Guided tour to historic Dalselv
Guided 2 1/2 hour tour with storytelling. Including guide. From NOK 395, – pr. person.
Winter has not yet let go properly. It is the middle of May 1940, and the snow is still in the mountains. The cold still holds the grip on Dalselv, only the upper inches of the earth thaw as the sun comes up. Little by little, the summer is getting closer.
Rumors that the Germans are trying to send reinforcements to Narvik overland have reached the British forces. Hemnesberget has been bombed to pieces, and several hundred German soldiers with heavy guns have been put ashore there and are on their way north. British fighters have just sunk the Hurtigruten’s ship D / S Nord-Norge at the quay at Hemnesberget, after they discovered that the ship was taken over by the Germans and used for troop transfers. The will to resist the Germans is still very large and a British battalion from the Royal Scots Guards fortifies itself in Dalselv, determined to stop the advance towards Narvik. Positions are dug, but it is difficult to get down into the frozen soil. They use the things they have at their disposal and manage to fortify themselves somewhat.
World War II rages in Europe. This winter, the war has also come to Norway, and Hitler swears to take Norway. After King Haakon and Crown Prince Olav left Oslo with the government, a lot has happened in Norway.
May 17 and 18, 1940, will be two fateful days for the British. The first clashes result in heavy losses in the German divisions. The Germans are in a hurry, they are afraid that Allied cruisers will protect them from the fjord, and they must go to Narvik! The Germans reorganize and attack on 2 flanks. After hard fighting for two days, the soldiers from the Royal Scots Guards from England must give up. The losses are great; 70 soldiers must pay with their lives before the last shot falls at Stien farm.
The rest of the battalion is captured and sent to prisoner of war-camps in Europe.
We were not present, but our guides can tell you the story of this lesser known event, which cost many good men their lives, but unfortunately did not stop the German advance. We can show you the place where the last shot fell at 5 o’clock in the morning of May 18, 1940. The memorial to the fallen still stands and testifies to those who gave their lives to defend a country far to the north, so far from home. We will either pick you up at the hotel or drive together with you in the morning and take you over 80 years back in time, to the beginning of the last world war. We spend a couple of hours on the trip and hope you are left with an understanding of the sacrifice both allies and Norwegians showed in this difficult time.