Dombås
Encyclopedia
The village of lies in the Dovre
municipality and serves as an administrative center in the upper Gudbrandsdal
, Norway
. It lies at an important junction of roads: south leading to the current capital of Norway, Oslo
, west via Lesja
leading to Åndalsnes
on the sea and north to the old capital, Trondheim
.
created. The was was extended onwards to Støren
in 1921. Three years later, the Rauma Line opened to Åndalsnes
. Dombås Church was completed in 1939.
, the Germans recognized this rail, roadway and telegraph junction was strategically significant. From 13 April on the Germans started receiving messages of imminent allied
action in Norway through the port of Åndalsnes. To counter this the German High Command ordered a takeover of Dombås. The result was that a company of fallschirmjäger
s from 1st battalion of the 1st Regiment, 7th Flieger Division
was dropped at Dombås on 14 April, intending to cut the rail road. The German company had the misfortune to jump straight onto the second battalion of Infantry Regiment no. 11 (Møre
) that was bivouaced
at Dombås on their way to the front north of Oslo. In the second opposed paratrooper attack in history (the first being the one made against Sola Air Station
on 9 April) only seven out of fifteen Junkers Ju 52
s made it back to their base at Fornebu airport
the rest were lost to Norwegian Colt M/29 anti-aircraft
machine gun
fire, dispersing the paratroopers. Most of the surviving paratroopers were taken prisoner soon after landing. Only a single group of sixty-three Germans, under the company commander Oberleutnant
Herbert Schmidt managed to avoid capture and sealed off the Gudbrandsdal
valley holed up in two strategically placed farms. Only on 19 April did the isolated group of Germans surrender, having been surrounded by far superior Norwegian forces for five days. On 16 April the Norwegians brought two mortars
and several Colt M/29 heavy machine gun
s to bear on Schmidt's men and from 18 April a 40 mm Bofors
anti-aircraft gun bombarded the German positions from Dombås Railway Station. On 19 April the paratroopers could no longer stand the bombardment and sent forward the captured Norwegian Major Kjøs to convey their surrender message. All in all 150 fallschirmjägers ended up in Norwegian captivity, being kept in a prisoner-of-war camp
near Kristiansund
until released when resistance collapsed in South Norway in early May.
1940 – A German Luftwaffe bombing attack on the village's railway areas on 21 April resulted in the first American military casualty of World War II. Captain Robert M. Losey
, an aeronautical meteorologist serving as an air attaché to American embassies in the Nordic countries, was killed while observing the bombing near the entrance to a rail tunnel where he and others had sought safety. A monument to Captain Losey now stands in Dombås.
1940 – After evacuating Oslo after the German invasion of Norway
, King Haakon VII
first travelled with his government to Elverum
, but after that city and Nybergsund
was bombed by the Luftwaffe
the decision was made to move to the Gudbrandsdal where the Army High Command had relocated. The King's entourage at first got lost and ended up at Drevsø on the Swedish border where they were turned back by Swedish border guards. The King then went first to Hjerkinn
and then to Otta
. On his way to Otta the King passed through Dombås on 13 April, only five hours before the German paratrooper attack took place. On 14 April the King and the Crown Prince
remained at Otta, transmitting radio messages to their people. As the German attack came the fallschirmjägers were landing dispersed over a huge area and the Royals decided to spend the night at Dovre
, only half an hour from the nearest Germans. Although the fallschirmjägers never got any nearer the King, who was protected by the local Dovreskogen gun club, they did ambush cabinet minister Frihagen, capturing his car and a suitcase with 1,5 million Norwegian Krone
r. Minister Frihagen managed to escape the ambush and the money was recovered when Oberleutnant Schmidt surrendered 19 April. The King eventually made his way to Molde
from where he was brought to Tromsø
by HMS Glasgow
.
Dovre
Dovre is a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Dovre. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Dovre....
municipality and serves as an administrative center in the upper Gudbrandsdal
Gudbrandsdal
The Gudbrandsdalen is a valley and traditional district in the Norwegian county of Oppland. The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from Lillehammer at Mjøsa, extending 230 km toward Romsdal...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. It lies at an important junction of roads: south leading to the current capital of Norway, Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, west via Lesja
Lesja
Lesja is a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lesja....
leading to Åndalsnes
Åndalsnes
is a town in the municipality of Rauma in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Åndalsnes is the administrative center of Rauma. The town has a population of 2,207...
on the sea and north to the old capital, Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
.
19th Century
1895 –Twentieth century
The Dovre Line was extended to Dombås in 1913 and Dombås StationDombås Station
Dombås Station is a railway station located at Dombås in Dovre, Norway. The station is located on the Dovre Line as well as serving as the terminal station for the Rauma Line. The station is served by express trains on the Dovre Line and regional trains on the Rauma Line...
created. The was was extended onwards to Støren
Støren
is a former municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality is located in the north-central part of the present-day municipality of Midtre Gauldal. The municipal center of Støren was the village of Støren, where Støren Church is located....
in 1921. Three years later, the Rauma Line opened to Åndalsnes
Åndalsnes
is a town in the municipality of Rauma in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Åndalsnes is the administrative center of Rauma. The town has a population of 2,207...
. Dombås Church was completed in 1939.
World War Two
1940 – During the Norwegian CampaignNorwegian Campaign
The Norwegian Campaign was a military campaign that was fought in Norway during the Second World War between the Allies and Germany, after the latter's invasion of the country. In April 1940, the United Kingdom and France came to Norway's aid with an expeditionary force...
, the Germans recognized this rail, roadway and telegraph junction was strategically significant. From 13 April on the Germans started receiving messages of imminent allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
action in Norway through the port of Åndalsnes. To counter this the German High Command ordered a takeover of Dombås. The result was that a company of fallschirmjäger
Fallschirmjäger
are German paratroopers. Together with the Gebirgsjäger they are perceived as the elite infantry units of the German Army....
s from 1st battalion of the 1st Regiment, 7th Flieger Division
1st Parachute Division (Germany)
The German 1st Parachute Division was a German elite military parachute-landing Division that fought during World War II. A division of paratroopers was termed a Fallschirmjäger Division...
was dropped at Dombås on 14 April, intending to cut the rail road. The German company had the misfortune to jump straight onto the second battalion of Infantry Regiment no. 11 (Møre
Møre
Møre is the name of two traditional districts in different parts of Scandinavia.*Møre og Romsdal, Norway.*Möre, Sweden....
) that was bivouaced
Bivouac shelter
A bivouac traditionally refers to a military encampment made with tents or improvised shelters, usually without shelter or protection from enemy fire or such a site where a camp may be built. It is also commonly used to describe a variety of improvised camp sites such as those used in scouting and...
at Dombås on their way to the front north of Oslo. In the second opposed paratrooper attack in history (the first being the one made against Sola Air Station
Sola Air Station
Sola Air Station in Sola municipality in Norway is operated by the Royal Norwegian Air Force. Air Wing 134 is stationed at Sola along with helicopter Squadron 330....
on 9 April) only seven out of fifteen Junkers Ju 52
Junkers Ju 52
The Junkers Ju 52 was a German transport aircraft manufactured from 1932 to 1945. It saw both civilian and military service during the 1930s and 1940s. In a civilian role, it flew with over 12 air carriers including Swissair and Deutsche Luft Hansa as an airliner and freight hauler...
s made it back to their base at Fornebu airport
Oslo Airport, Fornebu
Oslo Airport, Fornebu was the main airport serving Oslo and Eastern Norway from 1 June 1939 to 7 October 1998. It was then replaced by Oslo Airport, Gardermoen and the area has since been redeveloped. The airport was located at Fornebu in Bærum, from the city center. Fornebu had two runways, one...
the rest were lost to Norwegian Colt M/29 anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
fire, dispersing the paratroopers. Most of the surviving paratroopers were taken prisoner soon after landing. Only a single group of sixty-three Germans, under the company commander Oberleutnant
Oberleutnant
Oberleutnant is a junior officer rank in the militaries of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Translated as "Senior Lieutenant", the rank is typically bestowed upon commissioned officers after five to six years of active duty...
Herbert Schmidt managed to avoid capture and sealed off the Gudbrandsdal
Gudbrandsdal
The Gudbrandsdalen is a valley and traditional district in the Norwegian county of Oppland. The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from Lillehammer at Mjøsa, extending 230 km toward Romsdal...
valley holed up in two strategically placed farms. Only on 19 April did the isolated group of Germans surrender, having been surrounded by far superior Norwegian forces for five days. On 16 April the Norwegians brought two mortars
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
and several Colt M/29 heavy machine gun
Heavy machine gun
The heavy machine gun or HMG is a larger class of machine gun generally recognized to refer to two separate stages of machine gun development. The term was originally used to refer to the early generation of machine guns which came into widespread use in World War I...
s to bear on Schmidt's men and from 18 April a 40 mm Bofors
Bofors 40 mm gun
The Bofors 40 mm gun is an anti-aircraft autocannon designed by the Swedish defence firm of Bofors Defence...
anti-aircraft gun bombarded the German positions from Dombås Railway Station. On 19 April the paratroopers could no longer stand the bombardment and sent forward the captured Norwegian Major Kjøs to convey their surrender message. All in all 150 fallschirmjägers ended up in Norwegian captivity, being kept in a prisoner-of-war camp
Prisoner-of-war camp
A prisoner-of-war camp is a site for the containment of combatants captured by their enemy in time of war, and is similar to an internment camp which is used for civilian populations. A prisoner of war is generally a soldier, sailor, or airman who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or...
near Kristiansund
Kristiansund
Kristiansund is a city and municipality on the western coast of Norway, in the Nordmøre district of Møre og Romsdal county. It was officially awarded township status in 1742, and it is still the major town for the region. The administrative center of the municipality is the city of Kristiansund...
until released when resistance collapsed in South Norway in early May.
1940 – A German Luftwaffe bombing attack on the village's railway areas on 21 April resulted in the first American military casualty of World War II. Captain Robert M. Losey
Robert M. Losey
Captain Robert M. Losey , an aeronautical meteorologist, is considered to be the first American military casualty in World War II. While serving as a military attaché prior to America's entry into the war, Losey was killed on April 21, 1940 during a German bombardment in Norway...
, an aeronautical meteorologist serving as an air attaché to American embassies in the Nordic countries, was killed while observing the bombing near the entrance to a rail tunnel where he and others had sought safety. A monument to Captain Losey now stands in Dombås.
1940 – After evacuating Oslo after the German invasion of Norway
Operation Weserübung
Operation Weserübung was the code name for Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during the Second World War and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign...
, King Haakon VII
Haakon VII of Norway
Haakon VII , known as Prince Carl of Denmark until 1905, was the first king of Norway after the 1905 dissolution of the personal union with Sweden. He was a member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg...
first travelled with his government to Elverum
Elverum
is a town and municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Elverum...
, but after that city and Nybergsund
Nybergsund
Nybergsund is a village in the municipality of Trysil, Norway. Its population is 329. It is located by the Trysil River, a few kilometres south of the centre Innbygda....
was bombed by the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
the decision was made to move to the Gudbrandsdal where the Army High Command had relocated. The King's entourage at first got lost and ended up at Drevsø on the Swedish border where they were turned back by Swedish border guards. The King then went first to Hjerkinn
Hjerkinn
Hjerkinn is a village in Dovre, Oppland, Norway. It is one of the driest places in the country, with only 222 mm annual precipitation.The railway station Hjerkinn Station is located on Dovrebanen, at 1017 metres above mean sea level. The highway E6 also passes through the village. It is also...
and then to Otta
Otta
Otta may refer to:* A preliminary name of the yotta SI unit prefix.* In Norse mythology, Hildisvini, also known as "Otta the Simple", who was Freya's lover.* Otta, Norway, a Norwegian town in Gudbrandsdal.* The Otta River in Norway....
. On his way to Otta the King passed through Dombås on 13 April, only five hours before the German paratrooper attack took place. On 14 April the King and the Crown Prince
Olav V of Norway
Olav V was the king of Norway from 1957 until his death. A member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Olav was born in the United Kingdom as the son of King Haakon VII of Norway and Queen Maud of Norway...
remained at Otta, transmitting radio messages to their people. As the German attack came the fallschirmjägers were landing dispersed over a huge area and the Royals decided to spend the night at Dovre
Dovre
Dovre is a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Dovre. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Dovre....
, only half an hour from the nearest Germans. Although the fallschirmjägers never got any nearer the King, who was protected by the local Dovreskogen gun club, they did ambush cabinet minister Frihagen, capturing his car and a suitcase with 1,5 million Norwegian Krone
Norwegian krone
The krone is the currency of Norway and its dependent territories. The plural form is kroner . It is subdivided into 100 øre. The ISO 4217 code is NOK, although the common local abbreviation is kr. The name translates into English as "crown"...
r. Minister Frihagen managed to escape the ambush and the money was recovered when Oberleutnant Schmidt surrendered 19 April. The King eventually made his way to Molde
Molde
is a city and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Romsdal region. The municipality is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord...
from where he was brought to Tromsø
Tromsø
Tromsø is a city and municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø.Tromsø city is the ninth largest urban area in Norway by population, and the seventh largest city in Norway by population...
by HMS Glasgow
HMS Glasgow (C21)
The seventh HMS Glasgow , built on the Clyde, was a Southampton-class light cruiser, a sub-class of the Town-class and commissioned in September 1937. She displaced 11,930 tons and had a top speed of 32 knots . She was part of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron of the Home Fleet; she escorted the...
.