Battle of the Atlantic
- The British submarine Tarpon is lost in a battle with a German Q ship, the trawler Arthur Duncker in the North Sea. The entire crew of 53 is lost.
- U-37 sinks the Swedish steamer Sveaborg (9076t) off Fair Isles with the loss of 5 of her crew. Coming to rescue survivors of the Sveaborg, the Norwegian steamer Tosca is also sunk by the German submarine with the loss of 2 crewmen. 61 survivors from the 2 ships are rescued by the British armed boarding vessel Northern Chief.
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]Denmark
Denmark is occupied and capitulates within 24 hours. King Christian X orders the cease-fire. Denmark remains neutral with its government and constitution intact, although Danish bases will be used for the attack on Norway.
[ | ]Iceland
The Icelandic Parliament (the Althing) severs constitutional links with Denmark and declares that the Icelandic government will conduct its own affairs.
[]Norway
1st Battle of Narvik. Capt Bernard Warburton-Lee leads 5 destroyers in a surprise attack up Narvik Fiord. There are 10 German destroyers in various inlets off the main fiord but in series of quick, confused actions both sides lose 2 ships. The British lose Hardy and Hunter, the Germans Anton Schmitt and Wilhelm Heidkamp. The British Hotspur is seriously damaged while the Germans have 4 vessels hit-2 very badly. Both Capt Warburton-Lee and Commodore Friedrich Bonte, commanding the German destroyers involved here, are killed in the battle.
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(11th?)The German pocket battleship Lutzow is badly damaged by an attack from the British submarine Spearfish while homeward bound. Other German merchant ships from a convoy for Oslo are also sunk. The British submarine Thistle is sunk off Stavanger by U-4.
Fleet Air Arm Blackburn Skua dive-bombers of 800 and 803 squadrons flying from the Orkney Islands sink the German cruiser Konigsberg while in Bergen harbor. The Konigsberg had been damaged by Norwegian shore batteries during the invasion and could not defend herself from the dive bombers. This is the first major warship to be sunk by this method of attack. This is very much an isolated success for the British air forces in this campaign since only 1 carrier is with the Home Fleet at this stage, the others being in the Mediterranean.
The Norwegian government and Royal Family have left Oslo and Vidkun Quisling has been installed to lead a puppet government. With their seizure of so many of the country's large towns the Germans have taken most of the stocks of arms at the Norwegian mobilization centers. The Norwegians, therefore, have even less chance for resistance than might have been expected.
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