PropertyValue
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  • Battles of Narvik
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  • The Battles of Narvik were fought from 9 April to 8 June 1940 as a naval battle in the Ofotfjord and as a land battle in the mountains surrounding the north Norwegian city of Narvik as part of the Norwegian Campaign of the Second World War. Narvik provided an ice-free harbour in the North Atlantic for iron ore transported by the railway from Kiruna in Sweden. Both sides in the war had an interest in securing this iron supply for themselves and denying it to the enemy, setting the stage for one of the first large-scale battles during the Second World War, since the invasion of Poland.
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Strength
  • 1
  • 2
  • 5
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 342
  • 1000
  • 2000
  • 2600
  • 6th Division (Norway)
  • Four British battalions
  • Three battalions of Chasseurs Alpins
  • Total:24,500 men
  • Two battalions of 13th Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion
  • a small number of aircraft
  • Four battalions of the Polish Independent Highland Brigade
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Partof
  • the Second World War
Date
  • 1940-04-09
  • 1940-04-10
  • 1940-04-13
  • --04-09
Commander
  • Erich Bey
  • Friedrich Bonte
  • Bernard Warburton-Lee
  • Carl Gustav Fleischer
  • Eduard Dietl
  • Odd Isaachsen Willoch
  • Per Askim
  • Raoul Magrin-Vernerey
  • William Boyle, 12th Earl of Cork and Orrery
  • William Whitworth
  • Zygmunt Bohusz-Szyszko
Caption
  • Warspite engaging shore batteries during the Second Battle of Narvik.
  • A map of the Narvik area
  • An Eidsvold-class coastal defence ship under way.
  • Narvik during the Second World War
Casualties
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 6
  • 8
  • 28
  • 55
  • 67
  • 128
  • 163
  • 343
  • None
Result
  • British victory
  • German victory
  • German victory following Allied withdrawal
  • Initial Allied victory
combatant
  • France
  • Germany
  • Poland
Place
  • Narvik, Norway
  • Nordland and Troms, Norway
Conflict
  • Battle of Narvik
  • Naval battle preceding the first naval battle of Narvik
  • First naval battle of Narvik
  • Second naval battle of Narvik
abstract
  • The Battles of Narvik were fought from 9 April to 8 June 1940 as a naval battle in the Ofotfjord and as a land battle in the mountains surrounding the north Norwegian city of Narvik as part of the Norwegian Campaign of the Second World War. The two naval battles in the Ofotfjord on 10 April and 13 April were fought between the British Royal Navy and the German Navy (Kriegsmarine), while the two-month land campaign was fought between Norwegian, French, British, and Polish troops against German mountain troops, shipwrecked Kriegsmarine sailors and German paratroops (Fallschirmjäger) from the 7th Air Division. Although defeated at sea off Narvik, losing control of the town of Narvik and being pushed back towards the Swedish border, the Germans eventually prevailed due to the Allied evacuation from Norway in June 1940 following the Battle of France. Narvik provided an ice-free harbour in the North Atlantic for iron ore transported by the railway from Kiruna in Sweden. Both sides in the war had an interest in securing this iron supply for themselves and denying it to the enemy, setting the stage for one of the first large-scale battles during the Second World War, since the invasion of Poland. Prior to the German invasion, British forces had considered Narvik as a possible landing point for an expedition to help Finland in the Winter War. Such an expedition might also take control over the Swedish mines and open up the Baltic for the Allies. French politicians were also eager to start a second front as far away from France as possible.
is Battles of