Arrangements were made for direct communications between the destroyers and the submarines to include radio warnings transmitted in the clear of an enemy approach. Sohler assured Bey that the submarines would provide better support to the destroyers in the future. The fact that this was not to be cannot be blamed on the submarine commanders’ lack of effort.
Another submarine, U51, attacked a British destroyer near Tranøy about 0200 hours on April 11. The torpedoes either missed or failed to function. U51 had another opportunity within half an hour, but the result was the same. The U47, commanded by Lieutenant Günther Prien, fired two salvos of four torpedoes each against a large transport and cruiser at anchor near Bygden in Vågsfjord between 2200 and 2400 hours on April 15, but scored no hits. She then developed engine troubles and had to return to Germany. Southwest of Vestfjord, she encountered the battleship Warspite and two escorting destroyers. Prien fired two torpedoes at a distance of only 900 meters, again without results.
These are only a few examples of the 31 submarine attacks carried out against British warships during these critical days. The German Navy concluded that 20 of these attacks would certainly have hit their targets, which included one battleship, seven cruisers, seven destroyers, and five transports, but for the malfunctioning of the torpedoes.
It was discovered later that the new magnetic pistols that allowed the torpedo to be detonated by the magnetic field of a ship’s hull when it passed underneath, without requiring a direct impact, were ineffective at these northern latitudes. It was also discovered that the depth-regulator mechanism did not function as intended. This also applied to the destroyer torpedoes as shown by their failure against British destroyers on April 10. The failure of the submarine torpedoes to function properly had a serious effect on operations around Narvik, and certainly on the psychological confidence of the submarine crews. On his return to Germany, Prien summed up succinctly the confidence crisis in the torpedoes among submarine commanders: “One cannot again expect him [submarine commander] to fight with an air gun.”4
German Destroyers Trapped
By noon on April 11, Wolfgang Zenker, Erich Koellner, Hermann Künne, and Hans Lüdemann were ready to sail from Narvik. Erich Giese was also ready but developed a minor engine problem. However, Commander Bey continued to maintain that conditions for a breakout were unfavorable. Some writers have suggested that the lives of his sailors were uppermost in his mind and that he felt they had a better chance to survive if the ships remained in Narvik. However, he also knew that he was expected to uphold the honor of the German Navy by fighting to the end.
Naval Command West was becoming impatient at what they must have viewed as Commander Bey’s procrastinations. They issued Bey an order in the afternoon of April 12 to make use of the first opportunity of reduced visibility and bad weather to break out. However, Bey maintained that any attempt to break out was futile in view of the overwhelming British naval presence at the entrance to Ofotfjord. This may have been his view all along.
All discussions of a breakout at this time appear to have focused on a southwest passage through Vestfjord, an area heavily guarded by the Royal Navy. There was another possible route that the destroyers could have used to reach the open sea without the danger of running the British gauntlet in Vestfjord. The narrow strait of Ramsund, between Tjeldøy and the mainland, leads to the broader Tjeldsund, and that strait exits into the Vågsfjord just southeast of Harstad. The entrance to Ramsund is inside Ofotfjord and at least ten miles from the British patrol line. The distance from where Tjeldsund intersects with Vågsfjord to the open sea is not more than five miles. The British Navy did not reach Vågsfjord in force until April 14, and the route to the open sea would therefore be relatively clear for the German destroyers. The U49 in Vågsfjord could provide intelligence on British naval activities.
After the German destroyers had reached open sea on a southwesterly course, it would have been very difficult for the British to intercept them. The destroyers, in moderate weather, were capable of speed of 36 knots and the British did not have heavy units capable of that speed. It seems strange therefore, that Bey and Naval Command West appear not to have considered this escape route. Navigation through Ramsund or Tjeldsund at night would be very tricky, but possible.5
A series of events after April 11 made it considerably more difficult for the Germans to make a successful breakout. Two destroyers—Erich Koellner and Wolfgang Zenker—ran aground in Ofotfjord while on patrol during the night between April 11 and 12. Erich Koellner was so badly damaged when it hit an underwater reef that it was no longer seaworthy. Wolfgang Zenker’s propellers were damaged, limiting its speed.
Commander Bey reported to Naval Command West in the afternoon of April 12 that two destroyers—Hans Lüdemann and Hermann Künne–were operational, that three destroyers—Erich Giese, Bernd von Arnim, and Georg Thiele—could operate at a maximum speed of 28 knots, and that Wolfgang Zenker could travel at a maximum speed of only 20 knots. The remaining two destroyers—Erich Koellner and Diether von Roeder—were so heavily damaged that they were not seaworthy. Bey planned to use Erich Koellner as a floating battery on the north side of Ofotfjord, just east of Ramnes. He planned to use Diether von Roeder in a similar capacity in Narvik harbor.
The German Situation Ashore
The Germans quickly brought ashore all recoverable weapons, equipment, and supplies from those destroyers damaged beyond repair in the destroyer battle on April 10. Survivors from Wilhelm Heidkamp and Anton Schmitt were organized into a naval infantry battalion, armed mostly with weapons from the Norwegian depot at Elvegårdsmoen. Lieutenant Commander Erdmenger, the skipper of the sinking Wilhelm Heidkamp, was placed in command of this force. The Germans also continued to bring ashore and set up the heavy guns from the armed British merchant ships in the harbor.
General Dietl’s situation looked precarious to General von Falkenhorst and the OKW. He was isolated in an area over 400 miles from the nearest friendly forces. He had lost many of his supplies and equipment and was faced by a Norwegian army in the process of mobilizing superior forces and with the distinct prospect that the Allies would land troops either directly in Narvik or nearby. Dietl was directed to find a suitable place for a temporary airfield pending the capture of Bardufoss. This was a tall order in the mountainous area around Narvik and resulted in a request from Dietl that long-range seaplanes and bombers be used for resupply. He was promised that seaplanes carrying supplies would arrive on April 11, but only one appeared, and it did not land. A German unit discovered that the ice on Lake Hartvigvann was more than three feet thick and Dietl directed that it be examined to determine if it could be used as an airfield.
Dietl still had to accomplish two critically important parts of his mission, securing the railway from Narvik to the border and capturing Bardufoss Airfield and Setermoen. Control of Narvik would be meaningless unless the railroad connection to Sweden was secured. Securing the northward advance to Bardufoss was also important, but the ability to accomplish it with the available resources was questionable. No immediate move was made towards the Swedish border and only a reinforced company from one of the two battalions available to Colonel Windisch saw any appreciable combat on the northern front before the last week in April. The weather played a role as the month of April witnessed some of the worst conditions in many years. The fear of Allied landings and stiffening Norwegian resistance were undoubtedly other factors that led to the somewhat hesitant German attitude.
General Fleischer’s Assessment
The return of General Fleischer and his chief of staff from eastern Finnmark was delayed because of snowstorms. They managed to get to Tromsø after a harrowing five-hour flight on April 10 and by April 12, Fleischer was at his headquarters at Moen in Målselv.
Since the northern part of the country was now isolated from southern and central Norway, General Fleischer assumed the mantle of Commander-in-Chief in North Norway. This gave him control of the civil administration and naval fo
rces in the area. Both the mobilization and assumption of overall command were taken on his own initiative. The right to order mobilization was reserved for the government and although he was designated as wartime commander-in-chief, no orders were received to execute that contingency plan. It is to Fleischer’s credit that he took these important decisions without waiting for orders from a government that appeared incapable of taking immediate effective action in this chaotic situation.
Fleischer’s area of responsibility stretched about 600 miles as the crow flies, from north to south. An enemy bridgehead now cut that area in two. The southern portion was relatively safe for now since the Germans were located in the Trondheim area, over 100 miles from the southern border of his command. However, he had to keep an eye on the situation in the south since it would be logical for the Germans to try hard to establish land communications with their forces in Narvik. Furthermore, he could not neglect the border with the Soviet Union. Soviet actions in Poland while the Germans were invading that country from the west were still fresh in everyone’s mind. That danger was somewhat alleviated with the arrival of Allied forces in North Norway since it was unlikely that the Soviets would risk hostilities with the British and French. Even as he kept these threats in mind, Fleischer had to contend with an expanding German bridgehead in Narvik and assemble sufficient forces to commence offensive operations.
Fleischer’s first task was to bring the German advances to a halt, particularly their northern thrust towards Bardufoss Airfield. German capture of this airfield would significantly alter the situation in their favor and put any Allied assistance in jeopardy. The German northward thrust also posed a threat to Setermoen, the other major Norwegian mobilization depot and training area. The Norwegians knew that a German battalion was advancing northward with the mission of capturing these two objectives. The total strength of the Germans in Narvik was not known, but General Fleischer assumed that they numbered several thousand of Germany’s most elite troops.
Fleischer reasoned that it was not sufficient merely to isolate the Germans in Narvik. Such an approach would tie down his forces, give the Germans time to organize and build up their strength for continued attacks at points of their choosing while waiting for a link-up. He believed that a defensive strategy would not be successful since he had to assume that German forces from the south would drive aggressively towards Narvik and he had no forces to halt such an attack as long as Dietl’s 3rd Mountain Division tied him down.
The only clear alternative in Fleischer’s mind was to attack and destroy the German forces in Narvik or drive them over the border to Sweden. This would allow him to move substantial forces south to meet an eventual German drive from Trondheim. He viewed his soldiers as the hardiest in the world and felt certain that they would acquit themselves well when pitted against the German mountain troops.
In order to achieve local superiority for an attack, Fleischer found it necessary to risk reducing troop strength along the Soviet Border. He ordered the 1/12th Inf to the Narvik front as quickly as possible. He also decided to bring the Alta Bn south as soon as its mobilization was completed. These forces had to be transported by sea, which would take some time. Fleischer had only the 1/14th Inf battalion in Mosjøen in the southern part of his area. This force was inadequate to cope with a German advance from the Trondheim area and Fleischer decided that the best use of this unit was to move it south and attach it to Colonel Getz’ 5th Field Brigade in the Steinkjer area. Halfdan Sundlo, the brother of the regimental commander in Narvik, commanded this battalion.
Fleischer’s plan had as its goal the gradual reduction of the German ability to fight by first taking their base area at Bjerkvik and Elvegårdsmoen, prevent them from establishing a connection to Sweden, and finally of capturing Narvik. Fleischer concluded that the experienced German elite troops were professionally superior to his own units but he planned to compensate for this drawback by relying on what he saw as Norwegian superior mobility in the wild and snow-covered terrain around Narvik.
The partial destruction of the 1/13th Inf on April 9 was a serious setback for the Norwegians. It was doubtful that the remnants of the 1/13th could successfully resist a strong German advance to the border. It was hoped that the threat of Allied landings and Norwegian attacks from the north would prevent the Germans from undertaking offensive operations towards the border.
The loss of Elvegårdsmoen was most serious. It was the mobilization center for the 15th Infantry Regiment and a number of other units. Their valuable stores of equipment and supplies were now lost and this made it difficult or impossible for these units to carry out an orderly mobilization. In addition to acquiring a bridgehead on the north side of Ofotfjord for their northward drive, the Germans obtained stores that proved of immense importance and made the Norwegian task of eliminating the German bridgehead more problematic.
The Defense of the Ofot Railway
The remnants of the 1/13th Inf that withdrew from Narvik on April 9 were located along the railway leading to Sweden. Majors Spjeldnæs and Omdal decided to establish defensive positions and hold Nordal Bridge until they received more definite orders. Captain Bjørnson’s company went into positions at the bridge while the rest of the troops moved to Bjørnefjell railroad station, about three kilometers to the northeast.
Major Omdal had to prepare against a German advance from Elvegårdsmoen as well as along the railroad from Narvik. A platoon from Co 3 was sent to take up defensive positions near a chain of small lakes northwest of Bjørnefjell. This platoon surprised and captured a 13-man German patrol on April 11. According to Buchner, the patrol was a German attempt to establish a link between German forces in Elvegårdsmoen and Narvik.
The 16th Infantry Regiment established contact with Major Omdal’s forces on April 11 via a ski patrol. Omdal informed the general that he intended to prevent the Germans from pushing through to the Swedish border but his troops were in great need of supplies. Fleischer ordered Omdal to hold the Nordal Bridge as long as possible and authorized its destruction in case it could not be held. He also ordered the tunnels at the west end of the bridge destroyed. The rails west of the bridge were removed on April 13 and two iron ore cars were demolished within the tunnel.
The Norwegian troops that escaped from Narvik had only brought with them weapons, what ammunition they could carry, and a few rations. Skis were left behind and this made mobility in the snow-covered mountains difficult and exhausting. In the days immediately following their arrival in the Bjørnefjell area, the Norwegians were able to obtain skis, winter camouflage clothing, rifle ammunition, and some provisions from Swedish military units across the border. These Swedish supplies eventually dried up, due to German pressure on the Swedish Government, and assistance became limited to humanitarian help in the form of provisions and the evacuation of seriously ill or wounded soldiers.
The Norwegians had hoped for Swedish weapons and ammunition, but the Swedes were maintaining their neutrality. As a result, the Swedes at the border confiscated ammunition sent by the shortest route from the Norwegian forces in East Finnmark to their forces in the Narvik area.
The commander of the Hålogaland Air Group, Major L. Feiring, who had just arrived from southern Norway via Sweden, suggested that Major Omdal’s forces be supplied by air. The first supply drop took place on April 14 and then four aircraft were able to land on a frozen lake on April 15. In this manner, ammunition and provisions for eight days were brought to the troops at Bjørnefjell.
The German Northward Advance
The German push north from Elvegårdsmoen was undertaken by the 1/139th Regiment, commanded by Major Stautner. General Dietl may have already decided that his forces were insufficient to secure Bardufoss and Setermoen, the final objectives in his directive. The goal of his northward advance was therefore limited to seizing more defensible terrain by pushing through the Gratangen Valley to seize the Oalgge Pass, immediately west of Lapphaugen. Control of that high ground would leave Colonel Windisch’s troo
ps less exposed to Norwegian counterattacks and would allow the Germans to trade space for time.
Major Stautner’s troops seized Elvenes, 17 kilometers north of Bjerkvik, late on April 10 without encountering Norwegian resistance. Heavy snowfall slowed the German advance and they were too exhausted to push further without a rest. They continued their advance on April 12 through the Gratang Valley towards Lapphaugen.
The Norwegian forces from Setermoen were caught in a vicious snowstorm as they tried to make their way to the Narvik area on April 9. The motorized battery from the 3rd Mountain Artillery Bn made it to the Gratangen Tourist Station by 1100 hours when it had to stop because of blizzard conditions. It later withdrew to the Fossbakken area. The main force of the 2/15th Inf was ordered to take up positions at Lund in Salangsdal, with a platoon-size security force near Lapphaugen. Colonel Løken, commander of the 6th Field Brigade, decided, however, to stop the Germans in the defile near Lapphaugen. The position near Lund (Brattli) was more defensible, but to let the Germans advance that far would reduce the Norwegians’ ability to carry out mobile operations in the wild and roadless terrain to the south. The Gratang/Fossbakken area had to be held in order to cover Setermoen and Bardufoss and for mobilization of units in that area.
Sixty-six students from the 6th Division command and leadership school, commanded by Captain O. Forseth, were on their way from Tromsø to their training area near Setermoen on April 8. They learned about the German attack when they landed at Sjøvegan at 0800 hours on April 9. After arriving in the Setermoen area, Captain Forseth was ordered to organize his students and personnel at the training area into a field company. This 170-strong force was organized on April 10. At noon on April 11, Forseth was directed to take up defensive positions at the Gratangen Tourist Station and delay the German battalion moving north from Bjerkvik. This was necessary to provide time for the 2/15th Inf and the 3rd Mountain Artillery Bn to prepare defensive positions near Lapphaugen. Forseth’s unit was in defensive positions at the Gratang Tourist Station shortly after midnight on April 11.
Hitler’s Pre-Emptive War: The Battle for Norway, 1940 Page 34