Narvik: The Struggle of Battle Group Dietl in the Spring of 1940

Die Wehrmacht Im Kampf #18

by Alex Buchner, Janice W. Ancker (Translator)

“An intensely detailed historical account and counterfactual analysis of the strategic dilemmas faced by German and Allied forces at Narvik.” —Naval Historical FoundationPublished for the first time in English, this is a German account of the German invasion of Norway in the spring of 1940. It focuses on the efforts of Group “1” led by Eduard Dietl. This group of Gebirgstruppen—mountain troops—was landed at Narvik in early April by ten destroyers. These ships were then all sunk by the Allies. Dietl’s troops were outnumbered by Allied troops but his defense utilized ammunition, food and sailors from the sunken ships and his men retook Narvik once the Allies abandoned their efforts to push the Germans out of Norway.“The book does provide detailed accounts of the numerous battles and skirmishes around Narvik in the spring of 1940. The maps are useful to help understand the terrain and geography. The focus of the text is at the tactical level, and any historian interested in the tactics of the Norwegian campaign or of German mountain troops at this time would find this especially useful.” —Journal of Military History“The story of Dietl’s improvisation in the face of such inadequacies is quite impressive . . . the best account in English of the German side of Narvik.” —Stone & Stone Second World War Books“A fascinating look at the battle from the German side. While the book does reflect the attitudes of the time it was written, it also reveals what the German troops faced and provides a good account of the various engagements in and around Narvik.” —WWII History Magazine

222 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1958

Reviews

[Boyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed Account

A detailed account of the Narvik battle. I needed additional material to follow along with the information. Small unit level detail and a lot of place names necessitated an atlas and one or two other reference books.

My understanding is that it’s an older work, but I found it useful and enjoyed the account.