28 May in military history: Allies retake Narvik, 1940

Quick answer

On 28 May 1940 Norwegian, French and Polish troops, backed by British warships, retook Narvik, the iron-ore port in northern Norway that the Germans had seized on 9 April. Norwegian soldiers entered the town that afternoon. But the Allies had already been ordered to evacuate northern Norway, and on 8 June the Germans marched back in.

The Battle of Narvik, 1940: Polish highlanders in the Arctic

28 May 1940 (recapture of Narvik) · 86 years ago

Narvik, in northern Norway, was the ice-free port through which Swedish iron ore reached Germany. In April 1940 German mountain troops under General Eduard Dietl seized it. British naval forces sank the German destroyers in the fjords, and Allied troops landed to retake the town.

Read the full story of The Battle of Narvik, 1940: Polish highlanders in the Arctic ›

Jumonville Glen, 1754: the skirmish that set the world on fire

28 May 1754 · 272 years ago

Virginia troops under the young George Washington, with Mingo warriors of the Half King, attacked a small French party led by Jumonville in western Pennsylvania. Jumonville and several of his men were killed in this opening clash of the war, and how he died is still disputed.

Read the full story of Jumonville Glen, 1754: the skirmish that set the world on fire ›

Also on this day

1918: the US 1st Division captured Cantigny, near Montdidier, and held it against repeated German counterattacks.¹

Frequently asked questions

Who recaptured Narvik in 1940?

Norwegian, French and Polish troops, supported by British warships. On 28 May 1940 Foreign Legion and Norwegian battalions crossed the Rombaksfjord, the Polish brigade attacked Ankenes, and Norwegian soldiers entered the town in the afternoon.

Why was Narvik important?

Iron ore from the mines of northern Sweden was shipped out through Narvik, and the ore was important to Germany's war industry.

Why did the Allies leave Narvik after retaking it?

The order to evacuate northern Norway reached Lord Cork on the night of 24/25 May, before the assault. It said the troops, ships, guns and equipment were urgently required for the defense of the United Kingdom. The last Allied forces had left by 8 June, and the Germans re-entered Narvik that evening.

What part did the Polish brigade play?

The Polish Independent Highland Brigade under General Zygmunt Szyszko-Bohusz attacked Ankenes, south of the Beisfjord, at midnight, and the Germans there fled by boat toward Narvik. The sources date the Poles' arrival at the head of the Beisfjord to 28, 29 or 30 May.

Was Narvik Hitler's first defeat?

Norway's armed forces call it the Wehrmacht's first defeat of the war. Store norske leksikon is more cautious, because the German force was not beaten and Narvik was occupied for almost five years, though, taken in isolation, it can be counted a setback.