In the morning mist, the armoured warship Eidsvold, which was anchored outside Framnesodden, discovered that foreign naval vessels were on their way into Narvik’s harbour. The German attack was a great surprise for Norway, and the forces in Narvik were quite unprepared for the attack. Due to the war between Finland and the Soviet Union, Norway had moved her largest warships to North Norway, and in April 1940 both the antiquated armoured warships were guarding Norway’s neutrality in Narvik, in order to ensure that the traffic with the ore carrying ships was not disrupted by the warring nations. The export from Narvik went ahead, therefore, with ore ships from many countries. Germany needed large amounts of iron ore for their armaments industry, and had a big advantage, in that the ships carrying the ore could use neutral Norway and Sweden to get safely through, without the British navy being able to attack. The importance of Narvik as a strategic harbour increased immediately at the outbreak of World War II. Owner: Trafik AB-Grängesberg-Oxelösund, Stockholm
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