Milorg

Milorg (abbreviation of militærorganisasjon) was a secret military organization under World War II in Norway. They dealt in work like armed resistance, sabotage, intelligence work, supply-missions, raids, espionage, transport of goods imported to the country, release of Norwegian prisoners and escort for citizens fleeing the border to Sweden (neutral territory).

Following the German occupation in April 1940, Milorg was formed in May 1941 as a way of organizing the various groups that wanted to participate in an internal military resistance. In the beginning, Milorg was not well coordinated with the Special Operations Executive (SOE), the British organization to plan and lead resistance in occupied countries. Milorg was taken in as a part of the Norwegian defence in November 1941 by the Norwegian government in exile in London, but SOE was still operating independently. This lack of coordination caused a number of incidents, creating bitterness within Milorg. SOE changed policy at the end of 1942, and from that point on Milorg and SOE efforts were coordinated.

Mainly due to fear of retaliations, like the Telavåg tragedy, Milorg kept a low profile at first. But they became more offensive as the war progressed, especially when Jens Christian Hauge became leader of Milorg.

At the point of the German capitulation in 8 May 1945, Milorg had been able to train and supply 40,000 soldiers. They played an important part in stabilizing the country at this crucial point.

See also

• Norwegian heavy water sabotage
• Norwegian resistance movement

External links

• Resistance Website in Norwegian
• Norway's Resistance Museum in the Akershus Castle Oslo
• Reiret "The Nest" WWII Norwegian Resistance Base