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Battle of Drøbak Sound

Coordinates: 59°42′03″N 10°35′34″E / 59.7009°N 10.5927°E / 59.7009; 10.5927
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Battle of Drøbak Sound
Part of the Norwegian campaign of World War II

Blücher sinking in the Oslofjord
Date9 April 1940
Location
Drøbak Sound, Oslofjord, Norway
Result

Norwegian victory

Belligerents
 Norway  Germany
Commanders and leaders
Birger Eriksen
Strength
Casualties and losses
None[8]

The Battle of Drøbak Sound took place in Drøbak Sound, the northernmost part of the outer Oslofjord in southern Norway, on 9 April 1940. It marked the end of the "Phoney War" and the beginning of World War II in Western Europe.

A German fleet led by the cruiser Blücher was dispatched up the Oslofjord to begin the German invasion of Norway, with the objective of seizing the Norwegian capital of Oslo and capturing King Haakon VII and his government. The fleet was engaged in the fjord by Oscarsborg Fortress, an aging coastal installation near Drøbak, that had been relegated to training coastal artillery servicemen, leading the Germans to disregard its defensive value. However, unbeknownst to German military intelligence, the fortress' most powerful weapon was a torpedo battery, which would be used to great effect against the German invaders.[14]

The fortress' armaments worked flawlessly despite their age, sinking the Blücher in the sound and forcing the German fleet to fall back. The loss of the German flagship, which carried most of the troops and Gestapo agents intended to occupy Oslo, delayed the German occupation long enough for King Haakon VII and his government to escape from the capital.

Before the battle

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Norway

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Oscarsborg Fortress was commanded by 64-year-old Oberst (Colonel) Birger Eriksen. He had not received clear orders and no information on whether the approaching warships were German or Allied. He knew that Norway was officially neutral but that the government was inclined to side with the British if Norway became a belligerent.

The fortress' main command station and battery was on Håøya island north-west of South Kaholmen (Norwegian: Søndre Kaholmen.) Due to the special circumstances in 1940, Eriksen commanded from the backup station at South Kaholmen, east of the main battery.[15]

Apart from the officers and NCOs, most of the remaining garrison consisted of 450 fresh troops conscripted on 2 April. The naval mines were not deployed; deployment was scheduled for a few days after 9 April as a recruit training exercise.[citation needed]

The main battery consisted of three[citation needed] 28 cm (11.0 in) Krupp guns called Moses, Aron[16] and Josva.[citation needed] There were enough trained gunners for one gun. They were split between two guns and assisted by non-combatant privates[16] including cooks.[17] All the guns were loaded with live high-explosive shells.[citation needed]

The fortress' torpedo battery was armed with 40-year-old Austro-Hungarian Whitehead torpedoes. The weapons had been practice-launched over 200 times; despite doubts[18] they functioned properly during the battle. The battery had three launch tunnels opening 3 m (9.8 ft) below the surface.[19] There were six torpedoes ready to launch, and another three as reloads.[2]

The torpedo battery was commanded by Kommandørkaptein (Commander Senior Grade) Andreas Anderssen [no], who lived in Drøbak. He was a temporary substitute for the commanding officer who went on sick leave in March 1940. Late on 8 April during the action in the Oslofjord, Eriksen ordered Anderssen to the battery; Anderssen donned his old uniform and was transported across the fjord to the battery by boat.[20] Anderssen was familiar with the post; he first served at the battery in 1909[21] and was its commander by the time he retired in 1927. Anderssen was recalled to active duty in March.[22]

Germany

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The objective of the German naval force was to capture the Norwegian capital, Oslo, King Haakon VII, and the Norvegian government. It was led by the cruiser Blücher,[14] a new warship with an inexperienced crew.[23] Those onboard included Generalmajor Erwin Engelbrecht, Admiral Oskar Kummetz[24] and a special unit for capturing the king.[23]

The Germans underestimated the operational value of the Norwegian coastal fortifications; the fortifications were old and used for training. The Germans did not know of the Oscarsborg torpedo battery.[14]

Battle

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Oberst (Colonel) Birger Eriksen, the commander of Oscarsborg, 9 April 1940
Map of Oslofjord and the fortress of Oscarsborg

The main battery fires

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One of the three 28 cm (11.0 in) main battery guns at Oscarsborg

At 04:21 on 9 April, Eriksen ordered the main battery to fire on Blücher, the lead ship of the German flotilla heading to Oslo.[17] When his command was questioned, Eriksen replied: "Either I will be decorated or I will be court martialled. Fire!"[25] Firing without warning shots violated the pre-war Norwegian rules of engagement.[21] The German ships had already received warning and live shots from outlying fortifications; Erikson later used this to justify his decision to consider the ships to be hostile.[citation needed]

Two guns, Moses and Aron, each fired one 255 kg (562 lb) high-explosive shell.[16] The first shell struck the front of the mainmast[17] and set the midship area up to the fore mast on fire;[26] this detonated a magazine containing stores for the Arado Ar 196 reconnaissance floatplanes - oil cans, smoke dispensers, incendiary bombs, aircraft bombs and depth charges.[19] Shortly after the first hit, the second shell hit the base of one of the forward 20.3 cm (8.0 in) gun turrets, throwing debris from it overboard and igniting further fires;[19] this put the ship's main guns out of action by disabling their electrical power.[19] The unmanned third gun, Josva, was not fired. No further shells were fired; the guns could not be reloaded in time with the untrained gunners.[17]

The secondary batteries fire

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Next, the secondary Norwegian coastal batteries opened fire on Blücher. The weapons ranged from two small 57 mm (2.24 in) guns at Husvik, intended to protect the fortress' missing mine barrier, to the three 15 cm (5.9 in) guns of the Kopås Battery on the eastern side of the fjord. The 57 mm guns targeted the cruiser's superstructure and anti-aircraft (AA) weapons,[27] and partially suppressed German return fire. Blücher continued to sail slowly northward. It passed close enough to fire on the Husvik battery with light AA guns. The Norwegians abandoned Husvik; its main building caught fire but there were no casualties. In all, the cruiser was hit by thirteen 15 cm and around thirty 57 mm shells. One 15 cm hit from Kopås disabled the steering gear; the ship avoided grounding by steering with its engines. Shell fragments disabled the firefighting system.[27]

The fortress' gun batteries had been in action for only five to seven minutes. Return fire from Blücher's light battery was ineffective due to excessive elevation.[28]

At this point, Germans voices on the cruiser became audible to the Norwegians, alerting the latter of their opponent's identity;[18][29][30][31][32] according to the Norwegians, the Germans began to sing Deutschlandlied, the German national anthem.[18][29][33] The Norwegian minesweeper HNoMS Otra had identified the intruders as Germans earlier and communicated this to the Horten naval base at 04:10. Norwegian communications problems delayed its delivery to Oscarsborg; Eriksen received it at 04:35.[34] There was then "a dead silence on board the whole ship, no movement whatsoever was identified".[28]

The torpedo battery fires

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Blücher was crippled but remained afloat. It continued to move north, which brought it within 500 m (550 yd) of Oscarsborg's torpedo battery.[35] Anderssen fired the first torpedo at about 04:30. The target's speed was slightly overestimated and the torpedo struck near the ship's forward turret and caused inconsequential damage. The aim was corrected for the second torpedo; it struck amidship in the same area as the first 28 cm shell hit.[19] The hit disabled the engines,[36] blew open bulkheads and caused flooding. The ship continued to burn.[9]

The fortress' third torpedo tube was not fired in case of further targets. The other tubes were reloaded.[citation needed]

Blücher sinks

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Blücher on fire and sinking in Drøbak Sound

Blücher anchored near the Askholmene islets just north and out of the field of fire of the fort's guns. The crew attempted to fight the uncontrolled fires. Torpedoes were fired to prevent their detonation by the fires. At 05:30,[36] the fires detonated a midship magazine for the 10.5 cm (4.13 in) Flak guns, blowing a hole in the ship's side[36][37][38] ruptured the bulkheads between the boiler rooms, and caused further fires by opening fuel tanks.[37]

Blücher sank bow-first at 06:22, capsizing to port.[9] Two thousand German sailors and soldiers were in the freezing water. Hundreds died when floating fuel oil caught fire.[7]

According to survivor Obergefreiter Günther Morgalla, as he swam ashore he heard someone defiantly singing the Deutschlandlied followed by "Das kann doch einen Seemann nicht erschüttern" ("That cannot shake a sailor").[39]

German survivors, with the sinking Blücher in the background

Approximately 1,400 Germans survived[7] and 650–800 died.[9] 1,200 came ashore at Frogn near Drøbak. [40] 550 were captured by His Majesty the King's Guard, 4th Company, commanded by Kaptein (Captain) A. J. T. Petersson.[7] The guardsmen were supposed to take all the Germans prisoner, but mainly focused on treating casualties.[41] Around 1,000 Germans, including Engelbrecht and Kummetz, were eventually moved to a nearby farm and placed under light guard. The prisoners were not interrogated, and were effectively freed when the Norwegians withdrew by 18:30. Engelbrecht and Kummetz reached Oslo[42] at 22:00, establishing themselves in the Hotel Continental, and occupying the capital with their remaining troops.[43][44] Norwegian wounded and many German wounded were treated by the Royal Norwegian Navy Hospital at the Asgården summer hotel in Åsgårdstrand; the hospital had been evacuated from Horten at midnight on 8 April.[45]

Remaining ships retreat

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When Blücher was hit by the torpedoes, the commander of the heavy cruiser Lützow - unaware of the torpedo battery - assumed the presence of mines. At 04:40, the Germans decided to withdraw and land their troops out of range of the Oscarsborg guns. The attack on Oslo would continue by a landward advance up the Oslofjord.[46]

The retreating Lützow was hit by three 15 cm shells from the Kopås battery which disabled the cruiser's forward 28 cm turret.[27] Kopås continued to fire until the German ships disappeared into the mist at a range of around 3,000 m (3,300 yd).[33] Lützow's aft turret bombarded the Norwegians from a range of 9–10 km (4.9–5.4 nmi; 5.6–6.2 mi) down the fjord.[citation needed]

The first Norwegian civilian ship lost during the invasion, the 107 long tons (109 t) Norwegian cargo cutter Sørland, was sunk during the battle. Sørland was carrying paper from Moss to Oslo when it stumbled into the battle which it thought was an exercise. It was attacked and set on fire by the German minesweepers R-18 and R-19 and sank near Skiphelle in Drøbak with the loss of two of its six crew. The burning ship was misidentified by the Norwegians as the German training ship Brummer.[1][11][12] The real Brummer was lost in connection with the invasion. It was torpedoed on 14 April by the Royal Navy submarine HMS Sterlet while returning to Germany and sank the next day.[47]

Luftwaffe bombing

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Oscarsborg's Hovedøya under Luftwaffe attack

The fortress was heavily bombed for nearly nine hours[48] by the Luftwaffe later that day. The fortress' AA weapons were two Bofors 40 mm L/60 cannon, three Colt M/29 7.92 mm (0.312 in) machine guns at the Seiersten Battery, four Colt M/29 7.92 mm machine guns at the main battery,[49] and four machine guns at the main battery.[1] There were no Norwegian casualties, but the main battery machine guns were abandoned early on.[1] One Bofors became unserviceable after only 22 rounds; the other kept firing - to little effect - until 12:00 when the air attacks paused. Lützow bombarded Hovedøya until 13:30[1] when the air attacks resumed with bombers strafing the Norwegian AA guns. Around 14:00, the guns went out-of-action when their crews took cover in the nearby forest.[48]

The air attacks included 22 long-range Junkers Ju 87R "Stuka" dive bombers of Sturzkampfgeschwader 1, commanded by Hauptmann Paul-Werner Hozzel, operating from Kiel-Holtenau airport in northern Germany.[50] Around 500 bombs — ranging from 50–200 kg (110–440 lb) in size — were dropped.[48]

Surrender

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The Norwegian situation continued to deteriorate. The Germans took Oslo later in the day with troops airlifted into Fornebu Airport, and additional landings occurred at the village of Son south of Drøbak.[48] Eriksen decided that there was inadequate infantry to continue fighting. He agreed to a ceasefire on the evening of 9 April, and surrendered the fortress intact on the morning of 10 April.[51]

The garrison went into captivity. The enlisted and NCOs of the secondary batteries were released three days later; those of the main battery a week later. The officers were initially taken to Fredriksten Fortress, with the reservists being released on 15 May. Regular officers were moved again to the Grini detention camp and released in late-May 1940.[51]

Aftermath

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The destruction of Blücher by the Oscarsborg Fortress and the withdrawal of the German naval force caused a significant delay in the German capture of Oslo. The delay allowed King Haakon VII, Prime Minister Johan Nygaardsvold's government, the parliament and the gold reserve to be evacuated.[23] As the Norwegians retreated, the government was granted wartime emergency powers by the king and parliament; the affirmations included the Elverum Authorization of 9 April.[52] The government maintained this legitimacy when it became a government-in-exile in the United Kingdom on 7 June shortly before the Norwegian Army surrendered on 10 June.[citation needed]

Media adaption

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The battle is depicted in the 2016 feature film The King's Choice.[53]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Fjeld 1999: 190
  2. ^ a b Stangeland&Valebrokk 2001: 260
  3. ^ Fjeld 1999: 160
  4. ^ Fjeld: 231
  5. ^ Fjeld: 266
  6. ^ Fjeld: 335
  7. ^ a b c d e Hauge 1995: 42
  8. ^ Ribsskog 1998: 55
  9. ^ a b c d Ribsskog 1998: 53
  10. ^ Fjeld 1999: 189
  11. ^ a b Lawson, Siri Holm. "M/K Sørland". Warsailors.com. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  12. ^ a b Skovheim Shipwreck website: Sørland Archived 20 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine (in Norwegian and English)
  13. ^ Lawson, Siri Holm. "D/S Halden 1". Warsailors.com. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  14. ^ a b c Hansvoll, Jan W. (15 September 2006). "Besøket på Oscarsborg festning lørdag 2 september". Kongsberg Defence Association (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 16 October 2007. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  15. ^ "1001 Hovedbatteriet" (in Norwegian). Nasjonale Festningsverk. Retrieved 7 November 2008.
  16. ^ a b c Hauge 1995: 35
  17. ^ a b c d Ribsskog 1998: 50
  18. ^ a b c Hauge 1995: 36
  19. ^ a b c d e Ribsskog 1998: 51
  20. ^ Hansen 2005: 49
  21. ^ a b Bjørnsen, Bjørn (30 March 2004). "Fra time til time". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 21 December 2007. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  22. ^ Hansen 2005: 48
  23. ^ a b c Grimnes, Ole Kristian (1995). "Blücher". In Dahl; Hjeltnes; Nøkleby; Ringdal; Sørensen (eds.). Norsk krigsleksikon 1940-45 (in Norwegian). Oslo: Cappelen. pp. 46–47. ISBN 82-02-14138-9.
  24. ^ Arneberg 1989: 62, 65
  25. ^ "9 april 3". Lofoten Krigsminnemuseum (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 16 October 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
  26. ^ Ribsskog 1998: 50–51
  27. ^ a b c Fjeld2 1999:36
  28. ^ a b Binder 2001: 77
  29. ^ a b Tamelander&Zetterling 2001: 87
  30. ^ Berg 1997: 12–13
  31. ^ Ribsskog 1998:45–50
  32. ^ Grimnes 1990: 7–8
  33. ^ a b Berg 1997: 13
  34. ^ Berg 1997: 10
  35. ^ Hauge 1995: 37
  36. ^ a b c Hauge 1995: 38
  37. ^ a b Williamson 2003: 33–34
  38. ^ Tamelander&Zetterling 2001: 88
  39. ^ Binder 2001: 89
  40. ^ Hansen 2005: 71
  41. ^ Hansen 2005: 71
  42. ^ Arneberg 1989: 62, 65
  43. ^ Arneberg 1989: 65
  44. ^ Hansen 2005: 72
  45. ^ Sivertsen 2001: 78
  46. ^ Grimnes 1990: 14
  47. ^ German-navy.de: Brummer (in English)
  48. ^ a b c d Fjeld 1999: 191
  49. ^ Grimnes 1990: 15
  50. ^ Weal 1997: 34–35
  51. ^ a b Fjeld 1999: 192
  52. ^ "Elverum Authorization" (in Norwegian). NorgesLexi.com. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2008.
  53. ^ "Kongens nei". Norwegian Defence Estates Agency (in Norwegian). 24 August 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2017.[permanent dead link]

Bibliography

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  • Arneberg, Sven T.; Kristian Hosar (1989). Vi dro mot nord : felttoget i Norge i april 1940, skildret av tyske soldater og offiserer: (Oslo, Østfold, Akershus, Hedmark, Oppland, Møre og Romsdal) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Aventura.
  • Berg, Ole F. (1997). I skjærgården og på havet – Marinens krig 8. april 1940 – 8. mai 1945 (in Norwegian). Oslo: Marinens krigsveteranforening. ISBN 82-993545-2-8.
  • Binder, Frank & Schlünz Hans Hermann: Schwerer Kreuzer Blücher, Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Hamburg 2001 ISBN 3-7822-0784-X (in German)
  • Engdahl, Odd G. (ed.): Norsk Marinehistorisk Atlas 900–2005, Vigmostad & Bjørke, Bergen 2006 (in Norwegian)
  • Fjeld, Odd T. (1999). Klar til strid – Kystartilleriet gjennom århundrene (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kystartilleriets Offisersforening. ISBN 82-995208-0-0.
  • Fjeld, Odd T. (ed.): Kystartilleriet 100 år, Sjømilitære Samfund ved Norsk Tidsskrift for Sjøvesen, Hundvåg 1999 ISBN 82-994738-6-1 (in Norwegian)
    (to be quoted as Fjeld2 1999)
  • Grimnes, Ole Kristian: Oscarsborg festning – 9. april 1940, Forsvarets Krigshistoriske Avdeling, 1990 (in Norwegian)
  • Hansen, Ola Bøe (ed.): Sjøkrigens skjebner – deres egne beretninger, Sjømilitære Samfund ved Forlaget Norsk Tidsskrift for Sjøvesen, Gjøvik 2005 ISBN 82-92217-22-3 (in Norwegian)
  • Hauge, Andreas (1995). Kampene i Norge 1940 (in Norwegian). Vol. 1. Sandefjord: Krigshistorisk Forlag. ISBN 82-993369-0-2.
  • Ribsskog, Asbjørn: Kystartilleriet under den annen verdenskrig 1939–1945, Atheneum Forlag as, Vinterbro 1998 (in Norwegian)
  • Sivertsen, Svein Carl (ed.): Sjøforsvaret dag for dag 1814–2000, Sjømilitære Samfund ved Norsk Tidsskrift for Sjøvesen, Hundvåg 2001 ISBN 82-92217-03-7 (in Norwegian)
  • Stangeland, Gro & Valebrokk, Eva: Norges bedste Værn og Fæste – Nasjonale festningsverk, Wigestrand Forlag AS, Stavanger 2001 ISBN 82-91370-35-4 (in Norwegian)
  • Tamelander, Michael & Zetterling, Niklas: 9. april Nazitysklands invasjon av Norge, Spartacus Forlag AS, Oslo 2001 (in Norwegian)
  • Weal, John (1997). Junkers Ju 87 Stukageschwader 1937–41. Osprey Combat Aircraft. Vol. 1 (First ed.). Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-439-9.
  • Williamson, Gordon: German Heavy Cruisers 1939–45, Osprey Publishing Ltd., Oxford 2003 ISBN 1-84176-502-3
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Sinking of Blücher 1940.

59°42′03″N 10°35′34″E / 59.7009°N 10.5927°E / 59.7009; 10.5927

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