The Norwegian officers brought long maritime experience and a clear will to resist. Commodore Friedrich Bonte, a protégé of Günther Lütjens, led the German destroyers into confined waters outside their normal tactical environment; his death at Narvik is linked here to Lütjens's growing unease with the war. Each destroyer carried roughly 200 troops from the 139th Mountain Regiment, so sinking one also removed soldiers and supplies needed to seize Narvik. The shipborne force totaled nearly 2,000 mountain troops, making each naval loss immediately relevant ashore. Local willingness to fight coexisted with failures of mobilization and command, including Colonel Konrad Sundlo's rapid arrest after he opened ceasefire negotiations.
Chapter · 16:51-25:20
Command experience and destroyers packed with troops
The opposing commanders, troop-laden destroyers, and restricted fjord waters explain why every German ship loss would carry an unusually high operational cost.