Qualla: Battle of Midtskogen https://qualla.com/battle-of-midtskogen en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:05 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/u/6/b/4/battle-of-midtskogen-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Battle of Midtskogen https://qualla.com/battle-of-midtskogen Battle of Midtskogen: Introduction https://qualla.com/battle-of-midtskogen/ Photo credit Cato Edvardsen, CC BY 2.5. At two o'clock in the morning on April 10, 1940, a convoy of German buses crashed into a roadblock of civilian automobiles stretched across a snowy Norwegian road. Somewhere in those buses rode over a hundred elite Fallschirmjäger paratroopers with orders to capture King Haakon VII and his entire cabinet, an action that would have ended Norwegian resistance before it truly began. What stopped them was an improvised force of Royal Guardsmen, military volunteers, and local rifle club members armed primarily with bolt-action hunting rifles designed in the 1890s. The firefight at Midtskogen Farm lasted barely an hour, but its consequences altered the course of Norway's war.

Read more: Battle of Midtskogen on Qualla

Image: Cato Edvardsen | CC BY 2.5

]]> Tue, 03 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/6/b/4/battle-of-midtskogen-wp/u6b4-battle-of-midtskogen-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Battle of Midtskogen: The Sinking That Bought Time https://qualla.com/battle-of-midtskogen/ Photo credit Cato Edvardsen, CC BY 2.5. The German assault on Norway, Operation Weserübung, had proceeded with terrifying efficiency throughout April 9. Major cities fell in rapid succession as German forces landed by sea. Only one thing went wrong: the heavy cruiser Blücher, sailing up the Oslofjord toward the capital...

Read more: Battle of Midtskogen on Qualla

Image: Cato Edvardsen | CC BY 2.5

]]> Tue, 03 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/6/b/4/battle-of-midtskogen-wp/u6b4-battle-of-midtskogen-the-sinking-that-bought-time.mp3 0:06 2 full Battle of Midtskogen: The Hunters Against the Elite https://qualla.com/battle-of-midtskogen/ Photo credit Cato Edvardsen, CC BY 2.5. Military attaché Hauptmann Eberhard Spiller commanded the German pursuit force, approximately 100-120 paratroopers traveling in four commandeered buses, a captured army truck, and Spiller's private car. They carried modern submachine guns, light machine guns, and hand grenades. A...

Read more: Battle of Midtskogen on Qualla

Image: Cato Edvardsen | CC BY 2.5

]]> Tue, 03 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/6/b/4/battle-of-midtskogen-wp/u6b4-battle-of-midtskogen-the-hunters-against-the-elite.mp3 0:06 3 full Battle of Midtskogen: Fire in the Snow https://qualla.com/battle-of-midtskogen/ Photo credit Cato Edvardsen, CC BY 2.5. The Norwegian plan called for stopping the German convoy at Midtskogen Farm with a roadblock while flanking units engaged from the sides and two machine guns provided covering fire from fixed positions. The roadblock, improvised from civilian cars forced off the road and wedged b...

Read more: Battle of Midtskogen on Qualla

Image: Cato Edvardsen | CC BY 2.5

]]> Tue, 03 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/6/b/4/battle-of-midtskogen-wp/u6b4-battle-of-midtskogen-fire-in-the-snow.mp3 0:06 4 full Battle of Midtskogen: Frozen Guns and Burning Barns https://qualla.com/battle-of-midtskogen/ Photo credit Cato Edvardsen, CC BY 2.5. The two machine guns that were supposed to anchor Norwegian firepower could not engage initially because the firefight developed too far from their emplacement. When the Germans finally advanced into their field of fire, the freezing temperatures had seized the mechanisms. Franti...

Read more: Battle of Midtskogen on Qualla

Image: Cato Edvardsen | CC BY 2.5

]]> Tue, 03 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/6/b/4/battle-of-midtskogen-wp/u6b4-battle-of-midtskogen-frozen-guns-and-burning-barns.mp3 0:06 5 full Battle of Midtskogen: The Authorization That Changed Everything https://qualla.com/battle-of-midtskogen/ Photo credit Cato Edvardsen, CC BY-SA 3.0. The German retreat gave King Haakon and his cabinet the time they desperately needed. That same night they completed the Elverum Authorization, an emergency decree granting the cabinet absolute authority to govern since the Storting parliament could no longer meet in ordinary ses...

Read more: Battle of Midtskogen on Qualla

Image: Cato Edvardsen | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Tue, 03 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/6/b/4/battle-of-midtskogen-wp/u6b4-battle-of-midtskogen-the-authorization-that-changed-everything.mp3 0:06 6 full