Germany invaded Denmark and Norway 85 years ago on April 9 1940. Both nations defended their countries, Norwegians together with the Allies which landed in Norway to fight the Germans. A warship called Blücher was destroyed in the Oslofjord that day. (collection of 20 photos)

by RunAny8349

10 comments

  1. Denmark fell in 6 hours, standing no chance against the Third Reich. Around 16 soldiers died defending Denmark.

    Norway was defended by British, French, Polish and Norwegian troops.

    6 000 danish volunteers joined the Waffen SS Frikorps

    [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denmark_in_World_War_II](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denmark_in_World_War_II)

    In the early morning of 9 April, the gunners at Oscarsborg Fortress fired on the leading ship, Blücher, which had been illuminated by spotlights at about 04:15. Two of the fortress guns were 48-year-old German-made Krupp guns (nicknamed Moses and Aron) of 280 mm (11 in) caliber. Within two hours, the badly damaged ship, unable to manoeuvre in the narrow fjord from multiple artillery and torpedo hits, sank with very heavy loss of life totalling 600–1,000 men. The threat from the fortress (and the mistaken belief that mines had contributed to the sinking) delayed the rest of the naval invasion group long enough for the Royal Family, the Cabinet and members of Parliament to be evacuated, along with the national treasury.

  2. People forget that 12.000 danish men joined the SS
    And almost the same number in Norway

  3. 12000 Danes volunteered for the SS, 6000 of those served and around 2000 of them were killed before the German capitulation. And then around 700 served in the Kriegsmarine, Luftwaffe, Heer and German police.

  6. Most embarrassing period for a Dane. No resistance. Just cowards surrendering within hours.

    The Dutch fought, the Norwegians fought, the French fought. But we surrendered like cowards. Very very embarrassing.

  7. In Norway the losses were huge in the north. Read about the building of the railroad, the warsailors and the burning of Finnmark if you’re interested in the history.

  8. Recently it came to my attention that yes, Denmark fell fast.

    But the tiny crew defending the southern border and their one gun – took out three German panzer.

  10. >A warship called Blücher was destroyed

    That one being one of history’s most spectacular naval warfare victories: The Norwegians, knowing the ins and outs of their treacherous waters, maneuvered their own warships around high capacity warship Blücher intended to capture Oslo and dispatched divers to plant explosives on Blücher, sinking the ship.

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