Operation Weserubung sent Lutjens with Scharnhorst and Gneisenau to cover Friedrich Bonte's destroyers carrying Eduard Dietl's troops to Narvik. German forces defeated the Norwegian naval defenders and then found the ground troops unalerted and out of position. National authorities had chosen a slow telegram instead of immediately broadcasting orders or placing defenders on alert, despite the invasion of Denmark and reports of nearby ships. A defensive mobilisation would not itself have been a provocation when Norway faced possible intervention by either Germany or Britain. The successful landing therefore carries a command-and-control lesson: delayed warning can surrender operational surprise before a battle on land begins.
Notable Point · 1:05:17-1:08:18
Norway's warning failure at Narvik
The Narvik landings show how delayed Norwegian mobilisation and telegram-based warning left ground defenders unready after German ships were already approaching.