The site of the battle was Midtskogen Farm, approximately 5 km (3.1 mi) west of the town of Elverum at the mouth of the Østerdalen valley in southern Norway.

The invading German troops aimed to capture King Haakon VII and his cabinet, thereby forcing Norway into submission.

[1] On 9 April 1940 Nazi Germany launched Operation Weserübung, the codename for the assault and subsequent occupation of Denmark and Norway.

While the invasion was successful in most areas, the German fleet sailing towards Oslo was temporarily forced to withdraw after the heavy cruiser Blücher had been sunk by fire from Oscarborg fortress at Drøbak.

About 20-30 Royal Guardsmen, from the 1st Guard Company were backed up by volunteers from the Terningmoen military camp and a large group of members from local rifle clubs.

The German party consisted of approximately 100-120 paratroopers travelling in a convoy of four buses, a captured army truck and Spiller's private car.

It was not until the Germans started moving ahead of the blockade that they could open fire; however, due to cold temperatures, the machine guns initially refused to work.