Arne Laudal (25 September 1892 – 9 May 1944) was a Norwegian military officer,

Milorg Milorg (abbreviation of militær organisasjon – military organization) was the main Norwegian resistance movement during World War II. Resistance work included intelligence gathering, sabotage, supply-missions, raids, espionage, transport of ...

pioneer and resistance fighter during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was arrested by the Germans, sentenced to death and executed.

Early life and career

Born in

Holum Holum is a former municipality that was located in the old Vest-Agder county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The administrative centre was the village of Krossen where Holum Church is located. The ...

Vest-Agder Vest-Agder (; "West Agder") was one of 18 counties (''fylker'') in Norway up until 1 January 2020, when it was merged with Aust-Agder to form Agder county. In 2016, there were 182,701 inhabitants, around 3.5% of the total population of Norway. I ...

, Arne Laudal was the son of Bent Løvdal and his wife Ragnhild. He finished his

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...

Kristiansand Cathedral School Kristiansand Cathedral School (''Kristiansand katedralskole Gimle''), known in Latin as ''Schola Christiansandensis'', is a high school in Kristiansand, Agder, Norway. It is the oldest high school on the southern coast of Norway, having been fo ...

in 1916, and attended the

Norwegian Military Academy The Norwegian Military Academy (), in Oslo, educates officers of the Norwegian Army and serves as the King's Royal Guard. The academy was established in 1750, and is the oldest institution for higher education in Norway. History The Commander- ...

( no, Krigsskolen), graduating in 1918. He married teacher Helga Stray in 1925. In 1930 he received the rank of captain, and headed a school for non-commissioned officers for nine years. He was appointed chief of staff with colonel

Otto Ruge Otto Ruge (9 January 1882 – 15 August 1961) was a Norwegian general. Ruge was Commander-in-chief of the Royal Norwegian Armed Forces after Nazi Germany's assault on Norway in April 1940. Early career Ruge grew up in Kristiania (Oslo) i ...

in 1939. He was given the rank of Major in January 1940.

World War II

During the Norwegian Campaign Laudal was chief of staff under colonel

. He was involved in the

battle of Midtskogen The Battle of Midtskogen was a minor battle fought on the night of 9–10 April 1940 during the Second World War between a German raiding party and an improvised Norwegian force. The site of the battle was Midtskogen farm, situated approximately ...

, and was later in command of military forces in

Østerdalen Østerdalen () is a valley and traditional district in Innlandet county, in Eastern Norway. This area typically is described as the large Glåma river valley as well as all its tributary valleys. It includes the municipalities Rendalen, Alvdal, F ...

Valdres Valdres () is a traditional district in central, southern Norway, situated between the districts of Gudbrandsdalen and Hallingdal. The region of Valdres consists of the six municipalities of Nord-Aurdal, Sør-Aurdal, Øystre Slidre, Vestre Slidre ...

and Northern Norway. He was among the pioneer leaders of the undercover military organisation

, building up the

Southern Norway Southern Norway ( no, Sørlandet; lit. "The Southland") is the geographical region (''landsdel'') along the Skagerrak coast of southern Norway. The region is an informal description since it does not have any governmental function. It roughl ...

district (labeled ''D 18'', covering the

Agder Agder is a county (''fylke'') and traditional region in the southern part of Norway. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder counties were merged. Since the early 1900s, the term Sørlandet ("south ...

counties). He was arrested by the Germans in December 1942, tortured at Arkivet in Kristiansand, transferred to the

Grini detention camp '', '' no, Grini fangeleir'', location=Bærum, Viken, Norway, location map=Viken#Norway, built by=Norway, original use=Constructed as a women's prison, operated by=Nazi Germany, notable inmates= List of Grini prisoners, liberated by= Harry Söderm ...

, sentenced to death and shot at

Trandumskogen Trandumskogen is a forest located in Ullensaker, Akershus county, Norway. It was the site of one of the first discoveries in May 1945 of Nazi Germany, German mass graves in Norway. The German executioner Oskar Hans was the officer in command of t ...

in May 1944. The crackdown of the Milorg district in Southern Norway by Gestapo in December 1942 led to the death of more than fifty men. Semb-Johansson estimates that 324 persons were arrested. Six of these were executed, including Laudal, while seventy died during imprisonment or shortly after the war. He was posthumously awarded the British

King's Commendation for Brave Conduct The Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct, formerly the King's Commendation for Brave Conduct, acknowledged brave acts by both civilians and members of the armed services in both war and peace, for gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. Est ...

. A bust of Laudal was unveiled in Kristiansand in 1969.

References

External links

Arne Laudal's story
(

Arkivet (Kristiansand) Arkivet (meaning ''the Archive'') is the established name of Vesterveien 4 in Kristiansand, Norway. The building was constructed in 1935 for the Regional State Archives in Kristiansand, Archival Services in Kristiansand, and in the periods 1935� ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Laudal, Arne 1892 births 1944 deaths People educated at Kristiansand Cathedral School Norwegian Military Academy alumni Norwegian Army personnel of World War II Norwegian resistance members Norwegian military personnel killed in World War II Norwegian torture victims People executed by Nazi Germany by firing squad People from Vest-Agder Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany Executed military personnel Norwegian people executed by Nazi Germany Deaths by firearm in Norway Grini concentration camp prisoners Recipients of the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct