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| 2. The Invasion of Denmark and Norway, 1940 |
| 1940, Feb. 16 |
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| British naval forces entered Norwegian waters to rescue 299 prisoners of war from the German ship Altmark. The Norwegian government protested (See 1940, Feb. 16). | 1 |
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| April 8 |
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| The French and British governments announced that Norwegian waters had been mined to prevent the passage of German ships. | 2 |
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| April 9 |
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| German sea and airborne forces descended on Norway. Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, Stavanger, and Narvik were rapidly invaded. At the same time German forces entered and occupied Denmark without more than pro forma resistance. | 3 |
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| April 9 |
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| A German destroyer squadron landed at Narvik and held the town even after destruction of the German ships by the British (April 13). On May 28 a British force recovered the town but was withdrawn on June 10 in view of the German attack in the west. | 4 |
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| April 11 |
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| Rallying from the surprise attack, Norwegian forces offered growing resistance. Three German cruisers and four troopships were lost in the invasion. | 5 |
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| April 16–19 |
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| Anglo-French expeditionary forces landed in southern Norway, but were compelled to withdraw after two weeks (May 3). | 6 |
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| April 30 |
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| The Germans, reinforced steadily, captured Dombas, a key rail center, and Norwegian resistance was broken, though military operations were carried on until June 10. | 7 |
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| Sept. 25 |
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| The German reich-commissar for Norway set aside the legal administration, dissolved all political parties except the Nasjonal-Samling, and entrusted the government to 13 commissars. | 8 |
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