We visited Norway 3 summers ago. The Resistance Museum in Oslo tells the story of WWII and Norway very well. It’s well worth a visit if you visit Oslo.
We did have a smal Navy, my grandfather served on a minesweeper during the occupation.They survived a small battle against two German PT boats in the fjords south of Bergen but had to surrender out of fuel after a week. One of their mines later sank a cargoship.
@@simohayha2364 and he fuckd a Norwegian lady and moved to Norway after the war and lived in stavanger the rest of his live R.I.P. and i live in Norway Haugesund now
A very interesting video! Several of my relatives on my father's side took part in both the war and later in the resistance movement. I'm also related to Birger Eriksen, the commander of Oscarsborg Festning who uttered the famous words "Damn right we're firing live ammunition! Either I will be decorated, or I will be court-martialed. Fire!" which led to the sinking of Blücher, giving the government and the royal family time to flee. Fun fact: After being captured and interrogated, he was released by mistake instead of staying incarcerated and lived through the war in his home in Drøbak
First time seeing one of your videos, great stuff! Seems like you covered most of the basics, and in a very informative and grafic way. Although the Norwegian army could not play a vital part in the war, the biggest contribution from Norway was its merchant fleet and 30 000 civilian sailors who in allied service all over the world during the war. Just this week the movie "Krigsseileren" ( war sailor) launched on Norwegian cinema, and it looks like its worth a viewing
Thanks Stefan for this thorough investigation of this aspect of this campaign, I know about the allied invasion but knew nothing about the Norwegian armed forces and it’s composition, very informative and interesting indeed
Impressive that despite the somewhat inferiority of the Norwegian Army in comparison to the Germans, Norway held up longer then France did! Edit: Sweden was close to adopting the Krag-Jorgensen when Norway was in the Swedish union but the Sweden adopted the M95, a variant of the Mauser rifle.
The reason why France didn't fight longer is that a lot of generals were simply traitors. Petain, Weygand, Hunziger, Darlan, to mention but a few preferred capitulation instead of calling for the levée en masse.
That's a little optimistic. It is really only the 6th Norwegian Division around Narvik that did well. This was partly because this unit was already fully mobilised because of the Soviet-Finnish Winter War. (Unlike the other Norwegian units.) The other reason was because it was well supported by Allied troops including British units, the excellent French Chasseurs Alpins and the Free Polish Chasseurs de Podhale.
Good stuff. The "war in the north" always takes a back seat to the wars in the east and west. Of course, it makes sense since the others were more strategically important and saw the most human suffering. Still, its very interesting. Great job!!!
Well, Hitler's main reason for invading Denmark and Norway in the first place was to secure the arctic iron ore port in Narvik to get raw materials for his war industry. Read up on the British "Operation Wilfred", "Plan R 4" and Nazi Germany's "Operation Weserübung" to get a better picture of why neutral Norway was invaded at all. Well over 50,000 soldiers fought for Narvik and its port between April and June 1940. The fighting in the south and west was mostly supporting maneuvers for the battles of Narvik.
The Norwegian story is a very interesting one. The Germans really wanted to get their hands on the Norwegian facilities that produced heavy water. The existing heavy water was moved around Norway before the invasion, then Scotland then France for protection.
I’ve always had a deep respect for Norway because of the winter war and their fighting spirit. Did the Sami people participate in any activities during this time? I have subscribed, I am an 1770’s history buff and do living history events. Great video truly enjoyed watching. Cheers from Colorado.
Your pronunciation of Norwegian words aren't that bad, kudos! I sometimes hesitate to watch English-speaking just because they absolutely slaughter the language lol. If someone want to learn more about the campaign here is a few movies/series I highly recommend: The King's Choice - follows the king and his inner circle during the first few days of the Invasion. Max Manus - not really about the campaign, but about one of the most decorated commandoes of the Norwegian resistance. Allied and alone - 3-part documentary on the invasion with interviews of surviving veterans (both Norwegian and British) and very well made reenactments.
My family had already immigrated to America, but my great grandfather still felt so connected to norway that he wanted to volunteer to go defend norway but he was met with 2 pieces of bad news 1 he was too old (38 at the time of occupation) and 2 the allies had no plans to liberate norway, France was top priority.
Always love to see videos of nations with a smaller contribution to ww2 ( but a contribution nonetheless ). Do you have any videos about the Norwegian Resistance or planning to do any? Have a great day!
The place where the Norwegian soldiers trained and lived, Little Norway, was at first Toronto Island Airport, and later Muskoka Airport. There’s still a park in Queen’s Quay Toronto called Little Norway Park, and a local brewery up in Muskoka named a brew after them, called “Little Norway.”
Nice pics of the Krags! I have an American 1896 Springfield cavalry carbine version. Smooth as a Krag is a popular expression due to the single lug bolt ease of operation and they're still popular with hunters and collectors. Civilize 'em with a Krag was another popular expression. An old episode of Run and Gun featured the Springfield Krag vs. the K98 and the Krag won! It was reloaded quicker despite the lack of a stripper clip due to the magazine design. The Germans had them produced in 8mm Mauser and issued to guards in POW camps. The American version was chambered in .30 Caliber Government, now known as 30-40 Krag and was our first bolt action, first smokeless powder and first full metal jacket. Everytime I go to the range I'm asked, " WHAT IS THAT??"
We did have a small army, my great grand father served in the a special force called company linge, he shot a German pilot from a mountain and he went to D-day, but his head weren't in the right mind after the war.
Hey first of all, what a good Video I really like the part where talk about the build up of Noorwegian divisions. That is really Impressie. I know you already made a video about the Dutch army in ww2 what is also a good video, but can you also make one about the Dutch division (Including the Mariniers and Grenadiers)?
After the legal government left the country and established themselves in London, there gradually emerged a resistance movement in Norway, assisted by Britain and later - in the far north - by the Soviet Union. Norwegian refugees in Britain often joined units under British command. Also, during the course of the occupation, more than 50 000 Norwegians fled to neutral Sweden, where about 15 000 of them were given Swedish military training and equipment. They were called "police troops" since Sweden was formally neutral, but were in reality an army. They were sent into Norway in May 1945 to secure disarmament of the Germans and the restoration of democratic rule. (It has been said that they were promised substantial support from regular Swedish forces should the German troops resist. Luckily they did not. The German capitulation was generally peaceful and orderly).
An important reason why the Allies had to leave northern Norway in June 1940 was because they had to prioritize France since Dunkirk and the battle of Narvik took place at the same time. And the Norwegian forces had pushed the German and Austrian Gebirgsjägers up to Sweden's border, and Narvik was secured by the Norwegians and allies when they were ordered to capitulate.
Yet another great video! However, as the phrase 'Free Polish' and later 'Free Norwegian' was used, a thought occurred to me that these terms are technically incorrect. I believe that these terms are copied from the term Free French, which was supposed to distinguish the French forces in exile from the ones loyal to the Vichy government. The situation of Poles and Norwegians alike was different but I guess that: a) the French are the most known among the formations of this kind and b) 'free' is a bit shorter and generally sounds better than 'in exile'. BTW I might have recommended it before but here's an excellent video specifically about Polish involvement in the Norwegian Campaign: ruclips.net/video/dxZrWVJm0Uk/видео.html
my gand grandfather fought in Narvik as a part of the Trønderbattalion, they were caught off guard when the germans invaded. they were stationed at the local school when the alarm was sounded they then took up positions in the city waiting for the german to come from the docks but weridly the german nor the norwegians didn`t open fire, the germans simply walked up to them and claped on the shoulder and offered cigarettes. after the weird interaction my grand grandfather unit walked back to the school waiting for new orders. while this was happeneing the city was more or less taken the city the germans had set up roadblocks. while my grand grandfather`s unit waited an fenrik ( a norwegian officer) showed up and told his unit to walk in a straight line and follow him out the city. so they then got to a german checkpoint where the german officer asked them what they were doing and the fenrik replied that they are walking out of the city the german officer/soldier said they weren`t allowed to leave the city but the fenrik had other ideas so he simply replied with "we are walking anyway, good day!" seeing a long line armed norwegian soldiers walking out of the city the germans at the checkpoint were either stunned or couldn`t really do much since they were outgunned and outnumbered so they let the norwgian unit walk past and out of the city. later a german patrol caught up with my grand-grandfather`s unit and told them they had to follow them back to the city to be disarmed and taken prisoners, but the fenrik didn`t want that happen so he said that he would follow the german patrol back to the city but the unit he was leading could continue without him, seeing that its better to take a officer back with you rather than none the germans agreed and so my g-grandfather and his unit continued their journey without the officer. quite a werid tale if i must say so myself. he later fleed to sweden after a firefight happened at bjørnefjell close to the swedish border.
It was esential for Germany to make a preventive move over Norway before UK and secure its iron provision fron sweden. From what you very clearly describe, Norway had no option to resist, not even with the help the allies could provide. Thanks Stefan!
The Krag-Jörgensen rifle was never used by the Swedish Armed forces, Sweden used Mauser karbin m/94 and gevär m/96. But both countries used 6,5x55 “Swedish “.
@@HistoryHustle It's strange to say Norway had no recent naval tradition as commerce and shipping made up the backbone of the Norwegian economy from the 17th century to the late 20th century. At the outbreak of the Second World War Norway was the fourth largest shipping nation in the world. The organisation set up to manage the Norwegian merchant fleet by the exiled government in London after the German occupation in 1940, Notraship, was the largest shipping company in the world during the war. Norwegian sailors and ships formed the backbone of the allied merchant fleet in the battle for the Atlantic. There is far more to "naval tradition" then just having warships.
Nice presentation, but I would have liked to hear more about the Norwegian POWs in German hands. Was there a resistance movement in Norway? I hope you follow this up with more on Norway.
Not the channel but there was a resistance movement in Norway, though it only really starts carrying out bigger acts of sabotage towards the end of the war. The sabotage of the heavy water plant Vemork was one of their more famous actions, but they also carried out other actions. Most of the resistance was in the form of civil disobedience and the distribution of illegal newspapers. Though there were definitely a lot of brave resistance fighters, I do think that here in Norway we have a tendency to exaggerate the importance of the resistance.
Would we be able to get something about Irelands military during the second World War? I know they were neutral, but things like the donegal corridor and their army reform in 1940 seems cool :D
«No naval tradition»… what are you on about? The Dano-Norwegian navy consisted heavily on Norwegian sailors and officers, the latter holding some of the most important positions in the Danish government. Also, the Norwegian merchant navy was one of the largest on the globe.
Well, the Norwegian government had just ordered new warships from England, and as I said, it was the fourth largest merchant navy in the world, as well as perhaps the most modern one. It was vital to the allied war effort. This is all at the beginning of the war, and thus very much 20th century.
What happened to your accent? I thought it was charming. Now you sound almost like an American. That's a compliment I hand you begrudgingly. Clearly you put a lot a work into your videos.❤️
i have the medals wherpass and documents and every peice of paperwork, medals earned, trial of shooting anothother officer, letters to general Maisel who was in the car that went to rommel and much more of Hartwig Pohlman Oberst, who was one of not many who was responsible for the surrender of norway. He is portrayed in the film the kings choice. A ww1 hero also on the western front.
Hi! Can you please make a video about the romanian soldiers who fought aside the germans in ww2, in the eastern front where they lost i think around 200.000 men, in Odessa and Stalingrad? Thank you
Not to mention the norwegian merchant marine of 10.000 ships requisitioned to allied command of which some half were sunk. The forgotten war.when the survivors repatriated they were denied war pensions because technically they were civillians. My great grandfather would often when drunk talk about the horrors of boys being washed overboard in the dead of night by a gigantic wave never to be seen again. Thats why I didnt join the navy..lol There are plenty of nightmares to be made in landlocked countries far from the sea.
Grate video :) but i feel i need to say that the norway has had a long and colorfull navel tradisjon. Thoe much of it has been under the Danish-Norwegian union, the Norwegian navy has its originale with the declerstion of independens from Danmark in 1814. Much of the earlyer navel history (before 1800) were focused on smaler gun galieys and coastal defence. At the begining of 1800 with the brithis Capture of the danish navy in 1807, norway startes building larger ships. With the modern Norwegian navy coming to be on 12. april 1814. This is only the begining of the military navel tradisjon, the civilian navel tradisjon is eawen lenger :) sorry for bad english, a yong old Norwegian navy salt bord out of his mind on a nightwach (can add som sources if anyone want them)
Thanks for watching. I meant to say no recent naval tradition. Apart from the coastal guns at Oslo German incoming ships faced no opposition from the Norwegian navy.
@@HistoryHustle Thats also a bit off im afrade, 😅 the costal guns round Bergen fired at Königsberg, but this action did not stop the german atack, same in Narvik where the norwegian coastel defens ships, Norge and Eidsvoll whas sunk during battle. At kristjansand the atack was halted by costal batery fire and held of the atack from til 10. But i do see your point. The german did face opposisjon at some atack points but with little effekt. Im sorry if im to proud, servd a good long time with the norwegian navy 😅
Another good film Stefan. The German occupation of Norway was not so much a German victory as an Allied defeat. Any study of this campaign shows how chaotic the planning and execution of the British/French response and what opportunities were lost. The Norwegian Merchant fleet though was vital to the Allied effort throughout the war and this is a fact that has been given too little recognition, Norwegians should be proud of the fight they put up and continued both in Norway and abroad.
Norway had no naval tradition!? I beg your pardon? Lol Also, I dont think the king and government went to Narvik before living Norway, that would be a very big detour, especially considering the army chasing them. I like the video though, very informative
The 99th Infantry Battalion of the US Army. formed in Minnesota, was made up of Norwegians and Norwegian Americans. They participated in the liberation of Europe and ultimately served as the honor guard for King Haakon's return to Oslo.
Nobody respected the weak Norway, which had an important strategic position (HMS Cossack and DKM Altmarrk incident and British violation of Norwegian territorial waters) Facing the Atlantic (through the Norwegian Sea) and with a mineral loading terminal of Iron in Narvik (rail line to the Swedish North). Sweden was the world's largest exporter of iron ore, essential for the German war effort, its most economical transport was precisely through the Norwegian port of Narvik to Germany.
East of Finnmark was liberated by the USSR in late 1944 and was given back to Norway. The germans burned down everything in Finnmark and North Troms county in late 44
@@HistoryHustle In Norway we found a document recently saying the burning of FInnmark was actually ordered by Qusling himself, not Hitler as first though. Qusling was woried the proper Norwegian goverment would set up "Free Norway" in Finnmark making his regime unlegitimate.
By then, pretty much the only thing the Swedes handled was foreign relations. Norway was a separate country, with a Swedish king. Norway had its own armed forces,. Some of the pictures in this video are of those forces along the border in connection with the high tension that arose out of Norway wanting to leave that union, which also happened in 1905.
The reason Germany took long to invade was because of massiv supply problems this only got solved after Sweden allowed german trains to travel true sweden to Norway with more soldiers and supplies if that never happend norway may have won but new supplies and fresh troops mnt the end for norway. aslo in the north norway did good because of 2 battalions mobilzied during the winter war in chase of Soviet invasion of norway if we had mobiliz the entiere military earlier somthing the crown prinz and a few other wanted the geramns may have never landed in the first place. our lost super fast
@@HistoryHustle Suggest to read a book i dont know if its in english but is called The swedish Betrayal our de svenske sviket. it talks about how sweden helped germany in ww2 with the invasion of norway and soviet union and stuff.
ok i'm sorry but no naval tradition? sure we didn't have destroyers and battleships to take on the full might of the kiregsmarine but so say we had/have no naval traditions is just... ignorant
"No naval tradition" - google Tordenskiold And there was other reasons the Norwegians held out for so long: 1. The terrain of Norway being mountainous and rich with fjords creating lots of opportunities for channelizing defence and kill boxes. A german commander later said that "Norway could be held solely with the use of explosives." and that the Norwegians had neglected their opportunities which the terrain held. 2. The length of Norway meant that troops had to travel far and long to fight. Just take the german "Buffalo march" fra Røsvik to Narvik. German troops marched some 300 km in 11 days in mountainous terrain which had few roads to relieve the troops in Narvik. Which could be an interesting video in itself. You also failed to mention that it was the Norwegians who first beat the Germans in battle up until that point in WW2.
No recent naval tradition of course. Thanks for your insights. As for your last claim I think this is contested. The Poles at Westerplatte also fought off several attacks. Besides, the Campaign itself is not the scope of this video.
Very poor armed forces, very poor aviation: a few dozen aircraft, reconnaissance and light attack biplanes and its high point: 12 Gloster Glatiator MK II Naval Fighter Biplanes, which were destroyed on the ground by the Luftwaffe. His navy, with such a small budget, bought some extinct class ships prior to the Great War (Armored Cruiser), to use them as "Coastal Battleships" in function ..... Coast Guard: myopia, strategic, zero in naval doctrine, old big manned (potential casualties): NORGE AND EIDSVOLL, which were massacred by German light surface units. Anyway. The defense of the Fjord of Norway can be rescued where the Germans lost the enormous and very modern Heavy Cruiser Blucher (Hipper class) with great loss of life. Norway and its possible allies: GB and France, had no chance, the Germans invaded, under the cover of 1200 German planes (half JU 52 transport). Greetings Stephen.
No naval tradition? Check your facts, its not harder than clicking on the Wikipedia article about the Norwegian Navy. First mentioned in written sources in the year 985 (ninehundredeightyfive). This countrys whole existence was based on seafaring up until the seventies when oil was struck. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leidang en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Norwegian_Navy Motorisation of the artillery as well as the infantry begun mid-late 30s, but was not completed in 1940. But fair enough, not easy to find if you dont know the norwegian language. And where do you have the number of 180500 when fully mobilized from?
Dutch Army 1940:
ruclips.net/video/-esy4KKhpdo/видео.html
Belgian Army 1940:
ruclips.net/video/6jN5KsZ8t18/видео.html
🇳🇴 ✅ 🇧🇷 Obrigado, Stefan!
@@marcoskehl 👍
We visited Norway 3 summers ago. The Resistance Museum in Oslo tells the story of WWII and Norway very well. It’s well worth a visit if you visit Oslo.
We did have a smal Navy, my grandfather served on a minesweeper during the occupation.They survived a small battle against two German PT boats in the fjords south of Bergen but had to surrender out of fuel after a week. One of their mines later sank a cargoship.
Thanks for sharing this.
My great grandfather was a ww2 sailor, he were on a battleship called, HNoMS Eidsvold, he died when i were 6
Dam my invaded
@@Cockmaster3000 i respect every country that fought for germany and fought in norway
@@simohayha2364 and he fuckd a Norwegian lady and moved to Norway after the war and lived in stavanger the rest of his live R.I.P. and i live in Norway Haugesund now
A very interesting video! Several of my relatives on my father's side took part in both the war and later in the resistance movement. I'm also related to Birger Eriksen, the commander of Oscarsborg Festning who uttered the famous words "Damn right we're firing live ammunition! Either I will be decorated, or I will be court-martialed. Fire!" which led to the sinking of Blücher, giving the government and the royal family time to flee. Fun fact: After being captured and interrogated, he was released by mistake instead of staying incarcerated and lived through the war in his home in Drøbak
Hi Fredrik, thanks for sharing this.
Love to see this, lovely to see this. Thank you Stefan!
Great!
First time seeing one of your videos, great stuff! Seems like you covered most of the basics, and in a very informative and grafic way. Although the Norwegian army could not play a vital part in the war, the biggest contribution from Norway was its merchant fleet and 30 000 civilian sailors who in allied service all over the world during the war. Just this week the movie "Krigsseileren" ( war sailor) launched on Norwegian cinema, and it looks like its worth a viewing
Welkome to the channel and thanks for your reply.
Thanks Sir Stefan for Sharing this informative Video about Norway Army during WW2
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There is so much to learn from you. Great and unknown subject. Thank you for sharing your knowledge stefan.
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Stefan great 👍 history lessons. We learn from the past. Thank you for sharing 🍺🍺🍺 Cheers and have a wonderful weekend 🍺
Thanks Jesse 👍
I love the "FOR YOU !" at each video 😁 You have done a great job !
😎👍
Stefan i just want to say that for the time i have been following you now ( pretty long you know ) i have learned many things. You are a good creator!
Great to read. Many thanks!
Thanks Stefan for this thorough investigation of this aspect of this campaign, I know about the allied invasion but knew nothing about the Norwegian armed forces and it’s composition, very informative and interesting indeed
Thanks for your reply. Hope to cover more on this in the future.
I am norwegian and love to finally see something on the norwegian army during ww2. Thanks 👍
Awesome, thanks!
Impressive that despite the somewhat inferiority of the Norwegian Army in comparison to the Germans, Norway held up longer then France did!
Edit: Sweden was close to adopting the Krag-Jorgensen when Norway was in the Swedish union but the Sweden adopted the M95, a variant of the Mauser rifle.
Thanks for sharing this.
The reason why France didn't fight longer is that a lot of generals were simply traitors. Petain, Weygand, Hunziger, Darlan, to mention but a few preferred capitulation instead of calling for the levée en masse.
That's a little optimistic. It is really only the 6th Norwegian Division around Narvik that did well. This was partly because this unit was already fully mobilised because of the Soviet-Finnish Winter War. (Unlike the other Norwegian units.) The other reason was because it was well supported by Allied troops including British units, the excellent French Chasseurs Alpins and the Free Polish Chasseurs de Podhale.
The Mauser was a good choice of adoption for Sweden since they perform a lot better than the Krag-Jorgensen rifle in terms of rate of fire.
@@TH3PLA1NP1L0T Yes, Mauser could be loaded faster by stripperclips.
Perhaps in the future to talk about the norwegians who continued the fight as resistance and in units of the british army
One day for sure.
Good stuff. The "war in the north" always takes a back seat to the wars in the east and west. Of course, it makes sense since the others were more strategically important and saw the most human suffering. Still, its very interesting. Great job!!!
Thanks for sharing this. Hope to cover more on this in the future.
Well, Hitler's main reason for invading Denmark and Norway in the first place was to secure the arctic iron ore port in Narvik to get raw materials for his war industry. Read up on the British "Operation Wilfred", "Plan R 4" and Nazi Germany's "Operation Weserübung" to get a better picture of why neutral Norway was invaded at all. Well over 50,000 soldiers fought for Narvik and its port between April and June 1940. The fighting in the south and west was mostly supporting maneuvers for the battles of Narvik.
Good job on this video, Very detailed with truthful facts.
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Nice to hear about the smaller country's and there roll in WW2. Thank-you god bless
Thanks 🙂
The Norwegian story is a very interesting one. The Germans really wanted to get their hands on the Norwegian facilities that produced heavy water. The existing heavy water was moved around Norway before the invasion, then Scotland then France for protection.
Yes, fascinating topic. Thanks for your reply. Hope to cover more on this in the future.
I’ve always had a deep respect for Norway because of the winter war and their fighting spirit. Did the Sami people participate in any activities during this time? I have subscribed, I am an 1770’s history buff and do living history events. Great video truly enjoyed watching. Cheers from Colorado.
Such an awesome video. Love the tunic you are wearing. Keep up the amazing work.
Thanks!!
Your pronunciation of Norwegian words aren't that bad, kudos! I sometimes hesitate to watch English-speaking just because they absolutely slaughter the language lol.
If someone want to learn more about the campaign here is a few movies/series I highly recommend:
The King's Choice - follows the king and his inner circle during the first few days of the Invasion.
Max Manus - not really about the campaign, but about one of the most decorated commandoes of the Norwegian resistance.
Allied and alone - 3-part documentary on the invasion with interviews of surviving veterans (both Norwegian and British) and very well made reenactments.
Thanks for your reply.
My family had already immigrated to America, but my great grandfather still felt so connected to norway that he wanted to volunteer to go defend norway but he was met with 2 pieces of bad news 1 he was too old (38 at the time of occupation) and 2 the allies had no plans to liberate norway, France was top priority.
Thanks for sharing.
Always love to see videos of nations with a smaller contribution to ww2 ( but a contribution nonetheless ). Do you have any videos about the Norwegian Resistance or planning to do any?
Have a great day!
Great. Thanks for sharing this. Hope to cover more on this in the future.
Great video!
👍
The place where the Norwegian soldiers trained and lived, Little Norway, was at first Toronto Island Airport, and later Muskoka Airport. There’s still a park in Queen’s Quay Toronto called Little Norway Park, and a local brewery up in Muskoka named a brew after them, called “Little Norway.”
That was a Norwegian Air Force training base only, not army or navy.
Thanks for sharing this.
@@einarbolstad8150 thank you for the correction!
@@HistoryHustle You’re welcome :)
A great video as usual
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good job bro
Thanks!
Nice pics of the Krags! I have an American 1896 Springfield cavalry carbine version. Smooth as a Krag is a popular expression due to the single lug bolt ease of operation and they're still popular with hunters and collectors. Civilize 'em with a Krag was another popular expression. An old episode of Run and Gun featured the Springfield Krag vs. the K98 and the Krag won! It was reloaded quicker despite the lack of a stripper clip due to the magazine design. The Germans had them produced in 8mm Mauser and issued to guards in POW camps. The American version was chambered in .30 Caliber Government, now known as 30-40 Krag and was our first bolt action, first smokeless powder and first full metal jacket. Everytime I go to the range I'm asked, " WHAT IS THAT??"
Thanks for replying.
5 ⭐️ as always Stefan 💙
👍👍👍👍👍
We did have a small army, my great grand father served in the a special force called company linge, he shot a German pilot from a mountain and he went to D-day, but his head weren't in the right mind after the war.
I can imagine. Happened to many. Thanks for sharing.
I wish you talked more about the battle of Narvik, the 6th divison and general Carl Gustav Fleischer, the best norwegian general of the war
Not the scope of this episode. Perhaps one day on location.
Hey first of all, what a good Video
I really like the part where talk about the build up of Noorwegian divisions. That is really Impressie.
I know you already made a video about the Dutch army in ww2 what is also a good video, but can you also make one about the Dutch division
(Including the Mariniers and Grenadiers)?
Many thanks for your reply once again. Hope to cover more on this in the future.
I really love the way you say Krag-Jørgensen. Sounds like the 1800s high class old respected noble (you get my point😅) speaking👌👌👌
😁👍
Thank you so much for making this vid I learned a lot and go Dutch🇱🇺
Great, thanks!
After the legal government left the country and established themselves in London, there gradually emerged a resistance movement in Norway, assisted by Britain and later - in the far north - by the Soviet Union. Norwegian refugees in Britain often joined units under British command. Also, during the course of the occupation, more than 50 000 Norwegians fled to neutral Sweden, where about 15 000 of them were given Swedish military training and equipment. They were called "police troops" since Sweden was formally neutral, but were in reality an army. They were sent into Norway in May 1945 to secure disarmament of the Germans and the restoration of democratic rule. (It has been said that they were promised substantial support from regular Swedish forces should the German troops resist. Luckily they did not. The German capitulation was generally peaceful and orderly).
Thanks for sharing your insights on this topic.
An important reason why the Allies had to leave northern Norway in June 1940 was because they had to prioritize France since Dunkirk and the battle of Narvik took place at the same time. And the Norwegian forces had pushed the German and Austrian Gebirgsjägers up to Sweden's border, and Narvik was secured by the Norwegians and allies when they were ordered to capitulate.
Indeed.
Yet another great video! However, as the phrase 'Free Polish' and later 'Free Norwegian' was used, a thought occurred to me that these terms are technically incorrect. I believe that these terms are copied from the term Free French, which was supposed to distinguish the French forces in exile from the ones loyal to the Vichy government. The situation of Poles and Norwegians alike was different but I guess that: a) the French are the most known among the formations of this kind and b) 'free' is a bit shorter and generally sounds better than 'in exile'.
BTW I might have recommended it before but here's an excellent video specifically about Polish involvement in the Norwegian Campaign:
ruclips.net/video/dxZrWVJm0Uk/видео.html
I feel honored :)
Thanks for your reply!
my gand grandfather fought in Narvik as a part of the Trønderbattalion, they were caught off guard when the germans invaded. they were stationed at the local school when the alarm was sounded they then took up positions in the city waiting for the german to come from the docks but weridly the german nor the norwegians didn`t open fire, the germans simply walked up to them and claped on the shoulder and offered cigarettes. after the weird interaction my grand grandfather unit walked back to the school waiting for new orders. while this was happeneing the city was more or less taken the city the germans had set up roadblocks. while my grand grandfather`s unit waited an fenrik ( a norwegian officer) showed up and told his unit to walk in a straight line and follow him out the city. so they then got to a german checkpoint where the german officer asked them what they were doing and the fenrik replied that they are walking out of the city the german officer/soldier said they weren`t allowed to leave the city but the fenrik had other ideas so he simply replied with "we are walking anyway, good day!" seeing a long line armed norwegian soldiers walking out of the city the germans at the checkpoint were either stunned or couldn`t really do much since they were outgunned and outnumbered so they let the norwgian unit walk past and out of the city.
later a german patrol caught up with my grand-grandfather`s unit and told them they had to follow them back to the city to be disarmed and taken prisoners, but the fenrik didn`t want that happen so he said that he would follow the german patrol back to the city but the unit he was leading could continue without him, seeing that its better to take a officer back with you rather than none the germans agreed and so my g-grandfather and his unit continued their journey without the officer. quite a werid tale if i must say so myself. he later fleed to sweden after a firefight happened at bjørnefjell close to the swedish border.
Very interesting to read. Thanks for sharing.
It was esential for Germany to make a preventive move over Norway before UK and secure its iron provision fron sweden. From what you very clearly describe, Norway had no option to resist, not even with the help the allies could provide. Thanks Stefan!
France and polish
The Krag-Jörgensen rifle was never used by the Swedish Armed forces, Sweden used Mauser karbin m/94 and gevär m/96. But both countries used 6,5x55 “Swedish “.
Believed otherwise but in case youre right I stand corrected.
0:42 well, their ancestors were the Vikings, so that's their naval tradition
Recent Naval tradition.
@@HistoryHustle It's strange to say Norway had no recent naval tradition as commerce and shipping made up the backbone of the Norwegian economy from the 17th century to the late 20th century. At the outbreak of the Second World War Norway was the fourth largest shipping nation in the world. The organisation set up to manage the Norwegian merchant fleet by the exiled government in London after the German occupation in 1940, Notraship, was the largest shipping company in the world during the war. Norwegian sailors and ships formed the backbone of the allied merchant fleet in the battle for the Atlantic. There is far more to "naval tradition" then just having warships.
Nice presentation, but I would have liked to hear more about the Norwegian POWs in German hands. Was there a resistance movement in Norway? I hope you follow this up with more on Norway.
Perhaps a topic for a future episode.
Not the channel but there was a resistance movement in Norway, though it only really starts carrying out bigger acts of sabotage towards the end of the war. The sabotage of the heavy water plant Vemork was one of their more famous actions, but they also carried out other actions. Most of the resistance was in the form of civil disobedience and the distribution of illegal newspapers. Though there were definitely a lot of brave resistance fighters, I do think that here in Norway we have a tendency to exaggerate the importance of the resistance.
Would we be able to get something about Irelands military during the second World War?
I know they were neutral, but things like the donegal corridor and their army reform in 1940 seems cool :D
One day I hope.
The Norwegian Army just like the Poland army won't go quietly into the night
For sure.
Top!
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A video about the german navy losses during the norway invasion would be great. Those losses played a major in giving up operation seelow.
Correct. Since 1942 most of the Kriegsmarines capital ships were in Norway, from Trondheim til Altafjord.
Thanks for sharing this. Hope to cover more on this in the future.
«No naval tradition»… what are you on about? The Dano-Norwegian navy consisted heavily on Norwegian sailors and officers, the latter holding some of the most important positions in the Danish government. Also, the Norwegian merchant navy was one of the largest on the globe.
Meaning in the 20th century.
Well, the Norwegian government had just ordered new warships from England, and as I said, it was the fourth largest merchant navy in the world, as well as perhaps the most modern one. It was vital to the allied war effort. This is all at the beginning of the war, and thus very much 20th century.
What happened to your accent? I thought it was charming. Now you sound almost like an American. That's a compliment I hand you begrudgingly. Clearly you put a lot a work into your videos.❤️
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I wood like to mention that the Norwegian army in exile, took part in the Liberation of the Walcheren peninsula.
That I did not know!
the gun (guns) that sank the destroyer was ancient-They had cute names but I cant remember
The King was a hero
Old guns indeed.
The Krag-Jorgensen rifle had a short career with the US Army. In preference to a Mauser style M1903 Springfield rifles
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i have the medals wherpass and documents and every peice of paperwork, medals earned, trial of shooting anothother officer, letters to general Maisel who was in the car that went to rommel and much more of Hartwig Pohlman Oberst, who was one of not many who was responsible for the surrender of norway. He is portrayed in the film the kings choice. A ww1 hero also on the western front.
Hi! Can you please make a video about the romanian soldiers who fought aside the germans in ww2, in the eastern front where they lost i think around 200.000 men, in Odessa and Stalingrad? Thank you
One day for sure.
Not to mention the norwegian merchant marine of 10.000 ships requisitioned to allied command of which some half were sunk.
The forgotten war.when the survivors repatriated they were denied war pensions because technically they were civillians.
My great grandfather would often when drunk talk about the horrors of boys being washed overboard in the dead of night by a gigantic wave never to be seen again.
Thats why I didnt join the navy..lol
There are plenty of nightmares to be made in landlocked countries far from the sea.
Thanks for sharing.
0:40 In 1905 ... Norway had no naval tradition
*Vikings spinning in their graves*
*recent naval tradition.
Grate video :) but i feel i need to say that the norway has had a long and colorfull navel tradisjon. Thoe much of it has been under the Danish-Norwegian union, the Norwegian navy has its originale with the declerstion of independens from Danmark in 1814. Much of the earlyer navel history (before 1800) were focused on smaler gun galieys and coastal defence. At the begining of 1800 with the brithis Capture of the danish navy in 1807, norway startes building larger ships. With the modern Norwegian navy coming to be on 12. april 1814. This is only the begining of the military navel tradisjon, the civilian navel tradisjon is eawen lenger :) sorry for bad english, a yong old Norwegian navy salt bord out of his mind on a nightwach (can add som sources if anyone want them)
Thanks for watching. I meant to say no recent naval tradition. Apart from the coastal guns at Oslo German incoming ships faced no opposition from the Norwegian navy.
@@HistoryHustle Thats also a bit off im afrade, 😅 the costal guns round Bergen fired at Königsberg, but this action did not stop the german atack, same in Narvik where the norwegian coastel defens ships, Norge and Eidsvoll whas sunk during battle. At kristjansand the atack was halted by costal batery fire and held of the atack from til 10. But i do see your point. The german did face opposisjon at some atack points but with little effekt.
Im sorry if im to proud, servd a good long time with the norwegian navy 😅
When you dress up, are you wearing replicas?
I am.
Another good film Stefan. The German occupation of Norway was not so much a German victory as an Allied defeat. Any study of this campaign shows how chaotic the planning and execution of the British/French response and what opportunities were lost. The Norwegian Merchant fleet though was vital to the Allied effort throughout the war and this is a fact that has been given too little recognition, Norwegians should be proud of the fight they put up and continued both in Norway and abroad.
Thanks for sharing this. Hope to cover more on this in the future.
Norway had no naval tradition!? I beg your pardon? Lol
Also, I dont think the king and government went to Narvik before living Norway, that would be a very big detour, especially considering the army chasing them. I like the video though, very informative
I meant recent naval tradition. Thanks for watching.
There’s a good Norwegian movie about the German invasion. It’s called the king’s choice .
Indeed. Good one.
The follow up, "Slaget om Narvik (Narvik: Hitler's First Defeat)" has been delayed due to Covid, but will hopefully be released soon.....
@@Lassisvulgaris ty
Can we get an episode about the dutch police force during ww2 or dutch colonial weapons and uniforms ?
Here:
ruclips.net/video/2MlbRPjppOs/видео.html
Hello from norway
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i am going to Norway on Monday
Enjoy 🇸🇯
The 99th Infantry Battalion of the US Army. formed in Minnesota, was made up of Norwegians and Norwegian Americans. They participated in the liberation of Europe and ultimately served as the honor guard for King Haakon's return to Oslo.
Thanks for sharing.
Well, no RECENT naval tradition....
True.
Battle of Midtskogen they held off the German army so that the king and his cabinet can escape
There is also this movie: The King's Choice.
Namsos, not Samsos.
Did i say it wrong? I stand corrected.
Sweden trained norwegian troops to help liberate Norway and also had planes to invade norway themself to throw out the germans
Didn't know this.
Nobody respected the weak Norway, which had an important strategic position (HMS Cossack and DKM Altmarrk incident and British violation of Norwegian territorial waters) Facing the Atlantic (through the Norwegian Sea) and with a mineral loading terminal of Iron in Narvik (rail line to the Swedish North). Sweden was the world's largest exporter of iron ore, essential for the German war effort, its most economical transport was precisely through the Norwegian port of Narvik to Germany.
Thanks for sharing this.
How did czhechs escape to fight on where did they go before ww2 and after
Hope to cover that one day.
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ALTA NORGE!!! FOR THE LION AND AXE!!🇳🇴🇳🇴🇳🇴🇳🇴🇳🇴
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East of Finnmark was liberated by the USSR in late 1944 and was given back to Norway. The germans burned down everything in Finnmark and North Troms county in late 44
Perhaps an interesting topic for the future.
@@HistoryHustle In Norway we found a document recently saying the burning of FInnmark was actually ordered by Qusling himself, not Hitler as first though. Qusling was woried the proper Norwegian goverment would set up "Free Norway" in Finnmark making his regime unlegitimate.
You should do a presentation on your current Farmers protest. 🚜🚜🚜
No. I do history.
@@HistoryHustle do it in a year from now 😄
@@HistoryHustle well schedule it for 2092
Wouldn’t the 1899 be a Swedish uniform?
Believe they had Norwegian units back then as well.
By then, pretty much the only thing the Swedes handled was foreign relations. Norway was a separate country, with a Swedish king. Norway had its own armed forces,. Some of the pictures in this video are of those forces along the border in connection with the high tension that arose out of Norway wanting to leave that union, which also happened in 1905.
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The reason Germany took long to invade was because of massiv supply problems this only got solved after Sweden allowed german trains to travel true sweden to Norway with more soldiers and supplies if that never happend norway may have won but new supplies and fresh troops mnt the end for norway.
aslo in the north norway did good because of 2 battalions mobilzied during the winter war in chase of Soviet invasion of norway if we had mobiliz the entiere military earlier somthing the crown prinz and a few other wanted the geramns may have never landed in the first place. our lost super fast
Thanks for sharing this.
@@HistoryHustle Suggest to read a book i dont know if its in english but is called The swedish Betrayal
our de svenske sviket.
it talks about how sweden helped germany in ww2 with the invasion of norway and soviet union and stuff.
Nice little ding dong video. Take it easy.
Thanks!
"Norway was a country with no naval tradition" Seriously !!
Recent naval history. Seriously.
@@HistoryHustle In 1939 Norway had the 4th biggest merchant navy in the world, get your act together. Seriously
ok i'm sorry but no naval tradition? sure we didn't have destroyers and battleships to take on the full might of the kiregsmarine but so say we had/have no naval traditions is just... ignorant
Recent naval tradition. The Germans went in with their ships unopposed by the Norwegian navy.
No naval tradition? kinda the opposite but ok
Ok.
no naval traditions. wow. when Denmark controlled Norway, 2/3 of the Danish fleet was from Norway ..including our greatest naval commanders.
*Recent naval tradition.
@@HistoryHustle tradition are by definition not recent. Norway have strong naval traditions all the way back to the Viking.
Blucher was sunk by a whitehead torpedo
Ok!
"No naval tradition" - google Tordenskiold
And there was other reasons the Norwegians held out for so long:
1. The terrain of Norway being mountainous and rich with fjords creating lots of opportunities for channelizing defence and kill boxes. A german commander later said that "Norway could be held solely with the use of explosives." and that the Norwegians had neglected their opportunities which the terrain held.
2. The length of Norway meant that troops had to travel far and long to fight. Just take the german "Buffalo march" fra Røsvik to Narvik. German troops marched some 300 km in 11 days in mountainous terrain which had few roads to relieve the troops in Narvik. Which could be an interesting video in itself.
You also failed to mention that it was the Norwegians who first beat the Germans in battle up until that point in WW2.
No recent naval tradition of course.
Thanks for your insights.
As for your last claim I think this is contested. The Poles at Westerplatte also fought off several attacks. Besides, the Campaign itself is not the scope of this video.
NORGE!
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Alt for Norge!
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Very poor armed forces, very poor aviation: a few dozen aircraft, reconnaissance and light attack biplanes and its high point: 12 Gloster Glatiator MK II Naval Fighter Biplanes, which were destroyed on the ground by the Luftwaffe. His navy, with such a small budget, bought some extinct class ships prior to the Great War (Armored Cruiser), to use them as "Coastal Battleships" in function ..... Coast Guard: myopia, strategic, zero in naval doctrine, old big manned (potential casualties): NORGE AND EIDSVOLL, which were massacred by German light surface units. Anyway. The defense of the Fjord of Norway can be rescued where the Germans lost the enormous and very modern Heavy Cruiser Blucher (Hipper class) with great loss of life.
Norway and its possible allies: GB and France, had no chance, the Germans invaded, under the cover of 1200 German planes (half JU 52 transport).
Greetings Stephen.
Thanks for sharing this.
No naval tradition? Check your facts, its not harder than clicking on the Wikipedia article about the Norwegian Navy. First mentioned in written sources in the year 985 (ninehundredeightyfive). This countrys whole existence was based on seafaring up until the seventies when oil was struck.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leidang
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Norwegian_Navy
Motorisation of the artillery as well as the infantry begun mid-late 30s, but was not completed in 1940. But fair enough, not easy to find if you dont know the norwegian language.
And where do you have the number of 180500 when fully mobilized from?
See sources below the video.
Did he say norway had no naval tradition?
*recent naval tradition I meant.
@@HistoryHustle its fine Just kinda ironic