The commanders for both the landing at Namsos and at Åndalsnes were replaced multiple times and, ultimately, the units deployed were being left utterly unprepared in contrast to their German counterparts.

A Territorial Army (TA) formation recruiting, as its name suggests, from the West Riding of Yorkshire, the division was composed mainly of part-time soldiers who, in addition to being almost completely green and inexperienced, had received very little appropriate training for the operation in which they were to undertake.

The German attack from Oslo was catastrophic for the underprepared British who, undermanned and underequipped, faced a heavy mortar bombardment which forced the Norwegian commander to order a retreat during which many of the 148th Brigade were captured due to a lack of transport.

They were then attacked again by the Germans who, making use of artillery support, outflanked and encircled many of the British positions until again, the 148th Brigade pulled back 16 km (9.9 mi) further north to Tretten.

In his book, Blood, Sweat and Arrogance: The Myths of Churchill's War,[1] Gordon Corrigan criticised the Royal Navy's "Delusion" in believing that any breakout of ships were an attempt to reach the Atlantic.