On March 15, 1940, the German fleet had begun to assemble at the ports, and the soldiers had already started boarding the ship. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd battle groups set out from Wilhelmshaven and Bremen, and the 4th, 5th, and 6th battle groups set out from Kiel, Lübeck and Danze respectively.≥Standing on the tall bridge of the flagship "Germany", Lieutenant General Kumetz saw many Austro-Hungarian mountain infantry wearing yellow and green military uniforms and soft-caps on the dock were boarding the ship with the German soldiers.

The Austro-Hungarian 2nd Mountain Hunter Division will follow the 5th Battle Group, whose target is Stenborg at the entrance to the narrow bay of Oslo.

The German Supreme Command had no doubts about the outcome of the battle. Denmark had only 2 infantry divisions, while Norway had only 7 unsatisfied infantry divisions. The naval power of these two countries was almost negligible. Moreover, Norwegian Defense Minister Jillins had made it clear that after the German army began to land, he would order the troops to stop resisting.

The only thing worth worrying about is the Norwegian waters, and the British fleet generally dare not approach the Skagerak Strait and venture into the strike range of the German land-based aviation force. Their range of action will definitely be in the Norwegian waters. In the exercise plan formulated by the joint Navy and Army Group, the most exquisite idea is that all landing troops will go on warships, so that the navy will no longer have to be distracted from protecting those transport ships that are vulnerable to attack, and the maximum impromptu speed up the operation. However, the disadvantage is also obvious. The power of the naval fleet has been dispersed, and it is difficult for the main force of the fleet to protect the long coast of more than 800 nautical miles in western Norway from being attacked by the British fleet.

On March 16, the fleet that had completed the preparations were preparing to sail. Lieutenant General Kumetz invited two army commanders, Major General Erwin Engbrest, the commander of the 163rd Division, to participate in the Battle of Oslo, and Major General Lotal Lentulick, the commander of the 2nd Austro-Hungary Mountain Hunter, to sail together on his flagship "Germany". This is also what Marshal Redell meant. After all, if a general was lost on the battlefield, the German Navy, which escorted the army to land, would lose face.

Lieutenant General Kumetz was a little curious about the equipment of Austro-Hungarian mountain infantry. According to his understanding, German and Austrian infantry had generally replaced semi-automatic rifles, but the equipment of these mountain infantry was also somewhat different from that of ordinary infantry. In addition to the commonly used mountain climbing equipment and ropes, each of their infantry squads was equipped with about four single-shot rifles installed and scoped.

General Rendulick explained to him that because the combat distance between mountain infantry is relatively long, it is possible to shoot each other across the hills from the enemy. Therefore, the number of equipment of sniper rifles in the army is several times that of ordinary infantry.

That night, the entire fleet sailed out of the port while the night was dark. According to the plan, the battle would be launched at the same time in the early morning of the 19th. Lieutenant General Kumetz used the two days to carefully discuss the details of the landing operations on the front line of Oslo with the accompanying army generals.

The entire fleet includes 16 warships and 38 transport ships. In fact, each combat group only transports one regiment of personnel and equipment to participate in the landing in the first batch. The 5th battle group undertakes more transportation tasks. Since it is necessary to land at Stenborg and Oslo, the fleet transported two infantry regiments and more than 6,000 army officers and soldiers.

In March, Germany is already in spring. However, in Scandinavia, most areas are still covered with ice and snow. The snow has just melted and the weather is still cold. However, the weather in the Baltic Sea is still sunny, and the temperature can reach 12 degrees Celsius during the day. Although it is still around zero at night, it can no longer feel particularly cold.

The news of the German Navy's massive operation was already surveillance on the German coast the next day and learned about the high-altitude reconnaissance planes sent by spies and Britain. It quickly sent a report back to London.

"Everyone, we think the greatest possible move of the Germans is to prepare to attack Norway. We should act quickly and try our best to stop the Germans' invasion of Norway!" In the conference room in Whitehall, Navy Minister Churchill informed the cabinet members of the latest situation. "After secret consultation, the Norwegian government has agreed to lay mines with us in the Norwegian waters and work together to fight against possible German invasions! Now, Norwegian ships are cooperating with the British Navy's mine operations on the Norwegian waterway. It is obvious that the Germans have discovered our intentions and started to take action."

"His Royal Secretary of the Navy, do you mean to send out the entire local fleet?" said Baron William Eymond, Chief of Staff of the Army.

"Of course not, but if we want to stop Germany's invasion of Norway, I hope to use half of the troops of the local fleet." Churchill said that King Hakon VII of Norway was King Edward's son-in-law and had always held a pro-British position. It is precisely because of this that Britain could persuade Norway to acquiesce Britain and France to send troops and use Norway to fight against Germany. If Germany is allowed to occupy Norway and Britain and France do not respond in any way, it will be quite unfavorable for the future of the entire alliance led by Britain.

"But what if the Germans created an illusion and launched an attack on the British mainland?" said Pound, the First Minister of Maritime Affairs. "If the troops who defended the local area were all drawn, what should we use to resist the German attack?" He said that before the war, Britain sent the battleships of the USS Royal Oak, the battleships of the USS Royal Oak, the battleships of the USS Invincible, and the aircraft carrier of the USS Invincible, but due to the frequent activities of German submarines after the war, the navy had to send three other old-fashioned "Revenge" class battleships to the escort fleet. In addition, the Gibraltar fleet needed to prevent the attack of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. In fact, the local capital ships can only be used by two "Nelson" class and three "Queen" class, and the other "Reputation" battleships.

At this time, everyone had not realized the importance of aircraft. Although there were still several aircraft carriers, everyone had not included those warships in the ranks of the main battleships.

The problem Churchill faced was that although the army agreed to draw two divisions to "defend Norway", it was unwilling to operate alone in Norway and needed France to send troops together. The French dragged on and discussed the details of the action with the British, and the action was slow. This instead allowed the Germans to start the action in advance.

While the British side was rushing to dispatch troops and coordinate relations between all parties, the German army had already begun to take action.

In the early morning of March 18, the Navy had already transported landing troops to the expected sea area. At 4:20 am, the German Ambassador to Copenhagen submitted an ultimatum to the Danish government, demanding that Denmark accept "Germany's protection" immediately and limit the reply within one hour. At 5:20 am, the German Ambassador to Oslo also submitted an ultimatum with the same content to the Norwegian government. At this time, the German fleet had been forced into major Norwegian ports, and the navy and airborne troops had launched a full-scale attack on Denmark from sea and air.

The Danes had almost no resistance, the navy did not launch a single shot, and the army was only injured 20 people. At 8:30 in the morning, King Christian X decided to accept the German ultimatum after convening an emergency cabinet meeting. The German army forced Denmark to surrender just four hours later.
Chapter completed!