Key Facts
- Start date
- 9 April 1940
- End date
- 10 June 1940
- Duration
- Approximately 2 months
- Total casualties (DB)
- 11,752
- Invasion time (Weserzeit)
- 05:15 on 9 April 1940
- Countries invaded
- Denmark and Norway
Strategic Narrative Overview
In the early hours of 9 April 1940, German forces simultaneously struck Denmark and Norway in a coordinated assault combining naval landings, airborne drops, and ground advances. Denmark's government ordered its military to stand down, resulting in near-instant occupation. Norway resisted more fiercely; German troops seized key ports and airfields from the outset, but Norwegian forces, aided by British, French, and Polish units, fought a two-month campaign before being overwhelmed.
01 / The Origins
By early 1940, both Germany and the Anglo-French Allies recognized Norway's strategic importance, particularly the sea lanes carrying Swedish iron ore through Norwegian waters. Germany justified its invasion as a preventive measure against a planned Allied occupation of Norway known as Plan R 4. Berlin feared that Allied control of Scandinavia would sever vital supply lines, prompting Hitler to authorize Operation Weserübung as a preemptive strike against Denmark and Norway.
03 / The Outcome
Norwegian resistance collapsed and the government evacuated on 10 June 1940, ending organized opposition. Denmark was occupied without declared war. Germany established full control over both countries, installing collaborationist administrations. The operation secured German access to Norwegian Atlantic ports and Swedish iron ore, while the Allied failure contributed to political upheaval in Britain, hastening Winston Churchill's rise to Prime Minister.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Nikolaus von Falkenhorst, Erich Raeder.
Side B
4 belligerents
Otto Ruge, Carl Gustav Fleischer.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.