Evening star., 1943-05-16
UNDERGROUND COURT ACTIVE


all the occupied countries. Early in
the occupation he is reported to have
replied to a Norwegian who asked how
long he thought the occupation would
continue:
so far as I am concerned until the
end of the war and not a day longer.
1 want to 60 home and so do all my
men. But I haven't the slightest idea
what Terbosen and his gang have in
their minds.
Won Falkenhorsts job, of course, is
not to oppress Norway. but to hold it
against any invaders. Here he is both
helped and hindered by the peculiar
geography of the country. Any landing.
OF course, would have to be made on the
west coast-a stretch of about 100
miles as the crow flies, but cut by hun
dreds of fjords which run from two or
three miles to about so miles into the
land beneath high, spruce covered hills.
Some of these hills are broken by forested
valleys green with spring foliage, some
by glaciers. The actual coast line ex-
tends for more than 10000 miles. A man
in the extreme south of the kingdom
is as far from his countrymen in the
extreme north as he is from Rome.
Most of the fjords are sprinkled with
islands. The waters are clear and deep,
and always calm. The shores of some
of them are practically uninhabited
The worlds biggest ships could slip IN
unobserved, and land literally hundreds
of thousands of troops before Won Falk-
enforst knew anything about it, for obvi-
ously with his relatively small forces
he cannot guard a stretch of 1,7oO
miles. Nor can he shift troops easily
from one point to another to repel an
invasion.
But unfortunately for invasion pur-
poses, most of the fjords end abruptly
at the foot of rough lofty, icy mountains
where there are no facilities for unload
ing anything and from which no roads
lead inland. They are fine for small
operations, such as commando raids.
They well might prove death traps for
large numbers of troops. The very
Nightmares of the beribboned Won Falk-
enhorst are also Nightmares for men
planning a second front.
i Prepares Strong Defenses.
The German commander has to worry
over only about 20 of these fjords from
which good roads lead into the interior.
On both sides of the openings of these
he has set up powerful coast defense
batteries and torpedo tubes. Also the
waters are mined, although their depth
has made difficult the problem of laying
anchored mines.
Perhaps his biggest problem of all Is
Trondheim with its 80-mile-long we'll
sheltered ford, where has been set up
the chief German naval and U-boat
base on the North Atlantic. The Won
Tirplitz usually is anchored there with
two or three big cruisers. entirely safe
and in favorable position for sortie.
Here, naturally, are the strongest anti
aircraft defenses. There are excellent
modern roads southeastward to Oslo,
eastward over the mountains. and to the
north. It is junction for all Norway.
Quite a different problem is Bergen,
spot of supreme value in the battle of
the Atlantic Here the job is largely ono
of air defense. There is no ford. Ber.
gems harbor lies just inside few small.
rocky islands. 1t is open to direct front.
al attack. A railroad and excellent road
run south to Oslo.
Won Falkenhorst doesn't worry much
about Oslo itself. 1t is safe from direct
attack, its great strategic value lies in
the fact that it is very close to Sweden,
and might be of extreme strategic i'm.
portance If that country became in-
volved in the war. But now 1t is con.
sidered so safe that the dark fearing
Terbosen keeps his house like a titanic
lighthouse all night. To both Falken-
horst and Terbosen Bergen is the chief
pain In the neck.