Otto Ruge
| Otto Ruge | |
|---|---|
Generalmajor Otto Ruge in the summer of 1945
|
|
| Born | 19 January 1882 Norway |
| Died | 15 August 1961 (aged 79) |
| Allegiance |
 Norway
|
| Service/branch | Norwegian Army |
| Years of service | 1902 - 1948 |
| Rank | General |
| Commands held | Chief of Defence of Norway |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards |
incomplete Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav Grand cross with collar |
Otto Ruge (9 January 1882 – 15 August 1961) was a Norwegian general. He was Commander-in-chief of the Royal Norwegian Armed Forces after Nazi Germany's assault on Norway in April 1940.
Ruge grew up in Oslo in a family with strong military traditions. He attended Oslo Cathedral School. Already 20 years old, he was a military officer. He attended the Norwegian Military College (1905) and took the General Staff exam (1915). Colonel Otto Ruge became chief of the General Staff in 1933. In 1938 he resigned from the position and was appointed as inspector general of infantry.
In 1940, Colonel Ruge was promoted to Major General and assumed command after the former C-in-C, Generalmajor Kristian Laake, who was supposed to go into retirement a few days after the German attack on Norway, displayed a defeatist attitude and consequently was relieved of command. General Ruge persuaded the government to fight the German invaders. He was convinced that fighting would be vital to the country and the nation's self-respect, but pragmatic enough to realize that a need for Allied help was crucial to succeed. Ruge had a hard task on his hands: he received command over an only partly mobilised army. Norway had already lost all major cities to the Germans, moreover the Germans had established air superiority. The loss of one of the few infantry regiments available, the Norwegian third infantry regiment, its commander surrendering without a shot being fired, falsely believing that he was surrounded, made the situation even worse.
Ruge's main strategy was to slowly retreat northward and to establish a defence line south of Trondheim while waiting for the Allies to reconquer that city. However, the Allies launched their pincers toward Trondheim too late, and too far away from their destination. As a result of this several of the pincer forces became entangled in combat before the attack against the city could be launched.
...
Wikipedia