Never noticed this, good find. Its amazing to think that in the last year of the war the Germans still had over 300,000 men in Norway.
Was this because there was no shipping to return them to Germans? Or by this stage did they even know how many were there?
Either way, if I were a German soldier this may have been the best place to have been.
Funny The General that planned the invasion of Norway…Faulkenhorst I think…was given the order and knew nothing about Norway. So he went and bought a travel guide and used that to plan the attack. Tricky Germans. LOL
the germans must have been mad, wasting 300,000 troops in norway at the end. those 300,000 could have made a BIG difference at the end…
The initial attack consisted of only 30,000+ men. But yes later on they were forced to keep around 300,000 in Norway to prevent invasion. This would have been strategically awful if the Germans had lost Norway. Then they would have to really fortify the enitre coast from west of France to Leningrad. Or something like that. Would have been very easy for an invasion almost directly into the heart of Germany.
in the last year of the war, the germans were pretty much defeated. so why not pull the 300,000 troops back to berlin and make the city alot harder to take? also, does anybody know what did happen to these 300,000 soldiers at the end of the war? i doubt that they were in norway when berlin fell…
in the last year of the war, the germans were pretty much defeated. so why not pull the 300,000 troops back to berlin and make the city alot harder to take? also, does anybody know what did happen to these 300,000 soldiers at the end of the war? i doubt that they were in norway when berlin fell…[/quote]
Because to get them from Norway to Germany, they would have to have gone by ship. For a German ship to be moving in 1944/45 was basically suicide.
“For you ze var iss over”
in the last year of the war, the germans were pretty much defeated. so why not pull the 300,000 troops back to berlin and make the city alot harder to take? also, does anybody know what did happen to these 300,000 soldiers at the end of the war? i doubt that they were in norway when berlin fell…[/quote]
Because to get them from Norway to Germany, they would have to have gone by ship. For a German ship to be moving in 1944/45 was basically suicide.[/quote]
Oslo to Copenhagen isnt too far. Im not sure of the submarine threat, but will see if I can find out.
It is a short trip, the ship is in sight of land for most of the way - not that seeing dry land makes the vessel invunerable.
Driving down through neutral Sweden and the even shorter trip over to Copenhagen was also a possibility.
Not just subs - surface ships and aircraft all got their fair share of German ships, even on the Oslo - Copenhagen route.
Hmm it seems a lot of the forces in Norway were actually fighting the Soviets in Finnmark and Nort Norway.
So they wernt just loafing around eating and drinking then.
perhaps 300,000 German troops were in Norway ORIGINALLY when Germany had plans to invade Britain 
i bet you thats the reason why
Nope, unless you can find a reference to say so?
ill do research after school and soccer training, because i got to go to school in about 25 minutes, so after my days plans ill do research on it (unless someone mean while finds out with a prooven source why there was that amount of German Troops in Norway)
(unless someone mean while finds out with a prooven source why there was that amount of German Troops in Norway)
Well, after Lapland War 200,000 Germans from northern Finland were stuck in northern Norway. Logistics getting them out there was one thing, Hitler´s vision of fighting to the las man the other…
Makes me think of how diversion of troops and schemes to bluff the enemy certainly is costly in men and resources. Even something as small as the “Great Escape” diverted a great deal of German manpower as did Patton’s fake “blow up” army in England.
Makes me think of how diversion of troops and schemes to bluff the enemy certainly is costly in men and resources.
Just want to point out that those German troops in northern Finland and Norway where there to cut the vital Soviet supply line to Russia from North America.
Are you sure?