Festung Norwegen

Festung Norwegen is the Forteresse Norway , section of the Atlantic Wall. It is made up of construction former to the German invasion and bunkers built by the Organization Todt and the Einzatzgruppe wiking , especially as from 1941. One also speaks about Festung Bergen, for Forteresse Bergen .

General information

The defense of the Norwegian coasts, all confused organizations employed the trifle of 65.000 German soldiers in 1945. Many camps of formation and drive had been set up in Oslofjord. Many accidents which had with the state of the guns, often of the spoils of war, made more than 100 dead among the German soldiers. Because of the difficulty of the tasks, rigor of the climate and relief, the soldiers were returned on their premises at least twice a year.

The fast conquest of Norway left to the Germans very many heavy machine guns and light Madsen and Colt. The mortars and the mines were very much used as well as the weapons anti-tank device. Certain batteries had controllable flame throwers remotely but those had an autonomy only 40 seconds.

Many French tanks Somua or Hotchkiss were placed in the zones of the batteries. 25th Panzer Division was operational in 1942 to resist a possible allied invasion or to invade Sweden. Slow and badly equipped, it received as of spring 1943 of Panzer III and IV. In June, division included/understood 7 PzKw II, 41 PzKw III, 16 PzKw IV, 40 Hotchkiss, 15 Somua, and 15 StuG. In July, 14 PzKw II, 62 PzKw III, and 26 PzKw IV. Division was moved and left Norway thereafter, except the 1st Abteilung, Panzer-Regiment 9 .

In Stavanger in 1943 was creates the Beutepanzerkompanie Stavanger to try to fill the absence of the 25th P.D while waiting for the creation of the Panzer-Division Norwegen , in November 1943. This one was initially named Panzer-Brigade Norwegen and became then a division, but this importance only name had. It included/understood the BeutePzKp Stavanger like of Panzer III and IV.

The titanic building sites launched on the Norwegian coasts forced the Germans to bring Russians and the Serb ones, the Todt organization and the workers local not being numerous enough. Except in the artique one and very localized zones, the installations did not never know the test of fire and are for the majority always in place: the advantage of the torn topography of the Norwegian coasts definitively anchored them in the landscape. This part of the Atlantic Wall is also that which includes/understands the most tunnel and galleries.

Marineartillerie-Abteilungen

In Norway the defense of the coasts passed by a complicated and unstable organization. Just after the invasion fûrent create the MarineArtillerie-Abteilungen , large units of artillery of the Kriegsmarine distributed geographically and six:

MAA Horten
MAA Kristiansand
MAA Stavanger
MAA Bergen
MAA Drontheim (German Trondheim).
MAA Narvik

During the war their number was increased and they carried each one a specific number, from 500. There was a score. The MAA 709 and 710 were old Norwegian ships converted into static batteries. A MAA was generally directed by a korvettenkapitän , and more rarely by a fregattenkapitän or a kapitänleutnant .

These units were divided into companies, each company managing a battery ( Navy-Küsten-Battery , MKB). There were in general six MKB in a MAA but that could vary from two to twelve.

Organization of the personnel of a MKB in 1941.

Commander of battery: 1 officer with gun.
Driver: 1 soldier with rifle.
Second in command: 1 officer with gun.
Observation: 1 NCO with gun
Arranges operators: 2 NCOs with guns
Calculation platoon: 1 NCO with rifle (commander of group, also officer chemical weapons).
Team HQ: 4 soldiers with rifles operated the 3-m arranges finder
Motard: 1 soldier with rifle and motor bike
Radio NCO: 1 NCO with rifle
radio operator Operator: 6 soldiers with rifles
Staff sergeant: 1 NCO with gun
Commanders of group: 2 NCOs with gun
Officer doctor: 1 NCO with gun and motor bike
Team of gunners: 16 soldiers, 15 with rifles, 1 with gun
Machine gunners: 2 teams with machine pistols and guns
ammunition Team: 8 soldiers with rifles
Maintenance of the weapons: 1 soldier with gun
Cooks: 2 soldiers with rifles
Assistant intendant: 1 soldier with rifle
Conducting: 2 soldiers with rifles, 2 trucks of 1,5T
Team HGM: 3 soldiers with guns

Heeresküstenartillerie-regimenter and Heeresküstenartillerie-Abteilungen

In 1941 with the construction of new batteries appeared the units of artillery of the Wehrmacht, Heeresküstenartillerie-regimenter (HKAR), Heeresküstenartillerie-Abteilungen (HKAA) and 160 Heeresküsten-Batterien (HKB). On the whole, 221 batteries divided into 29 units and 10 regiments at the end of the war.

Artilleriegruppe

The existence of two different systems, having their own commands and subdivisions posed serious problems when it was necessary to make function the whole. Moreover, the batteries, which they are of navy (MKB) or army (HKR) were gathered in groups of artillery ( artilleriegruppe ) and were placed under the general command of Wehrmacht or of Kriegsmarine. I.e. that a MKB pertaining to a MAA of the navy could be under the command of a HKAA or a HKAR of Wehrmacht at the sides of batteries HKR. Contrary a HKR to the army can be under a command of MAA, therefore marine.

For example, the Artilleriegruppe Sognefjord ordered by HKAA II/981, therefore by Wehrmacht, included/understood in 1941 6 HKR, 1 MKB 7/504 (under division of MAA 504 Bergen) and a battery torpedo tubes attached to the MAA 504 Bergen.

Contrary, the Artilleriegruppe Örlandet was ordered by the MAA 507, therefore by the navy, and included/understood in 1940 MKB 1/507. Later 3 HKR and another MKB were integrated into the group.

FLAK and radars

The units of DCA, often independent of both organization the preceding ones, were generally armed with guns of 88mm, 105mm, 75mm and 22mm. The use of MG34 on anti-aircraft mounting was also largely spread, especially the brought closer désense. All the batteries were equipped with projectors from 60 to 200 cm, handled by three men. They were used as well for flying targets or on sea. The FLAK could be ordered by Luftwaffe or Kriegsmarine according to the batteries.

The Luftwaffe and the Kriegsmarine made a massive use of the radar in Norway, with more or less powerful apparatuses, of which most sophisticated was the Boulogne .

Mines

Here figures relating to certain minefields navy posed in Norway with the Sperrwaffenkommandos .

Random links: