2nd Division (Norway)

During the early part of the Norwegian Campaign of the Second World War, the Norwegian 2nd Division (Norwegian: 2. divisjon), commanded by General Jacob Hvinden Haug, was responsible for defending Eastern Norway against Nazi Germany.

The term "division" in the Norwegian Army in 1940 did not mean the same as a division in British terms (a tactical formation consisting of two or more manoeuvre (infantry or armour) brigades with command and staff units and supporting troops). The only Norwegian division living up to this in 1940 was the 6th Division at Narvik fielding two brigades (6 and 7 Brigades).

In the 1940 Norwegian Army the term Division signified a geographical area of military responsibility. The division was, in pre-war planning, supposed to field one brigade and one or more local defence battalions (landvernbataljoner).

In 1940 the 2nd division was able to mobilise a not insignificant number of men to confront the German advance. However, the majority of the troops were poorly equipped even before the loss of critical equipment during the 9 April German invasion. The Norwegian Army of 1940 was basically equipped to First World War standards. There were no tanks, no modern artillery, no anti-tank weapons and no effective anti-aircraft guns. With the exception of a number of Colt M/29 heavy machine guns and light Madsen machine guns, the soldiers had to rely on the 1894 vintage Krag-Jørgensen rifle. In addition to this, the average soldier was poorly trained, many having only received 48 days of basic training, although there also were soldiers with longer service (guardsmen, soldiers who had been mobilised at the outbreak of the war between Nazi Germany and the United Kingdom and some who had served as volunteers in the Finno-Soviet Winter War).

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