Strategic Decisions and Implications of the German Assault on Norway in 1940
Abstract
The German attack on Norway in 1940 was a swift, ambitious and seemingly risky undertaking. The German Navy's operations were conducted in the teeth of the British Royal Navy. The subsequent amphibious assaults employed very limited forces, spread thinly among several objectives along the long Norwegian seaboard and in the deep Norwegian fjords. Ultimately setting the preconditions for a long-term occupation of Norway, Weseruebung was an operational success and secured strategic advantages for Germany. Dismissing one-dimensional theories on the decisions for and strategic implications of the German attack on Norway, this paper discusses underlying factors in the German decision-making process and the dynamics of the strategic factors that preceded the campaign. The direct strategic effects of the campaign are assessed along with theories on indirect, long-term strategic implications. The paper suggests that the decision resulted from a process in which personalities, individual characters, power plays, institution building and institutional cultures, parochial interests, and coincidence played into both decision making and the crafting of strategic assessments. While significant direct effects on operations in the Atlantic are attributable to the invasion, the indirect and long-term implications were probably more significant. Second- and third-order implications included conceptual military development, political prestige, and the changed perception of German grand strategic might. The invasion also reduced Germany's marginal ability to influence other important theatres of war as resources remained committed to Norway. More intriguingly, the success of Operation Weseruebung served to cement Hitler's dictatorship and to reinforce his increasingly autocratic leadership of the German Armed Forces, with significant effect on the conduct of World War II.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 18, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA434472
Entities
People
- Steinar Amundsen
Organizations
- United States Army War College