military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) (04/14/90)
From: military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) Monday, 15 April, 1940 German forces lay siege to the old fortress of Hegra, east of Trondheim, which is held by a small Norwegian detachment. King Haakon issues an appeal for Norwegians to do their utmost in defense of their country. British troops begin attacking Germans defending Narvik. German troops near Trondheim use a train to bypass a Norwegian defensive position, and establish a garrison near the Swedish border. Norway acknowledges the British landings, and urges Allied intervention in the south, where their aid is critically needed. A change is included in the Allied "Plan D"; General Giraud's 7th (Mechanized) army is to join the Allied movement into the Low Countries in the event of a German attack. The U-49 is sunk off Harstad by British destroyers; a chart showing the deployment of U-boats is recovered. Demobilization of the Danish army is begun by the occupying German forces. The Quisling government in Oslo is replaced by the "Administrative Council." It, too, is closely controlled by Germany, and is comprised mostly of bureaucrats and lawyers. The United States announces its intention to open diplomatic ties with the new autonomous government of Iceland. In Italy, anti-British demonstrations occur in three cities, as the Italian press opines that Italy will join the war in a matter of weeks. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Bill Thacker military@cbnews.att.com Send submissions for "50 Years Ago" to military-request@att.att.com "I charge that those who deprecate each fresh act of aggression and in the same breath declare that the United States must not do anything about it are both hypocrites and cowards. This is the time to preach a crusade - the old-fashioned kind, not the modern effeminate type."- George Crompton, Jr., in a letter to the New York Times.