The First Battle of Narvik was fought on 10 April 1940 during the Norwegian Campaign of World War II. The battle was a British victory, although both commanders were killed in the battle.
History[]
On 10 April 1940, the second day of the Norwegian Campaign, the British Royal Navy began to assert its naval superiority off Norway. Captain Bernard Warburton-Lee's 2nd Destroyer Flotilla (Hardy, Hunter, Havoc, Hostile, and Hotspur) surprised a German flotilla under Friedrich Bonte (consisting of Heidkamp, Anton Schmitt, Hans Ludemann, and Deiter von Roeder) in Narvik Fjord as snow fell, avoiding collisions with merchant ships. Hardy launched torpedoes at Heidkamp, blowing off the German stern and sinking the ship; Bonte was killed. Hunter and Havoc finished off Anton Schimitt and Hans Ludemann, while Hostile scored hits on Deiter von Roeder.
Warburton-Lee mistakenly believed that there were only six German destroyers in Narvik, so he launched a second attack, dodging torpedoes from Deiter von Roeder. Almost out of ammunition, the British flotilla raced to sea, but they were attacked by German ships sheltering in side fjords. German destroyers Wolfgang Zenker, Erich Koellner, and Erich Giese emerged from the Herjangsfjord, while Georg Thiele and Bernd von Arnim emerged from Ballangen Bay. Hardy, at the van of the British force, faced the new German ships alone, and Warburton-Lee was killed when the bridge was destroyed; Hardy then ran aground. Havoc ran the gauntlet, but Hunter ran out of speed due to engine-room damage, and Hotspur smashed into the side of Hunter, leaving her dead in the water. Havoc succeeded in attacking and sinking the German ammunition supply ship Rauenfels, with the enormous explosion sending some debris 500 feet skyward.
The battle was a British victory, although both commanders were killed. In addition to the British and German ships lost, 11 merchant ships (6 German, 1 British, 2 Swedish, and 2 Norwegian) were sunk during the British sortie into the harbor.