Allies Intervene in Norway Before Germany Invades

Croesus

At any point before the OTL date of the German invasion the Anglo-French 'intervene'.

Questions arising from this:

1 When does this occur?
2 Do the Norwegians resist? If so, why and how strongly.
3 What is the German reaction?
4 What do the Swedes do?
5 What is the effect on US policy, if any?
6 What are the effects on the Winter War, if any?
 

Croesus

On Norwegian resistance:

Mr Bluenote: Yes, I think the Norwegians would defend themselves. I'm tempted to ask why not?

Redbeard: The question of Norwegian defense in case of a one-sided allied attack is interesting, but I tend to think that it will be limited to symbolic action.

Given the state of the Norwegian military, real and symbolic actions are almost the same thing. During the planning phase of the invervention, as a means of legitimising the act, it was planned to inform the Norwegian government that Norwegian neutrality helped Germany and that, as Britain and France were fighting for the rights of small powers, that they reserved the right to take 'appropriate action'.

That's a fairly hefty statement and in the context of the time not at all friendly. 'We're invading you for your own good' is hardly more inviting than 'We're invading you'. I would expect the Norwegians to fight. Which actually asks the question of how far the British are wanting to take things. As the Blucher showed, those Norwegian guns weren't necessarily there for show.
 

Croesus

Well, as it turns out the other threads touch on my points but don't really develop them...

On Norwegian resistance.

The official history notes that 'there would have been token resistance [to a British invasion]'. When the British delivered their Note to Oslo as they began to mine the Leads in three places, Norway protested vigorously in Oslo and where the British mining operations were occurring. The Norwegians began to take steps to sweep one of the mining belts. It was at this point that the German invasion was recognised, upon which at least two of the coastal defence batteries were instructed to no longer fire on British vessels.

Consider also that the British Note as delivered is quite aggressive and that the British are mining Norwegian waters. These are not the actions of a friendly power. So I think its safe to say that the Norwegian coastal batteries would act similarly to the British as they acted towards the Germans. They would also look to sweep the freshly laid minefields.

Does this lead to a shooting war? The British ships were ordered to 'refrain from replying to Norwegian fire until the situation becomes intolerable'. Just what was deemed 'intolerable' doesn't appear to be defined. Given that the Germans found Norwegian coastal batteries to be not entirely toothless, it suggests that even one significant hit on a capital ship or troop transport would necessarily lead to British countermeasures. So again I think its safe to suggest that Norwegian resistance would in certain circumstances lead to a shooting war with the British.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top
Top