Qualla: Battle of Gratangen https://qualla.com/battle-of-gratangen en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:36 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_res/siteimages/rsslogo.png Qualla: Battle of Gratangen https://qualla.com/battle-of-gratangen Battle of Gratangen: Introduction https://qualla.com/battle-of-gratangen/ The soldiers of Norway's First Battalion, Twelfth Infantry Regiment, had crossed the Fjordbotneidet in wind and heavy snowfall to reach Gratangsbotn on 24 April 1940. They found the position empty. The Germans had already withdrawn. Exhausted from the forced march over difficult terrain, the men went to rest in farmhouses and barns at the bottom of a natural bowl, surrounded on all sides by high ground. For reasons never fully explained, the battalion's commanding officer failed to post adequate sentries. It was a mistake that would cost thirty-four Norwegian lives, wound sixty-four more, and hand 130 prisoners to an enemy force less than half their size.

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]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/k/h/w/battle-of-gratangen-wp/ukhw-battle-of-gratangen-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Battle of Gratangen: Narvik Under Siege https://qualla.com/battle-of-gratangen/ The Battle of Gratangen was part of the broader Narvik Campaign, the fight for control of the iron ore port that both Germany and the Allies considered strategically vital. On 9 April 1940, ten German destroyers carried General Eduard Dietl's task force into the Ofotfjorden. They...

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]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/k/h/w/battle-of-gratangen-wp/ukhw-battle-of-gratangen-narvik-under-siege.mp3 0:06 2 full Battle of Gratangen: The Plan and the Storm https://qualla.com/battle-of-gratangen/ Fleischer's plan called for a two-pronged advance. The Second Battalion, Fifteenth Infantry Regiment would attack the German forward positions on the hill of Lapphaugen with artillery support. The First Battalion, Twelfth Infantry Regiment would make a surprise march over Fjordbo...

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]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/k/h/w/battle-of-gratangen-wp/ukhw-battle-of-gratangen-the-plan-and-the-storm.mp3 0:06 3 full Battle of Gratangen: The Kettle https://qualla.com/battle-of-gratangen/ Gratangsbotn sits at the bottom of a geographic kettle, with dominating high ground on every side. It is, in military terms, a deathtrap for any force that occupies it without controlling the ridges above. The exhausted Norwegians settled into the available shelter without establ...

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]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/k/h/w/battle-of-gratangen-wp/ukhw-battle-of-gratangen-the-kettle.mp3 0:06 4 full Battle of Gratangen: Bitter Lessons https://qualla.com/battle-of-gratangen/ The German victory at Gratangsbotn was tactically complete but strategically hollow. The fresh Alta Battalion, commanded by Arne Dagfin Dahl, pressed south from the north while the Second Battalion resumed its advance over Lapphaugen. The Germans recognized that their position in...

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]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/k/h/w/battle-of-gratangen-wp/ukhw-battle-of-gratangen-bitter-lessons.mp3 0:06 5 full