Norway 1940, what could have been done differently?

[Juha]

IMHO it would not have been necessary for Norway to choose the side. If only the PM Nygaardsvold had given in in 1937 and allowed new funds for rearming then instead in next year and if Norwegians had defended more vigorously its neutrality in1939 - 40 and if the mobilization had been allowed on 5 April, when the C-in-C demanded it Norwegians would have a reasonable chance maybe even avoid the invasion or defeat it if it had gone ahead.

Juha

 

[pattle]

If Norway had not of been lost then presumably Chamberlain would not of resigned? This would of course not of changed the outcome of the Battle of France but it may have changed the British stance towards Germany following the fall of France. Is it even safe to assume that Germany would have attacked France without first securing Norway and Denmark?

 

[Juha]

...Is it even safe to assume that Germany would have attacked France without first securing Norway and Denmark?

Yes

 

[pattle]

Yes

Probably yes, I automatically assumed they would at first but then doubts came to mind, it is worth giving thought to.

 

[parsifal]

A German submarine sank 3 merchant ships in Norwegian waters in 3 separate attacks in December 1939. The Norwegians knew what was happening and ignored it.

The laws of neutrality allowed the Altmark to remain in Norwegian waters for 24 hours. The Norwegians turned a blind eye and allowed it to sail the length of the Norwegian coast over several days (from memory it had been in Norwegian waters 48 hours when intercepted by HMS Cossack, and still had some way to go).

The Norwegians thought that by being accommodating to the Germans, the Germans would leave them alone. Instead it just helped convince the Germans that the Norwegians couldn't defend their neutrality if Britain violated it.

That and the prospect of bases to attack Britain convinced Hitler to invade Norway.

The only way to save Norway would have been for it to ally with Britain and France earlier. Allied troops, aircraft and naval forces could have made a German invasion impossible, but only if they had several weeks head start.

Couldt they have signed a military co-peration agreement similar to the British gurantees to poland....no direct military action, but an agreement to enter the conflict on some terms (say invasion of Denmark). The problem with this is that it still leaves Norway exposed. The allies did not have the troops in 1940 to station them meekly to defend Norway. they could have provided some equipment, some air, and some naval assets, but really, the Norwegians needed to mobilise to defend their ports. Their excellent performance at lillehammer and in front of trondheim with little more than home guard units is a good indicator of how easily they could contain and defeat the german forces, even outnumbered 8 or 10:1