Chasseur Alpin In Norway - Any Sources

[vince hughes]

I'm trying (with difficulty) to find some good accounts of the French Chasseur Alpin in action in Norway.

Anybody know of such accounts anywhere that I can read up on ?

[otto]

Did you try this one?
Hitler's Preemptive War: The Battle for Norway, 1940 - History's First Special Operations Campaign

I'm not sure if there is enough detail, but it looks good.

[vince hughes]

Thanks 'Otto' :-)

I also have some Norway books, especially the two by Gierr Haarr, but the indexes for the land ops are so poor and therefore makes the books (which are large) difficult to pin down on certain units.

[campsawyer]

Vince, I assume you have seen this from a google search:

http://nuav.rforum.biz/t622-french-chasseurs-alpins

They reference your book, with some others. Looks like you will have some hard research on this.

[vince hughes]

Alan,

Trying to source an engagement between the Chasseur Alpins and the Gebirgsjager. Has to be something somewhere ?

The two books mentioned are excellent albeit Naval-centric, but the indexing for land ops is appalling !

I've also got another called "The Doomed Expedition". This looks lighter, and may be easier to search initially.

Two of Grandpa's brothers killed within 10 days in this Campaign, so I've always had a 'soft' spot for it. They were both in the Navy though, a Submariner and a Marine.

[campsawyer]

Vince, I would agree that the accounts are focused on the water engagements rather than the land. Not much with a google search and public books don't seem to have much. You need something like the French version of a army war college that would document all the French units.

[plloyd1010]

Vince, take a squint at these:
Corps Expéditionnaire Français en Scandinavie
British and French Forces, Naval Engagements and Operations off Norway
Deployment French Expeditionary Force to Scandanavia (C.E.F.S.)
Deployment of Franco-Polish Forces to Scandanvia

... and so the Krauts don't feel left out...
German Attack on Norway

That should fill up your afternoon.

[leonard]

Vince,

Before any search : do you read French ?

[vince hughes]

Vince,

Before any search : do you read French ?

Non, je ne pas lis Francais !

(and if the grammar is wrong it proves the point). I can get by as a tourist asking direct questions, reading menus, signs and so on, but I would surely be sorely challenged to read a historical account.

However PL, I was hoping you'd join in. Are you aware of any encounters between French Alpin v German Gebirgs in Norway ? If so, it would be more that I was specifically after.

[plloyd1010]

Not specifically. I know a little bit of armor operations in the Norwegian campaign (not that there is much to know). A bit of historical fiction, "Who are you! Who called you here?", about a young German soldier discovering he is on the wrong side of Norwegian opinion. A couple scenarios from Squad Leader. Beyond that, mostly a general overview.