What a fucking badass- ignores the rangefinder and goes on instinct, scores two immediate direct hits

What makes this even more impressive is that the three guns of the fortress only had one trained crew between them, and so they could only operate two guns by splitting that crew and supplementing them with whoever was on hand.

Basically, the Norweigans sunk a German Heavy Cruiser with a crew of cooks and trainees using weaponry well over 40 years old at the newest.

I can’t believe they left out his famous line! In real life he said: “Either I will be decorated, or I will be court-martialled. Fire!”

*edited for spelling

Legend has it the Foundation of the fortress was shattered from the weight of the commanders brass balls.

Old men with too many years and young men with not enough defended their home. Mad respect!

Back in 1997 I took the night train from Oslo to Copenhagen. An elderly couple also stayed in my compartment and we had a drink and talked, well the wife talked and the husband used sign language bc he was completely deaf. The wife told me he lost his hearing when he fired one of the cannons on Oscarsborg that night Blücher went down. Now, did I believe their story, cos what are the odds, right? I chose to believe them .

The Germans lost several ships during the Norway campaign. It was one of the reasons why Hitler called off the invasion of Britain - fear that the Royal Navy would sweep down from Scapa Flow and destroy the German invasion fleet. Thank you Norway.

"They are warships!  Damn right we shoot at them!"

The irony is the shore guns were made by Krupp Steel!

4:40 This part is perfection

I admire the Fortress commander for making the tough decision to engage rather than wait for orders that might never have come. That soldier kept Norway from becoming a neutered nation during the war... and to think the government was going to  prosecute him for taking steps to defend his nation without their permission.

Imagine the crew on Lützow and Emden when they see one of Germany’s most model heavy cruisers getting memed by a fortress built in like the 19th century.

One of The Greatest moments of World War Two.  A gun from 1878 made in Germany by Krupp (who also made tank and artillery guns) destroyed a Modern Warship. Not to mention that the Colonel only had a handful of men who were too old and too young to pose any real threat.  The next couple of days saw the fortress bombed into submission by the Luftwaffe. 'Never Underestimate Your Enemy's Willingness To Survive'.

The Oscarsborg Fortress had been relegated to a training facility, and it was manned by a mix of pensioners and new recruits, it's commander was 64 years old. The original commander of the Torpedo Battery was sick at the time of the action, and so command of the battery during the battle was left to an officer who had actually retired 13 years prior, but was recalled to service due to rising tensions.

Thanks to his intimate knowledge of the old torpedo systems--which he had previously manned during the last world war--he was able to use them to great effect

The guns were older than most of the men and the torpedoes had been manufactured 22 years earlier by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a country which no longer existed.

... And they had sunk a German Cruiser that was so new, that it still had a new car smell on the toilet seats.

"Either I will be decorated, or I will be court-martialed. Fire!" — Birger Kristian Eriksen,

4:57 When that searchlight illuminates the silhouettes of those warships in the dark and that ominous foreboding music comes in....absolute cinematic perfection!

They actually aimed high intentionally with the big guns so as to not sink the ship immediately if it turned out to be friendly.

Props to the old commander who didn’t hesitated to defend his country from its invaders.

6:48 Oh no, it looks like you guys are on fire.  Let me help get some water on those flames.

4:50 that moment when the searchlight beam breaks for just a moment. so fast that you you almost miss it, but it sends shivers up your spine. A masterful bit of film making.

I love that old soldier, too: "They're warships! Damn right we shoot at them!" What a great scene.