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The German heavy cruiser Blücher was sunk on April 9, 1940, during the German invasion of Norway (Operation Weserübung). As part of a flotilla tasked with seizing capital Oslo, the Norwegian king, and government, Group V under the command of Rear Admiral Oskar Kummetz, with flagship Blücher in the lead, attempted to force its way up the Oslofjord, including through the Drøbak Narrows; however, Norwegian coastal defense batteries at Oscarsborg Fortress, which had old but still effective heavy weapons, and Kaholme Island, with torpedo batteries, inflicted fatal damage, setting the ship ablaze and ultimately causing it to sink with heavy casualties among sailors and soldiers. The rest of Group V withdrew. The loss delayed the German capture of Oslo, allowing the royal family and the government, as well as the country's gold reserves, to escape. King Haakon VII led the resistance against German occupation from London.

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For the further reading, the definitive account is "The Sinking of the Blücher: The Battle of Drøbak Narrows, April 1940" by Geirr Haarr and Tor Jørgen Melien, which was published by Greenhill Books (UK) in 2023 and available in the US from the Naval Institute Press. Its exhaustive research in numerous archives permits the authors to tell the story from multiple German and Norwegian perspectives, from the strategic to the tactical.

Photo and Film Credits: United States Naval Institute, US National Archives, US Naval History & Heritage Command, World of Warships, "Young Frankenstein" (1974), and "Kongens nei" ("The King's Choice," 2016).

Channel Markers, Ep. 23 | "Drøbak to Germany"