BREAKING - - - GERMAN TROOPS INVADING DENMARK AND NORWAY (4/9/40)

Internet archive ^ | 4/9/40

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Free Republic University, Department of History presents World War II Plus 70 Years: Seminar and Discussion Forum
First session: September 1, 2009. Last date to add: September 2, 2015.
Reading assignment: New York Times articles delivered daily to students on the 70th anniversary of original publication date. (Previously posted articles can be found by searching on keyword “realtime” Or view Homer’s posting history .)
To add this class to or drop it from your schedule notify Admissions and Records (Attn: Homer_J_Simpson) by freepmail. Those on the Realtime +/- 70 Years ping list are automatically enrolled. Course description, prerequisites and tuition information is available at the bottom of Homer’s profile.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Transcript: “It was about dawn this morning that the first reports came in saying that German troops are crossing the frontier into Denmark. At the same time attacks are being delivered from the sea on a number of Norway’s biggest ports. The Oslo radio is still working and has announced that German troops have disembarked at Egersund, on the south coast of Norway, and that Kristiansand has been attacked and also bombed.”

Developing.

Thanks to CougarGA7 for the link.

[Berlin_Freeper]

Dead Snow

[Arthur McGowan]

“Each night, we tuned in the BBC to hear Alvar Liddell bringing news of fresh disasters.”

“Good evening. This is Alvar Liddell bringing you news of fresh disasters.”

—guess the source.

[Mikey_1962]

So the “Phoney War” ends, and the real one starts.

[xp38]

In Canada Lorne Greene (Bonanza, Battlestar Galactica) read the news on radio during WWII. He became known as the voice of doom.

[C19fan]

That is interesting.

[abb]

That cheating... staying up way past everyone’s bedtime to post this one...

LOL! Just kidding.

[abb]

http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1940/apr40/f09apr40.htm

Germans invade Denmark and Norway
Tuesday, April 9, 1940 www.onwar.com

German infantry bicycle into CopanhagenIn Denmark... Two German divisions under the command of General Kaupitsch invade Denmark as part of Operation Weserübung. Copenhagen is taken within 12 hours.

In Norway... The German landings in Norway begin as part of Operation Weserubung. The group of ships intended for Oslo meet increasing resistance as they sail up the Oslo Fiord. At the Oscarsborg Narrows the brand-new heavy cruiser Blucher is sunk. The troops are compelled to land below this point but are, however soon in the town. Airborne units take some casualties in a simultaneous landing at Oslo airport. Fog disrupts the German landings at Kristiansand but eventually the troops get ashore. At Stavanger the vital airfield is quickly taken by airborne attack but much of the airborne force’s equipment is sunk offshore by a Norwegian destroyer. At Bergen surprise is also achieved but the cruiser Konigsberg is damaged by a coastal battery. To the north, Trondheim is taken practically without a shot. The most questionable part of the German plan is the move on Narvik. By a combination of luck and bad weather they pass the British patrols en route and once up the fiord quickly sink the two old coast-defense ships. Offshore there is an engagement between the battlecruiser Renown and Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in which, despite the disparity of force, Gneisenau is damaged before the German ships break off the action. A British destroyer force is on the way to Narvik. Off Kristiansand the cruiser Karlsruhe is sunk by a British submarine. Overall the Germans have succeeded in getting their forces ashore and their established control of Stavanger airport will prove crucial. German airpower is already restricting British operations, having sunk one destroyer and damaged the battleship Rodney.

[abb]

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/09.htm

April 9th, 1940
NORWEGIAN CAMPAIGN.

The German Norwegian Invasion begins. Landings at Oslo, Bergen, Kristiansand, Trondheim and Narvik. Parachute troops are used at Oslo.

Norwegian forces resist strongly.

At Narvik, the 40 year old ironclads “Eidsvold” and “Norge” are ordered to resist any attack by force, but both are sunk by torpedoes from destroyer “Wilhelm Heidekamp”. (Alex Gordon)

The German Cruiser Königsberg is damaged near Bergen by coastal batteries.

Cruisers “Königsberg” and “Köln” are leading the Group 3 invasion forces to Bergen. The German Navy were regarding this part of the operation as particularly dangerous since Bergen was only 8 or 9 hours sailing time from Britain and they expected that major units of the British Fleet would be waiting for them. In fact the British had no elements stationed off Bergen and the German ships were able to make their approach without any opposition. However, Norwegian Defence forces under Admiral Tank-Nielsen were alert and prepared for action, as the Admiral had reckoned on the German likely reaction to the laying of mines off Narvik by the British Navy the previous day.

He sent two minelayers to lay mines blocking the approaches to the town from both north and south, and stationed some torpedo boats and patrol craft in the same approaches. He alerted coastal forts, extinguished coastal lighting and requested the local army commander to supply infantry for the town’s defence, and the air force to make reconnaissance patrols at first light, and Bergen was blacked out.

A coastal lookout reported the German invasion fleet heading towards Bergen from the south just after 0100, but when one of the torpedo boats found itself in a suitable position from which to launch an attack, it held back when its commander saw the overwhelming firepower of the oncoming German ships. As the ships came within range of the main fortress, the commandant ordered the searchlights to be turned on, but they were unable to do so, because their electrical power came from the town supply which had been turned off when the blackout was ordered. The fortress gunners were able to identify silhouettes of the German warships, but held fire as two cargo ships sailed through the firing zone, and “Köln” sailed past the fort and made port in Bergen. The fortress gunners then opened fire on the German ships bringing up the rear of the invasion force and hit the supply ship “Bremse” and seriously damaged “Königsberg”, but as the Norwegian infantry failed to arrive, the city fell to the Germans with little resistance. (Alex Gordon)

Germans capture the airfield at Stavanger and put their aircraft to good use.

German Navy forces include a pocket battleship, six cruisers and 14 destroyers for the landings at the five Norwegian ports, with battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau (under the command of Vice-Admiral Günther Lütjens) covering the two most northerly ones. Thirty U-boats patrol off Norway and British bases, but throughout the campaign they suffer from major torpedo defects.

Around 0400 HMS Renown is in action with the two battlecruisers to the west of Vestfjord (some 50 miles off Narvik). In a brief exchange of fire the Gneisenau receives three 38cm hits and is damaged and HMS Renown is slightly damaged by two 28cm hits. The Germans withdraw. (Navy News)

Around the same time the occupation forces heading for Oslo come under heavy fire from Norwegian coastal defences. Heavy cruiser Blucher and the torpedo boat Albatross are sunk by guns and torpedoes in the Oslofjord.

Entering the Oslofjord at midnight, the German squadron led by Blücher and Lützow is spotted and challenged by the Norwegian armed whaler POL III which is sunk by gunfire from a German torpedo boat. Shortly after, the German squadron passed two small forts which attempted to engage the Germans but were hindered by heavy fog. Both POL III and the forts advise Oslo sea defence district that they are under attack.

At approx 0400 the new German heavy cruiser “Blücher” carrying Rear-Admiral Kummetz, General Erwin Engelbrecht and 1000 troops of the 163rd. Infantry Division followed by Panzerschiffe Lützow approaches the Drøbak Narrows in the Oslo Fjord. The Oscarsborg fortress (which was regarded as the strongest fortress in Europe when it was built at the time of the Crimean War) was in darkness, and Admiral Kummetz assumed that there would be no resistance. A searchlight on the opposite shore to the fortress illuminated the German warship and the fortress immediately opened fire with its 1905 Krupp 28 cm. guns to good effect. Blücher was set on fire but continued forward, until almost immediately it came within range of the Austrian-built torpedo battery and was hit by two of the torpedoes. This set her fate, and about two hours later Blücher rolled over and sank. Admiral Kummetz and General Engelbrecht were able to swim ashore and made prisoners by the Norwegians. The command of the invasion fleet then passed to the commander of Lützow who ordered the fleet to turn back, and landed the troops further back down the fjord about 50 miles from Oslo.

The torpedo boat “Albatros” is also sunk in the Oslo Fjord. (Alex Gordon)

Norwegian coastal defence ships Eidsvold and Norge are sunk at Narvik. The Norwegian Ægir is sunk at Stavanger and Tor is sunk at Frederikstad.

When the German invasion of Norway began, the Royal Navy was quick to respond, sending the Home Fleet to sea to support its other elements at sea and to, hopefully, crush the Kriegsmarine forces involved. One of the ships dispatched to join the gathering forces was the sole Royal Navy carrier in home waters, HMS Furious, escorted by the destroyers, HMS Maori, HMS Ashanti, and HMS Fortune. Unfortunately for future operations, Furious, which had been in the Clyde after completing a refit, had only been able to land-on her two Swordfish TSR Squadrons, 816 and 818. Her presence with the fleet being considered a necessity, the Admiralty refused permission for the ship to close the Orkneys to embark her Skua equipped fighter-dive bomber Squadron, 801, then at Evanton in Scotland. Thus, when she joined the fleet off Trondheim on 10 April, she embarked but 18 Swordfish and no fighters. (Mark Horan)

A Home Fleet cruiser force is detached to attack the German warships in Bergen, but is soon ordered to withdraw. As they do they come under sustained air attack and Tribal Class destroyer HMS Gurkha, which is screening other units of the Home Fleet is bombed and sunk south-west of Bergen at 59 13N, 04 00E when she is attacked by a mixed force of Ju.87 and He.111 dive bombers. There are 190 survivors. This is the first loss of a Tribal class destroyer and the first loss of a British destroyer to air attack. (Alex Gordon)(108) HMS Rodney is damaged by German air attack.

In the evening German cruiser Karlsrühe leaves Kristiansund and is torpedoed by submarine HMS Truant. She has to be scuttled the next day.

Three Heinkel 111 units of KGs 4, 26 and 100 performed ‘demonstration flights’ and leaflet raids with some bombing of Oslo-Kjeller airfield and flak positions. All three Gruppen of KG30(Ju88) take part.

Luftwaffe: 41 bombers of KG 26 in company with Ju88s of KG30 attack Royal Naval units, damaging cruisers HMS Devonshire, Glasgow and Southampton and sinking the destroyer HMS Gurkha.

Three fighter Gruppen of ZG1 and ZG76 (Bf110C) take part as the fighter cover.

German troops under General Nikolaus von Falkenhorst have been landed in every Norwegian port as far north as Narvik.

(Mark Horan and Alex Gordon)

DENMARK:

Major-General Eduard Dietl’s Mountain Division and the Luftwaffe’s First Parachute Regiment go in as the spearhead of this invasion. The main German army is under General Kaupitsch. Hardly a shot has been fired.

The invasion began as 5am when three troopships sailed into Copenhagen harbour. A lone policeman who resisted the invaders with a pistol fell, and the city is taken without further fighting.Trawlers escorted by E-boats then brought troops into all Denmark’s ports and major islands, giving them control of the vital sea passages, the Skagerrak and the Kattegat, between Denmark and Norway. Airborne troops land at Aalborg airfield and motorised troops cross Denmark’s land frontier at Flensburg and Tondern. At Gjedser a ferry came in ferrying troops and an armoured train.

After 16 Danish deaths King Christian X ordered a cease-fire at about 6am. The Danish C-in-C General Pryor ignored the order, then at 6.45am, the King sent his personal adjutant to ensure that it was obeyed.

The occupation puts Germany in an unprecedented legal position. Since Denmark did not resist, Denmark is not at war with Germany. It is still neutral. The Germans are faced with a coalition government embracing most Danish democratic parties which they cannot depose without undermining their claims, however tenuous, of not threatening other neutral nations.

The Danish Air Force flew one mission today when a Fokker CV from 2. Squadron performed a reconnaissance along the Danish-German border. The onboard radio wasn’t working. The other CV which saw action was shot down right after take-off by a BF 110 Both airmen (Godfredsen and Brodersen) was killed. (Per Biensø)

Detailed description of today’s events in Denmark.

GERMANY:

The Wehrmacht High Command announced:-

Operations for the occupation of Denmark and the Norwegian coast, went according to plan on April 9. No incidents occurred anywhere during the landings and entry into Denmark. On the coast of Norway, notable resistance was offered only in Oslo; this was broken in the afternoon hours. Oslo itself has been occupied.

BELGIUM: The British and French governments ask for permission for their troops to enter the country; the government refuses. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.A.: The Joint Planning Committee of the Joint Board submits a new general estimate of the world situation in relation to American defence and preparations for war. This is part of the revision of existing plans, and for developing or completing new plans for the rainbow series. Formulators of the rainbow plans envision multiple, simultaneous enemies, instead of individual enemies each designated by a single color, e.g., ORANGE stands for Japan. (Jack McKillop)

[abb]

http://worldwar2daybyday.blogspot.com/

Day 222 April 9, 1940
At 5 AM, Germany invades Denmark & Norway. Denmark is taken by surprise & surrenders immediately after unopposed landings in Copenhagen & threats of bombing.

Germans warships land troops at 4 main points in Norway. At Narvik, German destroyers sink Norwegian coastal cruisers Eidsvold & Norge (276 lives lost, 98 survivors). Trondheim is captured easily as the Germans sail past the coastal batteries (pretending to be British warships). At Bergen, Kvarven Fort’s batteries damage cruiser Königsberg & minelayer Bremse. At Oslo, Oscarsborg Fortress’ batteries & shore torpedoes sink German cruiser Blücher in the Oslofjord (830 dead, 1370 swim ashore) and cruiser Lützow is also shelled but escapes. The delayed landing of troops allows Norway’s Royal Family, Government and gold reserves to escape Oslo at 8.30 AM. Oslo is captured later in the day by German troops airlifted into Fornebu Airport. Stavanger and Sola Airfield are also taken by German paratroops.

The shipment of Norway’s gold reserve from Oslo on the morning of 9 April 1940 consisted of 818 cases weighing 40 kilos each, 685 cases weighing 25 kilos each and 39 kegs weighing 80 kilos each. The total shipment weighed 53 tonnes whereas the gold bars weighed about 48.8 tonnes. http://www.dokpro.uio.no/umk_eng/blanding/gullbehold.html

Naval action around Norway.
At dawn, British cruiser HMS Renown spots German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau heading West, having deposited Marine Gruppe 1 at Narvik. Renown fires first and scores 3 hits on Gneisenau. HMS Renown is hit twice before the German ships use their superior speed to escape. All ships survive the encounter. The westward course of the German battleships further convinces the Admiralty that the Kriegsmarine is attempting to breakout into the Atlantic Ocean.

Afternoon, Luftwaffe searches for Royal Navy ships, finding the Home Fleet and 1st Cruiser Squadron that are still searching for the Kriegsmarine’s “Atlantic breakout”. At 2 PM, Ju 88s and He 111s bomb battleship HMS Rodney and destroyer HMS Gurkha off Bergen. HMS Rodney is damaged by a 500 kg bomb that penetrates her deck but does not explode. HMS Gurkha is hit (15 dead) and eventually sinks at 4 PM after cruiser HMS Aurora picks up 190 survivors. 4 Ju 88s are shot down.

At 5 PM, British submarine HMS Thistle misses U-4 with a spread of four torpedoes trying to sneak into Stavanger.

Vice-Admiral Horton’s hunch pays off and his submarines are in position to attack German warships. At 7.57 PM, HMS Truant is patrolling in the Skagerrak and torpedoes German cruiser Karlsruhe. Karlsruhe does not sink and is finished off at 9.50 PM by the German torpedo boat Greif. Meanwhile, French submarine Sybille (under Horton’s command) departs Harwich to patrol the south North Sea, West of Denmark.

[BroJoeK]

"The shipment of Norway’s gold reserve from Oslo on the morning of 9 April 1940 consisted of 818 cases weighing 40 kilos each, 685 cases weighing 25 kilos each and 39 kegs weighing 80 kilos each.
The total shipment weighed 53 tonnes whereas the gold bars weighed about 48.8 tonnes."

In today's money, a tonne of gold is worth approx. $32 million, so about 50 tonnes would cost $1.6 billion.
Was that a lot of money in 1940?

Well, consider first that Norway's population was only 3 million.
So the value of Norway's gold reserves was approx. $500 per person, in today's money.

What is the value of US gold reserves today?
About $1,000 per person.
But Norway's $500 per person is still more than all but the wealthiest countries today -- US, Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland.
It matches pretty well with today's gold reserves of other small but prosperous countries such as Denmark and Taiwan.

There is no listing for Norway's gold reserves today.
Possibly these are included in numbers for "European Central Bank."

[abb]

http://www.mlms.logan.k12.ut.us/~ckircalli/snow%20treasure/Bomma.htm

The Transport of Norway’s Gold:
(The following was written by Tore Setså, Norway - quoted here with permission):
“In order to save the gold of the Bank of Norway (Norges Bank), 3000 gold-bullions, a weight of 49 tons – a value of NOK (Norwegian Kroner) 240 millions- was loaded onto 25 lorries in Oslo in the early hours of the 9th. April 1940. The gold was packed in 818 big boxes, 685 small boxes and 39 barrels, all marked “NB”. Officer-in-Chief was Fredrik Haslund, and with him he had 30 soldiers as guards, but only one, the famous poet Nordahl Grieg, knew what was inside the boxes. The bank-staff and the lorry-drivers were all armed with revolvers.

In Lillehammer the gold was transferred to a special train, and sent north through the Gudbrandsdal Valley. In Otta the train was “camouflaged” with false litra numbers to cover up its real destination, and from Dombås the train was directed down to Åndalsnes on the Rauma line, where it arrived on the 20th April. British troops were landed in Åndalsnes, and the small town was under heavy bombardment from German planes. 1/3 of the gold cargo was loaded onto the British cruiser Galathea, the rest was supposed to be loaded on two other ships for security reasons. Meanwhile, to secure the train and its cargo, the train was backed up the valley to Romsdalshorn station, until 25th April, while shipping transport was prepared. As the Germans were reported to advance fast up the Gudbrandsdal Valley, the rest of the gold was loaded on trucks again and taken further to Molde. The Germans were eager to capture the gold, and all railway-personnel in Gudbrandsdal Valley was questioned, but the camouflage worked and the Germans never found out which route the gold-train had taken.

From Molde some of the gold was put onboard the British cruiser Glasgow, (if I’m not mistaken the King and the Crown Prince were also on board at the time and landed in Tromsø) and in the end of April shipped to England. The rest was loaded onto fishing vessels and other small vessels, and brought safely to Tromsø, a long journey in dangerous waters, as German planes were everywhere. Among others, the fishing vessels Alfhild and Staulvåg together with the small passenger Snorre, took part in this transport. From Tromsø the gold was shipped to England in the late days of May on the British cruiser Enterprise which arrived in Plymouth the 29th.May, and from there taken to London on a special train with heavy escort of soldiers and police.

In the night of the 15th.June the Norwegian freighter Bomma left England with the first cargo of gold for USA. The gold was loaded in barrels on deck, each barrel tied firmly to several other empty barrels, so the whole unit would stay afloat if the ship would be sunk. Another 13 transports followed. In addition to Bomma, the following Norwegian ships took part in this transport: Bra-Kar, Ida Bakke, Norma, and San Andres. The gold was safely deported in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Bank of Canada. The gold and its long journey to safety became some kind of national symbol, and its real value could no longer be measured in money. The British Government was in the autumn 1940 in a desperate situation concerning the currency situation, and pressure was put upon the Norwegian Government to hand over the gold, but the Norwegian gold was already brought further across the Atlantic to Canada and USA during June and July 1940, on British and Norwegian merchant ships. Of the five Norwegian ships who brought the gold across the Atlantic, only Bra-Kar was lost during the war; it was set ablaze and damaged beyond repair during an air raid in Liverpool 1941”.

Tore’s Sources: Several local and national history books and notes.

[CougarGA7]

GERMANY CALLING. GERMANY CALLING. Lord Haw Haw reports on the events of last evening. Part II of this Breaking News segment. (WARNING: This audio does not play on all players but transcripts are provided).

Lord Haw Haw Denmark and Norway Part 1

(begin transcript)

The Supreme Command of the German Defense Forces Announces:

The operations to occupy Denmark and the Norwegian Coast have proceeded according to plan today. On marching into and landing on Danish territory no incidents occurred anywhere. No significant resistance was offered along the coast of Norway except near Oslo. Resistance there was broken during the afternoon and Oslo itself was occupied. The German minister from Norway, Dr. Breyer, received representatives from the Norwegian press today and informed them of a new upheaval which he has addressed to the Norwegian government. It runs as follows:

In recalling this morning’s appeal I wish once more to draw the attention of the Norwegian government to the fact that any resistance to Germany’s action would be completely senseless and it would only lead to an aggravation of Norway’s position. I repeat. That by her measure; Germany does not intend to infringe the territorial integrity or political independence of the Kingdom of Norway either now or in the future.

(end transcription)

Lord Haw Haw Denmark and Norway Part 2

(begin transcription)

This morning, strong German forces have entered, or have been landed in these two countries. To cover these military operations, extensive mine barrages have been laid.

While British and French military experts are still writing articles, wondering why German has not yet started a Blitzkrieg on the Western Front, lightning like actions of the German Defense Forces have informed Mr. Churchill and monsieur Paul Reynaud that Germany is not prepared to allow Great Britain and France to infest the North Sea, the Arctic Sea, and Northern Europe with further strategic positions like Gibraltar, Malta, and Corsica.

New Germany is determined to deal any power a decisive blow if that power stretches out its hands in the intension of throttling the German people. Germany has no quarrels with Denmark and Norway. But Germany has carefully studied the maritime history of Great Britain. She remembers Copenhagen in 1807; she remembers the seizing of Malta and Gibraltar. She remembers the bombardment of Alexandria in 1882, and she has not forgotten that England and France were making preparations to occupy the Balearic Islands, during the Spanish Civil War. That attempt was frustrated by Italian watchfulness. Germany has for months been just as observant, and alliant to the danger which threatens all stratigical points in Northern Europe that might turn in Naval or Air Force basses for Great Britain and France in their war of destruction against Germany. Mr. Winston Churchill knows today that he has no longer any chance of repeating his exploits of (unrecognizable), Antwerp, Gallipoli, and Murmansk. That versatile and agile amateur strategist is at last up against a leadership of a defense force of a people keyed up to a maximum of activity and having achieved the acme of technical perfection. They do not have to discuss the Blitzkrieg as a theoretical problem, because they are the human embodiment of that cleansing atmospheric phenomenon, the thunderstorm, which dispels itself of atmosphere of intrigues and conspiracies; of political crimes, and of indifference of human suffering.

German motorized troops and tanks which crossed the German-Danish frontier near Flensburg and Tønder at 5:15am this morning are now on their way north via Aabenraa and Esbjerg. Today at dawn German troops landed near Middelfart on the Little Belt, and occupied the bridge over the Little Belt. German naval forces have entered the Great Belt and landed troops at Korsør and Næstved. German troops and a German armored train have crossed the Baltic by a ferry from Warnemünde to Gedser wince they are advancing northward. The Storstrømmen Bridge connecting the islands of Zealand and Falster was occupied at the same time. At dawn, German troops landed at Copenhagen. The citadel and the wireless station were occupied. Since 8:00am, the whole town has been in German hands.

The Supreme Command and the German Defense forces further announces: The advance of the German troops northwards in Jutland and on the Danish islands making rapid progress. The Danish government has instructed the Danish troops to offer no resistance. The German and Danish military commanders established contact during the morning. The occupation of the most important strategic points in the whole of Norway by German troops is progressing quickly. Units of all three branches of the German Defense Forces are successfully cooperating. At most points the slight local resistance of Norwegian troops has ceased. On the air bases on Jutland, and Southern Norway, German Air Force units have landed.

The Supreme Command and the German Defense Forces further announces: During the evening of April the 8th, German Heinkel bombers again attacked British naval forces lying at anchorage at Scapa Flow with considerable success. Two capital ships, amongst them a battleship were severely damaged by bombing. Three further heavy units were considerably damaged by explosions which occurred in the immediate vicinity of these ships. During April the 8th, extensive reconnaissance flights over the North Sea as far as the 65th degree north and over north and eastern France were carried out by the German Air Force. Two British warplanes, a fighter, and a Sunderland seaplane were shot down. Two German planes are missing. This morning the German minister in Copenhagen handed to the Danish government a German note, explaining the attitude of the German government in regards to the plans of the Allies to extend the war to Scandinavia and informing it that Germany would insure the protection of Danish neutrality and of the security of Denmark. As a result of conversations between the German minister and the Danish Prime Minister and cabinet, the Danish government decided, in consideration of the circumstances, to accept German protection with a diplomatic proviso, and to agree to the conditions outlined in the German note.

It is reported from Copenhagen, that the whole city is perfectly quite. The Danish authorities have promised their most loyal cooperation. The Danish radio is broadcasting its scheduled programs and the Copenhagen newspapers are being published as usual. No incidents have occurred in Copenhagen or during the occupation of Jutland.

The Swedish press features the events in Denmark and Norway: The wise attitude of the Danish government have made a deep impression on the Swedish population. Swedish public opinion is convinced, that the events in Norway will not lead to a more extensive conflict. In well informed political circles in Sweden, the opinion prevails that Swedish neutrality is not menaced by Germany, so long as England does not attempt to violate it.

Reichssender Hamburg

Station Bremen 1, Station Bremen 2, and Station VJB

This is the end of out news in English. Our next transmission of news in English will take place at 7:15pm British Summer Time and will be broadcast from Hamburg, Bremen, and DJA on the 31 meter band. Thank you very much indeed for your attention.

(end transcription)

Special thanks to Homer_J_Simpson for this brilliant breaking news idea and for allowing me to help with it.

[CougarGA7]

That is absolutely fascinating. And for some reason the movie Kelly’s Heroes is now stuck in my head.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

—guess the source.

No idea. Monty Python?

[MinuteGal]

Thanks for the great presentation with photo. I have often wondered what the traitor/liar/anti-Semite/propagandist looked like. I looked up his biography on Yahoo and it's quite fascinating.

England had its Lord Haw Haw, we have our Lord Bam Bam.

Leni

[PAR35]

Churchill knows today that he has no longer any chance of repeating his exploits of (unrecognizable), Antwerp, Gallipoli, and Murmansk.

My guess would be that the first one would be one of Churchill's foreign follies, perhaps in World War I, possibly the Boer war.

The other three are all British landings in World War I that went very badly wrong.

Antwerp - had been bypassed in the initial German invasion in the west in World War I. A thorn in the German side, a decision was made to reduce the garrison consisting of the equivalent of several large divisions. Churchill went to Belgium to personally supervise the landing of the British expeditionary force, intended to consist of a large division and 10,000 or so marines - a total force in excess of 30,000. The British had no real impact on the battle, and most managed to witdraw.

Gallipoli, of course, is a legendary defeat of the Commonwealth invasion of Turkey, Churchill had his fingerprints all over that operation as well.

Murmansk was a more slowly developing disaster for the British landing force, but the end result was the same, eventual withdrawal of the survivors and abandonment of the theater to the enemy, in this case the Bolsheviks.

The British invasion of Norway, and the later Dieppe fiasco certainly fit the Churchill pattern.

[PzLdr]

Try Churchill’s interference in the war in North Africa which probably could have been wrapped by by Wavell and O’Connor in 1941 without out [with a repeat in 1942].

[PAR35]

I’ll bet the missing word is Tanga. Another World War I British landing that turned into a fiasco.

http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/tanga.htm