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BRITAIN'S SECRET WAR IN ANTARCTICA BRITAIN'S SECRET WAR ANTARCTICA The Antarctica mystery deepens as more details emerge about Norwegian, German, British and American expeditions from the 1930s and nuclear blasts over Queen Maud Land in the 1950s. Part 3 of 3 We are standing here in Norway, undefeated, strong as before. No enemy has dared attack us. And yet we, too, shall have to bow to the dictate of our enemy for the bene - fit of the whole German cause. We trust we shall from now on deal with men who respect a soldier's honour. — General Bohme, German Commander-in-Chief in Norway, 7 May 1945 he primary reasons for Norway's importance to Germany were that its coastlines made exceptional U-boat bases, the Germans needed to secure shipments of Swedish iron ore, and the Vermok hydro-electric plant, which produced deuterium oxide (heavy water), was essential to their atomic research, in which they were leading the world at that juncture. However, there were other reasons—reasons that caused Hitler to review and reverse his stance on preserving Norwegian neutrality. On 14 January 1939, Norway formalised its claim to Queen Maud Land in Antarctica, its course of action forced on it by the imminent German discoveries. Adversely, for Norway, its attempt at pre-empting any German claims failed, and so began a political cri- sis that led to invasion. The Deutsche Antarktische Expedition, using Norwegian maps, soon realised that the wily Norwegians had omitted the vast, dry areas that it rediscovered on 20 January 1939. The Norwegians, and also the British, had long been aware of ice- free areas but had purposely omitted them on their maps so as to avoid additional claimant countries appearing and the conceivable diplomatic crises that would ensue. When the Germans reported the ice-free areas, they were told to claim the whole area in the name of Nazi Germany. They were ordered to drop stakes with swastikas on them to state their intent for sovereignty: this, the Nazis hoped, would be enough to formalise their claim. Nazi Germany and Hitler cared little about what the world thought: they had already gained Austria and Czechoslovakia, and Antarctica was to be a further extension of the Third Reich. Norway valiantly protested about the German claim and the renaming of Queen Maud Land to Neuschwabenland but, with European nations gearing up for war and the world's attention turning to Poland, Antarctica was forgotten. When war finally broke out in September 1939, most of Germany's eventual conquests declared neutrality. Norway was no exception. Hitler wanted Norway to remain neutral but his War Cabinet, whose opinions he trusted until the tide turned against Germany, per- suaded him otherwise. On 20 February 1940, Hitler ordered General von Falkenhorst to lead an expedition force to Norway. Hitler claimed: "I am informed that the English intend to land there [Norway] and I want to be there before them."* The British prime minister, Neville Chamberlain, famously boasted when he announced that British forces had also landed in Norway that Hitler had "missed the bus"*. His folly caused his government to collapse, his resignation to be forced and his reputation to be destroyed. Furthermore, by committing troops to Norway, Chamberlain had played into the hands of Hitler and all those inside the German War Cabinet. But had the British mis- sion been a total failure? Operation Weseriibung was launched by Germany on 9 April 1940 and Norway was invaded (Denmark was also invaded that same day). And though the British and Allied forces had to be evacuated in June, they had slowed the unstoppable Wehrmacht enough to help the monarchy, the government and the national treasure be evacuated on board the British cruiser, HMS Devonshire. King Haakon VII represented Norway in exile, and the Email: james-robert@hotmail.co.uk NEXUS 25 Did Britain Really "Miss the Bus" in Norway? by James Robert © 2005 DECEMBER 2005 — JANUARY 2006 www.nexusmagazine.com