11 Apr 1940
  • British submarine HMS Spearfish damaged the German pocket battleship Lützow, knocking it out of action for one year as one of the six torpedoes fired nearly ripped off the German ship's stern. Not realizing Lützow was unescorted, Spearfish fled from the action as soon as she fired her torpedoes. ww2dbase [Deutschland | CPC]
  • In Norway, the German 196th Division moved north from Oslo up the Gudbrandsdal and Østerdal valleys in an attempt to link up with the German forces in Trondheim. In an attempt to halt the German advances, RAF attacked the Stavanger airfield in southern Norway. Norwegian Army General Kristian Laake was relieved of command for his failures in the opening chapters of the German invasion; General Otto Ruge took over as his successor. Meanwhile, German collaborator Vidkun Quisling sent a message to King Haakon VII of Norway, asking him to return to Oslo; seeing through his plot to use him as a puppet, the king chose to ignore the request. Seeing a lack of response from the king and his government, German bombers attacked the village where they were hiding in a failed attempt to wipe out Norwegian leadership. In Britain, Winston Churchill spoke at the House of Commons and used Norway as an example to urge other smaller neutral European countries to join the Allies before Germany violated their neutrality as well. ww2dbase [Invasion of Denmark and Norway | CPC]
  • British troops occupied the Faroe Islands between Scotland and Iceland. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • Cruiser Köln returned from Norway, arriving at Wilhelmshaven, Germany. ww2dbase [Köln | CPC]
  • In a report to the War Office in London, British General Lord Gort of Limerick, VC, stated that his five regular-army divisions were effective, although not up to the standards of the British Expeditionary Force of 1914. The remaining eight Territorial divisions, he reported were, fit only for static warfare. ww2dbase [John Vereker | AC]
Atlantic Ocean
  • Battleship Warspite and aircraft carrier furious joined the Home Fleet which continued unsuccessfully to find the German force west of Norway. Light cruisers and some destroyers were detached for re-fuelling. A sortie was made by battleships Rodney, Valiant and Warspite, the carrier Furious and the heavy cruisers Berwick, Devonshire and York under command of Admiral Charles Forbes. An unsuccessful attack was undertaken against three German destroyers after the cruiser Hipper set out undetected and heads south with the destroyer Friedrich Eckoldt. ww2dbase [Invasion of Denmark and Norway | North Sea | HM]

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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Retreat ceremonies at the WAVES Yeoman school, Naval Training School, Milledgeville, Georgia, United States, circa early 1945

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