On 15 March 1940, the German fleet had begun to assemble in the harbor and the soldiers had begun to board the ships, with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd battle groups departing from Wilhelmshaven and Bremerhaven, and the 4th, 5th, and 6th battle groups departing from Kiel, Lübeck, and Danzig, respectively. Standing on the tall bridge of the flagship "Deutschland", Vice Admiral Kumetz saw a number of Austro-Hungarian mountain infantrymen in yellow-green military uniforms and tube-shaped soft hats on the dock boarding the ship with German soldiers.

The Austro-Hungarian 2nd Mountain Chasseur Division would follow the 5th Battle Group, which was targeting Stenberg at the entrance to Oslo's narrow bay.

The German High Command had little doubt about the outcome of the battle, Denmark had only 2 infantry divisions, while Norway had only 7 infantry divisions, and the naval power of the two countries was almost negligible. And Norwegian Defense Minister Gilins has made it clear that after the German troops begin to land, he will order the troops to stop resisting.

The only thing to worry about was Norwegian waters, and the British fleet generally did not dare to approach the area around the Skagerrak Strait and venture into the range of German land-based aviation, which would certainly be in Norwegian waters. The most ingenious idea of the exercise plan drawn up by the joint naval and army group was that the landing force would all be sent out on warships, so that the navy would no longer have to be distracted to protect the vulnerable transport ships and would speed up the movement as quickly as possible. But the disadvantages were also obvious, the forces of the naval fleet were dispersed, and the main forces of the fleet could hardly be able to protect the long coast of western Norway of more than 800 nautical miles from the British fleet.

On March 16, the fleet was ready to sail, and Vice Admiral Kumetz invited two army commanders who had participated in the Battle of Oslo, the commander of the 163rd Division, Erwin Brown. Major General Engebrest and the commander of the 2nd Austro-Hungarian Mountain Chasseur Division, Lothar? Rear Admiral Lendulik set sail with him on the battleship "Deutschland". This is also what Marshal Raeder meant, after all, if a general is lost on the battlefield, it will still make the German navy escorting the landing of the army lose face.

Vice Admiral Kumets was somewhat curious about the equipment of the Austro-Hungarian mountain infantry, as he understood it. The German-Austrian army infantry had generally been equipped with semi-automatic rifles, but the equipment of these mountain infantry was also somewhat different from that of ordinary infantry, and in addition to the usual climbing equipment and ropes, they were equipped with about four single-shot rifles with mounts and scopes per infantry squad.

General Lendulik explained to him that due to the long distance of the mountain infantry, it was possible to shoot at each other from the enemy across the hill. So the number of sniper rifles in the troops is several times higher than that of ordinary infantry.

That night, the entire fleet sailed out of the harbor at night, and according to the plan, the battle would be launched at the same time in the early morning of the 19th, and Vice Admiral Kumetz spent these two days discussing the details of the landing operation on the Oslo front line with the accompanying army generals.

The entire fleet consisted of 16 warships and 38 transport ships, and in fact each battle group carried only one regiment of personnel and equipment for the landing in the first batch. The 5th Battle Group had a much larger transport mission, and due to the need to land at Sternberg and Oslo, this flotilla carried two infantry regiments and more than 6,000 army officers and men.

It's already spring in Germany in March. But in Scandinavia, much of the country is still covered in snow and ice, the snow has just melted, and the weather is still cold. However, the weather in the Baltic Sea is still fine, the temperature during the day can reach 12 degrees Celsius, and although the night is still around freezing, it is no longer particularly cold.

The news of the German naval dispatch was already known the next day by surveillance and spies all over the German coast and by high-altitude reconnaissance planes sent by the British. And soon sent back the report to London.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we think that the most likely movement of the Germans is to prepare for an attack on Norway. We should act quickly and do everything we can to stop the German invasion of Norway! "In the conference room in Whitehall, Admiralty Chancellor Winston Churchill briefed the Cabinet members on the latest developments." After secret negotiations, the Norwegian government has agreed to work with us to lay mines in Norwegian waters and work together to fight against a possible German invasion! Now, Norwegian ships are cooperating with the British Navy's mine-laying operations in Norwegian waterways. It is clear that the Germans have discovered our intentions and have begun to act. ”

"Your Excellency, do you mean to dispatch the entire home fleet?" Chief of the Army General Staff William? Baron Aemond said.

"Of course not, but if you want to stop the German invasion of Norway. I want to use half of the strength of the home fleet. Churchill said that King Haakon VII of Norway was the son-in-law of King Edward and had always held a pro-British position, and it was precisely because of this that Britain could say that Norway acquiesced in the British and French troops and used Norway to fight Germany. If Germany were allowed to occupy Norway without any reaction from Britain and France, it would be very detrimental to the future of the entire alliance led by Great Britain.

"But what if the Germans created the illusion of attacking the British mainland?" "If the forces defending the homeland are depleted," said Pound, First Sea Lord, "what are we going to do to fend off the Germans?" What he said was the truth, Britain sent to the Far East before the war, consisting of the battleships "Sovereign" and "Royal Oak", the battlecruiser "Counterattack" and the aircraft carrier "Invincible", but due to the frequent activity of German submarines after the war, the navy had to send another three old "revenge" class battleships to join the convoy, plus the Gibraltar fleet needed to prevent the attack of the Austro-Hungarian navy, in fact, the only capital ships that could be used on the mainland were two "Nelson" class and three "Queen" class, and the other was thatBattlecruiser "Prestige".

At this time, everyone did not realize the importance of aircraft, although there were still several aircraft carriers, but everyone had not yet included those battleships in the ranks of capital ships.

Churchill's problem was that although the army had agreed to send two divisions to "defend Norway", it was reluctant to operate alone in Norway and needed to be joined by France. The French, on the other hand, dragged their feet, discussing the details of the operation with the British, moving slowly. This, on the contrary, allowed the Germans to start the operation in advance.

While the British were hurriedly dispatching troops and coordinating relations with all sides, the Germans had already begun to act.

At 4:20 a.m. in the early morning of 18 March, the German ambassador to Copenhagen delivered an ultimatum to the Danish Government, demanding that Denmark immediately accept "German protection" and respond within one hour. At 5:20 a.m., the German ambassador to Oslo also delivered an ultimatum to the Norwegian government to the same effect. By this time, the German fleet had advanced into the main Norwegian ports, and the naval and airborne forces had launched an all-out attack on Denmark from the sea and air.

The Danes put up little resistance, the navy did not fire a single shot, the army suffered only 20 wounded, and at 8:30 a.m., King Christian X, after convening an urgent cabinet meeting, decided to accept the German ultimatum, and the Germans forced Denmark to surrender after only four hours.

The Norwegian government, however, replied: "We will not give in!" (To be continued......) R1292