fly fra HMS Pa bakgrunn av at tyskernes angrep i samme omradet og Ark Royal. Tyskerne ble dre­ invasjon av Belgia, Nederland matte seile til England for re­ vet tilbake etter harde kamper. og Frankrike samt den allierte paras)on. Under kanonaden ble 18 sivile kollaps i regionen, bestemte Midt i denne fasen ble Bardu­ drept og like mange saret. britene den 24. mai at opera­ foss flyplass forsterket ytterli­ • 14. mai seilte det polske sjonene i Norge matte avbry­ gere med fly fra et tredje han­ troppskipet Chrobry ut fra tes. garskip, HMS Ark Royal. Harstad med 1000 mann om 25. mai ble det gitt melding En storstilt operasjon var i bord, deriblant avdelinger fra til admiral Corck og general gang. Om natten den 28, med the Irish Guards Battalion. Auchinleck om a forberede til­ ildst0tte og bombardement Samme natt ble fart0yet bom­ baketrekking fra landsdelen. fra 3 kryssere og 5 destroyere bet og tok fyr. F0rst 16. mai Ordrene bIe gitt i all hemme­ ble Narvik gjenerobret av om morgenen sankskipet. De lighet, f0rst 2. juni ble HM franske og norske styrker. fleste om bord ble berget, men Kongen og Regjeringen med­ Samme ettermiddag var byen 10 polakker, 3 briter og 23 delt denne beslutning. Men rensket for tyskerne som trakk irske soldater omkom. Det kampene fortsette. N arvik seg sammen i omradet rna nevnes at Chobry ble loka­ skulle erobres. Bj0rnefjell helt opp mot den lisert av KNM Tjr i 2001. svenske grense.

32 northwards towards the Har­ attacks, all of which were stad area. The first vessels unsuccessful, the main reason for the part he played in the entered the Toppsund on being technical errors. One of events in and around Narvik. SundayApril 14th and troops the U-boats, the U 49 was were landed at Harstad under sunk at Roll0ya and the crew the leadership ofGeneral P]. were taken prisoner. The course ofthe operations Mackesy. Approximately 24,500 men until the allied withdrawal The main body ofthe convoy were disembarked with the The British established their sailed into the Vagsfjord basin help of about 1,000 fishing Naval headquater in the Skan­ the day after. The force that boats, including the MIKAnd­ land area and the Allied was composed of amongst holmen from B0 in Vestedlen operations increased in their other the following: the SIS (this boat was restored in 2002 extent and strength and below Batory, the SIS Reina del as a maritime museum). are listed some of the most Pasific, and the SIS Monarch. These boats contribution was important events: Theywere large ships carrying decisive for the whole opera­ • April 28th the British army soldiers of 8 - 16,000 tion because no deep water landed a battalion in the south tons and were escorted by the quays were accessible. In at Skjomneset with the aim of HMS Valiant, and a cruiser, connection with this episode, attacking N arvik from a the HMS Aurora, a French mention should be made of southerly direction. The light cruiser, and submarine Sub. Lt. Patrick Dalzel-]ob, of companies that made up the chaser, the HMS Valiant and the Royal Navy, who was la­ battalion though were forced the HMS Brazen. The troop ter accorded a heroic status to retreat on May 2nd. transporting ships lay in the Bygdenfjord. On board the Aurora Admi­ ral "Ginger Boyle", Earl of ORPGrom Corck and Orrey, had established his command and from April 20th he became Commander-in-Chieffor all three branches of the armed services ofthe reliefexpedition on the N arvik-front. During the landing on April 15 th -18 th 4 German U­ boats were operating in the Vagsfjord: the U 47 (Prien), the U 38 ( Liebe), the U 49 (von Gossler) and the U 65 ( von Stockhausen). The U­ boats made a number of

33 oppgin. Aile allierte styrker garskipet HMS Gloriuos med For f0rste gang siden krigen var da embarkert og fart0y­ sin eskortejagere HMSArdent startet i september 1939 led ene sane kurs vestover. Tilba­ og HMSAcasta senket av sIag­ tyskerne sin f0rste alvorlige ketrekningen av de allierte ble krysserne Scharnhorst og nederlag. dramatisk. Hardt tiltrengt per­ Gneisenau. 1515 mann om­ Men sa ble det stopp. De alli­ sonell og materiell gikk tapt kom, bare 39 ble reddet. erte innstilte alle sine operasjo­ av de flatefremst0t som tys­ HM Kongen med sin f0Ige ner og tilbaketrekkingen star­ kerne sane inn for a komme om bord pa krysseren HMS tet umiddelbart. en hardt presset general Dietl Devonshire befant seg bare100 Til Harstad-omradet kom 2 til hjelp. sj0mil unna uten able opp­ hangarskip HMS Glorius og 8. juni om morgenen mistet daget. HMS Illustrious, 15 troppe­ de allierte tankeren OilPioneer Fra norsk side ble kampene skip og 8 lasteskip. og troppeskipet Orama. innstilt f0rst den 8. juni kl 8. juni var Narvik-fronten Samme enermiddag ble han- 0545.

E.A Steen: Norges sj0krig 1940-45. Bind V. Gyldendals forlag Capt P. Dickens: Narvik Battles in the Fjords. ISBN 0 7110 0484 6 Steinar Brautaset: I kamp om Narvik 1940. Cappelens forlag. S. W Roskill: The War at Sea Volum I. John Winton: Carrier Glorious. ISBN 0-304-35244-6. Patrick Dalzel-Job: Fra Narvik til Normandie. T. K Derry: The Campain in Norway. R. Scheen: Norges Sj0krig 1939- 45 E. A Steen: Norges Sj0krig Bind V Andreas Hauge: Kampene i Norge 1940 Bind I ISBN 82-09-01581-8 W Hubatch: Die Besetzung von Danemark und Norwegen R.K. Lockner: Als das Eis brach Scandinavian Misadvanture, The Campain in Norway 1940 by Maurice Havery ISBN 0-946771-44-8 The Doomed Expedtion. The Campain in Norway 1940 by Jack Adams ISBN 0 85052 0363 Et bes0k ved Krigsminnemuseet i Narvik er ogsa vel verdt.

34 • On May 4th the Polish de­ detachments of the Irish stroyer, the Grom was sunk off Guards Battalion. The same However, the fighting the rown's coast and two Bri­ night the vessel was bombed continued - Narvik was to be tish destroyers came to the and caught fire and sank, but captured. rescue but to late, most ofthe did not sink until the mor­ On May 26th the air defence crew drowned. ning of May 16th. Most of cruiser, the HMS Curlew, was • On May 6th Admiral Cork those embarked were saved bombed and sunk at Skan­ initiated a heavy bombard­ but 10 Poles, 3 Britons and land. At the same time the ment of Narvik with fire 23 Irish soldiers died (the battleship, the HMS Resoluti­ directed against the town from wreck ofthis ship, the Chobry, on, also was hit by a bomb in the battleship the HMS was first localised by the KNM the same area and had to sail Warspite, 3 cruisers and 8 Tjr, fitted with a romote to England for repairs. destroyers. However, because underwater vichle, in 2001). In the middle ofthis phase the of the difficult weather The day after the British lost Bardufoss airfield was further conditions the impact of the their Hawkins class heavy crui­ reinforced with planes from a salvos had less effect than ser (with air defence), HMS third aircraft carrier, the HMS expected. Still, the attack Effingham, outside of Bod0. Ark Royal. played a part in the decision A large-scale action was ofGeneral Dietl to move his underway and on the night of headquarter out ofNarvik to Withdrawal May 28th under supporting Sildevik. As a consequence ofthe Ger­ fire and bombardment from • On May 13th the French man invasion ofBelgium, the 3 cruisers and 5 destroyers Legionnaires disembarked at Netherlands and France toget­ N arvik was recaptured by Bjerkvik under covering fire her with the collapse of the French and Norwegian forces. from the HMS Resolution, the Allies in this theatre of the By the afternoon the town cruisers the HMS Effingham, war, the British decided on was cleansed ofGermans who the HMS Aurora and 5 May 24th that the operations collectively withdrew to the destroyers, together with air in Norway had to be aban­ region of Bj0rnefjell close to support provided by the doned. the Swedish border. For the aircraft carrier, the HMS Ark On May 25thAdmiral Corck first time since the start ofthe Royal. The Germans were dri­ and General Auchinleck Second World War the Ger­ ven back after hard fighting. received a message that they mans had suffered a serious As a result of the bombard­ were to make preparations for defeat but then things went ment 18 civilians were killed a withdrawal from this part no further. The Allies and just as many injured. of the country. The orders suspended all their operations • On May 14th the Polish were given in the strictest and withdrawal was ordered ship, the Chrobry, sailed out secrecy and it was only onJune immediately, again by help of of Harstad with a 1,000 2nd that the King and Go­ Norwegian fishing vessels. troops embarked, including vernment of Norway were Two aircraft carriers, the HMS among their number some informed of the decision. Glorius and the HMS

35 Illustrious, 15 ships carrying On June 8th in the morning His Majesty the king ofNor­ troops and 8 cargo vessels the Allies lost the tanker the way and those accompanying arrived in the Harstad-area. OilPioneer and the troopship him aboard the cruiser the OnJune 8th the front at Nar­ the Drama. HMS Devonshire from vik was abandoned. At this On the evening of the same Troms0 found themselves just time all the Allied forces had day the aircraft carrier, the a 100 nautical miles from embarked and the vessels stee­ HMS Gloriuos, together with what was happening withour red a westerly course. The its escorting destroyers, the being detected. Allies pull back was dramatic HMS Ardent and the HMS On the Norwegian side and heavy strained personnel Acasta were sunk by the Ger­ hostilities were not brought to and material went lost as a res­ man battleships, the an end until 05.45 hours on ult ofa series ofnaval attacks Scharnhorst and the Gneisen­ June 8th. initiated by the Germans in au, with the loss of1515 men, order to help a desperate Ge­ only 39 were saved. neral Dietl.

E.A Steen: Norges sj0krig 1940-45. Volume V. Gyldendals forlag Capt P. Dickens: Narvik; Battles in the Fjords. ISBN 0 7110 04846 Steinar Brautaset: I kamp om Narvik 1940. Cappelens forlag. S.WRoskill: The War at Sea, Volume I Andreas Hauge: Kampene i Norge 1940 Volume I ISBN 82-09-01581-8 W Hubatch: Die Besetzung von Danemark und Norwegen R.K. Lockner: Als das Eis brach Maurice Havery: Scandinavian Misadventure, The Campaign in Norway 1940, ISBN 0-946771-44-8 Jack Adams: The Doomed Expedtion.. The Campaign in Norway 1940 ISBN 0 85052 0363 The Nordland Red Cross War Memorial Museum in Narvik is well worth a visit. at Sea, Volume I Andreas Hauge: Kampene i Norge 1940 Volume I ISBN 82-09-01581-8 W Hubatch: Die Besetzung von Danemark und Norwegen R.K. Lockner: Als das Eis brach Maurice Havery: Scandinavian Misadventure, The Campaign in Norway 1940 ISBN 0-946771-44-8 Jack Adams: The Doomed Expedtion.. The Campaign in Norway 1940 ISBN 0 85052 0363 The Nordland Red Cross War Memorial Museum in Narvik is well worth a visit.

36