ALLIES HOLD DOMBAAS LINE AGAINST 5-WAY NAZI ATTACK; REPORTED LANDING MORE MEN (4/30/40)

Microfiche-New York Times archives, Cabrillo College Library | 4/30/40 | Otto D. Tolischus, Edmund Demaitre

[Homer_J_Simpson]

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[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]

Selections from West Point Atlas for the Second World War
Norway, 1940 – Operations in Southern and Central Norway, April-May 1940
Evolution of Plan Yellow, October 1939-January 1940
The Far East and the Pacific, 1941 – The Imperial Powers, 1 September 1939

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Edmund Demaitre is a new author to these threads.

Major Fight Rages – 2-4
The International Situation – 4
Allies Get Planes in Steinkjer Area – 5-6

[exit82]

Good Lord—I scanned the headline quickly and thought this was the Dumbass line, and this involved the current resident of the Oval Office and his attacks on the Arizona immigration law.

I need to chill.

[silverleaf]

great minds, I immediately thought of the Dumbass Line too- it is being breached daily

[GeronL]

I feel like a Hires Root Beer!

So, they only THINK that is a major battle, I guess they really had no idea what the future held. I bet they had an inkling though because its the biggest “so far”.

[BigCinBigD]

Wow, that rag was once a news paper.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Hmm. Same as yesterday. I guess I need to go add the 4/29 entry to yesterday’s thread.

http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1940/apr40/f30apr40.htm

Germans link up in Norway

Tuesday, April 30, 1940 www.onwar.com

In Norway... German units which have moved up the Osterdal link with their Trondheim force at Dragset. The British and French forces in the Gudbrandsdal are fighting south of Dombas when the order to retire reaches them. The Norwegian troops in this area will be forced to surrender when their allies leave. During the night the British begin to evacuate their troops from Andalsnses.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

http://worldwar2daybyday.blogspot.com/

Day 243 April 30, 1940

German 196th Division infantry arrive at Dombås on foot (their vehicles are blocked by the blown bridges) and are held by 15th Brigade inflicting heavy casualties. At dusk, the British troops withdraw from Dombås by train, destined for Åndalsnes to be evacuated. Meanwhile at Namsos, General de Wiart’s 146th Brigade awaits evacuation by Mountbatten’s destroyer squadron which is en route.

RAF bombs German airfields in Norway at Stavanger & Fornebu (Oslo) to reduce German air attacks on the planned evacuations. This is only marginally successful. British aircraft carriers HMS Ark Royal & Glorious, bringing fighter support to cover the evacuation sites, are driven off by Luftwaffe bombing. Germans will dominate the skies during the evacuations.

At 5 PM, cruisers HMS Manchester & Birmingham and destroyers HMS Inglefield, Diana & Delight, under Vice Admiral Layton, depart Scapa Flow to evacuate 15th Brigade from Åndalsnes and nearby Molde.

Allied warships suffer several defeats and disasters.

French destroyer Maille Breeze sinks at Greenock, Scotland when 2 torpedoes of her own discharge accidentally in the forward section (25 dead, 48 wounded).

Minesweeper HMS Dundoon hits a mine at Smith’s Knoll near Great Yarmouth and sinks (27 lives lost).

Anti-submarine sloop HMS Bittern, on anti-aircraft duty off Namsos, is dive bombed by Ju 87s and set on fire in the stern (20 lives lost). Destroyer HMS Janus takes off survivors, then torpedoes and sinks Bittern to prevent the capture of her anti-submarine detection equipment. Anti-aircraft ships have proved vulnerable & ineffective at defending shore targets (only 9 German bombers shot down during 1050 sorties).

ASW trawler HMS Warwickshire is sunk by German aircraft off Trondheim, Norway. She will be raised by the Germans on June 1 and used until 19 July 1943 when sunk again near Narvik by Soviet submarine S-56.

[BroJoeK]

"Wow, that rag was once a news paper."

Crying shame, isn't it?

But even back then, you had to watch them carefully.
For example, go back and notice the headlines for April 28.

Do you see how the lying Nazi propaganda is featured in large headlines at the top of the fold, while the British response is in smaller print lower on the page?

To this day there are people who confuse that Nazi propaganda with the truth, and imagine Hitler was somehow "justified" invading Norway.

At the time, nearly all Americans favored the western allies, but wanted desperately to remain "neutral."
The New York Times treatment of that story helped Americans justify their desires.

[PAR35]

Wow, that rag was once a news paper.

There was a lot of spin even back then.