Germanys assault on Norway and Denmark By Matthew Bellavia Siddharth Sharma Ankit Gubiligari Max Song and Ashwin Madhavan THESIS British violations of Norways neutrality threatened Nazi warproduction that was heavily dependent on Scandinavian iron shipments spurring the German i ID: 672352
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Slide1
Operation Weserübung
: Germany’s assault on Norway and Denmark
By: Matthew Bellavia, Siddharth Sharma, Ankit Gubiligari, Max Song, and Ashwin MadhavanSlide2
THESIS
British violations of Norway’s neutrality threatened Nazi war-production that was heavily dependent on Scandinavian iron shipments, spurring the German invasion of Denmark and Norway as a means to secure resources for the war effort.
Slide3
Where are Denmark and Norway??
Here Slide4
Why did Germany want to invade to Denmark and Norway?
Denmark could be used as a springboard for an invasion of Norway
Norway’s location could be used for a future invasion of Britain
Iron ore was shipped out of Norwegian ports to Nazi Germany
German control of Norway would be vital to break a British blockade. Norway gave Germany increased access to the AtlanticSlide5
British and French Motives
Britain knew that the capture of the Norwegian port of Narvik could allow for the British to impose a trade blockade on Germany
The Allies wanted to prevent any Scandinavian country from joining the Germans Slide6
Start of the Operation
-
In February of 1940, Adolf Hitler gave General Nikolaus von Falkenhorst the assignment of developing a plan to invade Norway.
-In about five hours he had a sketch of the invasion to which he presented to Hitler and was given permission to carry out the plans.
-In one month, the Heer (German army), Luftwaffe, and Kriegsmarine were ready for attack.Slide7
Invasion of Denmark (April 9, 1940)
-Germans demanded that the Danish Resistance cease fighting or the Luftwaffe would bomb Copenhagen.
-Fallschirmjäger (Paratroopers) had already taken control of two airfields without waiting for the Danish to agree to the terms.
-Tanks and armored vehicles were sent into various cities for more firepower.
-Denmark surrendered after 6 hours. Slide8
Overall Battle Plan
The plan was to attack six major cities which would cripple Norway and have the country surrender.
Notice that all the cities are coastal cities which indicates that a major portion of the operation was a naval battle.Slide9
Invasion of Norway
Majority of battle was on water
Narvik
Trondheim
BergenOsloEgersundKristiansandGerman U-Boats vs. Outdated Norwegian NavyResults: Norway got ravagedSlide10
Norway's Naval Power Against Germany
Main Idea:
German naval forces left Norway outmatched
Panserskipsdivisjon:
2 “modern” coastal defense ships, Eidsvold and Norge2 old coastal defense ships15 torpedo boats(1920)
4 destroyers(1920)
9 submarines(1858)
9 warships(1858) Slide11
Germany’s Naval Power Against Norway
Kriegsmarine:
2 battleships: Scharnhorst and Gneisenau
14 destroyers
Heavy cruisers: Admiral Hipper and Blücher, LützowLight cruisers:
Köln
,
Königsberg
,
Karlsruhe, Emden
Artillery ships: Bremse,
Schnellboot, Karl Peters
20 torpedo boatsSlide12
Why Denmark and Norway? Why not Sweden?
Nazi Sandwich. Sweden was trapped between two Nazi occupied countries. Since the Napoleonic Wars, Swedish neutrality had been recognized, so Hitler saw no reason to invade. He also did not want to waste valuable troops in Sweden with more pressing concerns.
Denmark and Norway were important to Germany because they could be used to harm Allied shipping operations in the Atlantic and were also needed to protect the iron-ore shipments they regularly received from Sweden.Slide13
Why didn’t Sweden attack Germany?!?
Hitler made a deal with Sweden:
The Nazi’s would not invade as long as Sweden remained neutral and exclusively exported iron ore to Germany.
Sweden fired back with the threat of blowing up the iron ore mines.
The Swedes proved their neutrality yet again by:Letting German land troops use Swedish land.But also attacking Germans when they tried using Swedish airspace.Slide14
Danish Resistance Movement
The Danish Resistance was a resistance movement against Nazi Germany’s infiltration of Denmark.
The Danish government did not encourage violent resistance.
Elections were encouraged.
“It was abundantly clear that a compromise was out of the question, and as long as the Danish government adhered to collaboration the "problem" was put aside.”
Danish Protesters destroying a Nazi Swastika FlagSlide15
Danish Resistance Movement
Danish Resistance began as nonviolent (Land og Folk), however from 1942-1943, became more and more violent.
Danish Resistance Group BOPA: Formed resistance cells, factory workers were able to locate suppliers of German Military, attacked factories, SOE
The Danish population actively resisted Germans, as a result, Germany declared Denmark "enemy territory" and gave them an ultimatum (demand). August 28, 1943
Karl Rudolf Werner Best ordered martial law and capital punishment and decided to round up Jews within two days.
A homemade armoured car constructed by factory workers for BOPASlide16
Flame and Citron
Leaders of the Danish Resistance MovementSlide17
Evacuation of Jews
Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz was a German maritime attaché and was informed of the raid against Jews, he leaked information to Danish politicians.
Word spread and many commoners helped the Jews.
September 8, 1943
Øresund
“On the night of the raid, Germans only found 284 Jews out of almost 8,000 in the population.”
- Holocaust Research Project
Boat used to hide Jewish peopleSlide18
Timeline
Sept 1, 1939:
World War II begins.
Apr 4, 1940:
German preparations were complete and Naval orders were issued.
Apr 8, 1940:
Britain starts a mining operation in Norwegian waters.
Apr 9, 1940:
-Operation Weserübung begins with the invasion of Denmark.
-German destroyers are intercepted by Norwegian coastal defense ships.
May 10, 1940:
Germany launches a successful campaign against France and the Low Countries
June 5-8, 1940:
Germany drives Britain and France out of Norway.
June 4-9, 1940:
German relief forces arrive at Narvik:
-destroy shipments
-protect shipments
-
Glorious
is gone
June 10, 1940:
The operation ends with Norwegian forces surrendering to German heat.Slide19
"...not only bold, but one of the
sauciest undertakings in the history of modern warfare" - Adolf Hitler
Why did I even invent that word.Slide20
German Withdrawal from Denmark
Originally, more and more German support would come in.
The Germans saw their situation in Denmark as hopeless as they were losing the war and proceeded to leave to face more pressing matters.Slide21
Final Overview
-Goal of the Operation: Take control of Norway’s ports in order to protect iron-ore shipments from Sweden as well as create a base for launching U-boat attacks. Denmark was part of the plan as a means to provide an air base to attack Norway and set up a defense against allies.
The British mining operation gave Germany an excuse to attack. Denmark gets invaded and quickly surrenders in six hours. Major naval battles between Britain and Norway against Germany. Germany invades France and Low countries so Britain's priority is elsewhere. Norway surrenders on June 10, 1940.
The Danish Resistance was against Germany by Denmark. Denmark’s opposition to Nazi Germany was clearly seen during the resistance. The resistance started out and subtle, but as more resistance groups sprung up the resistance became more violent. As a result, Germany attempted to stop any opposition by gaining full control but ultimately failed.Slide22
Long-Term Effects
The Germans used Scandinavia for U-Boat attacks in the Battle of the Atlantic
At little cost, Germany had secured a source of iron-ore.
Slide23
Works Cited
"A Rescuer in Copenhagen: Georg Duckwitz." Facing History and Ourselves. N.p.,
.
n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.
Chen, C. Peter. “Invasion of Denmark and Norway.” WW2DB, ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=93. Accessed 18 Apr. 2017."Danish Citizens Resist the Nazis, 1940-1945." Global Nonviolent Action Database.N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.Danish Resistance during the Holocaust Www.HolocaustResearchProject.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.
"Flammen and Citron."
Befrielsen 1945 -
. Danish Archive, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.
Holbraad, Carsten. "From Resistance to Collaboration." N.p.: UCL, 2017. 131-213. History and Historiography. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.
"Holocaust Rescue: Rescue of Danish Jews."
The Rescue of Danish Jews
. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.
Monsen, Kurt. “Operation Weserubung.” Operation Weserubung, www.nuav.net/weserubung2.html. Accessed 18 Apr. 2017.
“The Occupation of Denmark.” Occupation -The Official Website of Denmark, denmark.dk/en/society/history/occupation. Accessed 18 Apr. 2017.Slide24
Works Cited, cont’d
"Norwegian Campaign."
Norway, including 1940 Norwegian Campaign in World War 2
. Naval History, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.
Paschall, Rob. "Scandinavian Twist: Churchill's 1940 Fiasco in Norway." HistoryNet
. N.p., 11 Nov. 2010. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.
Grove, Dr.Eric. "BBC - History - World Wars: The Norway Campaign in World War Two."
BBC News
. BBC, 20 Mar. 2011. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.