Hitler’s Pre-Emptive War: The Battle for Norway, 1940 (77 page)

For the Norwegians, the stage was set to secure the key terrain on the high plateau. However, the German defense line had been shortened considerably and if their losses in personnel and equipment could be replaced, they would be able to occupy the remaining defensive positions with stronger forces.

Generals Fleischer and Béthouart felt the troops needed some time to rest before tackling the difficult tasks ahead. The attack on Narvik was expected within a few days and as soon as the city was taken, the offensive against Bjørnefjell would be launched. The timing of these attacks was unfortunate since it spared the Germans from having to face simultaneous offensives against both Narvik and Bjørnefjell.

Béthouart assumed command of all Allied ground forces in the Narvik area when the British units moved south to stop General Feurstein’s advance. On May 14 he met with Fleischer at the 6th Division headquarters to discuss the offensive and establish a boundary between the French and Norwegian troops. It was agreed that the initial boundary would run from just northwest of Hartvigvann to the southwest portion of Fiskeløsvann. It was also decided that one Norwegian infantry battalion and a motorized field artillery battery would participate in the direct attack on Narvik. Fleischer selected the 2/15th Inf since many troops in this unit were recruited from the town and surrounding area. This battalion and the 9th Motorized Artillery Battery were removed from the front to Setermoen. They sat idle at Setermoen for almost two weeks because of repeated postponements of the Narvik attack. The newly mobilized 1/15th Inf was at Bardufoss preparing to move to the Bodø area. The Reserve Battalion, 16th Inf had completed its training period at Setermoen on April 30 but was not deployed to the front as a unit. By pulling the 1/15th out of the line, Fleischer reduced his forward-deployed forces to the equivalent of three and one half battalions since the 1/12th Inf was still recovering from its losses in Gratangen.

At this time, the Allied forces were positioned as follows:

1. The two French Foreign Legion battalions were located in the Bjerkvik-Øyjord area with 1st Bn occupying Hills 509 and 589, the high ground east of Herjangsfjord; 2nd Bn was at Elvegårdsmoen with forward units west and south of Hartvigvann.

2. The 27th Half-Brigade CA had its battalions spread throughout the area. The 6th Bn was relocated to Gratangen (later to Sjøvegan) since 65% of its personnel suffered from frostbite. The 12th Bn on Ankenes Peninsula was relieved by the 1st Polish Bn in the evening of May 17 and moved across Ofotfjord to Lenvik as a reserve. The 14th Bn was located in the Øyjord area and plans were to move east from that area but frostbite problems ruled out an overland move. The battalion was moved in ALCs and a British destroyer to Liljedal during the night of 18-19 May with the mission of establishing a bridgehead in the Aasen area.

3. The entire Polish Brigade was located on Ankenes Peninsula, or to its west, by May 19.

The Foreign Legion moved into the area around Fiskeløsvann on May 16 but heavy air attacks and German artillery fire brought the advance to a halt. The French forces withdrew on May 19 after the Norwegians assumed responsibility for this area. The Germans bombed the headquarters of the French half-brigade in Bjerkvik on May 17 and eight soldiers, including the battalion commander, were killed. General Ruge, who was visiting, was not hurt.

Fleischer had made it clear in his directives since late April that Bjørnefjell was his main objective and the 6th Brigade was expected to carry out the main burden of the attack. However, the 6th Brigade was deployed on a wide front from just east of Lillebalak to the Swedish border with no apparent main effort, despite Lieutenant Colonel Berg’s earlier suggestion that better possibilities for maneuver existed in the east, between Nævertind and the Swedish border.

Would the outcome have been more favorable if Berg’s suggestion had been taken up? There were no German forces deployed in that area on May 14. General Dietl and Colonel Windisch became very concerned about their right flank after reports of Norwegian troop movements, their seizure of the Nævertind area, and a buildup against Kuberget. These actions on the part of the Norwegians resulted in a scramble by the Germans to make forces available to plug the gaping hole in their right flank. It was not until May 19 that the flank was covered, by relatively weak forces. If Berg had been allowed to move significant forces into the area between Nævertind and the Swedish border, he may have found no German defenses to speak of between that area and Bjørnefjell.

A two-battalion attack in the area from Kuberget to the Swedish border, conducted at the same time as the rest of the Norwegian and French forces tied down the remainder of Group Windisch, could have led to a quick termination of the campaign. It would have posed a direct threat to what was a rather defenseless base area in the middle of May. Only a quick withdrawal of Group Windisch would have produced sufficient forces to blunt such a drive. Failure to do so in a timely manner would have isolated Group Windisch and caused the loss of the Bjørnefjell base. Its loss would spell the end to any possibility of Dietl’s forces surviving for more than a few days. If successful, a thrust along the Swedish border would give the Norwegians ample time to eliminate the last pocket of German resistance before the situation in Narvik was overtaken by events.

A breakthrough drive by the 6th Brigade in the east would have involved minimal risks to its right flank, if the other Norwegian and French forces had maintained pressure on Group Windisch as it withdrew. The risk would have been more than offset by the turmoil such an advance would cause for the 3rd Division and the avoidance of a three-week slugging match that resulted from the set-piece broad front approach. German reinforcements were beginning to trickle into the Narvik area and it was important to conclude the operation successfully before this became a significant flow. It was also important for General Fleischer to move forces to the south to confront General Feurstein.

There are differences of opinion with regard to who was at fault for not exploiting an excellent opportunity to conclude the campaign. General Hovland maintains that Fleischer intended to conduct “maneuver warfare” and blames Berg for either misunderstanding or ignoring Fleischer’s instructions.
¹⁸
Hovland refers to the 6th Division’s operational directive on May 15 as proof of Fleischer’s intentions. This directive calls for the advance to Bjørnefjell to start
after
Narvik was recaptured and the troops had had an opportunity to rest in positions suitable as starting points for future operations.

The 6th Brigade did not stop for a rest and it was due to its initiative on the high plateau that the Norwegians were able to capture this area before the Germans built up their defenses and brought in reinforcements. There was no pressure from the division to hurry the attack. With respect to future operations, the brigades were encouraged to send reconnaissance detachments into the Cirklevann and Kuberg areas and to maintain strong combat patrols there.
¹⁹

The Norwegians had good intelligence about German dispositions that indicated that the bulk of their forces were in the west and center of their sector.
²⁰
Berg had the lack of German troops between Nævertind and the Swedish border in mind when he suggested shifting the weight of his attack eastward on May 12. He pointed to the difficulties involved in an attack from Læigastind and Gressvann and the obvious defensive preparations the Germans had made on the plateau south of these locations. He saw maneuver possibilities in the area from Nævertind to Isvann and the Swedish border. A concentration of forces in the east would still allow for an offensive against Jernvannene. Berg anticipated that supplying an easterly offensive would be more difficult but concluded that it was possible.

It may well be that Fleischer intended to avoid the German strongpoint on the plateau as much as possible, and it may have been his intention to push through the center and cut off the German retreat near Jernvannene. However, there is no convincing evidence of “maneuver warfare” in the Norwegian operations after May 1. There is no evidence of a main effort or of attempts to outflank the Germans. The operations can be characterized as an effort to drive the Germans back on a broad front. Fleischer was familiar with the positioning of the various units along his front. He also had copies of the brigade orders for their operations and objectives. These should have told him that the Norwegians were engaged on an systematic assault on and capture of key terrain all along the front, with little thought given to bypassing the enemy. There were no units positioned to widen a breakthrough and push into the enemy rear. Dietl had ordered the Kuberg-Kobberfjell area held “unconditionally” and it was against these strong defenses that the 6th Brigade was ordered to launch its operations.

The next division directive was issued on May 19, as the fighting for the key objectives on the high plateau was already in progress. Again, there is no expressed sense of urgency.
²¹
Ø.K. [Fleischer] finds no grounds to force [hasten] the advance. Ø.K. would prefer that the units first expand their supply lines. However, if the Allied troops advance, it is the responsibility of the advance security force [6th Brigade] to insure that Norwegian troops reach the line Spionkop-international border first. And, the 6th Brigade may initiate this advance on its own initiative along a line of advance it finds most suitable.

However, we must give credit to Fleischer who appears to have been the only general officer who considered Bjørnefjell the main objective. The Allies—from Churchill down—continued their fixation with the town of Narvik, a town that had lost whatever importance it may have had as a military objective. It had only a symbolic importance. The objective of an offensive is the destruction of enemy forces or placing these forces in an untenable situation. The capture of Bjørnefjell would do that since Dietl would be forced to defend his last link to the outside world and would withdraw—as he indicated—from Narvik to defend his base area if that became necessary.

If all available forces were committed on the northern front and the Allies concentrated their efforts on supplying these forces, there was an excellent possibility of concluding the campaign. Fleischer was also correct in placing the weight of his effort on the left flank and his order on May 19 appears to give great latitude to Berg as to the timing and direction of attack. His failure, as I see it, was not to exploit the opportunity of the open German right flank quickly and vigorously. The claim that Berg misunderstood or willfully ignored Fleischer’s wishes must be viewed in the context of several events:

1. The exchange of views that took place between Fleischer and Berg from May 12.

2. The 6th Division’s directives of 15, 19, and 22 May.

3. Fleischer’s apparent acquiescence in the 6th Brigade’s final operational concept developed after May 12, which did not include slipping around the enemy’s still open right flank.

4. The statement made by Colonel Berg at the end of the campaign.

The Norwegians Capture the High Plateau

The rest that Fleischer anticipated before resuming the offensive did not materialize, as both unit commanders and troops were eager to clear the high plateau. The fighting over the next week was concentrated around the high grounds: Kuberget (Hill 820), Kobberfjell (Hill 914), and Lillebalak (Hill 572). Four Norwegian infantry battalions participated in the attack on the mountain massif. The 6th Brigade was in the east with the 1/16th closest to the Swedish border and facing the Germans on Hill 860 and Kuberget. The 2/16th in the center faced the Germans on Hill 914 and Hill 648. The 1/12th faced the Germans west of Storebalak, including at Hill 648, while the Alta Bn faced the Germans on Lillebalak and Hill 482. Only a passing reference to this achievement is made by British authors.

The fighting for the high plateau in the week from May 15 to 22 was the heaviest and most demanding of the campaign. It brought Group Windisch to a state of near collapse. The Germans suffered serious casualties and with troops approaching complete exhaustion, they were forced to withdraw to a last defensive line north of their base at Bjørnefjell.

The Norwegian plan called for an attack by two battalions of the 6th Brigade, to seize the Kuberg-Koberfjell area at the same time as the 7th Brigade attacked further west. The Alta Bn was to secure Hill 336 and the 1/12th would begin its advance up the very steep river valley between Lillebalak and Storebalak when its neighbor to the west moved against Hill 336. The two battalions of Legionnaires would attack the Germans in their sector from Hill 648 to Rombakfjord.

At the outset of the fighting, the Germans were deployed with the 1/139th on their left and the 3rd Bn on the right. The far right later became the responsibility of Group von Schleebrügge. The German companies were switched around frequently during the fighting to reinforce certain parts of the front and prevent breakthroughs. However, at the outset we find Co 1 in the Kuberg area (Hills 860 and 820), Co 2 in the Holmevann area, Cos 3, 4, and 5 north of Fiskeløsvann, Co 11 on Hill 648 (to the west of Kobberfjell), Co 12, on Kobberfjell, and parts of Cos 14 and 15 on Lillebalak. Co Müller was located south of Jernvannene as Group Windisch’s reserve, and later as reserve for the 1st Bn. Company 13 was located south of Kobberfjell as the 3rd Bn’s reserve. Company 3/138th was pulled out of the front as divisional reserve on May 15 but had to be committed as reinforcement for Schleebrügge already on May 17. As a replacement for Co 3, Group Windisch received a platoon from the reorganized Naval Battalion Kothe.

Kuberget is the most easterly of the prominent heights south of the Nævertind-Næverfjell area. The 1/16th Inf, commanded by Major Hunstad, was ordered to seize it on May 15. Schleebrügge’s Co 1/139th occupied the Kuberg area. This reinforced company became part of Group Schleebrügge by divisional order on May 18 when it became responsible for the German right flank. Norwegian reconnaissance established that the Germans occupied strong defensive positions on Hills 860, 820, and 794 and they concluded that a frontal attack would be difficult and costly. A couple of attempts on May 14 and early on May 15 failed to drive the Germans from Hill 860.