Hitler’s conquest of Western Europe began on 9 May 1940. In a few short weeks, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Belgium had all succumbed to his blitzkrieg. By 24 May, much of France was also in German hands and the British Expeditionary Force surrounded at Dunkirk faced annihilation. With France about to fall and the threat of a Nazi invasion growing, the British government decided to withdraw its troops from Norway. Despite Churchill’s reservations, orders were issued to draw up a plan. The evacuation was codenamed Operation Alphabet.
On 1 June, the Norwegian government was informed of the plan. A week later, on 7 June, King Haakon VII and the Norwegian cabinet boarded the heavy cruiser HMS Devonshire at Tromsø, 125 miles (200km) north of Narvik. After arriving in London shortly afterwards, they established the Norwegian government-in-exile – a beacon of hope that would inspire Norway’s oppressed citizens for the next five years.
On 8 June, after blowing up railway lines and destroying facilities in the region, the last of around 25,000 Allied troops boarded ships in northern Norway and were evacuated as Operation Alphabet was brought to a close.
The unsuspecting Nazi leadership had little idea that an evacuation was taking place but by then had already launched Operation Juno. This naval offensive saw a Kriegsmarine battle group, including the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, steam into the Norwegian Sea. Commanded by Admiral Wilhelm Marschall, its aim was to assist the German Army heading north in driving the Allies out of Norway.
この記事は History of War の Issue 136 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は History of War の Issue 136 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
THE RUHR POCKET
The world's largest industrial complex, the Ruhr was where Nazi Germany's war machine was forged. If the Allies could capture it the conflict in Europe would effectively be over
HITLER'S 'ALPINE FORTRESS
With the Rhine crossed and the Ruhr taken, Allied Supreme Commander Dwight D Eisenhower had to decide what came next. His orders would help shape the fate of Europe for decades to come
BLUNTING THE SULTAN'S SPEAR
During his 1532 invasion, Suleiman the Magnificent faced a seemingly simple obstacle in the small fortress of Koszeg, Hungary. What ensued was a bloody struggle between Ottoman firepower and imperial grit
BATTLE OF THE NILE NELSON vs NAPOLEON
In 1798, Britain's most celebrated admiral pursued the French across the Mediterranean, attempting to thwart General Bonaparte's mission to Egypt. The pursuit culminated in what was arguably the most strategically important naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars
FREDERICKSBURG
The Confederate invasion of the north had been repulsed in Maryland by the Army of the Potomac. President Abraham Lincoln now urged his military to seize the initiative and crush the Confederates in the east and capture their capital Richmond. It would culminate in another catastrophic defeat
REMAGEN GATEWAY TO THE REICH
On 7 March 1945 the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine at Remagen was still standing - capturing it intact was vital to the Allied advance into Nazi Germany
A13 MK III CRUISER COVENANTER TANK
Plagued with mechanical issues, the Covenanter was envisioned as an improved cruiser design but never deployed for overseas service
INSIDE PICKETT'S CHARGE
On 3 July 1863 a Confederate regiment – the 19th Virginia Infantry – marched into the jaws of Hell in one of the most infamous events in American military history
Heroes of the Victoria Cross: MILTON FOWLER GREGG
On 28 September, 1918, this Royal Canadian Regiment officer led his men through uncut barbed wire into enemy trenches
MARCH 1945
To commemorate 80 years since the Second World War, History of War will be taking a look at some of the key events taking place during each month of the conflict
