Narvik Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Narvik is a town in the county of Nordland, Norway. It has 18,463 inhabitants as of 2003. The municipality of Narvik covers 2041 km2, including large areas outside the town.Narvik is one of the most northerly towns in the world, with a railroad connecting to Kiruna, Sweden, but not to Bodø, which is the northern end of the rest of Norway's railroad network.
It was the scene of the first Allied success against German forces in World War II. The town was captured by the Germans on the first day of the invasion of Norway (9 April, 1940), but it was sufficiently far from their bases that a joint British, French and Polish Expeditionary Task Force and the Norwegian 6th Division were able to recapture it. However, the German attack on France meant that the Expeditionary Force had to be sent to France in early June 1940 (Operation Alphabet). Without the support from the task force the norwegians were outnumbered and had to lay down their weapons in Norway. This was not a complete capitulation; the Norwegians kept on fighting from abroad.