War on Film – Number 24

The Battle for Norway lasted for two months in 1940. The country had been neutral during the First World War and hoped to keep out of the Second. But neither side respected Norwegian neutrality. The Germans exported iron ore from Sweden, vital for their war machine, through the Norwegian port of Narvik. Winston Churchill, as First Lord of the Admiralty, came up with a plan to mine the waters off the Norwegian coast in order to harden the blockade against the Nazis. The British Cabinet, reluctant at first, finally agreed to the plan and to send an Expeditionary Force to Norway. Meanwhile, Hitler ordered his generals to prepare an invasion. He hoped the country’s naval bases could be used