The Invasion
After the German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940 the battalion was once more mobilized, the soldiers making their way to Alta by boats or reindeer sleds, then being transported to the front area by the Hurtigruten steamships Dronning Maud and Kong Haakon, and the cargo ship Senja. During the coming two month long campaign in the mountains north and east of Narvik the battalion spearheaded the 6th Division's advance against the German 3rd Mountain Division in the Narvik area. The standard issue weapons of an infantry squad of the battalion during the campaign was one Madsen light machine gun and Krag-Jørgensen rifles.
When the battalion left for the front it consisted of around 830 men, with 112 horses and 100 ski sleds.
Read more about this topic: Alta Battalion
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