Medicine in Retreat, 1940–1942

Abstract

Abstract The German invasion of Scandinavia in April 1940 put an end to the ‘Phoney War’ that had lasted since September 1939. Pushing up through Denmark, the Germans landed 2,000 troops at the Norwegian port of Narvik on 9 April, marking the start of their conquest of that country and of open hostilities with Britain. The British response to this unexpected invasion was, at first, a naval one. Several destroyers, which arrived too late to prevent the German landing, succeeded in eliminating the German naval force in the area. A few days later an Allied force landed at three points along the Norwegian coast, at Narvik, Namsos, and Andalsnes. At Narvik a combined force of Norwegian, British, French, and Polish troops attempted to oust the Germans, and succeeded in doing so by the end of May. The other two landings were intended as a pincer movement for the capture of Trondheim, but these never came close to achieving their objectives. The latter operations were frustrated by poor planning and organization, as well as by a hostile climate and mountainous terrain. Indeed, the whole campaign, including its medical aspects, suffered from a singular combination of poor preparation and bad luck.¹