The book extract follows a scratch force assembled for the Norwegian campaign from four assault craft, three outdated mechanized landing craft, one newer vessel, and local boats. Limited lift restricted the first wave to 290 men and left the follow-on force about forty-five minutes behind. The troops captured Narvik against light resistance, but the wider campaign's lack of air cover and Allied withdrawal meant the gain was soon abandoned. The operation exposed how a small landing party could be left dangerously isolated on a hostile shore. Its official lesson was the urgent need for an ample supply of modern, serviceable landing craft before similar operations were attempted elsewhere.
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Narvik shows the cost of too few landing craft
A landing-craft history uses the 1940 Narvik campaign to show how limited lift and air cover constrained an amphibious operation.