Haakon VII's mobilization for war could not stop the British offensive on Narvik.

The second round of bombardment by the aircraft carrier group of the USS Fury blew up the coastal batteries of Remness and Havanes, and without them, Narvik had no heavy firepower to stop the British landing.

At 2 p.m. on 6 April, the destroyers USS Bedouin and HMS Hero finally cleared a way through the minefield and broke into the Ufortfjord, but they were ambushed by the Royal Norwegian Navy submarine U-8 ambushed at the entrance to the fjord.

The U-8 submarine was thus exposed and sunk by a British destroyer's depth charges.

Confirming that it was safe in the Ufortfjord, Lord Cork ordered the battleship Warweary to break into the Ufortfjord, cross the hull, and begin shelling the Norwegian Army positions on the shore with eight twin 380mm guns on board. In addition to the two destroyers protecting the USS Fury, the remaining six British destroyers joined in the shelling.

The 5th Infantry Brigade under the command of Colonel Sundlow had only the artillery strength of a 75-mm mountain artillery battalion, and was unable to compete with the large caliber naval guns of the British Royal Navy, so it had to abandon its outlying positions and retreat in panic beyond the range of British naval guns.

At 3:50 p.m. on April 6, a company of the 21st Guards Brigade of the British Army stormed the undefended city of Narvik and raised the Union Jack, officially announcing the fall of Narvik.

Colonel Sundello retreated with the 5th Infantry Brigade to the town of Erfos, south of Narvik, and immediately reported the battle to General Ruger in Oslo.

Almost at the same time, the fall of Narvik was received, and the royal palace of Haakon VII was in a fog of gloom. Already ready to attack, the Kisling party rushed out of their houses in a rage and poured onto the main streets of major cities such as Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim, where newspapers with news of the loss of Narvik were sprinkled free of charge on passers-by. A day later, news of the loss of Narvik spread across Norway's major cities and quickly spread to the countryside.

Confirming that Britain was at war with Norway, the German Foreign Office swept away the decline of nearly a week and, as Goering had predicted, turned into a condemnation ministry and launched a swagger of remarks:

・・・・・・ Germany strongly condemns the banditry acts of Britain and France that trample on international conventions and brazenly invade sovereign countries. He also expressed his condolences and sincere condolences to the Norwegian soldiers and civilians who were killed and injured in such banditry acts. Facts have proven that compromise and concession cannot solve the problem in the face of the aggressor, and even less is the fundamental solution to the problem through dialogue and peaceful means. Germany was willing to support the great and strong Norwegian people in fighting the invaders to the end・・・・・・

Not to be outdone, German Propaganda Minister Goebbels took out the draft of the speech that had been prepared for a long time, and led the Propaganda Department to turn into a protest department to solemnly protest against the shameless acts of Britain and France:

・・・・・・ regard to the shameless act of Britain and France in the undeclared war, Germany will not hesitate to stand by the Norwegian people, lodge a solemn protest against the aggressor, and make solemn representations. I reiterate here that no high-sounding pretext can conceal the fact of the aggression of Britain and France against Norway.

Narvik has been a sacred and inalienable territory of Norway since ancient times, and the illegal occupation by Britain is a flagrant act of colonialism that tramples on international law. Norway is a sovereign country with a long history, not a colony to be bullied at will. Germany solemnly demands that Britain immediately cease this kind of colonialist behavior that blindly uses violence. If Britain did not heed the advice and insisted on going its own way, it would be incumbent upon Germany to side with the Norwegian people and settle the dispute by force・・・・・・

The English Channel could not stop the righteous voices of the German "Ministry of Condemnation" and "Ministry of Protest". Chamberlain, as the British Prime Minister, was naturally the first to bear the brunt, and his body was completely bombarded by countless mouths from across the channel. To add insult to injury, a fire also broke out in his backyard.

On April 7, at the Palace of Westminster in London, at an emergency meeting of the British House of Commons, parliamentarians strongly criticized Chamberlain's military action for the British government's crazy move to disgrace in front of world public opinion, and some parliamentarians even proposed to hold a vote on a motion of no confidence in the Chamberlain government, and more than 100 parliamentarians said they would vote against it. Although the mood of the MPs was eventually appeased, Chamberlain was well aware that his position as prime minister was in jeopardy.

The only comfort to Chamberlain was the consolation from King George VI of England, who thought of George VI's words, "Please cherish yourselves, and try to rest as much as you can in this critical moment." Chamberlain felt his stomach no longer hurt so much.

After leaving Westminster Palace, Chamberlain immediately returned to 10 Downing Street to hold a combat meeting to discuss the next battle plan.

At the strong suggestion of Churchill, the Secretary of the Admiralty, the conference reached two resolutions, one is that it must not withdraw its troops from Norway, otherwise Britain will be completely reduced to an international laughing stock, especially if it wins the first war. Second, it is necessary to cooperate with France to send troops to occupy the entire territory of Norway as soon as possible, so as to create a fait accompli in order to save some face.

On the morning of April 8, a voice from the west coast of the Atlantic lifted Chamberlain's spirits.

"The Government of the United States of ・・・・・・ sincerely appeals to both warring parties to fight in a humanitarian spirit and to ensure that civilians, especially women, children and the elderly, are spared・・・・・・"

Chamberlain, Churchill, and others immediately heard the implication of the United States, and since the United States, the most important neutral country to Britain, had already made its position clear, the voices of other small countries did not need to be cared about.

On the afternoon of 8 April, the large troop carrier Orama and the oil tanker Oil Pioneer sailed for Narvik under the escort of four destroyers, where they were to deliver the rest of the troops and heavy equipment to the 21st Guards Infantry Brigade and replenish fuel.

At 8 p.m. on 8 April, Churchill submitted to Chamberlain the R-4 plan for landing at Trondheim, Bergen, and Stavanger to occupy all of Norway, which was approved by Chamberlain on the same day.

At 9:10 a.m. on April 10, the British aircraft carrier Glory and the battleship Rodney suddenly appeared off the coast of Bergen, Norway's second largest city, with five cruisers and seven destroyers.

The group of Big Gull bombers that took off from the aircraft carrier Glory dropped dozens of tons of bombs on the coastal batteries near the port of Bergen, destroying the shore guns in the port of Bergen.

After confirming that the danger was removed, the infantry of the 185th Infantry Brigade of the British Army, supported by the guns of the Royal Navy, landed in Bergen, and at 12:40 noon on 10 April, Bergen fell.

On the same day, the French Alpine Infantry Regiment, supported by Dunkirk-class battle cruisers and six destroyers, captured the port city of Stavanger in southwestern Norway.

The military action of Britain and France once again aroused the indignation of the German "Condemnation Department" and the "Protest Department", and countless "mouth cannons" were mercilessly fired at Britain on the other side of the English Channel.

Before the German "shelling" of Britain fell, on April 11, the British Royal Navy battlecruiser Prestige appeared in the waters off Trondheim with two cruisers and four destroyers and two troop carriers.

The main force of the Norwegian 4th Infantry Brigade, originally stationed in Trondheim, went north to reinforce Narvik, and only one infantry battalion defended the Trondheim area. With the artillery support of the British Royal Navy, the infantry of the 146th Infantry Brigade of the British Army quickly routed the Norwegian defenders, the third largest city in Norway, Trondheim, the third largest city in Norway, and the main forces of the Norwegian 5th Infantry Brigade and the 4th Infantry Brigade in the Narvik area were cut off from Oslo's land communication line, and fell into the danger of being flanked by the British invading forces in Narvik and Trondheim.

At three o'clock in the afternoon of April 11, in the cliff castle of Münster Eifel in western Germany, Hitler walked up and down the house restlessly, "Let Kurt Brauer show our sincerity by meeting Haakon VII again." Let the Brandenburg regiment and Ghisling keep a close eye on the movements of the enemy in Bergen and Stavanger, and report to me once a day. Hitler ordered.

"Norway's entire army has less than 20,000 men, how long will they be able to resist? Now that the whole of Norway has fallen, it is only a matter of time, why haven't the Norwegians come to us for help? Hitler shouted with a furious wave of his hands.

Hitler stopped abruptly, stared at Goering and Keitel, and said: "We can't let the British and the French all occupy Norway, we have to act, we can't wait any longer." ”

Goering was the first to object: "We must not do it now, otherwise the ten days of waiting will be in vain, and all the public opinion offensive will become useless, and under the eyes of the whole world, our national image will be reduced to the same level as the British, and even more despicable, and if we wait for a few more days, maybe Oslo is now sending a report to the Norwegian minister, asking him to ask us for help and endure for a few more days." ”

Yodel, chief of operations at the High Command, said: "Now that Oslo is still in the hands of the Norwegians, the situation is not as serious as you think. As long as Oslo was there, even if the British and French occupied all the rest of Norway, it would be useless. I think we should now go ahead with the original plan. ”

"Wait another day, I'll have to wait another day at most." Hitler shouted.

As soon as Hitler finished speaking, his aide-de-camp, Major Ruhr, pushed the door in and reported to Hitler: "Führer, Minister Ribbentrop of the Foreign Office has just called, and the Norwegian Minister has asked to see you. ”

Hitler looked at Goering and the others and said expectantly: "I hope it is good news." ”

"Good news for sure." Goering said.

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