Introduction

Hitler began planning the occupation of Norway and Denmark under the code-name "Weserübung," or "Wesser Exercise." His original plans called for a neutral Scandinavia, but after time he feared northern Europe could be used against him. Consequently he sought to establish his forces there before the Allies, who had their own plans in the region. A British-controlled Norwegian coastline would directly threaten German positions along the Baltic Sea, as well as impose a costly blockade. Hitler wanted Norway for its valuable resources, especially its iron ore, a necessary war material, which was exported from the northern Norwegian port of Narvik.

Norway would also serve as the perfect strategic naval and aerial base to attack England and Hitler boasted that "weakness in numbers will be made good by skillful action and surprise in execution." For the most part, Hitler was right. The Norwegian armed forces, later headed by Maj. Gen. Otto Ruge, would not be able to defend such a long stretch of coastline. The Germans planned to make them surrender by gaining control of the Norwegian ports and the capital city of Oslo. Britain had a similar plan, but was designed to protect Norway from the Germans. Initially the British were unsure of what course of action to take, and decided to mine the waters between Norway and its offshore islands, known as the "Norwegian Leads." Dubbed "Operation Wilfred," this would prevent German ships from sneaking through neutral waterways.

The British also planned to send in troops to secure the ports and convert the port city of Narvik to an Allied naval base. They told Norway and Sweden if they allowed the Germans to use Scandinavian sealanes for any reason that they would lose their neutrality status. This was something to consider because both countries wanted desperately to stay neutral like they did in the First World War. The German ships sailed on 7 April 1940, the same day the British ships set sail to mine the Norwegian waterways, and mining began the following day.

Under the command of General Nicholas von Falkenhorst, the Germans were set for an invasion with approximately 9,000 troops aboard 71 ships masquerading as British warships to confuse the Norwegians. Rumors of the invasion swept across Scandinavia, but each country assumed it would happen to another country and not them. Britain also misread the German naval build up as an attempt to break through their blockade, and ignored several signs that indicated the Germans' intentions. Several naval battles then ensued, one especially notable on 8 April 1940 when the diminutive British destroyer Glowworm was mauled by the massive German cruiser Admiral Hipper.

Rather than sink gracefully, the Glowworm turned full steam into the Admiral Hipper in a last ditch effort to avenge her inevitable death. The Glowworm was survived by only 31 sailors, but the Admiral Hipper was damaged enough to make her return to port. Two days later another German cruiser, Bülcher, was taken by surprise by the Norwegians and sunk. The Lützow behind it saw the ship explode violently and assumed there was a minefield ahead, so she turned around, calling off the attack on Oslo. On land, the German attacks were vastly more successful and the Germans stormed the cities of Bergin, Kristiansand, Narvik, Oslo and Trondheim. King Haakon VII, the Norwegian Royal family, and most of the government fled as Hitler demanded that a fascist government be established to run the country.

The King said he would rather abdicate, but an ambitious pro-Nazi Norwegian politician, Vidkun Quisling, helped Hitler with his invasion by proclaiming himself the new President. The Norwegians despised him (making sure he was executed when the war was over) and his name became synonymous with "traitor," much like Benedict Arnold in American history. The Germans defended their actions by claiming they were "saving" Norway from an Allied occupation when in fact they became the occupying army.

Features

This Battlefield map is losely based on Operation Weserübung, and takes place outside Narvik in Norway. It does not intend to be historically correct, but instead it aims for balanced gameplay and gives an advanced tactical aspect which has not been explored in the regular Battlefield maps. The map seems pretty big, yet it will not take the player long to drive to the next point. It is a mix between open terrain and Berlin-style fighting because of the cities.

The terrain in the map is rough and shaped so that a good sniper will be in heaven, but any other class can hide just by proning anywhere in the terrain. The terrain also makes room for a lot of ambush points in the map, and the mix between the smooth roads and the rough terrain gives the vehicles their real roles. Jeeps drive shitty in the terrain, while tanks and APCs can drive up the mountain if they wish to. All classes and vehicles have very separate advantages in this map.

Except for the harbor, the whole island is shallow around the shores. The naval has to battle it out on the sea or around the harbor, like they have to do in real life. The only way for the ships to kill a target on shore is by snipers giving them artillery targets.

Installation

Extract weserubung.rfa to YourBattlefieldInstallationFolder\mods\bf1942\archives\bf1942\levels\

Known Bugs

Some textures are not being rendered under water in the areas outside the Harbor.
The mini-map does not have roads displayed.
Because of limitations in Battlefield the germans have borrowed ships from Japan, and the british from America.

Authors

TA_Radar & KB

Contact Info:

Mail comments, questions and bug reports to: vidar.v@online.no