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Hegra Fortress, Norway-Battlefield Study


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Last year while deployed to Norway, our company commander brought up the idea of a Battlefield Study in one of our weekly meetings. Simultaneously, all heads turned to me, so I was given the task of finding a local battlefield and putting together a PME. Naturally, I wanted to do Narvik, but due to the distance it was unfeasible.

 

Not far from where we were stationed was Hegra Fortress, a Fortress where Norwegians held out on a final stand against the German invaders. It was such a big deal, it made newspapers as far away as Chicago. 250 Norwegian volunteers led by Major Hans Reidar Holtermann-a Norwegian officer who refused to surrender despite urging from higher-held out against a battalion and regiment of German infantry supported by artillery for 25 days. A fascinating battle that can be read about here... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hegra_Fortress

 

After some leaders recon, we decided that the PME would be led by the NCOs, over 3 days (1 platoon a day), and each NCO assigned a phase of the battle. The NCOs had to tie their phase to our own Warfighting Functions, and encourage discussions about how we would undertake the battle with our current weapons and tactics, as both the attackers and the defenders.

 

I made contact with a local historian, who is also the curator of the The Armoury Museum in Trondheim (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g190499-d3482721-Reviews-The_Armoury-Trondheim_Trondheim_Municipality_Sor_Trondelag_Central_Norway.html) and he brought me on a tour of the fort with a tour guide (whose grandfather was a defender of the fort), and he developed an intel brief to give the NCOs, that told them the friendly and enemy situations on the eve of the battle to consider when leading discussions. In July, the Norwegian military's media attended one of the day's events. Later, they released an article on the event on their website (https://forsvaretsforum.no/amerikansk-leksjon). Unfortunately, it's in Norwegian, so will be tough for members to read. I used a translation app when I read it.

 

It was explained to me by a couple of Norwegians that Norway tends to forget its military history of the war due to the result, and instead focuses on the resistance, however the historian and I agree that there is value in teaching the victories. The local Home Guard training occurs nearby, and we think it would be a good thing to incorporate a similar study of this site as part of their training, to instill pride in their history to the new recruits. I am still in touch with him and he has been attempting to get support behind the idea with his highers, and I provided the general outline of what we did and out concept of battlefield studies for his use. Hopefully one day it is implemented, I would love to return to attend a Norwegian-led battlefield study of the fortress.

 

There is a small museum on site that contains Major Holtermann's uniform, amongst other stuff from the battle. Most impressively, there is a wall in the fortress where the King carved his name during a visit after the war, and other kings have since added their names to. I was told by staff that a Prince once wanted to add his name but was denied, as the wall is for Kings. Here's the kicker...the fortress is not locked and is open to the public 24/7 in the summer...and there IS NOT A SINGLE MARK OF GRAFFITI on the king's wall...that is the reverence the Norwegians hold this site in.

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Tim - your story reminds me of how much the Corps has changed since my service during the Jurassic period! Good on 'ya! A great learning experience for all hands. Kudos to you! Semper Fi.......Bob

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I think its great that you guys were able to do this while on deployment. At the moment I'm doing a Conflict Archaeology and Heritage masters program in Scotland. Battlefield studies is a large part of the program. A few weeks ago we did something similar. For two days we toured sites up north related to the Jacobite Wars: Ruthven barracks, Fort George, battlefields of Culloden and Killiecrankie. Students on this trip had to research and present a particular aspect of a battle, just like the NCOs did. What stood out for me personally was how much a gentle change in terrain can impact the course of a battle... like a dip in the ground saving you from a volley of musket balls!

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