Alta Battalion
| Alta Battalion | |
|---|---|
Pre-1940 battalion standard on display at the War Museum in Narvik.
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| Active | 1898–1994 |
| Country | Norway |
| Branch | Norwegian Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | 900 |
| Garrison/HQ | Altagård, Alta |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Arne Dagfin Dahl |
The Alta Battalion (Norwegian: Alta bataljon) was an independent battalion within the Norwegian 6th Division based in the village of Alta in western Finnmark and commanded by Lt. Colonel Arne Dagfin Dahl.
The Alta battalion was mobilized 10 October 1939 to help guard Norway's neutrality in the Second World War and positioned in the border areas of eastern Finnmark during the Finnish Winter War to safeguard the northernmost areas of Norway against possible Soviet aggression. At the time the battalion consisted of around 900 soldiers. Guard and patrol duty in the border areas brought the battalion near the brutality of war and served to harden the men of the unit. After seeing the fighting and burning town in Petsamo the soldiers and officers of the Alta Battalion began to view war as a reality and not merely something found in the history books.
The Alta battalion was then demobilized on 15 January 1940. As the battalion deactivated, Lt. Col. Dahl realised that the international situation was still unstable and the unit might be needed again soon. Thus the soldiers were ordered to tag their uniforms and personal equipment before handing them in for storage. This precautionary measure helped the battalion greatly when it was again needed less than three months later.
After the return to Alta a ski company of ninety volunteers was formed and retained for another two months of training. On average the battalion was not considered especially ski-worthy and most of the soldiers had their only skiing experience from the neutrality duty.
After the German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940 the battalion was once more mobilized, the soldiers making their way to Alta by boats or reindeer sleds, then being transported to the front area by the Hurtigruten steamships Dronning Maud and Kong Haakon, and the cargo ship Senja. The battalion departed the pier in Alta on 19 April 1940 and arrived at Sjøvegan on 21 April.
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