NORWAY'S STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE:
Norway's natural resources of minerals (particularly iron ore) and
hydroelectric power made it a desirable conquest for Germany.
Furthermore, its air bases could be used to strike at Britain.
Norway had remained neutral throughout World War One. It expected to
remain neutral once again upon the outbreak of war in 1939, and
Hitler initially had no real plans to invade. However, this changed
when news leaked out that Churchill intended to mine Norwegian
waters to prevent the export of Swedish iron ore to Germany via the
Norwegian port of Narvik.
By chance, the British plans clashed with those of the Germans.
Backed by a coup by the Norwegian Nazi, Vidkun Quisling, the German
invasion began on 9 April 1940, the day after the British began their
operations.
Norway's natural resources of minerals (particularly iron ore) and
hydroelectric power made it a desirable conquest for Germany.
Furthermore, its air bases could be used to strike at Britain.
Norway had remained neutral throughout World War One. It expected to
remain neutral once again upon the outbreak of war in 1939, and
Hitler initially had no real plans to invade. However, this changed
when news leaked out that Churchill intended to mine Norwegian
waters to prevent the export of Swedish iron ore to Germany via the
Norwegian port of Narvik.
By chance, the British plans clashed with those of the Germans.
Backed by a coup by the Norwegian Nazi, Vidkun Quisling, the German
invasion began on 9 April 1940, the day after the British began their
operations.
After months of waiting it is finally here! Your chance to invade Norway.
Many changes have been made since the beta and beta pbem version. Even the name of the scen changed from 'Weserübung' to 'The Norwegian Campaign'. This since I noticed not too many non-German speakers knew what it ment. Now there can be no doubt what the scen is about.
The time is the 9th of April 1940 and Germany is about to unleash a major blitzkrieg campaign on Norway. Denmark has already fallen. British, French and now exiled Polish troops quickly set up an expeditionary force to counter the Germans in their quest for dominance. The Norwegian Campaign was a great gamble for Hitler and it became the first time in history were naval, air and land forces were coordinated in large operations. The Norwegian Campaign proved that the German war machine was not unbeatable at all. The Allies had several successes in Norway, but ultimately withdrew when the Germans invaded the Low Countries and France. Norwegian troops did though continue the war in organized commando raids from Britain throughout the war until the war ended on the 8th of May 1945 and the large Norwegian merchant fleet continued to sail convoy traffic all over the world.
Some aditional stuff:
Norwegian Nazi Propaganda posters
Allied 'Propaganda' Posters
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