Report to Lord Halifax on the German occupation of Denmark (9 April 1940)

[Extracts from a dispatch from the British Minister in
Copenhagen to the Foreign Secretary]
N 5040/5040/15
Mr. Howard Smith to Viscount Halifax
Foreign Office, 25 April 1940
My Lord, * * *
The actual events of 9 April have been pieced together by members of my staff from actual eye-witness or from reliable information subsequently received and are given below. Early in the morning towards 5 o'clock three small German transports steamed into the approach to Copenhagen harbor, whilst a number of airplanes circled overhead. The northern battery, guarding the harbor approach, fired a warning shot at these planes when it was seen that they carried German markings. Apart from this, the Danes offered no further resistance, and the German vessels fastened alongside the quays in the Free Harbor. Some of these airplanes proceeded to drop leaflets over the town urging the population to keep calm and cooperate with the Germans. I inclose a specimen of this leaflet, which is written in a bastard Norwegian-Danish, a curiously un-German disregard of detail, together with a translation. Approximately 800 soldiers landed ' with full equipment, and marched to Kastelle, the old fortress of Copenhagen and now a barracks. The door was locked, so the Germans promptly burst it open with explosives, and rounded up all the Danish soldiers within, together with the womenfolk employed in the mess. The garrison offered no resistance, and it appears that they were taken completely by surprise. One officer tried to escape in a motor car, but his chauffeur was shot before they could get away. He died in hospital 2 days later. After seizing the barracks, a detachment was sent to Amalienborg, the King's palace, where they engaged the Danish sentries on guard, wounding three, one of them fatally. * * * Meanwhile, a
large fleet of bombers flew over the city at low altitudes, and surveyed the airdromes of Kastrup and Vaerlose. Kastrup, the civil port, was quite undefended, and the Germans landed several transports there, containing mostly staff officers and other officials. At Vaerlose, the military station, a number of Danish planes were assembled on the field. Two of these attempted to take off, but were shot down immediately. Shortly afterwards the Germans dropped a number of incendiary bombs and destroyed the hangars and aircraft. By 8 o'clock in the morning the Germans had control of all points of strategic value, and were rapidly consolidating their positions. * * * Meanwhile,
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other troops had been landed at Gedser and Korser. These proceeded rapidly northwards. Subsequently, a shore battery was erected at Kalundborg, and Roskilde was placed under martial law. * * * A large force was sent up to Helsingor and
sentries were posted along the coast facing Sweden. * * *
It has been difficult to ascertain exactly what occurred in Jutland. * * * It is clear, however, that the enemy invaded
Jutland from the south at dawn on 9 April and were at first resisted by the Danish forces, who suffered casualties. * * *
The chances of resistance were weakened by the extent to which the forces appear to have been taken by surprise. The chief permanent official of the Ministry of War, for instance, motored into Copenhagen on the morning of 9 April and drove blithely past a sentry, who challenged him, in blissful ignorance that this was not one of his own men. It took a bullet, which passed through the lapels of his coat, to disillusion him.