Battle of Hegra Fortress

Battle of Hegra Fortress
	Part of the Norwegian campaign
	; Norwegian 7.5 cm gun position
Date	15 April – 5 May 1940
Location	Hegra, Norway
Result	German victory; Hegra Fortress capitulated 5 May after all other Norwegian forces in southern Norway had laid down their arms.
Belligerents
Norway	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Hans Reidar Holtermann	15–20 April:; Weiss; 20 April – 5 May:; Kurt Woytasch
Units involved
A volunteer company of soldiers having served in Artillery Regiment no. 3	138. Gebirgsjägerregiment; (15–27 April); 181. Infantry Division; (27 April–5 May)
Strength
Positional artillery:; 4×10.5 cm guns; 2×7.5 cm guns; (under Captain Evjen, with 25 men); Field artillery:; 4×8.4 cm guns; (under 2nd Lieutenant Reitan, with 10 men); Total force:; 250 volunteer soldiers; (most of whom had had a short national service with Artillery Regiment no. 3 (AR 3) before the war); 1 female volunteer nurse	1 battalion; 1 reinforced infantry company; 1 artillery unit; (with numerous mortars, cannons and howitzers)
Casualties and losses
6 killed; 14 wounded; 200+ captured	150–200 killed or wounded; 1 captured; 1 aircraft destroyed; 1 aircraft damaged
	Civilian casualties:; One Norwegian civilian killed; 2 Finnish civilian refugees wounded

The Battle of Hegra Fortress was a 25-day engagement in the 1940 Norwegian campaign which saw a small force of Norwegian volunteers fighting numerically superior German forces from a fortified position. After initial fighting around the Meråker Line railway line, the Norwegians pulled back into Hegra Fortress and held off further German attacks before surrendering on 5 May as one of the last Norwegian units active in southern Norway.

^ Nissen, Hans; Kirkhusmo Anders (2007). "Hegra Festning". Historisk kilde- og kunnskapsbase for Trøndelag (in Norwegian). Sør-Trøndelag County Municipality, Trondheim municipality and the Norwegian Archive, Library and Museum Authority. Archived from the original on 14 August 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
^ Brox 1988: 45
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Brox 1988: 102
^ ^a ^b Brox 1988: 81
^ "Hegra Festning". Foreningen Hegra Festnings Venner (in Norwegian). 2009. Archived from the original on 26 March 2010. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
^ Cite error: The named reference Brox88: 191 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b Møller, Anders (24 November 2005). "Holtermann 08, Evne og Vilje til Handling". Norwegian Military Academy (in Norwegian). Retrieved 5 April 2010.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Brox 1988: 125
^ Brox 1988: 94
^ Soldat 1985: 14, 20

[1] Nissen, Hans; Kirkhusmo Anders (2007). "Hegra Festning". Historisk kilde- og kunnskapsbase for Trøndelag (in Norwegian). Sør-Trøndelag County Municipality, Trondheim municipality and the Norwegian Archive, Library and Museum Authority. Archived from the original on 14 August 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2010.

[2] Brox 1988: 45

[Brox88:_102-3] Brox 1988: 102

[Brox88:_81-4] Brox 1988: 81

[hegrafestning.no-5] "Hegra Festning". Foreningen Hegra Festnings Venner (in Norwegian). 2009. Archived from the original on 26 March 2010. Retrieved 5 April 2010.

[Brox88:_191-6] Cite error: The named reference Brox88: 191 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Mil.no-7] Møller, Anders (24 November 2005). "Holtermann 08, Evne og Vilje til Handling". Norwegian Military Academy (in Norwegian). Retrieved 5 April 2010.^{[permanent dead link]}

[Brox88:_125-8] Brox 1988: 125

[Brox8894-9] Brox 1988: 94

[10] Soldat 1985: 14, 20

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