Chapter 37 Volume 1, Chapter 33, The Confrontation at Sea

April 1940 Lord Chatfield's retirement The Prime Minister has asked me to chair the Military Coordinating Council An awkward arrangement Wilfred's plan Oslo German occupation of Norway Tragedy of neutrality Full fleet at sea Glowworm Prestige vs Scharnhorst and Gneisenauer Activities of the Home Fleet off Bergen by British submarines Warburton | Lee's Destroyer Fleet in Narvik 9th April Supreme War Council meets in London 9th April Conclusion of the meeting I give to the First Sea Lord 10th April Abridged The Anger of the British People Debate in Parliament April 11th The Wospite and her Destroyer Fleet Destroyed the German Destroyer at Narvik Harbor Letter from the King.

Before going on, I should state that my change of position took place in April, 1940. Lord Chatfield's position as Defense Coordinator has become a redundant liability.On the third day, he frankly offered to resign, and Mr. Chamberlain accepted his resignation.On the 4th, No. 10 Downing Street issued an announcement stating that no one was going to be appointed to take over this position, but arrangements were being made, and the Secretary of the Navy would preside over the Military Coordination Committee as the oldest military minister.So, from April 8th to 15th, I served as the chairman of the meeting, meeting once a day, sometimes even twice.In this way, I have additional responsibilities without the authority to conduct effective command.The other War Ministers were also members of the War Cabinet, and I was at the head of these equals, but had no power to make decisions or carry them out.I had to obtain the assent of the other Ministers of War and their professional officers, and then many persons of importance and ability had a right and a duty to express their views on the rapidly changing circumstances of the war now begun, the real war.

The chiefs of staff of the three armies met daily for meetings after discussing the general situation with the ministers concerned with them respectively.And so, each of them makes a decision that is obviously extremely important.I learned of this from the First Sea Lord, who had no reservations about me, or from summaries or memorandums issued by the Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Services Committee.If I want to raise questions about these opinions, I can of course raise them first in my Coordinating Committee, at which the Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Services attend in their personal capacity, and the Ministers of War usually bring them with them and support their opinions .At the meeting, everyone talked politely and eloquently. At the end of the meeting, the secretary present drafted a well-worded report, which was checked by the three ministries of sea, land and air to ensure that there was no slight discrepancy. .Thus we arrive at that expansive, joyous sublime state in which everything is agreed upon, according to the common sense of the great majority, and in the best interest of the greatest number. solved.But in a war like the one we are now about to experience, the situation is quite different.Sadly, I must point out: the actual fight has to be like two rogues fighting, one ramming the other in the nose with a stick or a hammer or something better.All such situations are regrettable; that is why wars are to be avoided, and why in everything, due regard must be given to the rights of minorities, differences of opinion duly noted, and agreements adopted in an amicable manner One of the best reasons to come and fix it.

The National Defense Committee of the War Cabinet met almost daily to discuss the various reports of the Military Coordinating Committee and the Chiefs of Staff Committee; their conclusions or divergent opinions were referred to the regular Cabinet meeting.Everything had to be explained and explained; and by the time this procedure was completed, the whole situation had often changed long ago.The Admiralty, in time of war, is, of course, a combat command, where decisions affecting the fleet are always decided immediately, and only in the most serious cases are referred to the Prime Minister, who always supports us Views.Such procedures cannot adequately adapt to developments in situations where operations must involve other military components.At the start of the Norwegian campaign, however, the Admiralty was in charge of three-quarters of the administration because of the peculiar nature of the event.

I do not mean that, whatever power I have, I should be able to make better decisions or propose better solutions to the problems we now face.The effects of the events which I am about to describe were so violent and the situation so confused that I soon saw that only the authority of the Prime Minister could preside over the Military Coordinating Council.On the 15th, therefore, I asked Mr. Chamberlain to act as Chairman, and he presided over almost all our subsequent meetings during the Norwegian campaign.He and I continued to be in full agreement, and he backed up my opinions with the highest authority of his own.I was deeply involved in the unpleasant endeavor to accomplish this task when it was too late to save Norway.

As for the replacement of the Chairman, the Prime Minister announced the following when answering the question in Parliament: At the request of the Secretary of the Admiralty, I agreed to act as chairman when the Coordinating Committee met to discuss matters of particular importance relating to the general command of the war. Loyalty and goodwill were immediately expressed by all parties involved.Yet the Prime Minister and I feel acutely that our system lacks form, especially when unexpected events occur.Although the Admiralty was inevitably the main driving force in this period, one can obviously raise objections to an organization such as the Coordinating Committee, since one of the Ministers of War manages all the affairs of the Operations bear special responsibility, while at the same time attempting to coordinate all operational plans of the other military branches.These difficulties were not resolved because the Prime Minister himself presided over the meeting and was my backing.But despite the series of unfortunate events that befall us on an almost daily basis, through lack of methods or mismanagement, I continue to serve in this amorphous, friendly, but disorganized organization.

On the evening of Friday, April 5, the German Minister in Oslo invited a number of dignitaries, including members of the government, to watch a film at the Legation.The film depicts the German conquest of Poland and ends with the German bombing of Warsaw, culminating in a horrific scene.The subtitles reflect: For this ending, they should thank their English and French friends.The gathering ended in silence and gloom, but the Norwegian government was most concerned with British activity.Between 4:30 and 5:00 in the morning on April 8th, four British destroyers laid our minefield at the entrance to Fosterfjord, the channel leading to the port of Narvik.At five o'clock in the morning the news was broadcast from London, and at five-thirty His Majesty's Government sent a note to the Norwegian Foreign Minister.In Oslo, the morning was spent drafting protests against London.But later that afternoon, the British Admiralty notified the Norwegian Legation in London that a German warship had been spotted off the coast of Norway heading north, presumably to Narvik.At about the same time, the Norwegian capital also received reports that a German transport ship Rio de Janeiro was sunk by the Polish submarine Ozer off the coast of southern Norway. A large number of German soldiers were rescued by local fishermen who, according to their orders, Go to Bergen to help Norway defend the country against the invasion of Britain and France.Then came more reports.Germany had invaded Denmark, but the news did not reach there until after Norway itself had been invaded.Therefore, it received no formal warning.Denmark resisted, but was easily captured by Germany after a few loyal soldiers were killed.

That night, German warships approached Oslo.The surrounding forts fired shells.The Norwegian defense force consisted of a minelayer, Olaf Trigvasen, and two minesweepers.After dawn, two German minesweepers invaded the mouth of the fjord, allowing troops to land near coastal batteries.One of them was sunk by Olaf Trigvassen, but German troops landed and captured the fort.And this brave minelayer blocked two German destroyers at the mouth of the fjord and damaged the cruiser Edden.A Norwegian armed whaling ship equipped with only one cannon, without receiving any special orders, immediately joined the battle to resist the invaders.Its guns were shattered and its captain's legs were blown off.In order not to chill the hearts of his sailors, he rolled himself from the deck into the sea, a generous sacrifice.The main German fleet, under the command of the heavy cruiser Blücher, had now entered the mouth of the fjord and was heading towards the strait protected by the fortress of Oscarsberg.The Norwegian battery opened fire, and two torpedoes fired from a distance of 500 yards from the shore hit the target accurately. The Blücher sank quickly, with the high-ranking administrators sent by Germany and a detachment of the secret police killed on board.The other German ships, including Lützow, were forced to retreat.The damaged Emden did not continue to participate in the naval battle.However, Oslo was finally captured not by enemy ships from the sea, but by the enemy's use of planes transporting troops and landing in the fjords.

Hitler's plan immediately unfolded like lightning.German forces split up to attack Kristiansand, Stavanger, and to the north, Bergen and Trondheim. The most daring raid was at Narvik.For a week, the German ore carriers routinely sailing back to the port of Narvik sailed northward along the corridor waters sheltered by Norwegian neutrality, apparently empty but loaded with supplies and ammunition.Ten German destroyers each carrying two hundred soldiers, escorted by the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, had left Germany a few days earlier and reached Narvik early on the morning of the ninth. The two Yawei warships Nog and Ezwold stopped in the fjord.They are ready to fight to the end.At dawn, they found several destroyers approaching the harbor at high speed, but under the violent storm, it was impossible to tell which country's warships they were at first.Soon, a German officer came in a motorboat and demanded that the Azwold surrender.After receiving a brief reply from the commander of the ship that I was attacking, he retreated immediately.But the warship was almost immediately destroyed by a barrage of torpedoes fired simultaneously, killing almost all of the crew.Meanwhile, Northrop Grumman opened fire, but within minutes, she too was torpedoed and sank immediately.

In this valiant but hopeless resistance, of the 287 Norwegian sailors on board the two ships, less than a hundred were saved.After this, Narvik was easily captured.This is a strategic point but we can never take advantage of it. Surprise, brutality and precision, these are the hallmarks of an attack on innocent and defenseless Norway.The troops that first landed in various places did not exceed 2,000 people.The army employed consisted of seven divisions, with the main force aboard warships at Hamburg and Bremen, and follow-on forces sailing at Szczecin and Danzig.A total of three divisions were used for the attack, supported by another four divisions through Oslo and Trondheim.Eight hundred combat aircraft and two hundred and fifty to three hundred transport aircraft are the most striking and important features of the German plan.Within forty-eight hours all of Norway's major ports were in German hands.

On the night of Sunday, the 7th, our scout planes reported that a German fleet, consisting of a battlecruiser, two light cruisers, fourteen destroyers, and a possible transport, had been sighted on the previous day passing Skag Lark Strait Mouth to Naz.Those of us at the Admiralty find it hard to believe that this fleet is going to Narvik.Despite intelligence from Copenhagen that Hitler wanted to occupy the port, the Naval Staff believed that German ships might return to Skagerrak.Nevertheless we immediately ordered the following actions to be taken: The Home Fleet, including Rodney, Revenge, Valor, two cruisers, and ten destroyers, set sail at 8:30 p.m. Leaving Scapa Flow at 10:00; the 2nd Cruiser Squadron, consisting of two cruisers and fifteen destroyers, set off from Rosyth at ten o'clock in the evening of the same day.The 1st Cruiser Squadron was originally loading troops at Rosyth to occupy the Norwegian port in case Germany attacked Norway. It was ordered to send the soldiers back to the shore, and even left their ordnance on board, and sailed to sea to join the fleet as soon as possible. .The cruiser Aurora and six destroyers, also serving a similar mission in the Firth of Clyde, were ordered to head to Scapa Flow.These decisive actions were all agreed by the Commander-in-Chief.In short, all available warships have been dispatched, on the assumption that, but on this point we by no means agree that a major emergency has occurred.Meanwhile, off the port of Narvik, four destroyers, escorted by the battlecruiser Prestigious, the cruiser Birmingham, and eight destroyers, were laying mines. When the War Cabinet met on Monday morning, I reported that the minefields at First Fjord had been fully laid out between 4:30 and 5:00 in the morning.I also specified that all our fleets were already at sea, but by this time we had established that the main German naval force was apparently on its way to Narvik.On our way out to lay the Wilfred mine-field, one of our destroyers, the Glowworm, was separated from the rest of the ship by staying behind in search of one of the sailors who had slipped into the sea during the night.At 8:30 am on the 8th, the Glowworm reported that it was in contact with an enemy destroyer about 150 miles southwest of Foster Fjord.Shortly thereafter, she reported seeing another destroyer ahead of her, and later reported that she was engaging a superior enemy fleet.After nine forty-five, it stopped sending telegrams.Since then, it has never been heard from again.According to this estimate, the German fleet, unless it is intercepted, may reach Narvik at about ten o'clock that night.They will, we hope, meet Renown, Birmingham, and their destroyers.So a fight may be imminent.I said: we cannot predict the contingencies of war, but such fighting will certainly not take place in our disadvantaged conditions.Moreover, the commander-in-chief is leading the entire local fleet approaching the theater from the south.He was probably now in the waters opposite the Stateland.He has been informed of everything we know, and he will, of course, remain silent.The Germans also knew that our fleet was at sea, for we had heard a long telegram from a German U-boat off the Orkney Islands as our fleet left Scapa Flow.At the same time, the 2nd Cruiser Squadron, which was moving northward outside the port of Aberdeen, also reported that it was being followed by enemy planes and was expected to be attacked around noon.The Navy and Royal Air Force took all possible means to get fighter jets to operational locations.There were no aircraft carriers readily available, but seaplanes were active.Foggy and foggy in some places, but the weather in the north is believed to be better and continue to clear. The War Cabinet took note of my speech and asked me to inform the Norwegian naval authorities of the information we had received concerning the actions of the German fleet.All in all, it is believed that Hitler's goal was Narvik. On April 9th, at 8:30 in the morning, Mr. Chamberlain called us to a meeting of the War Cabinet to discuss what we knew at the time concerning the German invasion of Norway and Denmark.It was agreed by the War Cabinet that I should authorize the Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleet to take all possible steps to clear Bergen and Trondheim of enemy forces, and that the Chiefs of Staff should begin preparations for a military expedition to recover the two place, and took Narvik.However, these expeditionary forces must be dispatched after the naval situation is clarified. We learn of the fate of the Glowworm from German records after the war. Early on Monday morning, the 8th, it encountered first an enemy destroyer and then a second.So, in the white sea, the two sides engaged in a chase, until the cruiser Hipper suddenly came to the scene. As the Hipper fired, the Glowworm retreated behind a screen of smoke.Hipper pushed forward through the smoke screen, and soon after passing through the smoke screen, she found the British destroyer near her, rushing straight towards it at the highest speed.The Hipper had no time to dodge, so the Firefly rammed into the hull of its opponent's 10,000-ton ship, opening a 40-meter-wide breach in the side of the ship.Then it sailed away in a dilapidated state, the ship was already ablaze, and after a few minutes, it was blown up. The Hipper rescued forty sailors; her brave captain, exhausted, fell from the deck of the cruiser while being removed to safety, and was lost.In this way, the light of the Firefly was extinguished, but its captain, Lieutenant Commander Gerald Rupp, was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, and this deed will always be commemorated by people. When the communication from the Glowworm was suddenly interrupted, we hoped to induce the German main fleet, which had dared to operate so far out to sea, into action.On Monday we concentrated the superior fleet on both sides of the enemy ships.Based on the estimates of the sea area to be swept up, there is a good chance of contact with them, and once there is contact, we must concentrate our attack on them.We didn't know at the time that Hipper was escorting German troops to Trondheim.It entered Trondheim that night, but Glowworm kept the mighty warship out of action for a month. As soon as Vice Admiral Whitworth of the Prestige received the signal from the Firefly, he first sailed south, hoping to intercept the enemy, but according to the subsequent intelligence and the order of the Admiralty, he decided to defend the port of Narvik. entrance.Tuesday, the 9th, was a very stormy day, with howling winds, blizzards, and seas.In the morning light, the Reputation saw the shadows of two ships about fifty miles away from the sea in Foster Fjord.These two ships were Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, and they had just completed their mission to escort the expeditionary force to Norway, but Renown only thought one of them was a battle cruiser at the time.Renown fired first at 18,000 yards and soon hit the Gneisenau, destroying her main gun control equipment and rendering her temporarily unable to fire.It was covered by smoke from her companion ship, and the two ships turned north, and the battle became a chase.Prestige was also hit twice at the same time, with little damage, and then it hit Gneisenau a second time, and then a third time. In the turbulent sea, the Prestige pursued at full speed, but soon had to be reduced to twenty knots.Between the intermittent snowstorm and the smoke screen of the German warships, the artillery fire of both sides has not had much effect.Although Renown made every effort to pursue the German warships, they finally disappeared in the north. On the morning of April 9th, Admiral Forbes led the capital fleet in formation outside the port of Bergen.At six-twenty in the morning he telegraphed the Admiralty for information on the strength of the German forces stationed there, as he intended to send a squadron of cruisers and destroyers, under the command of Vice Admiral Leiden, to attack any German warship he could find. .The Admiralty had the same idea, and therefore sent him the following telegram at 8:20: Plans were drawn up to attack the German warships and transports in the Bergen harbour, and, assuming the defense of the harbour remained in Norwegian hands, to take control of the entrance to the harbour.A similar plan should be prepared for Trondheim if you have the strength to do both. The Admiralty approved Admiral Forbes's plan to attack Bergen, but later warned him that he should not count on the defending side to remain friendly.To avoid distraction, the attack on Trondheim was postponed until after the German battlecruisers had been spotted.At about 11:30, four cruisers and seven destroyers under the command of the Vice Admiral began to march towards Bergen, 80 miles away. speed forward.Soon, aircraft reported two cruisers in Bergen harbor instead of one.We have only seven destroyers, so unless our cruisers can also enter the port, there is obviously little hope of success.The First Sea Lord believed that the risk of these ships was too great under the threat of air attack and mines.He consulted with me immediately on my return from a cabinet meeting, and after reading the morning's telegrams and a brief discussion in the war room, I agreed with him.So we decided to call off the attack.Looking back on the matter now, I think that the Admiralty had too much control over the Commander-in-Chief, and that we should have limited ourselves to providing him with information, having known his intention to force the entry into the port of Bergen. In the afternoon of the same day, enemy planes launched a violent air attack on the fleet, especially focusing on the ships of Vice Admiral Leiden.The destroyer HMS Gurkha was sunk, and the cruisers HMS Southampton and HMS Glasgow were traumatized by bombs exploding in close proximity.In addition, the flagship Rodney was also hit, but was not seriously damaged due to the protection of the thick deck armor. When plans to attack Bergen with cruisers were cancelled, Admiral Forbes proposed to dispatch torpedo-loaded naval planes from the aircraft carrier Fury in the evening of 10 April.The Admiralty agreed, and also prepared to send RAF bombers on the night of the 9th, and Hartsden (Orkney Islands) naval aircraft on the morning of the 10th.Meanwhile, our cruisers and destroyers continue to block all entrances.The air raid was successful, and the German cruiser Königsberg was sunk by three bombs from naval aircraft.The Fury is now diverted to Trondheim, where our scout planes report two enemy cruisers and two destroyers.In the early morning of the 11th, eighteen of our planes attacked, but apart from the merchant ships, only two destroyers and one submarine were found.Unfortunately, the damaged Hipper departed during the night without sighting any cruisers, and the attack on the two German destroyers was unsuccessful as our torpedoes ran aground in shallow water before reaching their targets up. At the same time, our submarines operate in the Skagerrak and Kattegat.On the night of the 8th, they spotted enemy ships heading north from the Baltic Sea and attacked them, but without success.But on the 9th Rogue sank the cruiser Karlsruhe off Kristiansand, and the next night Tuna torpedoed the pocket battleship Lützow returning from Oslo. In addition to these victories, the submarines sank at least nine enemy transports and supply ships during the first week of the campaign, depriving the enemy of a large number of seamen.Our own losses were heavy, with three British submarines destroyed in April at the entrance to the heavily fortified Baltic Sea. On the morning of the 9th, the situation in Narvik was unclear.The Commander-in-Chief, desiring to seize the port before the Germans did, ordered Captain Warburton Lee, in command of our destroyer fleet, to enter the fjord to prevent any enemy landing.At the same time, the Admiralty forwarded him a newspaper report that an enemy ship had entered the port and that a small force had been sent ashore.The Telegraph continued: Advance towards Narvik, sinking and capturing enemy ships.If you think you can retake Narvik from existing enemy forces, feel free to land troops at your discretion. Accordingly, Captain Warburton-Lee entered Fosterfjord with five destroyers of his own flotilla, HMS Hardy, HMS Hunter, HMS Havok, HMS Hotspur, and HMS Enemy.At Tranoe, the Norwegian pilot told him that six enemy ships, larger than his own, and a submarine had entered the fjord, and that the channel at the mouth of the bay had been mined.He sent a telegram to report the situation and said: The attack is planned in the morning.Admiral Whitworth, on receipt of this telegram, considered whether he should reinforce the attacking ships with his own now enlarged squadron, but in view of the shortness of time he considered that intervention at this stage would May cause delays.As a matter of fact, we at the Admiralty were not prepared to put the Prestige at such a risk, as the Prestige was one of only three battlecruisers we had.The last telegram from the Admiralty to Captain Warburton Lee was as follows: Defensive ships along the Norwegian coast may already be in German hands.Whether you should attack in this situation, only you can judge.Whatever decision you make, fully support it. His reply was: Start attacking now. In the fog and snowstorm of April 10, the five British destroyers sailed into the fjords, and at dawn they reached the port of Narvik.In the harbor, there are five enemy destroyers moored.In the first attack, Hardy's torpedoes hit a warship flying the German Commodore's pennant, and the Commodore was killed instantly; another destroyer was sunk by two torpedoes, and the remaining three enemy destroyers were bombarded Contained, unable to make effective resistance.There were still 23 merchant ships from various countries in the port, including five from the United Kingdom, and six German merchant ships were also destroyed.So far, only three of our five destroyers have participated in the attack.Hotsper and Revenge were left in reserve to deal with any coastal batteries or new arrivals of German ships.Now they took part in a second attack, and the Hotesper torpedoed two more German merchant ships.Warburton | Captain Lee's ship was undamaged, the enemy fire had apparently ceased, and after an hour's fighting no enemy ships were seen coming out of any bay to attack him. But at this time our luck changed, and when it returned after completing its third attack, Captain Warburton Lee found three new ships coming from Herjans Fjord.They made no sign of wishing to close the distance, and when they were seven thousand yards apart they began to fight.Suddenly, out of the fog ahead, two more warships appeared. They were not the British warships that had come to their aid as initially hoped, but German destroyers that had anchored in the Balangan Fjord.The heavy guns of the German warships immediately came into play; Hardy's bridge was destroyed, Warburton-Lee was badly wounded, and all his officers and companions, except his secretary, Lieutenant Stanning, were dead or wounded, and the ship was Steining was the driver.A shell later exploded in the engine, and the destroyer ran aground under heavy fire.Captain Hardy's final message to his flotilla was: Continue to fight the enemy. Meanwhile, the Hunter had been sunk, and the Hotsper and Enemy, both wounded, followed the Havok to open sea.The enemy ships that once blocked their way are now powerless to stop them.Half an hour later, they encountered a large ship coming from the open sea, which proved to be the Raunfels carrying German spare ammunition.It was hit by a shell from Havok and was blown up shortly thereafter.The survivors of the Hardy struggled ashore with the remains of their commanding officer, who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.He and they have left an indelible deed against the enemy and in our naval history. On the 9th, Mr. Reynolds and Mr. Daladier flew to London with Admiral Darlan. In the afternoon, the Supreme Military Council was held to discuss what they called the German action caused by the mine-laying in Norwegian territorial waters.Mr. Chamberlain immediately pointed out that the enemy's measures were, of course, preplanned and had absolutely nothing to do with our actions.It was obvious even then.Monsieur Renault informs us that a meeting of the French Military Council was held that morning under the presidency of the French President, and it was decided in principle that in the event of a German attack the Allied forces would enter Belgium.He said that in addition to shortening the front, increasing the Belgian divisions from 18 to 20 would actually offset Germany's superiority on the Western Front.France is going to link this battle plan with the dropping of floating mines on the Rhine.He added that, according to intelligence from Belgium and Holland, a German attack on the Low Countries was imminent; Some say it's a matter of days, others say it's a matter of hours. On the question of sending an expeditionary force to Norway, the Secretary of War drew the attention of the meeting that the two British divisions which had been called up to aid Finland had been sent to France.Only eleven battalions could be dispatched within England.Two of these battalions were to set out by boat that night.Due to various reasons, the rest of the troops could not move out within three or four days. It was agreed that a strong army should be sent to possible landing ports off the coast of Norway, and a joint plan was drawn up.A division of the French Alpine Infantry was ordered to embark and set out within two or three days.We were able to transfer two British battalions that night, five more in three days, and four more in fourteen days, for a total of eleven battalions.If more British troops were to be sent to Scandinavia, they would have to be drawn back from France.We must take appropriate measures to occupy the Faroe Islands, and we should assure Iceland of their protection.There was also agreement on the deployment of our navy in the Mediterranean in the event of Italian intervention.It was also decided that an urgent recommendation should be made to the Belgian Government that they invite Allied troops into Belgian territory.Finally, and determined that if Germany launched an offensive on the Western Front or invaded Belgium, the Royal Navy's operational plan should be implemented. As far as the Norwegian situation is concerned, I am very dissatisfied with what has happened so far.I wrote to Admiral Pound: April 10, 1940 The Germans had captured all the ports on the Norwegian coast, including Narvik, and it would be necessary to fight a great deal to drive them out of any of them.Norwegian neutrality, and our respect for it, made it impossible for us to prevent this brutal surprise attack.A new perspective must now be adopted.We had to live with the disadvantages caused by the reduced distance from enemy air strikes to our northern bases.We must blockade Bergen with minefields on the alert, and concentrate our forces on Narvik, and the capture of this port must be fought long and hard. One or two refueling bases must now be secured immediately on the Norwegian coast, and there are enormous options in this respect which the staff are now studying.It would be of great advantage if we could have a base, even temporarily, off the coast of Norway, for now that the enemy has a base there, it would be much more difficult for us without one.The Naval Staff is selecting among available sites, provided that they have suitable and defensible anchorages and are isolated from inland traffic.Unless we are soon able to acquire such bases, it will be impossible to contend with the Germans in the new situation. We should also make the most of our convenience in the Faroe Islands. Narvik must strive.We are dwarfed by our comparison, but there is no reason to think that a protracted and serious fight in this area will not wear the enemy down more than we do. For three days all sorts of intelligence and rumours, from neutral countries, had been pouring in, and Germany boasted of the loss she had inflicted on the British Navy, and of her triumphant capture of Norway in spite of our superior naval power. Evidently, England has been preempted, caught off guard, and, as I wrote to the First Sea Lord, dwarfed by comparison.The people of the country were very angry, and the Admiralty was the first to bear the brunt.On Thursday, the eleventh, I had to deal with an agitated and angry House of Commons.I adopted the method which I have always believed to be the most effective on such occasions, namely, calmly and deliberately detailing the facts according to the development of events, emphasizing especially the ugly truth.For the first time I explained publicly how we had been disadvantaged since the beginning of the war by German misuse of the Norwegian Corridor waters or sheltered shipping lanes, and how we had finally overcome our scruples.This scruple has honored us and damaged us at the same time. If these neutral countries remain at arm's length until Germany actually attacks them according to a scientific plan, it is pointless to condemn the Allies for failing to give them significant assistance and protection.Norway's strict adherence to neutrality is the reason it suffers now and why we can only give it limited assistance.This fact, I believe, should alarm other nations, which tomorrow, or a week, or a month from now, may fall prey to the same well-conceived scheme aimed at destroying and enslaving them. 我敘述了我們艦隊重新使用斯卡帕灣的經過，和我們為了在北方阻截德國的艦隊而立即採取的行動，以及敵人事實上正處在我們兩個優勢的艦隊的夾攻下的局面。 但是，它們逃脫了你們會看一看地圖，看到了插在各個地點的小旗時，也許會認為結果是十拿九穩的；但是當你們到了海上，發現它浩瀚無邊，有風暴與濃霧，有黑夜的降臨，以及存在的一切莫測的變化，你們就不能希望以適合於陸軍行動的那種條件，來適用於海戰的危險情勢我們談到制海權時，並不是說在同一時間或在任何一個時間，都能控制海洋的每一部分。它的意思是說，我們可以憑我們的意志最後支配被選作戰場的海洋的任何部分，由於這種方式，間接地使我們的意志可以支配海洋的任何一部分。假如認為皇家海軍的生命和實力，應該消磨在挪威和丹麥沿海一帶，進行不斷的巡邏以防萬一希特勒會給我們這樣的一個打擊，因而聽任艦隊成為德國潛艇襲擊的目標，那真是愚不可及的想法。 我繼續談到我剛得到的種種消息，即星期二聲威號和敵艦的交鋒，在卑爾根港口外對於英國艦隊的空襲，尤其是沃伯頓｜李突進納爾維克港並作戰的情況，使下院聽了逐漸滿意。最後，我說： 每一個人必須認清這種異乎尋常的和輕率的賭注性質，即把德國全部艦隊投入野蠻的海上戰爭，好像僅僅為了一個特殊的戰役而把它當作非投不可的賭本似的這種孤注一擲的作法，使我感到這些代價重大的戰役，也許正是陸上即將發生遠為重大的事件的一個前奏。我們現在也許已經到了戰爭的第一次的主要搏鬥了。 一個半小時以後，下院的冷漠疏遠的態度似乎大有改變。 不久以後，還會有更多的事件需要敘述。 四月十日晨，沃斯派特號加入了正向納爾維克前進的總司令的艦隊。等到獲悉沃伯頓｜李海軍上校在清晨的襲擊以後，我們決定再作一次嘗試，命令巡洋艦佩內洛普號在驅逐艦的護衛下，根據今晨所得的經驗，在認為適合作戰時，即發動進攻。但在傳送電訊時，佩內洛普號正在搜索據報在博多港外的敵方運輸艦，不幸忽然擱淺。第二天（十二日），狂暴號派出俯衝飛機轟炸納爾維克港內的敵方船艦。空襲在氣候惡劣和可見度很低的情況下竭力進行，據報被命中的敵方驅逐艦有四艘，而我們損失了兩架飛機。這是不夠的。我們迫切需要納爾維克，所以決心至少要把德國海軍肅清。現在戰鬥就要達到高潮了。 寶貴的聲威號沒有參加戰爭。惠特沃思海軍上將在海上把沃斯派特號改為旗艦，十三日中午，他由九艘驅逐艦和狂暴號上的俯衝轟炸機護送，進入峽灣。該處沒有水雷區；但有一艘潛艇已被驅逐艦趕走，另一艘潛艇被沃斯派特號自己的雙翼海上飛機擊沉，飛機並且發現在一個海灣潛藏著一艘德國驅逐艦正想從隱蔽處以魚雷襲擊我們的戰列艦。這艘敵方驅逐艦很快地被擊毀了。下午一時三十分，我們的艦隻穿過海峽，到達距離納爾維克十二哩的地方時，發現在前面的煙霧中，出現五艘敵方驅逐艦。劇烈的戰鬥立即發生，雙方所有的艦隻都開炮轟擊，並迅速調動。沃斯派特號發現岸上沒有炮台可以進攻，就使用它的厲害的炮火參加驅逐艦的戰鬥。它的十五吋口徑大炮的轟鳴在四周的群山中迴盪，宛如喪鐘。敵艦處於絕對劣勢，被迫退卻。這場海戰便分散成為個別小規模戰鬥。我們的艦隻，有的進入了納爾維克港，在那裡完成摧毀敵艦的任務。其他則由愛斯基摩號率領，追逐企圖躲避在羅姆巴克斯峽灣上游的三艘德艦，在那裡把它們擊毀。愛斯基摩號的艦頭被魚雷所擊毀，但這次在納爾維克港外發生的第二次海戰中，逃過沃伯頓｜李的襲擊而倖存的八艘敵方驅逐艦全被擊沉或損壞，而英國卻沒有損失一艘艦隻。 海戰結束後，惠特沃思海軍上將想派遣由水兵和陸戰隊組成的登陸部隊，上岸佔領城市，在該處暫時似乎不會遇到任何抵抗。不過，除非沃斯派特號的炮火能夠控制全局，否則，數量上佔有重大優勢的德國士兵，勢必會發動反攻。由於可能有來自空中和潛艇方面的危險，他覺得不應該把這艘優秀的艦隻長期暴露，而遇到意外的危險。在下午六時，約有十二架德國飛機出現，這就更加強了他的決定。因此，次日清晨，在裝載了驅逐艦上的受傷人員以後，他便下令撤退。 他說：我的印象，是納爾維克的敵方軍隊，由於今天的戰鬥而受到了極大的震驚。我提議該城應該立即由主要的登陸部隊加以佔領。兩艘驅逐艦留在港口外警戒待變，其中一艘救出了哈代號上曾在岸上等待援救的倖存者。 英、德兩國海軍這次在北海的交鋒，大大激動了英皇陛下的愛好海軍的本性，他寫給我下面一封鼓勵信： Buckingham Palace 一九四○年四月十二日 Dear Mr Churchill: 我一直想和你談論關於最近在北海發生的重大事件。我既然出身海軍，對於這事的發展，當然有非常濃厚的興趣。但我有意克制自己，不願佔用你的時間，因為我知道從你兼任協調委員會主席以來，你的責任增加，必然十分操勞。但是，只要當前的局勢稍有穩定，請你即來看我。同時，我應當向你道賀，因為在你的指導下，海軍非常出色地抵抗了德國對斯堪的納維亞的侵略行動。請你善自珍攝，在這危急的時刻，盡量設法多加休息。 你的真摯的國王喬治