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02-144 Narvik - II
Vol. 02- No. 144
1996
Lead: In the spring of 1940 the town of Narvik on the northwest coast of Norway was the scene of one of the first naval battles of World War II. Intro: A Moment In Time with Dan Roberts. Content: A combination of geography and strategic importance conspired to prevent Norway from maintaining its neutrality in the early months of the war. Germany needed the Swedish iron ore that was shipped through Narvik during the winter months. When it became apparent that Britain was going to intervene, Hitler ordered the invasion of Norway. On April 9, 1940 elements of the German Army, transported by air and in warships, made coordinated landings all over the country. A strong contingent borne by 10 modern destroyers landed at Narvik and, despite spirited Norwegian resistance, took the town. The British, who had troop ships on the way to Norway, failed to contest any of the landings and all of the initial objectives of the German invasion were accomplished. In Narvik, the ten thirsty destroyers were refueling just outside the harbor in Vestfjord. Fueling progress was very slow, and during the night of April 10th a Royal Navy flotilla of five destroyers surprised the German ships and sank or damaged five. Three days later, the British were reinforced by a formation led by HMS Warspite, a veteran of the Battle of Jutland fought during World War I. All the German ships were sunk. The south of Norway was virtually abandoned, but several days later large numbers of Allied troops were landed at Narvik in an attempt to eject the now-isolated Germans. On the 28th of May, 24,000 British and French troops finally ran the Germans out of Narvik. Their victory was short-lived, however. When word came that they were needed in France to help hold back the German blitzkrieg rolling up the French countryside, the Allies demolished the port facilities of Narvik, boarded their transports and withdrew. Germany controlled Narvik until the end of the war, thereby retaining its access to the valuable iron ore of Scandinavia. The producer of A Moment In Time is Steve Clark. At the University of Richmond, this is Dan Roberts. Resources Churchill, Winston Spencer. The Second World War , Volume I: The Gathering Storm. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1948. Dickens, Peter. Narvik: Battles in the Fjords. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1974. Sweetman, Jack. "Great Naval Battles of World War II: Narvik," Naval History, 9 (3, May/June 1995). Copyright 2007 by Broadcast Partners, LLC LAC112707
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