Operation Gauntlet - Preliminary Visit

Preliminary Visit

At the end of July 1941, Vian's Force visited Spitsbergen to ascertain the situation. It was not known whether or not a German garrison was in occupation. They were not and both the Norwegian and Soviet settlers were cooperative. A Norwegian officer, Lt R. Tamber, was left at Longyearbyen to act as a representative and Force K returned to Britain with 70 volunteers for the Free Norwegian forces and a loaded collier. All this had been done without alerting the Germans and the Germans remained in ignorance of Allied activity.

Lt Tamber maintained normal radio contacts with the mainland and encouraged the despatch of colliers to collect coal, but detained them with the expectation that they would, in fact, sail to Britain. Eventually three ships were held at Longyearbyen.

En route to Britain, the Force visited Bear Island, destroyed the weather station there and evacuated the Norwegian personnel on 1 August. This action finally alerted the Germans to the allied activity and, thereafter, Force K was shadowed by enemy aircraft.

Vian returned to London to discuss the possibilities with the Chiefs of Staff. His advice was that a military occupation would be possible but the location was unsuitable as a naval base, mainly due to seasonal ice. Winston Churchill applied pressure for a plan to be devised quickly. The plan, agreed with Churchill, the Soviet Ambassador and King Haakon, was for Force K to return to Spitsbergen, destroy the mining facilities and fuel stocks, repatriate the Russians, bring the Norwegians and any available ships to Britain.