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Narvik 1940
151 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
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August 23, 2026
I was looking for a book that looked at the battles around Narvik 1940 in detail, and at that level this book delivered with detailed maps of the campaigns and accounts of the fighting. It is clearly the result of extensive research, with lots of the accounts from interviews with participants having been woven into the narrative. It is presented in landscape format with colour photos from the period, and of relics found during the author's excursions into the terrain.
In all this I was very pleased with it, and wished I had got hold of it earlier during my visit to Narvik and surroundings.
It is clearly from a Norwegian perspective, thus rarely misses an opportunity to talk of the heroism of these soldiers, the perfidy of the allies, or the unfair advantages of the Germans. Much of this is probably fair enough. The author wants to correct the historical record a little, not least a perception of the Germans being outnumbered but performing superbly. In fact the Norwegians - much on their own once the British Navy could not assist - put a large dent in the pride of the Reich, and did so with little recognition.
Lots of other gripes are raised in this. The British bombing of the towns is criticised (the author recounts how two men took to a boat with a small child and approached the British ships to demonstrate civilians were being harmed). The French Foreign Legion is criticised (for their unscrupulous disregard for personal property). The Germans broke the Geneva Convention by using POWs to transport munitions.
But I think the value is the close-hand account of the difficulties of combat in that terrain, the privations of the men, the skill of the Germans, and the tactical resourcefulness of the Norwegians in overcoming the Germans' superiority in arms. The Norwegian soldiers (notably some Swedes volunteered with them) had no hand grenades and struggled with close-quarter combat but bettered the Germans from range with excellent sniper fire, pinning the enemy to allow advance.
So, in all, well-researched and informative. However, a gripe of my own. It really needed an English editor to look at the proof. The text has been mangled a little in the typesetting, and there are some frequent glitches and typos that a couple of hours' work could have tidied up to make it much better presented than it was. A pity. I wanted to give it 3 stars for that reason, but I won't because its a Sunday.
In all this I was very pleased with it, and wished I had got hold of it earlier during my visit to Narvik and surroundings.
It is clearly from a Norwegian perspective, thus rarely misses an opportunity to talk of the heroism of these soldiers, the perfidy of the allies, or the unfair advantages of the Germans. Much of this is probably fair enough. The author wants to correct the historical record a little, not least a perception of the Germans being outnumbered but performing superbly. In fact the Norwegians - much on their own once the British Navy could not assist - put a large dent in the pride of the Reich, and did so with little recognition.
Lots of other gripes are raised in this. The British bombing of the towns is criticised (the author recounts how two men took to a boat with a small child and approached the British ships to demonstrate civilians were being harmed). The French Foreign Legion is criticised (for their unscrupulous disregard for personal property). The Germans broke the Geneva Convention by using POWs to transport munitions.
But I think the value is the close-hand account of the difficulties of combat in that terrain, the privations of the men, the skill of the Germans, and the tactical resourcefulness of the Norwegians in overcoming the Germans' superiority in arms. The Norwegian soldiers (notably some Swedes volunteered with them) had no hand grenades and struggled with close-quarter combat but bettered the Germans from range with excellent sniper fire, pinning the enemy to allow advance.
So, in all, well-researched and informative. However, a gripe of my own. It really needed an English editor to look at the proof. The text has been mangled a little in the typesetting, and there are some frequent glitches and typos that a couple of hours' work could have tidied up to make it much better presented than it was. A pity. I wanted to give it 3 stars for that reason, but I won't because its a Sunday.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review