military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) (06/02/90)
Thursday, 2 May, 1940 The Anglo-French garrison at Namsos is evacuated; the French destroyers Afridi and Bison are sunk by Luftwaffe attacks during the operation. The German overland advance reaches Andalsnes, completing the occupation of southern Norway. Germany claims two British aircraft carriers hit by bombs, which is denied by the Royal Navy. British authorities, meanwhile, state that the wrecks of some thirty ships now block Narvik harbor, and claim that the vital iron trade through that city will be ruined for several years. Britain and France dispatch a combined fleet to Alexandria, a move seen to warn Italy from entering European hostilities. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Bill Thacker military@cbnews.att.com Send submissions for "50 Years Ago" to military-request@att.att.com "We must seize every chance, as we have done and shall continue to do in Norway, to inflict damage upon the enemy, but we must not allow ourselves to forget the long-term strategy which will win the war." - Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain.