Altmark Incident

E1520

The Altmark Incident was a 1940 World War II naval confrontation in Norwegian waters, where British forces boarded the German tanker Altmark to free imprisoned Allied sailors, heightening tensions during the early "Phoney War" period.

Aliases (3)
  • Altmark incident ×3
  • Altmark affair ×1
  • Altmark incident 16 February 1940 ×1

Statements (47)
Predicate Object
instanceOf World War II event
naval incident
alsoKnownAs Altmark affair
belligerent Kriegsmarine
Royal Navy
casualtiesBritishWounded 1
casualtiesGermanKilled 7
casualtiesGermanWounded 11
commanderForGermany Heinrich Dau
commanderForUK Philip Vian
conflict World War II
countryInvolved Germany
Norway
United Kingdom
date 1940-02-16
followedBy Norwegian campaign
historicalSignificance major prelude to German invasion of Norway
symbolic assertion of British right of search in neutral waters
involvedShip German tanker Altmark
HMS Arethusa
HMS Cossack
HMS Intrepid
HMS Ivanhoe
HMS Kimberley
HMS Nubian
HMS Sikh
legalIssue violation of Norwegian neutrality alleged by Britain
violation of Norwegian neutrality alleged by Germany
location Jøssingfjord
Norwegian territorial waters
notableQuote "The Navy’s here" associated with the boarding of Altmark
objective liberation of Allied merchant seamen
partOf Phoney War
politicalConsequence encouraged British planning for Norwegian campaign
heightened Anglo-German tensions
increased British criticism of Norwegian neutrality enforcement
precededBy Battle of the River Plate
prisonersFreed 299
prisonersNationality British
relatedShip Admiral Graf Spee
result British victory
Rescue of Allied prisoners
territorialStatus occurred inside Norwegian territorial waters
tookPlaceDuring Phoney War
triggeredBy Commerce raiding by German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee
typeOfAction naval boarding operation
year 1940

Referenced by (15)

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