Operation Woodlark, also known as the Jørstadelva Bridge sabotage, was an operation carried out on 13 January 1945 by members of the
Norwegian Independent Company 1
Norwegian Independent Company 1 (NOR.I.C.1, pronounced ''Norisén'' (approx. "noor-ee-sehn") in Norwegian) was a British Special Operations Executive (SOE) group formed in March 1941 originally for the purpose of performing commando raids during ...
during the
Second World War
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 opposi ...
The aim was to blow up a railway bridge in order to disrupt the
Nordland Line
The Nordland Line ( no, Nordlandsbanen, ) is a railway line between Trondheim and Bodø, Norway. It is the longest in Norway and lacks electrification. The route runs through the counties of Trøndelag (formerly Sør-Trøndelag and Nord-Trøndel ...
railway in
Snåsa
Snåsa (; sma, Snåase) is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Innherred region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Snåsa. Other villages include Agle and Jørstad.
Snåsa is one of th ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
. Six hours after the bridge had been destroyed, a military troop train was derailed and crashed into the river below, killing 70–80 people (among them two Norwegians) and injuring some 100 more. It is the most deadly rail incident ever in Norway.
In the aftermath of the disaster, there were fights between German and US soldiers in the Snåsa mountains, the only fights in Norway between these two countries during the occupation (further info:
Operasjon Rype). A war memorial of the sabotage was raised in 1995 at the site. Four out of the five saboteurs who had participated in the sabotage were present at the dedication of the memorial.
Commanding officer Major
William Colby
William Egan Colby (January 4, 1920 – May 6, 1996) was an American intelligence officer who served as Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) from September 1973 to January 1976.
During World War II Colby served with the Office of Strateg ...
led the NORSO I troops, who were mainly Norwegian nationals.
OSS – Operational groups
Operation Rype
See also
* Operasjon Rype
References
Further reading
Samfunnsmagasinet
Fra Vidkun Quisling Einar Gerhardsen, published 21 April 2006. Incident is mentioned in the section "Fra Quisling til Gerhardsen".
{{coord, 64.1919, 12.1924, region:NO-17, display=title
1945 in Norway
World War II sabotage
Bridge disasters in Norway
Bridge disasters caused by warfare
Military history of Norway during World War II
Nordland Line
Rail transport in Trøndelag
Derailments in Norway
Railway accidents in 1945
Woodlark
The woodlark or wood lark (''Lullula arborea'') is the only extant species in the lark genus ''Lullula''. It is found across most of Europe, the Middle East, western Asia and the mountains of north Africa. It is mainly resident (non- migratory) ...
Accidents and incidents involving Norwegian State Railways (1883–1996)
January 1945 events in Europe