Battles of Narvik

Two naval engagements fought at Narvik, Norway, in April 1940 between Allied and German forces during the Norwegian Campaign. The battles ended German control of the port at sea but did not prevent the occupation of Norway.

First Battle of Narvik: A 10 April 1940 British destroyer raid that surprised German forces in Narvik harbor. The first engagement struck German ships and supply vessels inside the harbor.
Operation Weserübung: Germany’s April 1940 invasion of Denmark and Norway. The German seizure of Narvik brought the opposing fleets into the fjord.
Bernard Warburton-Lee: A British naval officer who commanded the destroyer force in the first Battle of Narvik. He led the harbor raid and received the Victoria Cross posthumously.
German occupation of Norway: Germany’s military occupation of Norway from 1940 until 1945. The German fleet’s defeat at Narvik did not dislodge German control of the country.
Second Battle of Narvik: A 13 April 1940 British naval attack that destroyed the remaining German destroyers at Narvik. The second engagement completed the destruction of Germany’s naval force in the fjord.
Norwegian Campaign: The 1940 Allied and German campaign for control of Norway. The naval engagements were one part of a wider campaign on land and at sea.
William Whitworth: A British admiral who commanded the force in the second Battle of Narvik. He directed the British attack that destroyed the German destroyers.
Allied evacuation from Norway: The Allied withdrawal from Norway in 1940 after the campaign’s military reversal. Allied forces withdrew soon after the temporary recapture of Narvik.
Ofotfjord: A fjord in northern Norway connecting Narvik to the Norwegian Sea. Its narrow waters shaped the movements and firing positions of both fleets.
Battle of Narvik (land): The April–June 1940 ground fighting around Narvik between German forces and Allied and Norwegian troops. The land campaign continued after the naval battles and briefly recaptured the town.

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