Battle of Drøbak Sound

E53323

World War II battle naval battle

The Battle of Drøbak Sound was a World War II naval engagement in April 1940 in which Norwegian coastal defenses famously sank the German heavy cruiser Blücher during Germany’s invasion of Norway.

Statements (46)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	World War II battle → naval battle →
alsoKnownAs	Sinking of Blücher →
attackingForce	German Kriegsmarine →
attackingUnit	German cruiser Lützow → German heavy cruiser Blücher → German torpedo boats →
belligerent	Nazi Germany → Norway →
cause	German attempt to seize Oslo quickly →
combatantCommander	Birger Eriksen →
conflict	World War II →
country	Norway →
countryInvolved	German Reich → Kingdom of Norway →
date	9 April 1940 →
defendingForce	Norwegian coastal artillery → Oscarsborg Fortress →
defensivePositionType	coastal fortress →
front	Norwegian front of World War II →
historicalPeriod	1940 in Norway →
location	Drøbak Sound → Oslofjord →
militaryBranchInvolved	Kriegsmarine → Royal Norwegian Navy Coastal Artillery →
month	April 1940 →
notableEvent	sinking of German heavy cruiser Blücher →
notableFor	critical delay of German occupation of Oslo → unexpected effectiveness of outdated coastal defenses →
objectiveOfAttackers	capture Oslo by sea →
opponentCommander	Oskar Kummetz →
partOf	German invasion of Norway → Norwegian Campaign →
result	German heavy cruiser Blücher sunk → German naval advance to Oslo delayed → Norwegian victory →
strategicConsequence	allowed Norwegian government to escape Oslo → allowed Norwegian royal family to escape Oslo → allowed evacuation of Norwegian gold reserves →
theater	European theatre of World War II →
tookPlaceNear	Oscarsborg Fortress → town of Drøbak →
usedWeapon	coastal artillery guns → naval mines → shore-based torpedoes →
year	1940 →

Referenced by (3)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Oslofjord →	hasHistoricalEvent
Operation Weserübung →	notableBattle
Operation Weser Exercise →	significantEvent