The author has done a great job of covering this topic in great detail, looking at both sides of the conflict covering tactics, commanders, troops on the ground and equipment. He also takes a detailed look at some of battles which includes some of the naval skirmishes. Anyone thinking of recreating parts of this conflict on the tabletop, then this is an ideal companion to pick up. You’ll definitely find plenty of background information that will provide a plethora of ideas to re-create.
- Jason Hubbard, Irregular Magazine
In early 1940, a battle raged to control the ice-free, iron-ore port in northern Norway – with changing fortunes until the very end.
This highly detailed book covers both the naval battles and the individual Norwegian, British, Polish, French and German units that fought the land campaign over northern Norway. Highly detailed maps guide you step by step through the events. Few other books on Narvik give you as much detail on the forces of the fighting five. From Gebirgsjägers to Guardsmen, Fallschirmjägers to Foreign Legionnaires, it offers you an impressive level of tactical detail, even down to company command, whilst also helping you understand the strategic confusion surrounding the whole Allied expedition to the north too.
Among the naval clashes covered in this action-packed story are the destroyer battles in the fjords, the sinking of the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious and the roles the famous battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau played in the fighting. No less dramatic are the land battles, which include amphibious landings, sabotage, commando raids, daring ski missions and a rare parachute insertion by Gebirgsjäger troops.
ORIGINS OF THE CAMPAIGN
CHRONOLOGY
OPPOSING COMMANDERS
Allied
German
OPPOSING FORCES
Allied
German
Orders of battle
OPPOSING PLANS
Allied
German
THE BATTLE OF NARVIK
The German landing and the naval battles, 10–13 April 1940
German deployments and tactics
The Allied landings at Narvik
Gratangen, 24–25 April 1940
Beisfjord
Gressdalen and Roasme, 1–13 May 1940
The Bjerkvik landing, 13 May 1940
Stautner on the Litlebalak position, 22 May 1940
Kuberg
The Orneset landing and Beisfjord, 28 May 1940
Defending the ore railway
Point 620 and Haugfjell
Bodø
Stien, 17–18 May 1940
Pothus, 25–26 May 1940
The Allied evacuation
AFTERMATH
Conclusion
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX