Festung Norwegen

[1] Some, including Reichskommissar Josef Terboven, thought that these fortifications would serve effectively as a last perimeter of defense of the Third Reich in the event of Allied victory on the continent.

Considered an essential part of the Atlantic Wall in anticipation of an Allied invasion, the fortifications in Norway were primarily based around coastal artillery, but also included anti-aircraft batteries, tanks and infantry forces.

The scope of Festung Norwegen originally included the entire coastal perimeter of Norway, from the Oslofjord around the southern coast to the border with the Soviet Union.

Part of the invasion plan for Norway included the immediate deployment of German coastal artillerymen in Norwegian batteries around the main cities of Horten, Kristiansand, Stavanger, Bergen, Trondheim, and Narvik.

The British Operation Fortitude North was designed to fool the Germans into thinking they intended to invade Norway in 1944, along with the Pas de Calais, so as to keep their troops away from the Normandy beaches.