parsifal
Colonel
In reply to your claims. RN mining operations were in International waters and neutrals were informed as to their presence....so called "declared areas" German mining operations carried no such warnings and were undertaken partly within territorial waters of the neutrals. No warnings were issued as to the presence of these minefields. Neutral personnel lost their lives as a result of this activity. as far as I have been able to ascertain, no neutral shipping was lost in the allied laid minefield barrages laid in international waters.
following the discovery that the Germans were not observing the international rules of war with respect to their minelaying, the british did start to lay mines within the territorial waters of neutrals, but still not within the waters of Norway. they sent DDs to lay mines off the Dutch coast from December, and this did result in the loss of several dutch flagged ships, all of which were in the employ of the German govt.
The British decision to invade Narvik (and other ports) came 28 March 1940 (with preparations from 12 march) . by that stage, the germans had already decided upon an invasion of Norway, dating back to at least 3 October when Raeder wrote to Rosenberg. hitler approved in principal the invasion after his meeting with quisling in December, and the invasion was declared ready from late January. It was deferred until april because the germans were waiting for the best possible opportunity which the british handed them on the 3 april. by the time the british began to load ships onto their transports, there were already german troops in Norwegian ports, hidden aboard merchant shipping and just waiting for the order.
Britain planned to attack at a number of key point, not just Narvik. German troops had already invaded before allied troops were even loaded
This whole issue as to whether Germany had embarked on an aggressive war in its invasion of Norway, or whether it was legitimate for them to argue they were responding to overt British aggression was investigated and ruled upon in 1946 at Nuremberg
"Verdicts and findings Of the IMT tribunals in 1946 concerning Norway
The 1940 German invasion of Norway has been argued to be preemptive, with the German defense in the Nuremberg Trials. It was important to establish at these trials that germany had in fact embarked on an aggressive war, since this was a vital precursor leading to the indictments of the criminals that had led germany through the war. The defence argued much as we are witnessing here, that Germany was "compelled to attack Norway by the need to forestall an Allied invasion and that her action was therefore preemptive." The German defence was to attempt to refer to Plan R4 and its predecessors. However it was determined that Germany had discussed invasion plans as early as 3 October 1939 when in a memo from Admiral Raeder to Alfred Rosenberg Raeder discussed the "gaining bases in Norway." The memo had been prefaced by asking questions such as "Can bases be gained by military force against Norway's will, if it is impossible to carry this out without fighting?"
Norway was vital to Germany as a transport route for iron ore from Sweden, a supply that the United Kingdom was determined to stop. One British plan was to go through Norway and occupy cities in Sweden. An Allied invasion was ordered on 12 March, and the Germans intercepted radio traffic setting 14 March as deadline for the preparation. Peace in Finland interrupted the Allied plans. Two diary entries by jodl dated 13 and 14 March did not indicate any high level awareness of the Allied plan although they do show that Hitler was actively considering putting Operation Weserübung into operation: The first said "Fuehrer does not give order yet for 'Weser Exercise'. He is still looking for an excuse." and the second "Fuehrer has not yet decided what reason to give for Weser Exercise." It was not till 2 April 1940 that German preparations were completed (in the sense that all the assault groups were organized and loaded), and the Naval Operational Order for Weserübung was issued on 4 April 1940. The new Allied plans were Wilfred and Plan R 4. The plan was to intended provoke a German reaction by laying mines in Norwegian waters, and once Germany showed signs of taking action UK troops would occupy Narvik, Trondheim and Bergen and and launch a raid on Stavanger to destroy sola airbase. However "the mines were not laid until the morning of 8 April, by which time the German ships were advancing up the Norwegian coast." Further, it was established that large numbers of German troops were already in hiding aboard german ships anchored in Norwegian ports, a clear breach of Norwegian neutrality".
The International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg determined that German aggressive intent was already in place and being acted upon well before it was known that an Allied invasion was imminent. German plans were made, regardless of allied intent, and that allied responses were essentially defensive or in anticipation of German overt aggressive moves. The tribunal therefore rejected the German argument that Germany was entitled to attack Norway.It formeed part of the successful indictement made against germany that she had knowingly and actively engaged in an aggressive war against nations with no justification.
Your argument was attempted and failed 71 years ago. I know, you think you know better than the IMT, and the IMT was a kangaroo court whereas your motives are more pure than the driven snow, but you will pardon me if I say you are just peddling crap that we have seen oh so many times before....
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