The 18th of March 1940
The 18th of March 1940.
It was a Monday morning and King Haakon VII of Norway was packing up ready for a trip to the Fjords, not because of his legendary lack of work ethic but because the Germans were poised to occupy Oslo.
"Are you ready to depart your majesty?" Foreign Minister Koht asked.
"Almost, just one more vital item to pack." The King replied, reverently placing a signed photo of Sonja Henie into his bag. "OK, done."
"Then come with me your majesty, the fleet is waiting to evacuate you." General Laake lead the way through the palace.
"Has everyone else made it out?" The King asked.
"The government and the gold reserves have been loaded." Koht confirmed.
"And the armed forces?"
"The Navy have loaded all they can and the Air Force has flown to safety in the UK." General Ljunberg said.
British Carriers sitting in the Dover Straits doing very little, Australian bombers failing to bomb Kiel and aircraft making impossibly long transfers over sea. All in all a reassuringly familiar scene.
"So where are we going?" The King asked.
"To a secure bunker near Narvik." General Laake said.
"I hope it's not got a ridiculous contrived name."
"Of course not your highness." General Ljunberg looked offended.
"The bunker is No-Acronym." General Laake explained.
The King stopped and stared.
"Which, admittedly, stands for Northern Operations - Area Command, Royal Order of Norwegian Yeoman Militia" General Laake admitted while shuffling his feet.
"It is at least well lit." Koht tried to calm his monarch down.
"How?" The King asked suspiciously.
"By burning the candle at both ends." General Ljunberg confessed.
"It does give a very nice light." Koht enthused.
Dear Lord things are serious in Norway if this is the state of their bunker lighting.
King Haakon considered objecting, but stopped himself. After all, if an emergency of this scale didn't justify burning up the candle reserves then what would?
---
Can the King escape to Narvik? Will the Norwegian armed forces manage to rally? How did the deeply confused Fokker CV-E and/or Gloster Gladiators of the Royal Norwegian Air Brigade manage to fly so far? Why did they chose Dover? Does anyone remember who Sonja Henie is? Should the King have just saved time and told the fleet to head straight to the UK? All, some, none or less of these questions will be answered next time on For King Haakon and the Fjords!
It was a Monday morning and King Haakon VII of Norway was packing up ready for a trip to the Fjords, not because of his legendary lack of work ethic but because the Germans were poised to occupy Oslo.
"Are you ready to depart your majesty?" Foreign Minister Koht asked.
"Almost, just one more vital item to pack." The King replied, reverently placing a signed photo of Sonja Henie into his bag. "OK, done."
"Then come with me your majesty, the fleet is waiting to evacuate you." General Laake lead the way through the palace.
"Has everyone else made it out?" The King asked.
"The government and the gold reserves have been loaded." Koht confirmed.
"And the armed forces?"
"The Navy have loaded all they can and the Air Force has flown to safety in the UK." General Ljunberg said.
British Carriers sitting in the Dover Straits doing very little, Australian bombers failing to bomb Kiel and aircraft making impossibly long transfers over sea. All in all a reassuringly familiar scene.
"So where are we going?" The King asked.
"To a secure bunker near Narvik." General Laake said.
"I hope it's not got a ridiculous contrived name."
"Of course not your highness." General Ljunberg looked offended.
"The bunker is No-Acronym." General Laake explained.
The King stopped and stared.
"Which, admittedly, stands for Northern Operations - Area Command, Royal Order of Norwegian Yeoman Militia" General Laake admitted while shuffling his feet.
"It is at least well lit." Koht tried to calm his monarch down.
"How?" The King asked suspiciously.
"By burning the candle at both ends." General Ljunberg confessed.
"It does give a very nice light." Koht enthused.
Dear Lord things are serious in Norway if this is the state of their bunker lighting.
King Haakon considered objecting, but stopped himself. After all, if an emergency of this scale didn't justify burning up the candle reserves then what would?
---
Can the King escape to Narvik? Will the Norwegian armed forces manage to rally? How did the deeply confused Fokker CV-E and/or Gloster Gladiators of the Royal Norwegian Air Brigade manage to fly so far? Why did they chose Dover? Does anyone remember who Sonja Henie is? Should the King have just saved time and told the fleet to head straight to the UK? All, some, none or less of these questions will be answered next time on For King Haakon and the Fjords!
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