Transmigrated as the Crown Prince

After taking care of Denmark, the huge fleet continued to fly towards Norway in the northwest direction. In order to complete this long-distance flight, many short-legged bombers did not carry bombs and even added auxiliary fuel tanks.

Norway is a Nordic country. It withdrew from the Swedish-Norwegian Union in 1905. After declaring independence, it has always remained independent of the world and maintained quite friendly relations with Britain and Germany. After the outbreak of World War II, the country immediately declared neutrality together with Sweden, Denmark, and other countries. This is the traditional policy that Scandinavian countries have adhered to since the mid-19th century. They did the same thing during World War I and survived that catastrophe safely, so they became more determined to abide by neutrality.

Germany also issued a statement at the beginning of the war that it respected Norway's territorial integrity, but would never allow third countries to violate the country's neutrality. Because at the beginning of the war, Norway's neutrality did work to Germany's advantage.

The main sources of iron ore in Germany are the Ruhr Industrial Area and Sweden. According to statistics, Germany consumes 15 million tons of iron ore every year, of which 11 million tons are imported from Sweden. Once Germany's military industry loses the support of Swedish iron ore, it will cease to operate and will be unable to provide military support for Germany's external expansion.

Therefore, Sweden’s iron ore transportation channel can be said to be Germany’s resource lifeline. Usually, iron ore is transported from the Baltic Sea to Germany by sea. However, when winter comes and the Baltic Sea freezes, the iron ore must be transported by land from the Gallivare Mine in Sweden to Narvik in Norway. port and then shipped back to Germany by ship.

As long as Norway remained neutral, German ships transporting iron ore could freely enter and exit the port and sail along the country's west coast. The route is protected by many small islands on the outside and is extremely safe. Moreover, this route also made it difficult for Britain to blockade Germany, because German ships could sail north along Norway's long coast until they passed the Arctic Circle and then entered waters where the British navy could not carry out the most rigorous patrols. So Norway's neutrality was good for Germany.

In addition, Norway has a coastline of 10,000 kilometers, guarding the throat from the Baltic Sea to the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. In World War I, German warships were blocked in the Baltic Sea by British warships, and the overseas fleet was unable to go to sea. The German naval admirals unanimously believed that if they obtained a military base in Norway, they could break the blockade and open up a broad ocean channel for the German fleet.

On the eve of World War II, Britain, France and other countries adopted an appeasement policy of avoiding war and seeking peace in response to the expansion of Japanese power. As a country with weak overall national strength, Norway adheres to a policy of neutrality, hoping to avoid being attacked by both warring parties. However, due to the importance of its geographical location, Norway eventually became a battlefield for the game between Britain, France and Germany.

People often say that "weak countries have no diplomacy", but this does not mean that weak countries have to give up their dignity. Weak countries also have the courage to safeguard national dignity. Since the Norwegian royal family enjoys great prestige among the people, during the war, German Minister Breuer used both hard and soft tactics to King Haakon VII to persuade him to cooperate with Germany, but Haakon VII sternly refused.

Haakon VII said: A nation that succumbs to foreign aggression is not worthy of living. After that, King Haakon VII led the Norwegian royal family and heads of government to exile in the United Kingdom along with the retreating Allied forces under the bombardment of German artillery, forming a government-in-exile to resist the German occupation of Norway.

The Norwegian army organized Norwegian brigades and air squadrons in Britain and participated in the Battle of the Atlantic and air battles in Britain and continental Europe. The Norwegian merchant fleet played an important role in supporting the Allied forces. This fleet included more than 1,000 ships with a total tonnage of 4 million tons. Under the leadership of the "Father Front", the native Norwegian people launched a heroic struggle against the German occupying forces, which exerted a great restraint on them.

Of course Yannick knew the character of Haakon VII. Under his careful care, Haakon VII and his only child Olaf died unexpectedly five years ago. The current King of Norway is the third son of Frederick VIII and Princess Louise of Sweden; that is, Harald Christian Frederik, brother of Haakon VII.

"What do you mean by this?!" At this time, in the royal palace of Oslo, the capital of Norway, King Harald stared at the German envoy in front of him with a face of gentle anger and asked. "Our two countries have always lived in harmony, but your country actually declared war on a neutral country?"

The German envoy smiled slightly. "His Majesty the King has misunderstood. We have not declared war on your country. We just want to help Norway get rid of the clutches of Britain and France."

King Harald laughed angrily. "Help us? Send hundreds of bombers? Are they here to help us or to destroy us? I warn you, once those planes fly into the Netherlands, we will resolutely fight back."

The German envoy remained calm. "Sending those planes is just to show your country that we have the strength to protect your country. As for counterattacks, please think twice. Once your country launches an attack, our flight formation will not hesitate to counterattack; Your Majesty. Can you imagine how many cities such a huge formation can destroy, and how many Norwegian people will be killed by bombs? As long as your country stays rational, I can guarantee that not a single bomb will fall on the heads of your people.

Oh, by the way, one more thing. Our submarine force has been ambushing near various ports in your country. You must have heard about the great victory of our submarine force. Once an attack order is given, they will sink all the ships in the port. vessel. "

The corners of King Harald's mouth twitched uncontrollably, and a flash of fear inadvertently flashed in his eyes. ?He did hear about this. He originally thought it was the Germans bragging, but he didn't expect that the British radio station would also broadcast the same news later. This really surprised him; to be precise, the whole world should be shocked.

Norway has a 10,000-kilometer coastline and many natural harbors. Fishing and maritime trade have been Norway's pillar industries since ancient times. Once these ports were attacked by German submarines, the consequences would be disastrous.

Seeing this, the German envoy struck while the railroad was still hot. "And His Highness promises that this protective measure will be implemented for a maximum of three years. After three years, all our troops will withdraw and not a single soldier will be left behind."

"Really?" King Harald blurted out subconsciously.

The German envoy said extremely seriously. "Of course, our Highness is true to his word. And I also brought a letter of commitment from His Highness." He took out a document from his briefcase and handed it to King Harald.

King Harald was silent for a while and then ordered. "Inform the air defense forces in various places not to act rashly yet." After saying that, he picked up the document and read it carefully.

"You plan to garrison 400,000 troops?!" King Harald opened his mouth and looked at the German envoy in disbelief. You must know that the current population of Norway is only about 4 million, and the Germans actually want to station a force of one-tenth of Norway's population?

Seeing the German envoy nodding silently, King Harald continued to read the documents. "All expenses during the garrison period will be borne by the German side, and the facilities built will be handed over to the Norwegian government free of charge after three years." This is a good one.

I read a few more clauses and found that they were not excessive and were acceptable.

Especially the last one. "Germany pays ten tons of gold for garrison expenses every year?!" Although ten tons of gold may be a small fraction of a country's finances, it is by no means a small amount.

The German envoy spoke. "Are you satisfied, His Majesty the King? Our Highness has only one request. We don't want to see anyone in your country secretly colluding with Germany's enemies and stumbling upon Germany behind their backs. Once discovered, we will not be polite!"