The Danish Army on April 9^th, 1940, Part 3

Introduction

Perhaps the words "The German army ..." would have been an appropriate title since the contents are mainly concerned with the forces opposing the Danish Army, but in the end I decided on making the article sequel to Parts 1 and 2.

After the battle

Within hours after the cease fire, everything reverted more or less to "normal", and soldiers, temporary made prisoners of war or otherwise disarmed, returned to their units. Abandoned and/or damaged equipment was collected and returned to the units; some items were however damaged beyond repair.

Collecting point for damaged equipment. From Source 3.

The auto cannon may be the one damaged at Bjærgskov, and the collecting point may be situated near Camp Søgaard.

The German forces

The German ground forces crossing the border in Southern Jutland on the morning of April 9^th, 1940, belonged to the 170^th Infantry Division and the 11^th Motor Rifle Brigade.

The German advance through Aabenraa, April 9^th, 1940.

The 170^th Infantry Division included the following units:

• 391^st Infantry Regiment
• 399^th Infantry Regiment
• 401^st Infantry Regiment
• 240^th Light Artillery Battalion
• 240^th Anti-tank Battalion
• 240^th Engineer Battalion
• 240^th Signal Battalion.

(From Source 2.)

The photographer was Thomas Christensen, who lived in Aabenraa, and the photo was later published in a series of photographs from the German invasion.

A German tank in Denmark, April 9^th, 1940.
(Source unknown.)

The German 11^th Motor Rifle Brigade, included among other units

• 40^th Special Tank Battalion
• 13^th Machinegun Battalion (motorized).

(From Source 2.)

Further, according to Source 1, the Brigade included 2 motorized infantry regiments and 2 additional motorized Machinegun Battalions.

German light tanks in Aabenraa, April 9^th, 1940.

Source 1 states the strength of the Tank Battalion as approximately 70 tanks - 40 Pz I and 30 Pz II.

This photo by Thomas Christensen is also from the "official" series.

I have not been able to identify the unit marking, similar to a modern "packman". The marking is shown on the left hand mudguards on the cars and on the motorcycle sidecar.

Sources

1. Soldaterne den 9. april 1940 by Kay Søren Nielsen, The Royal Danish Arsenal Museum, Copenhagen 1990, ISBN 87-7233-847-4.
2. The German Forces in Demark 1940-1945 (Bibliography No. 41) by K.V. Nielsen, published by the Royal Danish Military Library, 1990.
3. 29. august 1943 - og hvad så? by Aage Damm, published by Landsforeningen Værn om Danmark, 1993.

Per Finsted