page_title: German invasion of Denmark (1940)
section_title: Bredevad
hierarchical_section_title: German invasion of Denmark (1940) / Skirmishes / Fighting in Jutland / Central thrust / Bredevad
context_page_description: The German invasion of Denmark was the German attack on Denmark on 9 April 1940, during the Second World War. The attack was a prelude to the main attack against Norway. The term Weserübung means Weser-exercise in English, named after the river Weser in northwestern Germany.
  Denmark's strategic importance for Germany was limited. The invasion's primary purpose was to use Denmark as a staging ground for operations against Norway, to secure supply lines to the forces about to be deployed there. An extensive network of radar systems was built in Denmark to detect British bombers bound for Germany.
  The attack on Denmark was a breach of the non-aggression pact Denmark had signed with Germany less than a year earlier. The initial plan was to push Denmark to accept that German land, naval and air forces could use Danish bases, but Adolf Hitler subsequently demanded that both Norway and Denmark be invaded.
  Denmark's military forces were inferior in numbers and equipment, and after a short battle were forced to surrender.
context_section_description: In an encounter between Danish and German forces at Bredevad, 10 km north of the border, a German vanguard of four armoured cars approached the village. The Danes arrived at 6:30 AM and, without time to build a roadblock, took cover in a garden. A machine gun and a 20 mm cannon, manned by one and a half platoons, fired warning shots. When the Germans ignored this, the Danes opened fire from 300 meters out, knocking out the lead armoured car and killing its driver. A short skirmish followed. The Danes knocked out three more German armoured cars and suffered four casualties. At 07:15 a reinforcing German motorized column arrived from Tinglev, cutting off the Danes and forcing them to surrender. Two Danes were killed and five were wounded.
caption: Danish troops at Bredevad on the morning of the German attack. Two of these soldiers were killed in action later that day.
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