Norwegian Resistance Movement - Armed Resistance

Armed Resistance

Although Norway did major battles beyond those of the Norwegian Campaign, a number of military operations served to subvert the Nazi authorities and contribute to the larger war effort. Milorg started out as a small sabotage unit and ended up building a full military force in time for the liberation. Company Linge was a special operations unit that specialized in coastal insertions and combat. There were repeated raids in Lofoten, Måløy, and other coastal areas.

Norwegian spotters aided in the destruction of numerous German warships, such as the battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz. The Norwegian resistance also smuggled people in and out of Norway during the war, through Sweden or by fishing boats to Shetland (referred to as the "Shetland bus"). A number of saboteurs (most notably Max Manus and Gunnar Sønsteby) destroyed ships and supplies. Perhaps its most famous achievements were a series of operations to destroy Norsk Hydro's heavy water plant and stockpile of heavy water at Vemork, crippling the German nuclear program (see: Norwegian heavy water sabotage). The Germans attempted to stifle Resistance activities and executed several innocent Norwegian men, women, and children in retaliation after any Resistance act. Probably the worst act of reprisal was the assault on the fishing village of Telavåg in the spring of 1942.

To assist with the sabotage campaign, the United States sent OSS forces, including future CIA director William Colby, into Norway to support resistance. In the mid-1980s, it was revealed that Sweden aided the Norwegian resistance movement with training and equipment in a series of camps along the Norwegian border. To avoid suspicion, they were camouflaged as police training camps. By 1944, some 7,000–8,000 men had been secretly trained in Sweden.

Intelligence gathering within occupied Norway was very much needed for the Allied forces, and several organisations were established for this, the largest and most efficient of which was called XU. Established by Arvid Storsveen, its members were students from the University of Oslo. One interesting fact was that two of its four leaders were young women, among them Anne-Sofie Østvedt.

One of the leading sabotage organisations in Norway during most of World War II was the communist Osvald Group led by Asbjørn Sunde.