How Norway Lost Its Ports in One Morning and Kept Its King

By midnight on 9 April 1940, German troops held six Norwegian cities. They stretched from Oslo in the south to Narvik, far above the Arctic Circle. The plan took weeks to build and one morning to carry out. But it missed the one thing that mattered most: the king, the government, the parliament and the national gold were gone.

So how did Germany take a whole country in a morning and still not take its king? The answer came down to two old guns, one cold fjord and a delay of about a day. This film follows the landings, the night at Oscarsborg, the road out of Oslo, and the day King Haakon said no.

Chapters
0:00 Cold open
0:46 The last quiet day
2:22 Six ports
4:21 The narrows
6:18 The road out of Oslo
7:56 The king says no

A note on the facts: some numbers are disputed, such as how many men died on the Blucher. Where historians disagree, the film says "about" or gives the range. The 3D night-fjord clips are reconstructions, not footage.

Maps: © Kartverket (CC BY 4.0), NASA GIBS, terrain: AWS Terrain Tiles.
Blender clips are 3D reconstructions made for this film, not footage. Ship modelled from photos and plans.
Narration: OmniVoice (AI voice). Music: "Fjord Score A Dread", "Fjord Score B Narrows" and "Fjord Score C Defiance", AI-generated instrumentals made with Suno (suno.com), no vocals. Made on a Suno Pro plan, which includes commercial use.

Photo credits
eidsvold: TWAMWIR · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
norge 1933: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
sundlo: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
narvik harbor: Franz Hollerweger · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
karlsruhe: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
konigsberg: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
raf bergen: Royal Air Force official photographer · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
trondheim ships: Fotograf Schröder · CC by-sa
fornebu ger: Ruge, Willi · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 de
oscarsborg air: Unknown Norwegian military person located at Håøya Island. · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
blucher c: Riksarkivet (National Archives of Norway) from Oslo, Norway · Wikimedia Commons · No restrictions
oscarsborg today: Schmidtth · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
blucher d: Riksarkivet (National Archives of Norway) from Oslo, Norway · Wikimedia Commons · No restrictions
ra burning capsized: Riksarkivet (National Archives of Norway) from Oslo, Norway · Wikimedia Commons · No restrictions
ra water debris: Riksarkivet (National Archives of Norway) from Oslo, Norway · Wikimedia Commons · No restrictions
ra capsized hull men: Riksarkivet (National Archives of Norway) from Oslo, Norway · Wikimedia Commons · No restrictions
blucher a: Riksarkivet (National Archives of Norway) from Oslo, Norway · Wikimedia Commons · No restrictions
nygaardsvold cabinet: Arbeiderbevegelsens arkiv og bibliotek · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
gov molde: Dagbladet · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
oslo marching: Henriksen & Steen (Photographers in Oslo, Norway) / National Library of Norway · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
elverum b: Erling Syringen · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
elverum a: Erling Syringen · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
quisling radio: Henriksen & Steen · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
midtskogen: Øyvind Holmstad · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
kongens nei top: Statsråd hos Kongen, 10. april 1940 / Photographed by Tommy Gildseth · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
nybergsund crater: Unknown photographer · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
kongebjorka: Per Bratland (1907-1988) · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
narvik entrance: Royal Navy official photographer · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
narvik naval: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
warspite: Photographer not identified. "Official photograph". · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
admin council: NTB (Norwegian News Agency) · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
haakon: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
ger destroyer: Schroeder · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
ger warships: Max Ehlert · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 de
orzel: AnonymousUnknown author · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
pol3: Unknown authorUnknown author · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
welding olsen: Unknown authorUnknown author · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain