Oscarsborg fortress against the cruiser "Blucher". April 9, 1940: the beginning of the war in the fjords of Norway

The sudden attack of Nazi Germany on Norway on April 9, 1940 (“Operation Nairybung”) has become an important stage in the initial period of World War II. The key role in the implementation of the invasion plan was assigned to the landing group 5, headed by the latest German cruiser, Blucher, which was supposed to capture the capital of Oslo. Neutral Norway was not ready to resist, the country"s government did not respond to reporting attacks. Under these conditions, fidelity to the duty and courage was shown by the commandant of the Oscarsborg fortress Colonel Birger Ericksen, who gave the order to open fire from obsolete guns on powerful invasion ships. The cruiser Blucher was sunk, and the Nazi plan for the capture of the king, the government and the gold reserves of Norway is torn off. This dramatic fight of the fortress and cruiser, the clash of the characters of the defenders of Oscarsborg and invaders, is devoted to the book of the Norwegian historian A. Jacobsen