NARVIK
| The new Polish government in France immediately began to form
Polish armed forces on French soil. Those who escaped to France from Poland
- volunteers from Polish communities in France, Britain and throughout the
world - provided manpower for the organized formations. On April 8, 1940,
the Germans attacked Denmark and Norway. On May 8, the Polish Podhalanska
(mountain) Brigade, together with the British 24TH Guards Brigade, two French
battalions and one Norwegian battalion, landed on the Norwegian island of
Hinnoy and prepared to attack Narvik, which had already been occupied by
the Germans. Although Narvik was taken by the expeditionary forces on May
29, an order was received on June 3 for the allies to evacuate to France
and then to England. The Polish brigade lost one hundred men killed in the
fighting. Also, the Polish submarine Orzeł was lost in Norwegian waters
with six officers and forty-nine seamen aboard. |
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