April 8
Gruppe 1, with Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and 10 destroyers are heading north towards Narvik, carrying 2000 troops of the 3 Mountain Division. North of their position is the battlecruiser Renown and her escorts, sailing south to intercept.
Further south lies a British group of 2 cruisers and 15 destroyers, and, separated from these, the destroyer Glowworm, originally part of Renown's escort, but which had been unable to keep up.
South still is Gruppe 2, with Admiral Hipper and 4 destroyers, carrying 1700 mountain troops bound for Trondheim, with the British Home Fleet in hot pursuit.
Shortly after dawn on the 8th, the Glowworm encounters 2 German destroyers and then the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper. Unable to escape, she ineffectually launches all torpedoes at the German ship before ramming her, causing heavy damage. The Glowworm itself is sunk by Hippers guns.
Forbes orders the Renown to head south to Glowworms last known position, putting it on a collision course with Gruppe 1
POD - April 8, 14.00 hours
A British Sunderland flying boat is on a recon mission in the North Sea in conditions of heavy rain. With the crew distracted by a joke told by the navigator, they fail to spot the German fleet heading for Trondheim and Narvik through the narrow opening in the clouds
Admiral Forbes does not conclude that the Germans are trying to break out and all ships maintain course.
The first to make contact are Gruppe 2 and the British force of 2 cruisers and 15 destroyers. 1 German destroyer is damaged and Gruppe 2 heads south to evade destruction. The damaged destroyer however fails to keep up and is sunk. Heading south, they encounter the Home fleet. The damaged Admiral Hipper and her 3 destroyers are all sent to the bottom.
To the north, the Renown clashes with the Gneisenau and Scharnhorst. Gneisenau's fir-control systems are damaged and 1 German destroyer is sunk with the British also loosing 1 destroyer. Gruppe 1 attempts to head north-west, but the Renown successfully follows them.
Hours later, Gruppe 2 is intercepted by the british cruiser and destroyer group, now also accompanied by the Repulse. With the Germans sandwiched between the two fleets, they loose the Gneisenau and two further destroyers, with the rest scattering westward.
The Norwegian cabinet meets to discuss the situation (5 hours earlier than OTL). During the meeting, the decision is initially taken to enact partial mobilization. However, when asked how this would take place, defence minister Birtger Ljungberg explains that it would be carried out according to regulations in secret and by post (1). With this information, the cabinet decides to issue an immediate full mobilization, since it would be the only option that could be carried out in time, much to Ljungbers opposition.
April 9
- German forces begin to occupy Denmark
- With the general alarm raised, Norwegian forces manage to repel the German Fallschirmjager forces landing at the airbase at Sola near Stavanger. Instrumental to this was the only finished concrete bunker with a machine gun, which scored dozens of kills, as well as covering fire from Norwegian infantry, who managed to prevent one daring German paratrooper from hurdling a grenade into the bunker.(2) Despite Me109 cover, the paratroopers soon found themselves in an untenable position and surrendered.
- Scharnhorst and 5 destroyers switch course and head for Bergen, but encounter the remainder of the Home fleet, also sailing south. 1 German destroyer is sunk, but the Scharnhorst escapes any damage
- With the British being just a few miles away, Gruppe 3 abandon their position west of Bergen and sail south hours before their attack on the harbor was to be launched, in order to avoid destruction
- German transport Roda sunk by the Norwegian destroyer Sleipner off Stavanger (3)
- Blucher sunk by the Oscarsborg Fortress at 5:30 AM, with heavy loss of life. Deutschland damaged. (3)
- Luftwaffe attacks the Oscarsborg Fortress (3)
- Gruppe 5 unloads its troops in Sonsbukten, 19 km south of Oscarsborg (3)
- At 9.45, paratroopers still battle Norwegian infantry in the Oslo airport, although by now they are gaining the upper hand, with the Norwegians being mostly freshly mobilized recruits
- Luftwaffe fails to spot the RN, now in a different position (4)
- At Kristiansand, coastal batteries damage the Karlsruhe and twice repulse the landing attempts by 10 AM (5)
With the landing forces bound for Narvik and Trondheim almost totally destroyed, the one for Bergen forced to abandon and the ones at Kristiansand and Oslo apparently unable to make any headway, Hitler feared the worst, namely that should the Wehrmacht be seen as having lost in Norway, morale could suffer strong enough to prevent a successful invasion of France. If, however, it was all seen as a series of small naval battles, then the impact would be minimal. Plus, once France fell, victory would be his. No need to risk that with a futile attempt to take small towns and fjords he’d never heard about. So, at the last moment, Hitler cancels the invasion. The paratroopers at Oslo airport, still engaged in fighting, are ordered south to rendezvous with the forces there and then sail back to Germany, or, failing to do that, head for Sweden. Everyone else receives a general order to retreat back to base.
1 - in the different circumstances of OTL, this question was never asked
2 - OTL, with no mobilization, there was no cover fire, and so the bunker was destroyed
3 - same as OTL
4 - OTL, the RN was spotted and attacked,
5 - OTL Gruppe 4 finally managed to force a landing at 11 AM, only here it doesn't get the chance