Sorry if the format is difficult to read, but its cut and past straight from the books.
Norway: 1995-2001
When the Sino-Soviet War began, Norwegians were concerned
(with most of the rest of the world) lest the conflict expand
to a world war (justifiably so, as it turned out). When the
Bundeswehr crossed into eastern Germany, King Harald proclaimed
a state of emergency and called upon the Storting
(parliament) to pass a string of emergency measures. Most of
these were calculated to keep Norway out of the war and proved
to be futile. The state of emergency permitted NATO to station
troops in Norway (something which is normally against
Norwegian law). The United States' contingent, in the form of
detachments from the US 6th Marine Regiment and 10th Infantry
Division (Mountain), began arriving on 1 November 1996.
British units fSAS, paratrooper, and Royal Marine Commandos)
and a detachment from the Canadian Airborne Regiment were
also sent to various parts of Norway.
In late 1996, the Soviets moved against northern Norway in
an attempt to score a quick victory and draw some of NATO's
attention away from central Europe. Most of the front-line,
arctic-equipped divisions had been sent east, and the offensive
had to be made with less well trained and equipped troops than
would have been preferable.
Soviet Spetznaz commando teams caused considerable
dislocation in the initial stages of the fighting, and Soviet Marines
made a number of devastating raids. A battalion of Soviet
Marines landed and occupied part of the city of Narvik for almost
three weeks before they could be destroyed.
In mid-November, a force consisting of the Norwegian 3rd,
5th, and 10th Regiments, the Norwegian 2nd Dragoon Regiment,
and the American 10th Infantry Division encountered the
invading Soviets around the Bardufoss area. They managed to
stop the Soviets in their tracks, inflicting heavy casualties on
the Soviet 50th Guards Motorized Rifle Division which was
spearheading the invasion. NATO naval and air forces foiled
several attempts to reinforce the Soviet Marines in Narvik by
sea and by airdrop.
By December, reinforcements had arrived — in the form of the
British 2nd Paras, the British 2nd/Royal Green Jackets, the US
4th Marine Amphibious Brigade, the US 6th Infantry Division
(Light), and numerous smaller specialty and support units —and
NATO began a counteroffensive.
NATO pushed the Soviets back out of Norway during the
months of December and January. When resistance stiffened,
British and American Marines staged a series of amphibious landings
behind Soviet lines to break up the defense and get the
operation moving again. Eventually, however, the Soviets
managed to halt the advance along the Litsa River outside of
Murmansk, at a cost of most of the personnel of the 69th
Motorized Rifle Division, which had to be withdrawn from the
fighting. (Coincidentally, this was where the German northern
offensive during the Second World War had been halted.)
The US 10th Infantry division, which had led the offensive,
took severe casualties during these months and was withdrawn
from the line in February after several unsuccessful attempts
to force a crossing of the Litsa River (the 10th was to be rebuilt
and transferred to Alaska later in 1997). Two successive amphibious
landings at Teriberka (in late February and again in
March) were unable to flank the Soviet defensive lines, and the
NATO troops were barely able to contain a minor Soviet
counteroffensive in the late spring. During this period, the Soviet
7th Guards Air Assault Division had to be withdrawn from the
front lines due to casualties.
From March to June of 1 997, the NATO front consolidated
its gains. The US 6th Division received replacements of personnel
and materiel and prepared to undertake a new offensive in
June, acting in concert with NATO's Atlantic Fleet. The fleet
was to attack Soviet fleet anchorages at Murmansk and
Severomorsk as NATO ground forces bypassed the Litsa River
line. This was to be accomplished by a flanking move through
neutral Finnish territory. The Finns were advised that the move
would take place as the offensive stepped off and were not expected
to resist. This was to prove a miscalculation.
On 7 June, the NATO ground forces stepped off, and the fleet
moved to the Kola Peninsula shortly thereafter. The Finns had
been expected to offer token resistance to the violation of their
neutrality; instead, they fought with the tenacity and ferocity
which have historically typified the Finnish martial efforts. The
flanking move was weakened and seriously delayed. This delay
allowed the Soviets time to bring in reinforcements. The Finnish
border was stiffened by the addition of the 376th Guards
Motorized Rifle Division, a category III unit recently raised in the
city of Leningrad and rushed to the front. The offensive along
the Litsa, however, forced the commitment of the last of the
frontal reserves, the 7th Guards Air Assault Division (which had
been withdrawn from the Norway fighting for rest and replacements).
At sea, the offensive fared even worse as coastal missile boats
and the last remnants of the Soviet Northern Fleet's shore-based
aviation assets used up their carefully husbanded stores of fuel
and ordnance to inflict crippling losses on the NATO fleet. By
the middle of June, the last major fleet-in-being in the world had
been shattered.
STALEMATE
The Soviets attempted a counterattack, but they were unable
to make substantial gains. Believing that Finnish resistance to
the NATO incursion indicated that the Finnish people sympathized
with their cause, Soviet forces were sent into Finland as
part of the offensive. The Finns resisted the Soviets as
tenaciously as they had resisted NATO, and by the beginning
of July the front had stabilized once again. Both NATO and the
Warsaw Pact had other irons in the fire, and neither could spare
the resources necessary to resume the offensive in the far north.
Throughout the world, things had not been going well for either
side, but the Soviet Union was beginning to show the strain.
The offensive in China had suffered serious reverses; NATO
troops were besieging Warsaw; and the only bright point was
the Danube Front, where the Turkish drive to relieve the Romanian
turncoats had been stopped by Soviet forces and their allies.
THE WAR GOES NUCLEAR
The use of tactical nuclear devices began in July. In the east
they were used on a massive scale, first against Chinese military
columns and then against Chinese industrial centers. In the west,
they were limited at first to tactical attacks against front-line
units. By November, the tactical exchanges had gone strategic,
and Norway did not escape.
Along with attacks on industrial centers, a nuclear bomb was
directed at Oslo, the capital. King Harald, who refused to abandon
the seat of government in the face of enemy attack, died
in the blast along with the Statsrad (state council) and most of
the Storting. Over a half a million Norwegians died in the attacks
on the capitol, the major industrial centers, and the nation's
petroleum facilities. The nation's naval bases at Horten,
Haakonsvern, Ramsund, and Olavsvern were destroyed or
severely damaged.
Imports dwindled as the world trade network vanished. The
nation's power generation and telecommunications facilities
were destroyed as electromagnetic pulse from the nuclear
detonations fried their control circuitry, Refugees from the cities,
seeking food and shelter from the coming winter, flooded into
the countryside. At first they were received with charity and
kindness, but it soon became obvious that there were more
mouths to be fed than there were meals left in most parts of
the country. Throughout the winter, the only government was
by martial law, and the only forces for civilization were the remnants
of the Norwegian military. People turned to the military
for their leadership and for their protection.
Finally, an island of stability began to form around the remaining
heir to the throne: Prince Jungi of Trondheim, youngest son
of King Olaf the fifth, and King Harald's brother. During the war,
Jungi had served as commander of the 2nd Dragoons, and his
Leopard tanks played a tremendous role in the defeat of the attacking
Soviets, even though the terrain was not always well
suited to the optimum use of armored forces. His exploits in the
north earned him the nickname "Arctic Fox."
When the front stabilized, the 2nd Dragoons were withdrawn
from front-line duty. Jungi was enjoying a well earned leave,
skiing with his wife and family, when the nuclear strike hit Oslo.
The communications blackout, the chaos that resulted, and the
onset of winter prevented him from regaining contact with what
was left of the Norwegian government until late December.
Jungi was crowned Haakon VIII King of Norway in the Stave
Church at Lorn on 27 December 1997. In a show of unity.
General Magnus Haardraade led the remaining officers of the
Royal Norwegian Army in vows of fealty to Haakon. The newly
crowned king immediately began efforts to reorganize his
stricken domain. Unfortunately, he and Norway had not seen
the last of the Soviets.
|