Battle of Narvik

The Battles of Narvik were fought from 9 April to 8 June 1940 as a naval battle in the Ofotfjord and as a land battle in the mountains surrounding the town of Narvik as part of the Norwegian Campaign of the Second World War.

The two naval battles in the Ofotfjord on 10 April and 13 April were fought between the British Royal Navy and Nazi Germany Kriegsmarine, while the two-month land campaign was fought between Norwegian, French, British, and Polish troops against German mountain troops, shipwrecked Kriegsmarine sailors and German paratroopers (Fallschirmjäger) from the 7th Air Division. Although defeated at sea off Narvik, losing control of the town of Narvik and being pushed back towards the Swedish border, the Germans eventually prevailed because of the Allied evacuation from Norway in June 1940 following the Battle of France.

Narvik provided an ice-free harbour in the North Atlantic for iron ore transported by the railway from Kiruna in Sweden. Both sides in the war had an interest in securing this iron supply for themselves and denying it to the enemy, setting the stage for one of the biggest battles since the Invasion of Poland. Prior to the German invasion, British forces had considered Narvik as a possible landing point for an expedition to help Finland in the Winter War. Such an expedition also had the potential of taking control of the Swedish mines and opening up the Baltic for the Allies.

• 9th April 1940 . A German Destroyer Group attack and take Narvik
• The Germans had intended to withdraw their destroyers back to Germany , but had problems refueling them. So they remained in the area
• In the meantime, British forces had tried to engage the Kriegsmarine, but for the most part, unsuccessfully. On 8 April, the British G-class destroyer HMS Glowworm engaged the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper and two destroyers, and was lost, ramming and damaging Hipper in the battle. On the 9 April morning, the British battlecruiser HMS Renown exchanged artillery salvos with the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, which were screening the destroyers. During the battle one of the artillery shells from Renown damaged fire control system on Gneisenau, the British battlecruiser was also hit two times and slightly damaged. After that the German battleships withdrew from the battle at high speed.
• 10 Apr 1940 . The British 2nd Destroyer Flotilla, comprising five H-class destroyers, moved up the fjord in the early morning. They sunk 2 German Destroyers and 11 merchant ships in Narvik Harbour
• As the British withdrew, two British destroyers were lost: the flotilla leader HMS Hardy, which was beached in flames and HMS Hunter, which was torpedoed and sunk.
• Soon, the German naval forces were blocked in by British reinforcements, including the cruiser HMS Penelope

• 13 April. The British then sent the battleship HMS Warspite and nine Destroyers, accompanied by aircraft from the aircraft carrier HMS Furious. These forces arrived in the Ofotfjord to find that the eight remaining German Destroyers—were virtually stranded due to lack of fuel and were short of ammunition.
• A catapult plane from Warsprite found, bombed a sunk a German U-Boat in Herjangsfjord near Bjerkvik
• In the ensuing battle, three of the German destroyers were sunk by Warspite and her escorts and the other five were scuttled by their crews when they ran out of fuel and ammunition
• In total the Germans lost over 1,000 men, a U-boat, and eight destroyers. With the losses from the previous battle this constituted 50% of the Kriegsmarine's destroyer strength.
• After the naval battles of Narvik, the port and its surroundings remained in German hands, as no Allied forces were available to be landed there. Naval operations were limited at this stage to shore bombardment, as Narvik was not a primary Allied objective.

• The area wsa then the scene of a Land Battle
• From 5–10 May, the fighting in the Narvik area was the only active theatre of land war in the Second World War.
• 14 Apr The British set up headquarters in Harstadl. In the following days, three battalions were deployed across the area
• 28 Apr The initial British detachment was reinforced by a French expeditionary force of 5 battalions and a Norwegian force
• 12 May Then landing craft put ashore French Foreign Legionnaires at Bjerkvik
• It seemed now that it was only a matter of time before the Germans would have to surrender. They were pushed from the north by the Norwegians, from the west by the French and from the southwest by the Poles.
• 24 May . It appeared that Bjørnfjell would be the Germans' last stand, but events elsewhere in Europe came to their rescue. London had already decided to evacuate. On the night of 24/25 May, the British received orders to retreat. The Allied commanders agreed that an attack on Narvik would disguise the retreat and allow the destruction of the iron ore harbour.
• 7 Jun The Norwegian government met the news with disbelief and bitterness. The Norwegian government explored the possibility of creating a neutral, but free Northern Norway. This plan proved futile, and the King and government were evacuated to Britain.

Narvik on Cruise