![]() It would force the ore transporters to pass through open North Sea waters, where the Royal Navy could intercept them.Ĭhurchill reasoned that Wilfred would trigger a German response in Norway, and the Allies would launch Plan R 4 and seize Norway. Winston Churchill, a new member of the British War Cabinet, proposed that Norwegian mining waters be included in Operation Wilfred before November. Other branches of the Wehrmacht, on the other hand, were uninterested at the time, and Hitler had just issued an order indicating that the main endeavour would be a ground invasion through the Low Countries. The navy argued that gaining control of Norway would command the surrounding seas and act as a staging ground for submarine operations against the UK. Grand Admiral Erich Raeder, the head of the German Kriegsmarine, met with Adolf Hitler in October 1939 to examine the threat posed by future British facilities in Norway and the likelihood of Germany acquiring these sites before the UK. Thus, control of the Norwegian coast would help to tighten Germany's embargo. Much of this ore was delivered through the north of the Norwegian port of Narvik during the winter months. Iron ore from the northern Swedish mining sector was extensively relied upon by German industry. As a result, it began to develop a blockade strategy to undermine Germany indirectly. ![]() The British government was apprehensive about engaging in another land fight on the continent, fearing a repeat of the First World War. Beginning in 1939, the British Admiralty began to consider Scandinavia as a possible battleground in a future war with Germany.
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