COBI Narvik 1940 Set 2046

COBI's Narvik 1940 set is built from 30 blocks and contains three figures, one from each of the German services that fought there: a Kriegsmarine sailor with binoculars and a Kar98k, a paratrooper with an MP 40 and a stick grenade, and a mountain trooper — a Gebirgsjäger — with the edelweiss badge on his cap and a sniper rifle on his belt. Sea mines and sandbags are included as scenery, plus stands. All uniforms are printed.

The battle was about iron ore

Narvik is a small port inside the Arctic Circle, and in 1940 it was one of the most strategically important places in Europe for a reason that has nothing to do with Norway.

Germany's steel industry depended on Swedish iron ore. In summer it shipped from Luleå on the Baltic; in winter the Baltic froze, and the ore went by rail across the mountains to Narvik, which stays ice-free because of the Gulf Stream. Cut Narvik and Germany's armaments production has a problem within months.

Both sides knew it. Britain planned to seize the port; Germany moved first, in April 1940, and what followed was two months of fighting involving naval battles in the fjord, a British landing, and German mountain troops and sailors fighting on foot after their destroyers were sunk under them.

The Allies actually took Narvik on 28 May. They left ten days later, because France was collapsing and every soldier was needed elsewhere.

Why these three figures

The sailor is not decoration. Ten German destroyers were sunk in Narvik fjord, and their surviving crews — around 2,000 men — were put ashore and fought as infantry with whatever they could find. The Gebirgsjäger were the only troops trained for the terrain, and the paratroopers were dropped in because there was no other way to reinforce.

Specifications

Pieces: 30 · Figures: 3 with accessories · Stands and scenery included
Box dimensions: 13 × 3.7 × 10.5 cm (5.1 × 1.5 × 4.1 in)