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Battle Of Drøbak Sound
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. The fortress' armaments worked flawlessly despite their age, sinking the ''Blücher'' in the sound and forcing the German fleet to f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Cruiser Blücher
''Blücher'' was the second of five heavy cruisers of Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' (War Navy), built after the rise of the Nazi Party and the repudiation of the Treaty of Versailles. Named for Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, the Prussian victor of the Battle of Waterloo, the ship was laid down in August 1936 and launched in June 1937. She was completed in September 1939, shortly after the outbreak of World War II. After completing a series of sea trials and training exercises, the ship was pronounced ready for service with the fleet on 5 April 1940. She was armed with a main battery of eight guns and, although nominally under the limit set by the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, actually displaced over . Immediately upon entering service, ''Blücher'' was assigned to the task force that supported the invasion of Norway in April 1940. ''Blücher'' served as the flagship of ''Konteradmiral'' (Rear Admiral) Oskar Kummetz, the commander of Group 5. The ship led the flotilla of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Action In The Oslofjord
The Action in the Oslofjord occurred late on 8 April 1940 in World War II. As ''Kampfgruppe'' 5 of the German invasion force proceeded towards Oslo, it encountered Norwegian defences in the Oslofjord. During a short exchange that resulted in the first Norwegian casualty of the war, the Germans managed to push through down to Drøbak Sound, where they would face more determined resistance. Prelude In order to invade Norway, the Germans divided their naval forces into six groups. The fifth of these, "''Kampfgruppe'' 5," was to pass through the Oslofjord and land troops in Oslo. The group consisted of the heavy cruisers and ''Lützow'', the light cruiser , the torpedo boats , and and eight minesweepers. The ships were under orders not to open fire unless fired upon. The outer parts of the fjord were guarded by the Oslofjord Fortress, established in 1914, made up of smaller forts at Bolærne and Rauøy. Of the 11 guard ships operating out of Tønsberg, would be tasked w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naval Mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any vessel or a particular vessel type, akin to anti-infantry vs. anti-vehicle mines. Naval mines can be used offensively, to hamper enemy shipping movements or lock vessels into a harbour; or defensively, to protect friendly vessels and create "safe" zones. Mines allow the minelaying force commander to concentrate warships or defensive assets in mine-free areas giving the adversary three choices: undertake an expensive and time-consuming minesweeping effort, accept the casualties of challenging the minefield, or use the unmined waters where the greatest concentration of enemy firepower will be encountered. Although international law requires signatory nations to declare mined areas, precise locations remain secret; and non-complying individ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Non-commissioned Officer
A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enlisted personnel, are of lower rank than any officer.) In contrast, commissioned officers usually enter directly from a military academy, officer candidate school (OCS), or officer training school (OTS) after receiving a post-secondary degree. The NCO corps usually includes many grades of enlisted, corporal and sergeant; in some countries, warrant officers also carry out the duties of NCOs. The naval equivalent includes some or all grades of petty officer. There are different classes of non-commissioned officers, including junior (lower ranked) non-commissioned officers (JNCO) and senior/staff (higher ranked) non-commissioned officers (SNCO). Function The non-commissioned officer corps has been referred to as "the backbone" of the armed se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Policy Of Neutrality
A neutral country is a state that is neutral towards belligerents in a specific war or holds itself as permanently neutral in all future conflicts (including avoiding entering into military alliances such as NATO, CSTO or the SCO). As a type of non-combatant status, nationals of neutral countries enjoy protection under the law of war from belligerent actions to a greater extent than other non-combatants such as enemy civilians and prisoners of war. Different countries interpret their neutrality differently: some, such as Costa Rica, have demilitarized, while Switzerland holds to "armed neutrality", to deter aggression with a sizeable military, while barring itself from foreign deployment. Not all neutral countries avoid any foreign deployment or alliances, as Austria and Ireland have active UN peacekeeping forces and a political alliance within the European Union. Sweden's traditional policy was not to participate in military alliances, with the intention of staying neutral in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allies Of World War II
The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed during the Second World War (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Fascist Italy. Its principal members by 1941 were the United Kingdom, United States, Soviet Union, and China. Membership in the Allies varied during the course of the war. When the conflict broke out on 1 September 1939, the Allied coalition consisted of the United Kingdom, France, and Poland, as well as their respective dependencies, such as British India. They were soon joined by the independent dominions of the British Commonwealth: Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Consequently, the initial alliance resembled that of the First World War. As Axis forces began invading northern Europe and the Balkans, the Allies added the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Greece, and Yugoslavia. The Soviet Union, which initially had a nonaggression pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kriegsmarine
The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the and the , of the , the German armed forces from 1935 to 1945. In violation of the Treaty of Versailles, the grew rapidly during German naval rearmament in the 1930s. The 1919 treaty had limited the size of the German navy and prohibited the building of submarines. ships were deployed to the waters around Spain during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) under the guise of enforcing non-intervention, but in reality supported the Nationalists against the Spanish Republicans. In January 1939, Plan Z, a massive shipbuilding program, was ordered, calling for surface naval parity with the British Royal Navy by 1944. When World War II broke out in September 1939, Plan Z was shelved in favour of a crash building program for submarines (U-boat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norwegian Military Ranks
Military ranks and rank insignia of Norway were changed June 1, 2016, with the reintroduction of the Non-Commissioned Officer Corps, and the abolishment of the one-tier officer system in place since 1975. New system of 2016 The Storting adopted in 2015 the new scheme for military personnel, ''Militærordningen''. From 2016, the Norwegian Defence Forces have two career ladders for the military personnel; one officer scheme for personnel with a degree from the military academy, or a university degree and qualification courses, and a non-commissioned officer scheme for personnel with non-commissioned officer school. Commissioned officers The rank insignia for commissioned officers for the army, navy and air force respectively. Enlisted The following are the rank insignia for enlisted for the army, navy and air force respectively. Historic ranks System 1916–1930 Officers Enlisted System ?–1975 Officers Enlisted System 1975–2016 Norway did not have a non-commission ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Occupation Of Norway
The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until the capitulation of German forces in Europe on 8 May 1945. Throughout this period, a pro-German government named Den nasjonale regjering (English: the National Government) ruled Norway, while the Norwegian king Haakon VII and the prewar government escaped to London, where they formed a government in exile. Civil rule was effectively assumed by the ''Reichskommissariat Norwegen'' (Reich Commissariat of Norway), which acted in collaboration with the pro-German puppet government. This period of military occupation is, in Norway, referred to as the "war years", "occupation period" or simply "the war". Background Having maintained its neutrality during the First World War (1914–1918), Norwegian foreign and military policy since 1933 was largely ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drøbak
Drøbak is a List of cities in Norway, town and the centre of the municipality of Frogn, in Viken county, Norway. The city is located along the Oslofjord, and has 13,409 inhabitants. History Drøbak and Frogn was established as a parish on its own through a royal decree on 8 September 1823. It had been a part of Ås parish. Drøbak was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). It was merged with Frogn on 1 January 1962. Traditionally, Drøbak was the winter harbour of Norway's capital, Oslo, since in severe winters the fjord will freeze from outside Drøbak all the way up to Oslo. It had city status between 1842 and 1962, upon which point the municipality was merged into the rural municipality Frogn and lost its city status. The city status was regained by the municipality council on 13 February 2006. It was also decided that adjacent villages such as Heer, Norway, Heer would be included within the city. A notable event in Drøbak's history is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oscarsborg Fortress
Oscarsborg Fortress ( no, Oscarsborg festning) is a coastal fortress in the Oslofjord, close to the small town of Drøbak in Viken county, Norway. The best known part is situated on two small islets. The main artillery batteries are on the island Håøya and smaller batteries on the mainland to the west and east in the fjord and was military territory until 2003 when it was made a publicly available resort island. The fortress is best known for sinking the German heavy cruiser '' Blücher'' on 9 April 1940. In 2014, Oscarsborg Fortress was given protected status. Early history The narrows at Drøbak, called '' Drøbaksundet'', is a natural point for the naval defence of Oslo, the capital of Norway. The first defences were constructed during the reign of Christian IV of Denmark and Norway and were ready in 1644. The fortifications were however not involved in battle during the Hannibal War.National Fortresses of NorwayHistorical overview of Oscarsborg Fortress After the war ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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