parttimegamer | 25 Jan 2020 11:16 a.m. PST |
Do any TMPers know of any good source material for the "war" in Denmark (Operation Weserübung)? I wondered whether there are any experts on this forum who could signpost me to something that a quick Google search (I've already done that) would not bring back. |
deephorse | 26 Jan 2020 10:56 a.m. PST |
Have you searched Amazon UK for suitable books? I just typed "Denmark and Norway 1940" into the search box and got 6 books suggested. I only have one of them so may well get one or two more. |
Marc33594 | 27 Jan 2020 5:15 a.m. PST |
Here you go, lots of great information. I lucked into a hard copy of this (hard back bound even) at a used bookstore years ago: link Notice the link to download as a PDF all for free. |
parttimegamer | 27 Jan 2020 1:21 p.m. PST |
Thanks for responding, guys. @deephorse – do you have a recommendation on a good book? I had looked on Amazon and not turned up anything that looked like it might go into enough detail. @marc – thanks for the link to the PDF. I'll check that out. The movie, April 9th, is pretty good to get a sense of the battle, but I was searching for reference materials. I acknowledge that it is a bit of a niche topic though. ;-) cheers. |
deephorse | 27 Jan 2020 2:24 p.m. PST |
Bearing in mind that the invasion of Denmark took all of three and a quarter hours from start to finish, and that the Danish armed forces were forbidden from preparing defences, or deploying from their bases, for fear of provoking the Germans, there isn't much you can draw inspiration from to design scenarios. You say that no book appears to go into much detail. My thoughts are that there is no detail to go into. So far I only have the Osprey publication "Denmark and Norway 1940". It covers the Danish forces in a bit less than a page, and the invasion in just over a page. There is a nice one-page map of Denmark showing the various German units and their movements and timings. I think you are going to have to depart from history to make some games out of this, and then probably only at a skirmish level. The Danes were just too weak in comparison and unable to prepare. Or so I've read! |
Ironsides | 28 Jan 2020 11:11 a.m. PST |
A few link from Chakoten Dansk Militær Historisk Selskab look for the pdf link to download the files. link link link link link Command Decision TO&E link Uniforms and Equipment link There is also a number of articles in Danish about the Danish army of the period use the search (søg) function and type in 1932 or 1940 or Danske Hær or Dansk Fodfolk |
Maha Bandula | 04 Apr 2020 3:54 a.m. PST |
parttimegamer, are you still pursuing this project? Because it's not every day you get to see Danes fielded on the tabletop. So please post some pictures if you do! |
parttimegamer | 27 Apr 2020 11:00 a.m. PST |
Yes, I will be at some point. Covid19 and work have sort of got in the way a bit. I had been planning to get a good way through my armies and terrain for Crete first, then start on the Danes and early war Germans next, but like all good plans, it never survives contact with the enemy! You can see how far I have got with my Crete stuff at link Thanks to everyone who has contributed links so far. Much appreciated. |
deadhead | 27 Apr 2020 11:47 a.m. PST |
I think Deephorse got it right…unless you are planning an alternative war of course. The defence might last more than three to four hours…..but probably not much more. There was no prospect of any intervention to aid the Danes and no water barrier to cross for the Germans. Crete. Now that is different! Managed twice to persuade SWMBO that Maleme was a nice base for holiday….great to explore |
parttimegamer | 02 May 2020 12:03 p.m. PST |
lol – I have not yet managed to persuade SWMBO to visit Crete for a holiday. I think the various books that I have read over the years might have tipped her off! Deephorse is correct on the duration, of course, but there is still plenty of room for some imagination to be used, even in that limited time period. I'm not thinking about massed armour (on the part of the Danes at least), but just some simple scenarios like "defend this crossroads", or "hold out until reinforcements arrive" type of thing, but set in an actual historical location. I was thinking of setting the scenarios on the main route from Germany towards Aabenraa, like Lundtoft and then modelling the terrain on those locations. |