Odderoya — an identity in the mist

The officers of the Odderoya coastal fort, which guards the entrance to the port of Kristiansand on Norway's southern coast, are on alert on the morning of 9 April 1940. Their work commands the narrow passage through which any vessel must file to reach the city. Norway is neutral and instructions remain ambiguous, but warships are approaching in a thick mist that masks the fjord's entrance.

The gunners open fire on the first silhouettes. Their fire proves dangerously accurate: it repeatedly drives back the motor torpedo boats trying to land men, and holds the squadron at a distance. But visibility is so poor that identification of the ships remains uncertain.

It is then that a message reaches the fort. The captain of the cruiser Karlsruhe, Captain Friedrich Rieve, signals to the Norwegians to cease fire: he claims that the vessels presenting themselves are British and French ships come as friends. In the fog, the Odderoya officers cannot make out the flags. The ruse is plausible — Allied reinforcements had been expected. They must decide whether to continue, to cease, or to demand proof.