Word: narvik
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...intervene in the Russo-Finnish war, which Stalin had launched on Nov. 30, 1939. Finland's well-trained and determined army of 300,000 had fought the Red Army to a standstill. Churchill's plan was to land a British expeditionary force at the northern Norwegian port of Narvik, cut across to the Swedish iron mines at Gallivare (which provided Hitler with almost 50% of the iron he needed for his war machine), then join the Finnish resistance. Before Churchill could get his force under way, however, the Soviets overwhelmed the Finns in March...
Still determined to intercept those shipments of Swedish iron ore flowing south from Narvik to Hitler, Churchill then worked out a plan to lay mines along the Norwegian coast and even to seize the main Norwegian ports. That was supposed to begin April 8, 1940, but Hitler learned of the plan. British troops were already embarked in Scotland when the news came that the Germans were moving to land in both Denmark and Norway...
...elite organizations, comparable to the U.S. Marines and Britain's Brigade of Guards. To its own members (over the years the majority have been German or Slav), the Legion is an unparalleled string of battles, from Constantine in 1837 to Sebastopol, Magenta, the Somme, Verdun, Narvik, Bir Hakeim, Cassino, Dienbienphu, and Algiers in 1960. Its flag, "whose staff bends under the weight of its glory," is one of the most cited and decorated of all the world's regimental standards...
...times the Legion had fought for honor in a losing cause, for Gambetta at Orleans, for Maximilian in Mexico. Now there were 1,500 Legionnaires in Indo-China ready to die for Strongpoint Isabelle. They were commanded by Colonel André Lalande from St. Cyr Military Academy, veteran of Narvik, El Alamein, Italy and the Vosges. Lalande was a tough customer: his Legionnaires called him "baroudeur," a brawler. Lalande did not wait for the Communists to come, 20 to 1, to get him. At 0115, he ordered the charge...
...Saddle Policy. Conceivably, a situation might arise in the thermonuclear age in which the U.S. would need such an outdated weapon as a battleship. In war, one never knows what will come in handy. When British troops landed at Narvik, Norway in 1940, some of them, according to one report, carried saddles for riding elk. Some thoughtful supply officer, with an eye to the rigors of an Arctic campaign, had ordered them years before. The Navy now has four battleships and 15 heavy cruisers in operation; they cost somewhat more than elk saddles. An effective weapons policy...