The
Battle of Dombås was fought between
Norwegian ArmyThe Norwegian Army is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest branch of the Norwegian armed forces. The modern Army has its roots in the Norwegian constitution, adopted on 16 May, 1814, before the establishment of...
infantry forces and
GermanNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
Fallschirmjägerare German paratroopers. Fallschirmjäger of Germany in World War II were the first to be committed in large-scale airborne operations. They came to be known as the "Green Devils" by the Allied forces they fought against...
paratroops in mid-April 1940. As part of their conquest of Norway south of
Trondheimis a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. The city of Trondheim was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838...
, and as a countermeasure against reported
allied landingsThe Battle of Åndalsnes took place in Åndalsnes in Romsdal, Norway in 1940 during the Norwegian Campaign of World War II.After the German invasion of Norway in April 1940, British troops landed in Åndalsnes as part of a pincer movement to take mid-Norwegian city Trondheim...
in the
RomsdalRomsdal is the name of a valley and traditional district in the Norwegian county Møre og Romsdal. It is located between Nordmøre and Sunnmøre...
area of
south western NorwayWestern Norway is the region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the counties Rogaland, Hordaland, Sogn og Fjordane, and Møre og Romsdal and the region has a population of approx.1.2 million people. The largest city is Bergen, second largest is Stavanger...
, the Germans dropped a company of
paratrooperParatroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force.Paratroopers are used for tactical advantage as they can be inserted into the battlefield from the air, thereby allowing them to be positioned in areas not accessible by land...
s near the vital railroad junction of
DombåsThe village of lies in the Dovre municipality and serves as an administrative center in the upper Gudbrandsdal, Norway. It lies at an important junction of roads: south leading to the current capital of Norway, Oslo, west via Lesja leading to Åndalsnes on the sea and north to the old capital,...
on 14 April 1940. During the following five days the German force blocked the Dovre Line railroad line between
Oslois the capital and largest city in Norway. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the town was largely destroyed by a fire in 1624. The Danish–Norwegian king Christian IV rebuilt the city as Christiania . Oslo, then an alternative name, became official again in 1925...
and Trondheim, as well as the main road between the two cities.
Background
Shortly after the
German invasion of NorwayOperation Weserübung was the code name for Nazi Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during World War II and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign...
on 9 April 1940 the Allies launched
their own campaign in NorwayThe Allied campaign in Norway during World War II took place from April 1940 until early June 1940. Allied operations were focused in two areas, in northern Norway around Narvik and in central Norway....
to support the
Norwegian Defence ForceThe Norwegian Armed Forces numbers about 23,000 personnel, including civilian employees. According to current mobilisation plans, the strength during full mobilisation is approximately 83,000 combatant personnel...
and prevent the Germans in seizing control of the strategically important country. The
Norwegian CampaignThe Norwegian Campaign was the name used by the Allies United Kingdom and France for their first direct land confrontation with the military forces of Nazi Germany in World War II. The conflict occurred in Norway between 9 April and 10 June 1940, making Norway the nation - aside from the Soviet...
was the first time France and the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
fought a direct land confrontation with
Nazi GermanyNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
.
On 13 April
GeneraloberstColonel General is a senior military rank which is used in some of the world’s militaries. North Korea and Russia are two nations which have used the rank extensively throughout their histories...
Nikolaus von FalkenhorstNikolaus von Falkenhorst was a German General who planned 'Operation Weserübung', the invasion of Denmark and Norway in 1940. After the invasion he became Commander of the German troops in Norway between 1940 and 1944....
, the commander of the German invasion forces in Norway, received orders from the
Oberkommando der WehrmachtThe Oberkommando der Wehrmacht was part of the command structure of the armed forces of Nazi Germany during World War II.-Genesis:...
in
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
to seize control of Dombås village by paratroop attack. The reason for the German High Command's decision was a false report of
allied landings at ÅndalsnesThe Battle of Åndalsnes took place in Åndalsnes in Romsdal, Norway in 1940 during the Norwegian Campaign of World War II.After the German invasion of Norway in April 1940, British troops landed in Åndalsnes as part of a pincer movement to take mid-Norwegian city Trondheim...
, an event that only occurred several days later. The main task at hand for the German troops was the destruction of the railroad, as well as blocking any allied advance inland, particularly south through the
GudbrandsdalGudbrandsdalen is a valley and traditional district in the Norwegian fylke of Oppland. The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from Lillehammer at Lake Mjøsa, extending 230 km toward Romsdal...
valley.
German
The German force air dropped on Dombås was the 1
st Company of the 1
st Regiment of the 7
th Flieger Division. Based at Heimatstandort Stendal near
MagdeburgMagdeburg , the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, is situated at the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe. Emperor Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor, lived during most of his reign in the town and was buried in the cathedral after his death...
the unit was ordered to Norway on 12 April, landing at
Fornebu airportOslo Airport, Fornebu was the main airport serving Oslo and Eastern Norway from 1 June 1939 to 7 October 1998. It was then replaced by Oslo Airport, Gardermoen and the area has since been redeveloped. The airport was located at Fornebu in Bærum, from the city center. The airport had two runways,...
near Oslo on 13 April. 1
st Company was commanded by
OberleutnantOberleutnant is a junior officer rank in the militaries of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In the German army, it dates from the early 19th century. Translated as "Senior Lieutenant", the rank is typically bestowed upon commissioned officers after five to six years of active duty...
Herbert SchmidtHerbert Schmidt was a member of the Fallschirmjäger during World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross....
and was 185 strong, armed with light weaponry and 22 MG34
machine gunA machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rifle bullets in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute...
s; four on tripods for the
medium machine gunA medium machine gun or MMG, in modern terms, usually refers to a belt-fed automatic firearm firing a full-power rifle cartridge and typically weighs from 15 to 40 pounds . MMGs usually have some type of provision for extended firing, such as a removable or extra-heavy barrel, cooling fins, or a...
role.
Norwegian
The Norwegian force initially based at Dombås was the 2
nd Battalion of Infantry Regiment 11. Two days after the attack No. 1 Company of Infantry Regiment 5 arrived as reinforcements and on 17 April the 2
nd Battalion was replaced by its sister unit, 1
st Battalion of Infantry Regiment 11. Reinforcements in the form of a machine gun platoon and an anti-aircraft gun also arrived on 17 April. On the last day of the battle the Norwegians were joined by some of the first British forces to see action on land in Norway when a
howitzerA howitzer is a type of artillery piece that is characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small explosive charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...
manned by
Royal MarinesThe Royal Marines are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service. They are also the United Kingdom's specialists in amphibious warfare, including the operation of landing craft; mountain warfare;...
joined the fighting.
Day One
At around 1700hrs Norwegian time on 14 April 15
Junkers Ju 52The Junkers Ju 52 was a German transport aircraft manufactured from 1932 to 1945. It saw both civilian and military service during the 1930s and 1940s. In a civilian role, it flew with over 12 air carriers including Swissair and Lufthansa as an airliner and freight hauler...
transport aircraft took off from Fornebu airport near Oslo in hail and sleet with low cloud cover. An hour earlier one Ju 52 had flown a reconnaissance flight over the drop area at Dombås without being able to see anything through the cloud cover.
Even though the officers on the site wished to postpone the mission due to the weather conditions the fact that the mission was based on a direct command from
Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party...
meant that it had to be carried out despite the risks involved.
The mission the German Fallschirmjäger embarked on was the second opposed paratroop attack in history, the first had occurred five days previously when the Norwegian airbase of
SolaSola Air Station in Sola municipality in Norway is operated by the Royal Norwegian Air Force. Air Wing 134 is stationed at Sola along with helicopter Squadron 330....
near
Stavangeris a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway. Stavanger was established as a municipality 1 January 1838...
was captured during the 9 April invasion of Norway.
The drop
When the German aircraft arrived over their target area, after a 275 km flight, small breaks in the cloud cover enabled most of the Ju 52s to drop their sticks (loads) of paratroopers. The poor weather conditions led to the Germans being spread over a large area, stretching from
LesjaLesja is a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lesja....
20 km west of the target, Vålåsjø 18 km north east of the target and locations eight km to the south in the Gudbrandsdal valley.
Fighting the II/IR11
To the misfortune of the German paratroopers their target area was coincidentally also the temporary base and encampment of 2
nd Battalion of the Norwegian Army's Infantry Regiment 11 (II/IR 11). The battalion had been mobilised in Molde a few days previously and had arrived by train in Dombås in the evening of 13 April. The deployment had been made in preparation for what the Norwegian Army High Command expected would be a major attempt at reconquering Trondheim in cooperation with Allied forces. Although there was no
anti-aircraft artilleryAnti-aircraft warfare, or air defence, is any method of engaging hostile military aircraft in defence of ground objectives, ground or naval forces or denial of passage through a specific airspace region, area or anti-aircraft combat zone...
in the area II/IR11 had positioned their 7,92 mm Colt M/29
heavy machine gunThe heavy machine gun is a larger class of machine gun generally recognized to refer to two separate stages of machine gun development. The term was originally used to refer to the early generation of machine guns which came into widespread use in World War I...
s on anti-aircraft mounts in order to provide some basic low-level air defence.
The arrival of the German aircraft over Dombås came as a surprise to the Norwegian forces who nonetheless soon opened fire on the Ju 52s with all available arms. Gunners aboard the Ju 52s returned fire while flying at treetop level. Soon after the first paratroopers were dropped over the area and took heavy fire while descending to the ground. The ground fire took a heavy toll on the German transport aircraft, with only five out of the original 15 Ju 52s making it back to Fornebu, with another two landing at
Værnes airbaseTrondheim Airport, Værnes is located in Stjørdal, Nord-Trøndelag, east of Trondheim. This is a regional airport, serving Sør-Trøndelag and Nord-Trøndelag counties. In addition, it also serves as a hub for the southern part of Nordland county...
, all seven surviving aircraft riddled with bullet holes. The remaining eight transports were shot down or made forced landings. One Ju 52 made an emergency landing on
VänernVänern is the largest lake in Sweden and the third largest lake in Europe. It is located in the provinces of Västergötland, Dalsland, and Värmland.- History :...
Lake near
MariestadMariestad is a locality and the seat of Mariestad Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 15,448 inhabitants in 2005. It was until 1997 the capital of the former Skaraborg County and an episcopal see in the Church of Sweden between 1583 and 1646....
,
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
, where it later broke through the ice and sank. The aircraft was salvaged and returned to the
LuftwaffeLuftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1933 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956.Schweizer Luftwaffe is also the name of the Swiss Air...
by the Swedish authorities in January 1941. Many of the paratroopers that had been on the shot-down aircraft died in the crashes, or were killed or captured by Norwegian patrols soon after.
Of his originally 185 strong force Oberleutnant Schmidt only managed to gather together 63 men, the rest having died or been scattered over a vast area. With his decimated force Schmidt began carrying out his task of blocking the Norwegian rail and road network. The German force blocked the main road in the area and cut the telephone wire running next to it. After capturing a Norwegian
taxicabA taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire, with a driver, for a single passenger, or small group of passengers, typically for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
and putting as many of his men as he could in and onto the vehicle Schmidt drove north towards Dombås, stopping at regular intervals to make forward observations.
Schmidt is wounded
When the taxi-born German force reached the farmstead of Li on the road to Dombås they ran into a two truck-loads of soldiers from No. 5 company, IR 11. After some initial confusion the Norwegian opened fire and the Germans charged with
submachine gunA submachine gun is a firearm that combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol, and is usually between the two in weight and size...
s and
hand grenadeA hand grenade is an anti-personnel weapon that explodes a short time after release. The French military term grenade probably comes from the shape of the pomegranate fruit, which is also called grenade in French....
s. Following a short fire fight during which Schmidt was severely wounded and the Norwegians pushed back the paratroopers abandoned their advance on Dombås. They instead pulled back and took up positions in a hedgehog
defensive fighting positionA defensive fighting position is a type of earthwork constructed in a military context, generally large enough to accommodate at least one person....
at the farms of Ulekleiv and Hagevolden, covering all directions and dominating the surrounding landscape. Schmidt, although seriously wounded, never relinquished his command and ordered his men to use sand to write messages in the snow to the Luftwaffe asking for supplies of provisions and ammunition. The force was not spotted by Luftwaffe reconnaissance aircraft and received no supply drops while at Ulekleiv/Hagevolden.
Side-effects of the attack
The attack at Dombås made the Norwegian Central Bank speed up
the evacuationThe National Treasury of Norway consisted of in 1940 value worth of gold weighing around 50 tons. The entire gold deposit was stored at Norges Bank's main vault at their headquarters in Oslo. During the increasing tension of the 1930s, plans were made to make the deposit more mobile...
of the Norwegian
gold reservesGold reserves are held by central banks as a store of value. In 2006, it was estimated that all the gold ever mined totaled 158,000 tonnes. One tonne of gold equated to a value of US$30.27 million as of February 14, 2009...
. The 50 tons of gold had been evacuated from Oslo on 9 April and was being kept in a
vaultA bank vault is a secure space where money, valuables, records, and documents can be stored. It is intended to protect their contents from theft, unauthorized use, fire, natural disasters, and other threats, just like a safe...
in
Lillehammeris a town and municipality in Oppland county, Norway, globally known for hosting the 1994 Winter Olympics. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal...
when the German attack on Dombås began. As soon as news of German paratroopers landing spread the gold was put on a train and raced to Åndalsnes from where it was evacuated by way of
Royal NavyThe Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of HM Armed Forces . From the beginning of the 18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early...
cruiserA cruiser is a large type of warship, which had its prime period from the late 19th century to the end of the Cold War. The first cruisers were intended for individual raiding and protection missions on the seas...
s and Norwegian fishing boats.
King Haakon VII of NorwayHaakon VII , known as Prince Carl of Denmark until 1905, was the first king of Norway after the 1905 dissolution of the personal union with Sweden. He was a member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg...
and his son,
Crown Prince OlavOlav V was the king of Norway from 1957 until his death.A member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Olav was born in the United Kingdom as the son of Prince Carl of Denmark and Princess Maud of the United Kingdom and given the names Alexander Edward Christian Frederik...
were both at
DovreDovre is a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Dovre. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Dovre....
, near the drop zone and only half an hour from the nearest groups of paratroopers when the attack began on 14 April. The King and Crown Prince both had to be escorted out of the area by members of the Dovreskogen rifle association.
Day Two
15 April saw the last remaining stragglers rejoining the Fallschirmjäger force at Dombås, from then on no reinforcements reached the 1
st Company. During the morning the paratroopers fulfilled part of their mission when they blew up the rail road line at three places.
In the meanwhile Norwegian forces had been assembled and ordered to stop the German advance in the Dombås area. As intelligence on the Fallschirmjägers was very scarce the Norwegian commanders had little idea of the size and location of the German force. During the day a force of two heavy machine gun platoons with 41 men under the command of
KapteinThe green part represents soldiers and the equivalent of non-commissioned officers. The blue part represents officers. Norway does not have a NCO-system and thus Sergeant and Quartermaster are grouped with the officers under the common designation befal...
Eilif Austlid ran straight into Schmidt's position and was subjected to an ambush. Austlid's force was on a mission to secure a route of escape for the Norwegian royal family and the Norwegian cabinet. Although caught unaware by the Germans the Norwegian platoons quickly set up their Colt M/29s and returned fire. Soon thereafter Capt. Austlid organised an assault party of himself and seven men and stormed across a 200 metre long
fieldIn agriculture, a field refers generally to an area of land enclosed or otherwise and used for agricultural purposes such as:* Cultivating crops* Usage as a paddock or, generally, an enclosure of livestock* Land left to lie fallow or as arable land...
towards the German positions while receiving cover fire from his own heavy machine guns. With only 75 metres between them and the Germans the eight Norwegians had to make their way up the hillside through deep snow. Austlid was only eight to ten metres below the first German machine gun nest when he was struck down by a bullet to the chest and the counter attack faltered without its leader. Of the 41 Norwegians caught in the ambush 28 were captured and five escaped. Austlid advanced without a vanguard to protect against ambushes because he had been told by the Norwegian Minister of Supplies,
Trygve LieTrygve Halvdan Lie was a Norwegian politician. From 1946 to 1952 he was the first elected Secretary-General of the United Nations.-Early life:...
, to advance with the greatest haste and to not bother with organizing a vanguard, as the Norwegian cabinet was in a hurry to proceed. Austlid had understood this to be an order and begun his advance without carrying out the standard precautions.
Day Three
During 16 April No. 1 Company, IR 5 under the command of Kaptein Botheim arrived on the scene of battle. No. 1 Company attacked the German strongholds from the south while II/IR 11 attacked with one company from the north. The northern onslaught was supported by two 81 mm
mortarsA mortar is a muzzle-loading indirect fire weapon that fires shells at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It typically has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber.- Function :...
and numerous Colt M/29s.
After a short fire fight a white flag appeared at the German positions and one of the Norwegian soldiers captured in the previous day's ambush was sent over to the Norwegian forces. The released
prisoner of warA prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a combatant who is held in continuing custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
brought with him a demand that the Norwegians surrender and told the Norwegian officer in charge that Schmidt threatened to shoot his prisoners unless the fire ceased. This was probably based on a misunderstanding between the Norwegian PoW and Oberleutnant Schmidt, the real meaning most likely being that the prisoners held were endangered by the mortar fire that the German positions were subjected to. In response to the surrender demands a German
FeldwebelFeldwebel is a German military rank which has existed since at least the 18th century with usage as a title dating to the Middle Ages. The word Feldwebel is usually, but incorrectly, translated as Sergeant...
that the Norwegians had captured was despatched back to Schmidt calling for
his surrender. The Germans likewise refused to give in.
Breakout from Ulekleiv and Hagevolden
While the fruitless negotiations were taking place the Fallschirmjägers were preparing to move away from their stronghold and find a new place to fight from. The arrival of the two Norwegian mortars had completely changed the tactical situation and the German supply of ammunition was also running dangerously low. Schmidt decided that he had to move his troops into a new and more defensible position. Negotiations were kept up to buy time so the paratroopers could slip away in to cover of darkness. Schmidt believed that strong German forces were advancing up the Gudbrandsdal valley and that if he could hold out for a little while longer the situation might still be salvaged. The reality of the situation was however that the German advanced units were stuck just north of
MinnesundMinnesund is a village in the municipality of Eidsvoll, Norway. It is located at the southern end of lake Mjøsa. Its population is 488 ....
far to the south of both Gudbrandsdal and Dombås.
As negotiations collapsed the Norwegians opened fire again, but a sudden
ground blizzardGround blizzard refers to a weather condition where loose snow or ice on the ground is lifted and blown by strong winds. The primary difference between a ground blizzard as opposed to a regular blizzard is that in a ground blizzard no precipitation is produced at the time, but rather all the...
blinded the gunners and allowed the Germans to make a counter attack and open a way out of their encirclement. The attack threw back the Norwegians in the north, whose commander ordered a general retreat to Dombås. During the night of 16/17 April the Fallschirmjäger under Schmidt, having thrown back the nearest Norwegian forces, disengaged and began to make their way south in the direction of Dovre.
16 April also saw the continuation of mopping up operations by Norwegian units. Twenty-two Germans were captured at Kolstad near Lesja and another 23 at Bottheim
train stationA railway station, train station, railroad station, or station yard is a facility at which passengers may board and alight from trains, and/or where rail-transported freight may be loaded or unloaded. Historically, the term depot has also been employed in North America...
.
Day Four
During the early hours of 17 April the Germans withdrew from their positions, covered by three heavy machine guns captured from the Norwegians in the ambush on 15 April. The paratroopers formed a fighting column with hand grenade armed soldiers at the front followed by the wounded and the PoWs on trucks with a rearguard at the end.
At Landheim road bridge a 25 strong Norwegian force blocked the way, but were quickly thrown back to Dovre Church by a night attack with hand grenades. The German force took up temporary positions at Einbugga road bridge, midway between the village of Toftemo to the north and Dovre to the south.
Lindse Farms
With daybreak Schmidt's men began to search out a new position which could provide good cover without the risk of being attacked from the rear. This they found at the North and South Lindse Farm, a farmstead high on a hillside and dominating both the railway line (250 metres away) and the main road (700 metres away). North Lindse with its stone barn became the strong point of the defence, with South Lindse being used to keep Norwegian prisoners; 15 military and 40 civilians. The farm buildings were quickly fortified with sandbags and planking. Oberleutnant Schmidt was carried to Lindse on a door by Norwegian PoWs.
Renewed fighting
During the morning of 17 April fighting was renewed when first the Norwegian
MajorThe green part represents soldiers and the equivalent of non-commissioned officers. The blue part represents officers. Norway does not have a NCO-system and thus Sergeant and Quartermaster are grouped with the officers under the common designation befal...
Kjøs and then No. 1 Company ran into German ambushes by Lindse. Kjøs was captured, as was the vanguard of No. 1 Company. The main force of No. 1 Company fought its way out, pulling back to Dovre Church at 1000hrs.
After the first encounter of the day the main Norwegian forces failed to realise that the whole Fallschirmjäger force had moved to Lindse and spent the day reorganizing and receiving reinforcements. II/IR 11 was replaced by its sister battalion, I/IR 11 and a machine gun platoon from the
Norwegian Army Air ServiceThe Norwegian Army Air Service ' was established in 1914. Its main base and aircraft factory was at Kjeller. On 10 November, 1944 the NoAAS was joined with the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service to form the Royal Norwegian Air Force....
' Jagevingen fighter unit (the unit having lost all its planes around Oslo on 9 April) arrived to reinforce the attacks on Schmidt's paratroopers. For most of the day the abandoned German positions at Ulekleiv was bombarded by Norwegian mortars. Only by evening did the Norwegian commanders discover where the Germans had relocated. During the night of 17/18 April
fenrikThe green part represents soldiers and the equivalent of non-commissioned officers. The blue part represents officers. Norway does not have a NCO-system and thus Sergeant and Quartermaster are grouped with the officers under the common designation befal...
(En: Second Lieutenant) L. K. Løkken of the
RaufossRaufoss is the municipal centre of Vestre Toten, a municipality in the county of Oppland, Norway. It has approximately 6,000 inhabitants. The largest workplace is what was earlier Raufoss Ammunitions factory, now split into several sub companies...
Anti-aircraft Command arrived with a 40 mm anti-aircraft gun.
Day Five
18 April turned out to become a decisive day in the battle. The Germans at Lindse were surrounded to the north by the battalion I/IR 11 and to the south by No. 1 Company, IR 5, reinforced by various smaller forces that had arrived the previous day. The company in the south also had the 40 mm AA gun, based at Dovre Train Station, as
artilleryArtillery is a military combat Arm that employs weapons capable of discharging large projectiles in combat. They are generally capable of adding considerable fire power to the military capability of an armed force...
support. Early in the morning Norwegian soldiers made their way into the hills south of Lindse Farm and opened fire. According to Schmidt this was when the situation became truly dire:
Although the Germans' positions were well fortified their ammunition was running very low and it was soon only a question of time before surrender became the only option left. Help, however, arrived that very morning when a Junkers Ju 52 air dropped ammunition, warm clothing, provisions, medical supplies and the radio frequency for communicating with headquarters.
Later in the day a Norwegian officer approached Schmidt asking for his surrender, but was rejected. The Norwegian 40 mm AA gun kept up a bombardment of Lindse Farms throughout the day, firing 40 to 50 rounds at positions around the farm buildings and in two nearby
ravineA ravine is a very small valley—almost like a canyon but narrower—which is often the product of streamcutting erosion. Ravines are typically classified as larger in scale than gullies, although smaller than valleys. A ravine is generally a slope landform of relatively steep sides, on the order...
s. By evening the Germans had all sought shelter in the farm houses as these could not be bombarded directly due to the Norwegian prisoners being held there.
The last day
By dawn on 19 April the Germans were completely surrounded by superiorly armed Norwegian soldiers on all sides. During the night a final reinforcement had reached the Norwegians; a
rail mountedA railway gun, also called a railroad gun, is a large artillery piece, designed to be placed on rail tracks. Many countries have built railway guns, but the best known are the large Krupp-built pieces used by Germany in World War I and World War II...
howitzer manned by a gun crew of Royal Marines that had arrived from Åndalsnes. The howitzer had 300 rounds available and opened fire at 0600hrs, firing ten rounds with good accuracy. Soon after another Ju 52 transport arrived carrying supplies to the beleaguered Germans but turned around without making its drop after receiving a radio message from Schmidt that the paratroopers were going to surrender.
Later on Schmidt sent out his second-in-command, Leutnant Ernst Mössinger, to negotiate a surrender, hoping to reach favourable terms. Major
Arne SundeArne Toralf Sunde was a Norwegian politician, Olympic shooter and army officer. He is best known for his participation in the 1940 Norwegian Campaign, his participation in the Cabinet Nygaardsvold during its 1940-1945 exile in London and three years as an United Nations ambassador...
, the Norwegian commander, however refused to accept anything but a unconditional surrender. Sunde told Mössinger that unless the Germans announced their surrender within ten minutes by launching three flares the allied artillery would recommence bombarding Lindse Farm. Nine and a half minutes later, at 1130hrs, the Fallschirmjäger force at Lindse fired three signal flares.
Forty-five Fallschirmjäger surrendered at Lindse Farms, six of whom were wounded.
Aftermath
Following their surrender the Germans were sent to rear areas in the Romsdal region, the wounded to a hospital in
Ålesundis a city and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. It is a sea port, and is noted for its unique concentration of Jugendstil architecture....
and the remainder (135 soldiers) to a
prisoner-of-war campA prisoner-of-war camp is a site for the containment of combatants captured by their enemy in time of war, and is similar to an internment camp which is used for civilian populations. A prisoner of war is generally a soldier, sailor, or airman who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or...
at
AverøyAverøy is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the region of Nordmøre. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bruhagen....
near
KristiansundKristiansund is a city and municipality on the western coast of Norway, in the Nordmøre district of Møre og Romsdal county. It was officially awarded township status in 1742....
.
The intention of Norwegian authorities was to first keep the prisoners for interrogation and then ship them to the
UKThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
, but in the chaos of the collapse of resistance in the southern parts of Norway and the allied evacuation from Åndalsnes in late April/early May the German PoWs were left behind to be freed by elements of the Luftwaffe's Regiment
General Göring.
Thirteen paratroopers taken prisoner near
Lillehammeris a town and municipality in Oppland county, Norway, globally known for hosting the 1994 Winter Olympics. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal...
on 14 April after being shot down on route to the target had been freed by
General Pellengahr'sRichard Pellengahr was a major general in the German Wehrmacht, commander of the 196th infantry division. He was of Polish descent. He successfully conquered the Norwegian city of Hamar with only three men.-Awards:...
advancing forces on 24 April.
Most of the freed paratroopers soon after volunteered to jump into the isolated Narvik front in North Norway to help the hard pressed German-Austrian
GebirgsjägerGebirgsjäger, in English Mountain Huntsmen, is the German designation for mountain infantry. The word Huntsman is the traditional German term for rifleman . The mountain infantry of Austria have their roots in the three "Landesschützen" regiments of the Austro-Hungarian Empire...
s of the 3rd Mountain Division fighting under the command of
GeneralleutnantGeneral is presently the highest rank of the German Army and Luftwaffe . It is the equivalent to an Admiral in the German Navy .-Early history:...
Eduard DietlEduard Dietl was a German general of World War II. He was born in Bad Aibling, Bavaria.Eduard Dietl was the son of a Bavarian finance official . In 1909, at his second attempt to join 5. Bavarian Infanterie Regiment, he entered as an officer cadet. After studying at the Kriegschule in Munich, he...
from 16 May. Many of the survivors from Dombås died fighting under the leadership of Leutnant Mössinger at Narvik.
Herbert Schmidt, the leader of the Fallschirmjäger force at Dombås, received the
Knight's Cross of the Iron CrossThe Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
on 24 May 1940. He later recovered from the paralysing wounds he had suffered during the battle and in 1941 wrote a book detailing his experiences during the battle called "Die Fallschirmjäger von Dombaas". Schmidt was killed by the
French ResistanceThe French Resistance is the collective name used for the French resistance movements which fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and the collaborationist Vichy Regime during World War II...
in 1944, while driving from Vannes to Pontivy on 16 June 1944. Schmidt was shot from behind by a
sniperA sniper is a highly trained marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles...
while sitting beside his division commander, Bernhard-Hermann Ramcke, being killed instantly.