Norway!

On April 8th of 1940, in an attempt to stop shipments of iron ore to Germany through Norway.  The British and French began operation "Wilfred", which involved mining Norwegian waters.  It was expected that the Germans would react to this, which would give the British and French a pretext to launch operation "Plan R4", the invasion of Norway.  They would then occupy the country as part of an economic barricade around the Reich.  The Germans, already aware of British plans to mine, and then invade Norway, stepped up work on an existing plan "Weserubung".  This too was an invasion of Norway, but with the intention of keeping trade, and specifically iron ore flowing into the Reich.

The Two sides clashed almost simultaneously, and the Norwegians found themselves being invaded from two different directions by two powerful modern military machines.  Each attacking under the ironic explanation that they were only trying to help the Norwegians from being occupied by the enemy.  Ultimately the Germans won a resounding victory, albeit at a high cost to the Kriegsmarine, losing 1 heavy cruiser, 2 light cruisers, 6 U-boats, and half of its 20 destroyers with several other ships taking significant damage ("The campaign in Norway", T.K. Derry) .  This short campaign officially ended on June 10th 1940, with the Norwegian surrender to Germany.  For the duration of the war, the Germans would transform Norway into a fortress, featuring some of the most impressive defensive positions along the entire Atlantic wall.

Tonight, I leave for Iceland and Norway with my significant other Pink.  Among other activities we will be visiting the super heavy naval battery "Fjell" near Bergen in Norway.  This massive complex of bunkers, casemates, gun positions, and tunnels was built by the Germans during the occupation.  The centerpiece of this complex was the turret "Felix", removed from the battle cruiser "Gneisenau", featuring three 280-mm guns!  The turret no longer remains, but the rest of the site is in good condition.  Southeast of Bergen I am going to try to get over to battery "Lista" near the town of Farsund as well.  There are quite a few bunkers here, including many tank turrets set into concrete foundations. 

When I return I will compile a series of posts discussing the different bunkers and various positions in these areas.  These will feature up to date color photos!  There will likely be a dearth of posts while I am away, but I may display some pictures if I have a chance.

Wish me luck!