Alta Battalion
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (December 2020) |
| Alta Battalion | |
|---|---|
 Pre-1940 battalion standard on display at the War Museum in Narvik. | |
| Active | 1898–1994 |
| Country | Norway |
| Branch | Norwegian Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | 900 |
| Garrison/HQ | Altagård, Alta |
| Engagements | Second World War
|
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Arne Dagfin Dahl |
The Alta Battalion (
Neutrality duty
The Alta battalion was mobilized 10 October 1939 to help guard Norway's
The Alta battalion was then demobilized on 15 January 1940. As the battalion deactivated, Lt. Col. Dahl realised that the international situation was still unstable and the unit might be needed again soon. Thus the soldiers were ordered to tag their uniforms and personal equipment before handing them in for storage. This precautionary measure helped the battalion greatly when it was again needed less than three months later.
After the return to Alta a ski company of ninety volunteers was formed and retained for another two months of training. On average the battalion was not considered especially ski-worthy and most of the soldiers had their only skiing experience from the neutrality duty.
The invasion
After the German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940 the battalion was once more mobilized, the soldiers making their way to Alta by boats or reindeer sleds, then being transported to the front area by the Hurtigruten steamships SS Dronning Maud and Kong Haakon, and the cargo ship Senja.[1] The battalion departed the pier in Alta on 19 April 1940 and arrived at Sjøvegan on 21 April.[2]
During the coming
When the battalion left for the front it consisted of around 830 men, with 112 horses and 100 ski sleds.[3]
Mountain warfare
The unit spent the entire two-month campaign conducting offensive operations against general
Success on the Narvik front
Nevertheless, by early June 1940, in co-operation with
Use of captured weaponry
In the last weeks of the fighting the battalion was combat-hardened, and well-equipped because of the large amounts of German equipment captured by the advancing fishermen-farmers and reindeer herders of the Alta Battalion. For the first time ever Norwegian
The Training Battalion
While the Alta Battalion was fighting Dietl's men at the front a training battalion of three companies was formed at Altagård and
Foreign volunteers
During the fighting a small number of trained foreigners joined the battalion, amongst these were nine Estonians that joined up on 19 May.
Allied evacuation of Norway
As the Alta Battalion and the other formations of the 6th Division prepared for one last push against the beleaguered Germans and
Demobilization
Without the support of the RAF and the Royal Navy the Norwegian government lost all hope of prevailing against the Germans, and fled the country with the evacuating Allies. The last order of the evacuating government to the Norwegian units opposing the
End position of German forces on the Narvik front
After the conclusion of the campaign Eduard Dietl commented that at the time of the Norwegian capitulation his forces would have been able to hold out for only another 24 to 48 hours, after which they would have had to abandon the entire Narvik front and cross into Sweden.
As the still undefeated units of the 6th Division, amongst them the Alta Battalion, marched down from the snow-covered hills on 9 June 1940 many of the soldiers cried tears of bitterness and disappointment that victory had been snatched from them. At 0000hrs 10 June 1940 the
At the capitulation the battalion's archives were removed from Altagård and shipped into exile, initially to the Faroe Islands.[4]
Casualties during the Norwegian Campaign
- 5 Killed in Action
- 1 Died of Wounds
- 36 Wounded in Action
- 1 Taken prisoner
- 8 Injured
- 21 Sick
In all the battalion suffered 71 casualties out of around 900 men during the Norwegian Campaign.[5]
Post Norwegian Campaign
At the end of the Norwegian Campaign the battalion was demobilised and the soldiers returned to their homes and civilian occupations. During the occupation many former members of the battalion were active in the resistance movement, mostly working with gathering intelligence on German forces in Finnmark.
Notes
- ^ Ramberg 1996: 102
- ^ Hesla, Gyda Katrine (17 November 2014). "- Da de ropte "Ild", kom tårene. Så siktet vi og skjøt". NRK (in Norwegian). Retrieved 18 November 2014.
- ^ Haga 1998: 49
- ^ Friberg 1991: 88
- Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services (in Norwegian). 1998. Archived from the originalon 22 October 2010. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
Bibliography
- Dahl, Arne Dagfin (1946). Med Alta bataljon mot tyskerne (in Norwegian). Oslo: Aschehoug.
- Friberg, Leif A. (1991). De grå skipene og de gule bussene (in Norwegian). ISBN 82-992395-0-8.
- ISBN 82-02-17629-8.
- Ramberg, S. E. L.; Trygve Andersen; Arvid Petterson (1996). Alta bataljons historie 1898–1995 (in Norwegian). Alta: Alta Battalion. ISBN 82-90579-14-4.
- Sandvik, T. (1965). Operasjonene til lands i Nord-Norge 1940 (in Norwegian).
External links
- ISBN 82-02-14138-9. Archived from the originalon 1 March 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2012.