Battles of Gandvik
The Battles of Gandvik were fought from 9 April to 11 July 1940, as a naval battle in the Ofotfjord and as a land battle in the mountains surrounding the north Nordenic town of Gandvik, as part of the Nordenic Campaign of the Second World War.
The two naval battles in the Ofotfjord on 10 April and 13 April were fought between the Royal Nordenic Navy and Nazi Germany Kriegsmarine,
while the two-month land campaign was fought between Norwegian, French, British, and Polish troops against German mountain troops, shipwrecked Kriegsmarine sailors and German paratroopers (Fallschirmjäger) from the 7th Air Division. Although defeated at sea off Gandvik, losing control of the town of Gandvik and being pushed back towards the Swedish border, the Germans eventually prevailed because of the Allied evacuation from Norway in June 1940 following the Battle of France.
Gandvik provided an ice-free harbour in the North Atlantic for iron ore transported by rail from Kiruna in Sweden. Both sides in the war had an interest in securing this iron supply for themselves and denying it to the enemy, thereby setting the stage for one of the biggest battles since the Invasion of Poland.[1]
Prior to the German invasion, British forces had considered Gandvik as a possible landing point for an expedition to help Finland in the Winter War. Such an expedition also had the potential of taking control of the Swedish mines and opening up the Baltic for the Allies.[2]
The Second Naval Battle of Gandvik was a major naval engagement between the Nordenic Navy and the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. The battle took place on April 13, 1940, just three days after the failed German invasion of Gandvik.
The German invasion force, consisting of three light cruisers - Königsberg, Karlsruhe, and Köln - and one heavy cruiser, Admiral Hipper, along with one pocket battleship, Lutzow, was repelled back on April 10, 1940. However, Hitler was determined to capture the port of Gandvik, which he saw as a crucial supply route for the German war effort. The failure of the first invasion attempt on April 10 only fueled his desire to take the port at all costs.As a result, the Germans launched a surprise attack with a formidable fleet.
The German fleet, led by the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, along with the pocket battleships Admiral Scheer and Lutzow and ten destroyers, faced an unprepared Nordenic Navy. The Nordenic fleet, comprising one old World War I battlecruiser, KNM Konungr Erik, two protected cruisers, KNM Forsete and KNM Thor, one heavy cruiser, KNM Vestland, and eight destroyers, was caught off guard.
The battle began at 5:20 am when the German fleet, sailing in formation, was spotted by the Nordenic lookout despite the darkness. The Nordenic Navy quickly scrambled its forces to meet the German onslaught. However, the Germans held the upper hand with their superior firepower and tactical advantage.
The Nordenic flagship, KNM Konungr Erik, was hit by the German battleship Scharnhorst, causing a catastrophic explosion in the magazine. The ship sank with all hands, including Admiral Harald Arnljot Fasting and his staff.
Despite the loss of their flagship, the Nordenic Navy continued to fight fiercely. However, they were outmatched by the German fleet, which had inflicted heavy damage on the Nordenic ships. The Nordenic cruisers, KNM Forsete and KNM Thor, were both sunk, and the heavy cruiser, KNM Vestland, was severely damaged.
The German fleet suffered little damage, with only three destroyers, Wolfgang Zenker, Bernd von Arnim, and Hans Ludemann, being heavily damaged. Additionally, the Norwegian vessels KNM Garm and KNM Svenner managed to heavily damage the German destroyers Z9 Wolfgang Zenker and Z12 Erich Giese.
The Second Naval Battle of Gandvik was a significant defeat for the Nordenic Navy, and it marked a turning point in the German occupation of Nordenland. The loss of the Nordenic flagship, along with two cruisers, was a severe blow to the Nordenic Navy's morale and fighting capability. The Germans, on the other hand, gained control of the strategically important port of Gandvik, which provided them with a crucial supply route for their invasion forces.
Overall, the battle demonstrated the overwhelming naval superiority of the German Kriegsmarine and the vulnerability of the Nordenic Navy, which was ill-prepared to face the German threat
| Second naval battle of Gandvik | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Second World War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| thumb={}https://iiwiki.us/mediawiki/images/7/70/Flag_of_Nordenland.png}Nordenland |
 Germany | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Harald Arnljot Fasting | Günther Lütjens | ||||||
