While sending troops to occupy Denmark, the German Navy's battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau led 10 destroyers, carrying more than 2,000 officers and soldiers of the German 3rd Mountain Division commanded by General Eduard Dirt.
Fighting towards the northwestern Norwegian port of Wilcock
; The heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper and 4 destroyers and a landing force of 1,700 people went to Trondholm; the remaining 4 fleets carried landing forces to Bergen, Kristiansand, Oslo and Egersan respectively.
Waiting for landing at an important port on the southwest coast of Norway.
In addition to these conventional landing forces, the German army also used paratrooper airborne troops and transport aircraft airborne troops, making this battle a coordinated operation between the land, sea and air forces. However, the German army was not very perfect in the new tactics, because the German army
The command was not a whole. The command of the entire German landing force was in the hands of General Nicholas von Falkenholt, but the command of the navy and air force was independent.
In general, the German attack went smoothly. Five of the six landing forces arrived at the landing point almost on time and successfully occupied the port. However, the landing force that attacked the Norwegian capital was affected by heavy fog.
Instead of launching a surprise attack on Oslo, the fleet's flagship cruiser Blücher
It was hit by the World War I-era German coastal defense artillery on the Oscar Berg Fortress. The 280mm gun damaged the engine room of the newly commissioned cruiser, causing the warship to stop in place. Then two shells were fired from the shore.
The torpedo fired hit the unlucky cruiser again, and within an hour, it rolled over in the fjord.
Another cruiser of the fleet, the Lützow, was also damaged by shore artillery. The German landing force had to land near the fortress and attack the fortress first. With the cooperation of bombers and ground troops, the Oscar Berg Fortress was fully occupied one day later. Due to the large
The fog also affected the air landing at Oslo Airport. The Norwegian royal family and "government" dignitaries had already fled to the UK with the gold. They failed to control the Norwegian royal family, which made Mustache's plan to use the royal family to control Norway come to nothing.
In fact, just after the Soviet Union invaded Finland, the British government also noticed the importance of Norway in blocking Germany. The then British Admiralty Minister Winston Churchill once planned to use Finland as an excuse for the British and French forces to occupy Norway.
, cutting off Germany’s iron ore supply.[
But when the British and French allied forces were preparing to board the ship and set off in mid-March, the Soviet-Finnish War was over. This false plan to attack Guoguo was aborted. In February, another opportunity appeared in front of Churchill. A German transport ship sailed from the South
The Atlantic transported 300 British prisoners of war back to Germany, but they were chased by British destroyers in the North Sea and escaped into Norwegian waters. As a result, the British destroyers captured the German transport ship and rescued the British prisoners of war on board.
So the German "Government" protested to the Norwegian "Government", doubting its neutral attitude, and began to send German warships to escort German cargo ships in Norwegian waters. Churchill keenly felt that this was a good idea for Britain to send troops to Norway.
Excuse. So the British Navy made another plan to invade Norway on April 8.
However, a precious day was wasted on communication between Britain and France. When the British warships set off, the German landing forces had already occupied several important port cities in western Norway. Although the Royal Navy launched a sea attack on Trondholm Port,
During the shelling and beach landing operations, the British and French armies were unable to gain a foothold in the port due to the tenacious counterattack of the German garrison and the bombing of the Luftwaffe. In the end, they had no choice but to destroy the equipment at Navik Port and sink several German destroyers.
Evacuated Norway.
Although Norway was completely occupied by Germany, Norway has never been subjugated legally, because the Norwegian royal family and important members of the "government" took the gold in the treasury to the United Kingdom and became the "government" in exile.
The "government" supported by Germany has never recognized it. But in fact, whether you admit it or not, Norway has indeed changed its government.
This series of actions by the Soviet Union and Germany in Northern Europe made all European countries fearful. The Netherlands and Belgium were not safe when they saw a neutral country. They said it was over and they immediately began to prepare their armies and prepare to use force to defend themselves. However, with Germany's equipment on the Western Front,
Compared with the armies of the four countries of Britain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, although the number of troops is not less than that of Germany, they are inferior in terms of weapons and equipment, especially in the number of tanks and aircraft.
At this time, on the Western Front, Mustache has basically completed its deployment. From the Dutch border to the Swiss border, the German army has assembled a total of 136 divisions, including 12 armored divisions and 8 mechanized divisions, more than 3,500 tanks, and nearly 5,000 aircraft.
shelf.
The Army Group led by General von Lundstedt is Army Group Center, which is responsible for the main offensive mission. It has the 4th, 12th, and 16th Group Armies, a total of 44 divisions (including 8 armored divisions and 4 mechanized divisions).
The Third Air Force
Provide air support and deploy along the Belgian border. They will climb over the Ardennes area, bypass the Maginot Line, and go straight into the English Channel. Then, with the cooperation of Army Group B, they will surround the British, French and Belgian troops and the Belgian and northern French forces.
At the coast.
Army Group B, led by General Fedor von Bock, is the right-wing Army Group. It is responsible for breaking through the borders of the Netherlands and Belgium, and then advancing to northern France, assisting the Center Army Group in encircling the British, French and Belgian forces. It has the 6th and 18th Army Groups under its jurisdiction.
The Army Group, with a total of 28 divisions (including 3 armored divisions and 1 mechanized division), was provided with air support by the Second Air Force and deployed from the Netherlands to the Belgian border.
The Army Group led by General Wilhelm Joseph Franz von Loeb is the Left Army Group, which is responsible for acting as a feint attack on the front of the Maginot Line to contain the French army. It has jurisdiction over the 1st and 7th Group Armies, with a total of 17 divisions (including one
mechanist).
In addition, the German Army has deployed 47 divisions as reserves along the Rhine River (including 1 armored division and 2 mechanized divisions), of which 20 divisions are the reserves of 3 army groups, obeying the orders of the army group.
, the remaining 27 divisions are the general reserves, which are directly deployed by the Supreme Command.
As for the Allies, since France has always believed that Germany would attack the Soviet Union after occupying Poland, Britain believed that its navy was powerful and could only be responsible for blockading Germany at sea. The land tasks were completed by the allies, while the Netherlands and Belgium believed that as long as they strictly guarded their borders
, and by adhering to neutrality, war can be avoided. Therefore, these countries were not fully prepared. It was not until March 1940, when Germany invaded Norway, that these countries formulated combat plans.
This plan included two parts. The first part was how to support the British and French troops when Germany attacked Belgium. The second part was how to respond when Germany attacked the Maginot Line. At that time, there were 103 British and French forces on the Western Front.
divisions, the Benelux 3 has 32 divisions, more than 3,600 tanks and 300
There are more than 0 aircraft (of which 1,000 are in the UK and can fly across the Channel to participate in the war). They are also divided into 3 army groups. Among them, the Dutch and Belgian troops defend within their own country, the French army is commanded by Maurice Gustave Gamelin, and the British
The expeditionary force is commanded by Lord Gott, and there is also Luxembourg, so let's ignore it.
The number of troops on both sides is about the same, the number of tanks is also about the same, and Germany has slightly more aircraft. However, Germany is the main attacker, so the difficulty is slightly higher. It is said that this should be an evenly matched battle, let alone ten or eight years, like a
The war had to last for a year and a half, but the result shocked everyone around the world, with the only exception being Liu Fu.
In addition to the comparison in quantity, there is also a comparison of the quality and weapons and equipment of each ** army. In terms of the quality of the army, Germany is slightly better because the German ** team has this tradition. They are rigorous and disciplined.
The character is very suitable for the army. The quality of the British, French and Benelux 5** teams is somewhat uneven. Among them, the French army is known as the first army in continental Europe.
, but with the romantic and undisciplined character of the French, they can be stronger than the Italian army, but it is limited; the British are famous for their navy, so they don’t invest much in army construction, so the British army is at the same level as the French army.
, not much higher; the remaining Benelux 3** teams are just soy sauce, there is no quality at all. (To be continued...)
