Norge fights alone inside Narvik

Per Askim was ashore seeking usable orders while Eidsvold was lost, a command failure imposed on the defenders. Norge nevertheless engaged at roughly 800 meters, firing through darkness and weather that defeated both sides' optical sights. German destroyers, burdened with troops, did not effectively return fire until they reached the pier and began disembarking. A third two-torpedo salvo sank Norge in less than a minute; 90 crew were rescued and 101 died. The naval defeat was compounded by the government's failure to alert and mobilize a citizen army whose independent-minded officers and soldiers could do little while absent from their posts.