9th April 1940 - The start of war in Norway

German military attack on Norway on 9 April 1940 - World War II.

The attack was the first integrated air, sea and land attack in history under one command, General Nikolaus von Falkenhorst. It was a surprise attack without a prior declaration of war from the night of 8–9 April against Moss, Oslo, Horten, Arendal, Kristiansand, Egersund, Stavanger, Bergen, Trondheim and Narvik as well as against all coastal fortifications and the airports of Fornebu and Sola.

German troops had sailed with many warships and boats from German ports before 8 April 1940. After the outbreak of war against Poland in 1939, 400 Norwegian sailors had lost their lives at sea in the merchant fleet, mostly due to torpedoes from German submarines. The first Norwegian boat to encounter the German warships was the guard ship Pol 3 - a converted whaling ship. They attempted to stop the German fleet with a warning shot, the Germans opened fire, and Captain Leif Weldin Olsen was the first to fall – April 8, 1940.

But the volleys of gunfire were heard from other boats and on land, and they saw the rockets. Many people call Oslo to ask what to do, they get many bad answers. One answer was to call again after 9:00. The alarm goes off on land, at the forts, at Bolærene and Rauøy. At 4 o'clock the ships approach Oscarsborg, and Oberst Birger Eriksen is waiting there. He understands what might be in store. He orders the main batteries and torpedo batteries to be manned. He loads 2 old cannons. He needs about 18 men for each cannon. Many conscripts had perms, so he brought people from the stables and from the kitchen. 2 shots were fired, one hit the command bridge on Blucher, the other hit a fuel storage on the deck. The boat now has little or no steering. The ship is burning heavily as the boat moves forward past Oscarsborg. The torpedo battery was loaded, 2 torpedoes are fired, both hit and Blucher sinks quickly. "Blücher" was a German cruiser, the second of five ships of the Admiral Hipper class, which was launched on June 8, 1937. 830 Germans die there and then, many horses and a lot of German equipment. Many Germans are saved, including some German officers. This incident led to the King, the government and the gold reserves escaping north.

On 10 April 1940, the unloading of the main German force from the port of Oslo began. The next day, so many units were already set up that the German commander-in-chief, General Nikolaus von Falkenhorst, believed he could launch offensive operations. Two columns were set up. The left column consisted of an infantry regiment that would go towards inner Østfold, supported by an infantry battalion that was sent to Lillestrøm and would go on over Fetsund and south towards Trøgstad. They marched from Oslo late in the evening of 11 April.