Following the decision to mine Norwegian waters, British General Staff hastily devises Plan R4 to react to German intervention. 1st Cruiser Squadron will deliver 1 infantry brigade to Narvik & 1 battalion to Trondheim from Rosyth. A battalion each will go to Stavanger & Bergen on slower transport ships. All are lightly-eqipped with no heavy artillery or tanks. They will be screened by Royal Navy ships but receive no air cover from either RAF or carrier-based aircraft. Purely reactive in nature, R4 naïvely assumes Allied troops will arrive before the Germans. In contrast, Germans intend to land 2 full divisions with full naval & air cover, quickly followed by 4 more complete with artillery & tanks, in an intricate but carefully-planned feat of combined arms.
Armed merchant cruiser HMS Transylvania intercepts German freighter Mimi Horn (en route from Curacao, Dutch Caribbean) between Iceland & Greenland. Mimi Horn is scuttled & Transylvania picks up all 41 crew. http://www.uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/3332.html
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