Whitworth heard that an amphibious force was coming and assumed it would proceed to Narvik, so he did not improvise a landing from his own ships. The counterfactual asks whether a normal complement of Marines and sailors could have taken the port immediately after the German destroyers were destroyed. The German troops had little artillery, few mortars or machine guns, and had just watched their naval support disappear. British destroyers could also have supplied close fire support with guns and pom-poms. The lack of troops turned a naval victory into an incomplete operational result.
Notable Point · 45:24-46:49
The missed amphibious opportunity after Warspite's victory
Whitworth expected a separate landing force, but the absence of troops aboard his victorious fleet left a brief chance to seize Narvik unexplored.