German troops invading Oslo
Picture by Haakon Sverre Oyreskleivs http://home.sol.no/~ggunners/ww2/index.htm
On April 7th
a German fleet, known as Group 5 assembled and loaded at Swinemuede in
Kiel Bay. It consisted of the cruisers Bluecher, Luetzow, Emden,
3 torpedo boats, 2 armed whaling boats, 8 minesweepers, and 2,000 troops
Approaching midnight on the 8th, the Pol III incident occurred.
Fort Oscarborg having heard about what happened with the Pol III and began
to prepare for a fight. Oscarborg was located on the Drobaksundet,
the straight that must be passed through to get to Oslo by boat.
The fort had three cannons, but only two were operational. The cannons
were fifty- five years old and the fort was very ill prepared for war.
At 4:00 am on
April 9th, the German ship the Blucher approached Oscarborg and at 4:21
Oscarborg fired its first shots. The ship was hit several times and
at 6:22 it sunk from an onboard magazine explosion. About 1,000 German
soldiers went down with the ship. The rest of the ships withdrew and landed
at Sonsbukten to attach Brobak from land as well as by sea. Waves
of bombers attacked the Fort and Horten. Drobak was occupied by the
Germans by 19:00. On April 10th, the German ships were finally able
to pass through the narrows and enter Oslo.
At around noon
on April 9th, five companies of infantry and two parachute companies flew
into Fornebu airport, just outside of Oslo. Norway's largest city
was now occupied and it political capitol was now under the control of
the Nazi party. The capture of Oslo was extremely significant because
it was the heart of Norway's industry. Oslo was also the hub of a
large railroad network, connecting, Trondheim, Andalsnes, Bergen, and southern
port cities. It was also easily accessible from the Baltic Sea, which
was controlled by Germany.
The attack on
Oslo did not go exactly as planed. Although the Germans were able
to take the city, it was done in a fashion that gave the Norwegian people
time to think and prepare. The Norwegian 1st and 2nd divisions were
mobilized. On the 12th and 13th orders were issued to take possession
of the railroad connection to Trondheim, Bergen , and Kristiansund.
The 163d Division occupied the junction to Bergen at Honefoss; the also
advanced on the Kristiansund line to Kongsberg. Within three days
all of Norway’s southern rails were under German control.
On April 13th, German units began to push north. The Norwegian Army
was to small and ill equipped, processing no tanks or antitank weapons,
to stop them. Norway’s General Ruge, attempted to slow the German
advance, and give the allies a better fighting position and access to routes
to southern Norway, but little else could be done. On April 14th,
Division 163 began to conquer the valley between Rands Fjord and Mjosa
Lake; the attacks spread in all directionfrom there. When the Germans
conquered Lillehammer the operation against the Oslo region was complete.