Qualla: Battle of Drobak Sound https://qualla.com/battle-of-dr-bak-sound en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:35 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/u/4/x/e/battle-of-dr-bak-sound-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Battle of Drobak Sound https://qualla.com/battle-of-dr-bak-sound Battle of Drobak Sound: Introduction https://qualla.com/battle-of-dr-bak-sound/ Photo credit Stein Jørgensen, Public domain. Three Krupp guns named Moses, Aron, and Josva. A retired artillery commander recalled to active duty. And a 64-year-old colonel who had received no clear orders but decided, in the predawn darkness of 9 April 1940, to open fire anyway. The Battle of Drobak Sound lasted barely half an hour, but it altered the course of World War II in Norway -- and arguably in all of Western Europe.

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Image: Stein Jørgensen | Public domain

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/4/x/e/battle-of-dr-bak-sound-wp/u4xe-battle-of-drobak-sound-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Battle of Drobak Sound: The Colonel's Decision https://qualla.com/battle-of-dr-bak-sound/ Photo credit C.Mezzo-1 at de.wikipedia, Public domain. Oscarsborg Fortress sat on islands in Drobak Sound, the narrow northern passage of the Oslofjord, roughly 30 kilometers south of Oslo. By 1940, the fortress had been relegated to training conscripts. Its main battery consisted of three 28-centimeter Krupp guns dating to the 19th ...

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Image: C.Mezzo-1 at de.wikipedia | Public domain

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/4/x/e/battle-of-dr-bak-sound-wp/u4xe-battle-of-drobak-sound-the-colonels-decision.mp3 0:06 2 full Battle of Drobak Sound: The Sinking of the Blucher https://qualla.com/battle-of-dr-bak-sound/ Photo credit Public domain. The first shell from the main battery struck the German heavy cruiser Blucher near the mainmast, igniting ammunition stores for the ship's reconnaissance floatplanes -- oil, incendiary bombs, depth charges. The explosion disabled the electrical system that powered the cruiser's m...

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Image: Public domain

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/4/x/e/battle-of-dr-bak-sound-wp/u4xe-battle-of-drobak-sound-the-sinking-of-the-blucher.mp3 0:06 3 full Battle of Drobak Sound: The Hours That Changed Everything https://qualla.com/battle-of-dr-bak-sound/ Photo credit Public domain. When the Blucher went down, the commander of the heavy cruiser Lutzow -- unaware of the torpedo battery -- assumed the sound was mined and ordered a retreat. The surviving German troops had to be landed outside the range of the fortress guns and advance on Oslo by land. This dela...

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Image: Public domain

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/4/x/e/battle-of-dr-bak-sound-wp/u4xe-battle-of-drobak-sound-the-hours-that-changed-everything.mp3 0:06 4 full Battle of Drobak Sound: The Price of Defiance https://qualla.com/battle-of-dr-bak-sound/ Photo credit Segovesos, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Luftwaffe responded with fury. Twenty-two Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers from Kiel-Holtenau pounded Oscarsborg for nearly nine hours, dropping approximately 500 bombs. The fortress eventually fell. The garrison went into captivity -- enlisted men and NCOs from secondary bat...

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Image: Segovesos | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/4/x/e/battle-of-dr-bak-sound-wp/u4xe-battle-of-drobak-sound-the-price-of-defiance.mp3 0:06 5 full Battle of Drobak Sound: Echoes in the Fjord https://qualla.com/battle-of-dr-bak-sound/ Photo credit The photo is tagged as Public domain by the National Library of Norway., CC BY-SA 4.0. The wreck of the Blucher still lies on the bottom of Drobak Sound, leaking oil that occasionally surfaces as a reminder of what happened here. Oscarsborg Fortress is now a museum and hotel, its guns preserved on their mountings. The torpedo battery where Anderssen made his shots ...

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Image: The photo is tagged as Public domain by the National Library of Norway. | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/4/x/e/battle-of-dr-bak-sound-wp/u4xe-battle-of-drobak-sound-echoes-in-the-fjord.mp3 0:06 6 full