Battle of Midtskogen

The Battle of Midtskogen was a minor battle fought on the night of 9–10 April 1940 during the Second World War between a German raiding party and an improvised Norwegian force. The site of the battle was Midtskogen Farm, situated approximately west of the town of Elverum at the mouth of the Østerdalen valley in southern Norway. The invading German troops aimed to capture King Haakon VII and his cabinet, thereby forcing Norway into submission. After a short battle, the German force withdrew, having lost its commander in the fighting. On 9 April 1940 Nazi-Germany launched Operation Weserübung, the codename for the assault and subsequent occupation of Denmark and Norway. Invading several major Norwegian cities by sea, the Germans planned to capture King Haakon VII and the Norwegian Cabinet, which they believed would then lead to an immediate surrender of all Norwegian forces. While the invasion was successful in most areas, the German fleet sailing towards Oslo was temporarily forced to withdraw after the heavy cruiser Blücher had been sunk by fire from Oscarborg fortress at Drøbak. That gave the Norwegian royal family and members of government time to flee to Hamar and later Elverum. A small party of German Fallschirmjäger, under the command of military attaché Hauptmann Eberhard Spiller, were sent after them in commandeered Norwegian civilian vehicles. The Norwegian defenders were a mixed group of hastily-mustered volunteers and professional soldiers. About 20-30 Royal Guardsmen, from the 1st Guard Company were backed up by volunteers from Terningmoen military camp and a large group of members from local rifle clubs. The Norwegians were mainly armed with Krag–Jørgensen bolt-action rifles, as well as two Colt M/29 machine guns. The German party consisted of approximately 100-120 paratroopers travelling in a convoy of four buses, a captured army truck and Spiller's private car. Though somewhat numerically inferior the Germans were vastly superior in terms of both training and firepower, possessing numerous modern submachine guns, light machine guns and hand grenades.