Hegra Fortress (Norw., Hegra festning) is a small mountain fortress in Hegra, Stjørdal, in the county of Nord-Trøndelag, Norway. This article is about the Physics experiment. For other meanings see Hegra (disambiguation HEGRA, which stands for High-Energy-Gamma-Ray Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional Reinforced concrete is Concrete in which reinforcement bars (" Rebars quot or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen a material that would otherwise be Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers Hans Reidar Holtermann, born 20 October 1895 in Sogndal Early life Holtermann was the son of the district doctor in Sogndal and grew The Norwegian Campaign, lasting from 9 April to 10 June 1940, led to the first direct land confrontation between the military forces of the Allies The Battle of Hegra Fortress was a twenty-five day engagement in the 1940 Norwegian Campaign which saw a small force of Norwegian volunteers fighting superior German forces Norwegian ( norsk) is a North Germanic Language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is an official language Fortifications are Military Constructions and Buildings designed for defense in Warfare Humans have constructed defensive works for This article is about the Physics experiment. For other meanings see Hegra (disambiguation HEGRA, which stands for High-Energy-Gamma-Ray Stjørdal is a municipality and town in the county of Nord-Trøndelag, Norway. is a county in the central Norwegian region called Trøndelag. Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional Originally known as Ingstadkleiven/Ingstadkleiva Fort, it was built as a border fort in the years 1907–10 as a defence against perceived threat of Swedish invasion. Year 1907 ( MCMVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Year 1910 ( MCMX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. An invasion is a military offensive consisting of all or large parts of the Armed forces of one geopolitical entity aggressively entering territory ^[4]

Background

The intent behind Ingstadkleiva Fort was to block Swedish advances into Central Norway, as had happened repeatedly during the Swedish-Norwegian conflicts in the preceding centuries (see: Hannibal War, Northern Wars and Great Northern War). Central Norway (Midt-Norge ( Bokmål) Midt-Noreg ( Nynorsk) is an administrative division that includes the counties of Nord-Trøndelag, Sør-Trøndelag The Torstenson war, Hannibal controversy or Hannibal War (Hannibalsfeiden was a short period of conflict between Sweden and Denmark-Norway This article is about the 17th century war For 16th century war see Northern Seven Years' War ( 1563 – 1570) The Great Northern War (1700-21 was fought between Russia and Sweden for supremacy in the Baltic Sea. ^[5] After the 1905 dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden the Norwegian military harboured continued fears of a Swedish invasion to retake Norway.

The fortress' trench line during construction.

As a successful attack into the centre of the country could split it in half the Norwegian general staff in February 1906 suggested the construction of a blocking fort in the Stjørdal valley. Ingstadkleiva was early on pointed out as a good location to block an advance from the east. Already in March that year the minister of defence, commanding general and chief of the Fortress Artillery surveyed the site and agreed to the plan. In a closed meeting on 26 April 1906 the Norwegian Parliament authorised the construction of Ingstadkleiva Fort, but no funds were allocated until 12 July 1907. The Storting ( Stortinget, literally "the Great Thing /Assembly" is the Norwegian Parliament, and is located in the capital city In May 1908 the work began on the road up to the construction site and by January 1910 the fort was ready for use. ^[5]

Ingstadkleiva Fort

One of the fortress' 10. 5 cm guns soon after instalment.

The fort's guns came from the dismantled Ørje Fortress in Marker. Ørje Fortress lies in Marker municipality in Østfold county Norway. Marker is a municipality in the county Østfold Norway. Marker was created as a new municipality January 1 1964 - after the merger of the two old The artillery was made up of flat angle guns with a range of six to nine kilometres. ^[6] The fortifications themselves consisted of 300 meters of halls and tunnels dynamited into the mountain at Ingstadkleiva, as well as trench systems and gun positions excavated from the rock with explosives. ^[6] There are tow main underground parallel tunnels of around 80 metres length, with a 35 metre tunnel connecting the them at a straight angle. One of the main tunnels served as crew quarters while the other was in direct connection with the above ground artillery pits. ^[7]

The fortress' artillery consisted of two 7,5 cm and four 10. 5 cm positional artillery pieces in half-turrets placed in pits dynamited from the rock and lined with concrete, as well as four m/1887 Krupp 8,4 cm field guns. A gun turret is a device that protects the crew or mechanism of a projectile firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions The Krupp family, a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, have become famous for their Steel production and for their manufacture of A field gun is an Artillery piece Originally the term referred to smaller Guns that could accompany a field army on the march and when in combat could be ^[8][9] The 8,4 cm pieces, designed before the advent of recoil systems, were described by the Germans after the 1940 surrender as Napoleonic. This article is about backward Momentum produced in firearms when fired Napoleon I of France was a tactical genius on the battlefield a mastermind who found triumph where others would find defeat ^[10]

The positional artillery is placed in an almost straight line facing east, with 20 metres distance between each 10,5 cm gun and 16 metres between each 7,5 cm piece. ^[2]

To enable the fortress to withstand attack without support from major outside support a 5–8 metre wide barbed wire obstacle was constructed encircling the entire fortress. In the Military science of Fortification, wire obstacles are defensive obstacles made from Barbed wire, Barbed tape or Concertina wire ^[1]

Geography

The fort was built on, and named after, Ingstadkleiva - a 215 m high forested hill south of the Stjørdal River, about three kilometres from the village of Hegra. To the east, north and north west the terrain is sloping down towards the Stjørdal valley and dominated by the fort, while the south front is hilly and at a higher altitude than the Ingstadskleiva. Ingstadkleiva Fort has an excellent command of the Stjørdal valley to the north and east, but to the west the view is blocked by the Grøthammeren and Hammeren hills, both about 300 m high. ^[5]

Early period

During the period 1910 to 1926 the fort was used as a major military base for the Trøndelag border areas with Sweden. Trøndelag is the name of a geographical region in the central part of Norway, consisting of the two counties Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag. ^[11] In 1926 Ingstadkleiva Fort was put in reserve as part of the post-World War I defence budget cuts. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All ^[12]

A Red Cross holiday camp held at the deactivated fortress in 1939.

Deactivated period

During 1934-1939 the deactivated fort was used by the Norwegian Red Cross's youth branch^[13] as a summer holiday camp for children. The Norwegian Red Cross ( Norges Røde Kors) was founded September 22, 1865 by prime minister Frederik Stang. ^[14] In late 1939 Finnish soldiers of the independent Lapland Group who had crossed the Norwegian border from the Petsamo district in northern Finland into Finnmark in Norway were interned at Ingstadkleiva Fort. The Finnish Army at the beginning of the Winter War in 1939 consisted of 9 field divisions 4 brigades and a number of small independent battalions and companies The Lapland Group ( Lapin Ryhmä) was a formation of the Finnish Army during the Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union. Pechenga (Пече́нга Finnish and Petsamo Petsjenga Beahcán Peäccam is an Urban-type settlement in Pechengsky District, Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. or Finnmárku ( Sami language) is a county in the extreme northeast of Norway. All the Finns were repatriated during the early days of 1940. Repatriation (from late Latin repatriare - to restore someone to his homeland is the process of return of Refugees or Soldiers to their homes ^[15] During the Finnish internees' stay a sauna was constructed at the fort's camp. A sauna (ˈsɔːnə or as Finnish) is a small room or house designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions or an establishment with one or more of these and auxiliary ^[16]

The fortress in the Norwegian Campaign

Main article: Battle of Hegra Fortress

In 1940, from April 15 to May 5, Hegra was attacked by the German invaders. The Battle of Hegra Fortress was a twenty-five day engagement in the 1940 Norwegian Campaign which saw a small force of Norwegian volunteers fighting superior German forces Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1450 - Battle of Formigny: Toward the end of the Hundred Years' War, the French attack and nearly annihilate English Events 553 - The Second Council of Constantinople begins 1215 - Rebel Barons renounce their allegiance to King John The Norwegian Campaign, lasting from 9 April to 10 June 1940, led to the first direct land confrontation between the military forces of the Allies During the first week the attacks consisted of two infantry assaults; however in the last two weeks attacks mostly featured heavy artillery fire and Luftwaffe bombing, as well as aggressive patrolling. The Infantry is the oldest and most numerous of the Combat Arms in the Armed forces, and consists Artillery (from French artillerie) is a military Combat Arm which employs any apparātus machine ( German 'luftvafe is a generic German term for an Air force. Patrolling is a Military tactic. Small groups or individual units are deployed from a larger formation to achieve a specific objective and then return

During the siege large portions of the fort was covered in snow, and as all plans of the fort was stored in German-occupied Trondheim several sections of the fortifications were not discovered by the defenders before the May 5 surrender. Fortifications are Military Constructions and Buildings designed for defense in Warfare Humans have constructed defensive works for (Trondhjem is a city and municipality in the county of Sør-Trøndelag, Norway. Surrender is when Soldiers, nations or other combatants stop fighting and become Prisoners of war, either as

The fortress today

After the end of the World War II Hegra Fortress was returned to Norwegian control and is today used as a museum with exhibitions detailing the fort's history with an emphasis on the 1940 siege. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including There is also a café and a souvenir shop. A souvenir (from French, for memory) memento or keepsake is an object a traveler brings home for the memories associated with The museum is often used for conferences^[17] and for seminars on issues of war and peace. ^[18] Hegra Fortress is still owned by the Norwegian Defence Force and financed through the Norwegian Ministry of Defence. The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Defence ( Forsvarsdepartementet) is a Norwegian government ministry in charge of the formation and implementation ^[19]

Hegra Rifle Association has since 13 May 1962 held an annual shooting competition at the fortress. Organized in commemoration of the 1940 battle and of World War II in general, the competition is held on the Sunday closest to 8 May (VE Day). Victory in Europe Day ( V-E Day or VE Day) was May 7 and May 8, 1945, the dates when the World War II Allies The wandering prize is the casing of a shell fired at the fortress in 1940. ^[20]

References

Literature

• Arnstad, Johan: Beleiringen av Hegra Festning 10. april - 5. mai 1940, F. Bruns bokforhandels forlag, Trondheim 1965 (Norwegian)
• Brox, Karl H. : Kampen om Hegra - festningen tyskerne ikke greide å ta. Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, Oslo 1988 ISBN 82-05-17716-3 (Norwegian)

External links

• Hegra Fortress website (Norwegian)
• Hegra Fortress on the National Fortresses of Norway website (Norwegian)
• Hegra Fortress on the official Norwegian Defense Force website (Norwegian)
• Hegra Fortress pictures

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