商品簡介
This volume explores the battles fought in and around Narvik in 1940. The campaign would be a missed opportunity for the Allies, characterized by numerous failings in planning and execution.
The northern Norwegian town of Narvik was a key ice-free port, through which vital shipments of iron ore passed. At sea, the Royal Navy fought the Kriegsmarine, and succeeded in destroying a German destroyer flotilla in the battles in the fjords, isolating 1,750 men of the 3rd Gebirgsjäger Division and 2,700 naval personnel from the scuttled German ships. The ensuing land battles that took place between 9 April and 8 June 1940 pitted Norwegian, French (including 13th Demi-Brigade of Foreign Legion), British and Polish troops against German Gebirgsjäger and Fallschirmjäger units. Despite their initial successes, the German invasion of France and the Low Countries altered the overall situation of the war, and the importance of Norway was considerably lessened: on 25 May, Allied commanders received orders to evacuate from Norway.
In this study, David Greentree presents a meticulously researched narrative of the Narvik campaign, showing how it was a lost opportunity for the Allies. The campaign was a key learning ground for both sides, and vital lessons were learned in coordinating combined operations.
