The 6th Division () is a former Norwegian military formation.

History

The pinnacle of this division's service was during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, during the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

invasion of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. It was commanded by

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Carl Gustav Fleischer Carl Gustav Fleischer (28 December 1883 – 19 December 1942Fleischer 1947, p. 216) was a Norwegian general and the first land commander to win a major victory against the Germans in the Second World War. Having followed the Norwegian governm ...

,Lunde, (2010), p. 132. who was one of the King of Norway's favourite military officers. His division was one of the few Norwegian military commands that was battle ready on 9 April 1940 when the Germans invaded. With help from

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

, and

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

forces, 6th Division were able to recapture the city of

Narvik () is the third-largest List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Narvik (town), town of Narvik. Some of the notable villag ...

, during what became known as the

Battle of Narvik The Battles of Narvik were fought from 9 April to 8 June 1940, as a naval battle in Ofotfjord and as a land battle in the mountains surrounding the north Norwegian town of Narvik, as part of the Norwegian Campaign of the Second World War. Th ...

.Mann & Jörgensen, 2003, p. 59. The Germans took Narvik at the beginning of the battle, but it was retaken 28 May in what became known as the first major victory for the Allies in World War II. However, the successful German attack on France forced the Allied task force to evacuate, which they did in June. As a result of the withdrawal of allied air and naval support the Norwegians were forced to lay down their arms and demobilize. In one of the most controversial episodes in history of Norway's role in World War II General Fleischer ended his life in 1942, after being sent to Canada as the Norwegian military attaché, a role that was basically a demotion. After the demobilisation, 6th Division was disbanded. However, when Norway was liberated in 1945, the division was immediately re-established. One long-term consequence of the action at Narvik was the close cooperation between the British military and

Norwegian Army The Norwegian Army () is the land warfare service branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Army is the oldest of the Norwegian service branches, established as a modern military organization under the command of the King of Norway in 1628. The ...

, along with close cooperation with France's alpine forces. During the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

the division fought in no conflicts. But by the 1980s the division comprised the North

Hammerfest Hammerfest or Hámmárfeasta is a town/cityIn the Norwegian language, the word ''by'' can be translated as "town" or "city". that is also the administrative centre of Hammerfest Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. It is located on the nor ...

and South Hammerfest land force areas, controlling the 15th and 14th mobilization brigades respectively;

Brigade Nord Brigade Nord (Brig. N.; Northern Brigade) is the major combat formation and only brigade of the Norwegian Army, consisting of eight battalions and one military police company. It is mostly based in Troms (Bardu Municipality and Målselv Municipalit ...

in Tromso, 5,000 strong, with three infantry battalion, an armoured company, and an artillery battalion with four self-propelled artillery batteries; and the two northern garrisons in

Finnmark Finnmark (; ; ; ; ) is a counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. By land, it borders Troms county to the west, Finland's Lapland (Finland), Lapland region to the south, and Russia's Murmansk Oblast to the east, and by water, the Norweg ...

: the

Garrison of Porsanger The Garrison of Porsanger (), is a garrison based at Porsangmoen in Porsanger Municipality, in Finnmark county, Norway. It is located about from the village of Lakselv. The garrison is located immediately adjacent to Halkavarre, the largest mili ...

and the

Garrison of Sør-Varanger Ranger Battalion GSV (, formerly known as the Garrison of Sør-Varanger) is a border guard light infantry battalion unit in the Norwegian Army that monitors the border between Norway and Russia. It is located at Høybuktmoen in Sør-Varanger Mu ...

. After the end of the Cold War the 6th was re-organized in 2002, as part of an overall reform of the

Norwegian Armed Forces The Norwegian Armed Forces () are the armed forces responsible for the defence of Norway. It consists of five branches, the Norwegian Army, the Royal Norwegian Navy, which includes the Norwegian Coast Guard, Coast Guard, the Royal Norwegian Air ...

Final organisation

In its peacetime organisation, 6th Division consisted of approximately 1,200 commissioned and non-commissioned officers (COs and NCOs), with approximately 3,000 enlisted soldiers and 200 civilian support staff. In wartime, its numbers could exceed 12,000 in total. Being the only division in the Norwegian Army, the 6th utilised a wide range of modern combat equipment. Its heaviest weapons included

Leopard 2 The Leopard 2 is a third generation German main battle tank (MBT). Developed by Krauss-Maffei in the 1970s, the tank entered service in 1979 and replaced the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the West German army. Various iterat ...

A4NO MBTs, CV9030 IFVs and modernized M109A3GN

howitzer The howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire break ...

s. The infantry use

Bv206 Bandvagn 206 (bv 206) (meaning ''"Tracked Vehicle 206"'' in English) is a Tracked articulated vehicle, tracked articulated, all-terrain carrier initially developed and manufactured by the Swedish company Hägglund & Söner, and subsequently by ...

tracked all-terrain vehicles,

snowmobiles A snowmobile, also known as a snowmachine (chiefly Alaskan), motor sled (chiefly Canadian), motor sledge, skimobile, snow scooter, or simply a sled is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. Their engines normally ...

and light off-road vehicles. Their airlifting capabilities were provided by the Tactical Helicopter Group of the

Royal Norwegian Air Force The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) () is the air force of Norway. It was established as a separate arm of the Norwegian Armed Forces on 10 November 1944. The RNoAF's peacetime establishment is approximately 2,430 employees (officers, enlisted ...

, which is stationed at

Bardufoss or is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and commercial centre in Målselv Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The urban area was formally established as a town under Norwegian law in 2021 when the three villages of Andselv, Andslimo ...

. The division's motto is "Styrke for fred, evne til strid", or "Strength for peace, capability for war".

Subsidiary units

- Mechanised infantry brigade including armoured and artillery battalions. * 6th Brigade - Light infantry reserve brigade. *

Army Ranger Command An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on Ground warfare, land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include avia ...

. *Border Guard Battalion. *Intelligence & EW Battalion. *Home Guard - Although technically a separate branch from the Army, all Home Guard districts are under the 6th Division mobile Command. The 6th division also included a number of support functions such as engineering and NBC units. The 6th Division was disbanded on 1 August 2009.

Insignia

The 6th Division has utilized different insignia throughout its history. File:Coat of Arms of the Norwegian 6th Division (Troms Land Defence).svg, First insignia used between 1955 and 1957 File:Coat of Arms of the Norwegian 6th Division (1979).svg, Second insignia used sometime before 1979 until 1983 File:Coat of Arms of District Command Nord-Norge (6. Divisjon).svg, Third insignia used between 1983 and 1991 File:Coat of Arms of Troms Land Defence (6th Division).svg, Forth and last insignia used between 1991 and 2009

References

Bibliography

* * *{{cite book , last1=Thomas , first1=Nigel , last2=Volstad , first2=Ron , title=NATO Armies Today , publisher=

Osprey Publishing Osprey Publishing is a British publishing company specializing in military history formerly based in Oxford. Predominantly an illustrated publisher, many of their books contain full-colour artwork plates, maps and photographs, and the company p ...

, date=1987 , place=Oxford , series=Elite 16 , isbn=0-85045-822-6 Military units and formations of Norway in World War II Divisions of Norway Norwegian campaign 2009 disestablishments in Norway Military units and formations disestablished in 2009