The video sets the Altmark Incident against the Hague Convention rules governing hostile acts, prizes, and prisoners in neutral waters. Altmark carried British prisoners through Norwegian waters and then hid inside a fjord, while brief Norwegian inspections failed to uncover them amid deliberate noise from the German crew. Norwegian forces nevertheless defended their neutrality by placing a torpedo boat in the British force's path. Acting under strongly worded orders from Churchill, Captain Vian took only Cossack into the fjord as the minimum force he believed could complete the mission without making the violation still more egregious.
Chapter · 19:05-23:48
The Altmark Incident and the limits of Norwegian neutrality
The Hague rules and Norway's incomplete inspections explain why Altmark's passage with prisoners created a disputed neutrality crisis.