1940 is the year when Norway became drawn into
World War II. On 9 April
Nazi Germany invaded the country, which remained occupied until 8 May 1945. See the article
Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany for a full exposition of World War II in Norway.
Incumbents
Government in Exile (in London) – went to exile on 7 June
16 February –
Altmark Incident: The British destroyer
HMS Cossack intercepts the German transport Altmark in Norwegian waters, recovering 299 British prisoners of war.
8 April – In
Operation Wilfred the
United Kingdom places fictitious and real naval mine fields off the coast of Norway. The aim was to provoke a German response.
German invasion of Norway: Nazi Germany carries out
Operation Weserübung, and invades
Denmark and Norway. Norway is at war for the first time since
1814. German forces land in several Norwegian ports and take
Oslo; The
Norwegian Campaign lasts two months.
German invasion of Norway:
Kristiansand is attacked by German warships and bombers. German troops met resistance from nearby
Odderøya Fortress, which surrendered after hard battles.
German invasion of Norway: The Norwegian armored ships
HNoMS Norge and
HNoMS Eidsvold torpedoed and sunk by German vessels at the port of
Narvik. Landing of German forces without resistance.
German invasion of Norway:
German cruiser Blücher is sunk
by gunfire and torpedoes from the Norwegian coastal fortress
Oscarsborg in the
Oslofjord. Of the 2,202 German crew and troops on board, some 830 died (at least 320 of them crewmen). Most either drowned or burnt to death in the flaming oil slick surrounding the wreck.
German invasion of Norway: German air-landed soldiers land at and capture the airport at
Fornebu near Oslo.
10 April – German invasion of Norway: Germans set up a Norwegian government under
Vidkun Quisling, former minister of defence.
11 April – Norwegian Campaign:
First Battle of Narvik, British destroyers and aircraft successfully make a surprise attack against a larger German naval force. A second attack on 13 April will also be a British success.
13 April – Norwegian Campaign: British and French troops begin landing at
Namsos and
Harstad in Norway. The landings are aimed at recapturing
Trondheim and
Narvik, respectively.
27 April – Norwegian Campaign: British troops begin pull-out from southern and central parts of Norway.
1 May – Norwegian Campaign:
Allies begin evacuating south-western and central-Norwegian ports.
5 May – Norwegian Campaign:
Hegra Fortress capitulates after all other Norwegian forces in southern Norway have laid down their arms (see
Battle of Hegra Fortress).
10 May – Norwegian Campaign: The Hurtigruten steamer
Nordnorge is sunk at
Hemnesberget while being used as a German troop ship.
24 May – Norwegian Campaign: The British make a final decision to cease operations in Norway.
27 May – Norwegian Campaign: Most of
Bodø was destroyed during a
Luftwaffe attack. 6,000 people were living in Bodø at that time, and 3,500 people lost their homes in the attack.
28 May – Norwegian Campaign: Norwegian, French, Polish and British forces recapture the Norwegian harbour-city
Narvik which was of great strategic importance to Germany. This is the first allied infantry victory of World War II.
7 June – Norwegian Campaign: The Norwegian royal family and the Norwegian Government was evacuated from
Tromsø aboard the British cruiser
HMS Devonshire which later on arrived safely in London where Haakon VII and his cabinet set up a Norwegian
government in exile.
8 June – Norwegian Campaign: The last of the
Allied troops leave Norway.
10 June – Norwegian Campaign: Mainland Norway surrenders to
German forces.
^"70 år 21. mai: Advokat Finn Karsten Ramstad" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 11 May 2010.
^Svendsen, Lars Fredrik Händler.
"Hjørdis Nerheim". In Bolstad, Erik (ed.). Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Norsk nettleksikon. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
^Stanford, Sheila.
"Ragnar Hoen". In Bolstad, Erik (ed.). Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Norsk nettleksikon. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
^Grønstøl, Sigrid Bø.
"Eldrid Lunden". In Bolstad, Erik (ed.). Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Norsk nettleksikon. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
^Tvedt, Knut Are; Bech, Jon.
"Sten Lundbo". In Bolstad, Erik (ed.). Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Norsk nettleksikon. Retrieved 14 January 2023.