Altmark incident

Altmark incident
Part of the Phoney War of World War II

German casualties are brought ashore for burial after the incident.
Date16 February 1940
Location
Jøssingfjord, Sokndal, Norway
Result British victory
Belligerents
 United Kingdom  Germany
Commanders and leaders
Philip Vian Heinrich Dau
Strength
3 destroyers 1 tanker
Casualties and losses
1 wounded[1] 8 killed[2]
10 wounded
299 British prisoners rescued
Ship Altmark in early 1940 Jøssingfjord, Norway
Aerial reconnaissance photo of Altmark in the Jøssingfjord prior to the incident
HMS Cossack returns to Leith on 17 February 1940, after rescuing the British prisoners held in Graf Spee's supply ship Altmark
Jøssingfjord pictured in 2006

The Altmark incident (Norwegian: Altmark-affæren; German: Altmark-Zwischenfall) was a naval incident of World War II between British destroyers and the German tanker Altmark, which happened on 16–17 February 1940. It took place in what were neutral Norwegian waters. On board the Altmark were roughly 300[a] Allied prisoners (officially internees), whose ships had been sunk by the pocket battleship Graf Spee in the Southern Atlantic Ocean.

British naval forces cornered the tanker, and later the destroyer HMS Cossack boarded the Altmark near the Jøssingfjord and liberated all the prisoners. Eight German sailors were killed and ten wounded during hand-to-hand fighting, which took place during the boarding. A British sailor was also wounded during the fighting. The German government claimed that the boarding had been a violation of international law and of Norwegian neutrality and later used the incident in the propaganda broadcasts of "Lord Haw-Haw".[3]

  1. ^ "A Great Naval Exploit: The Return of the H.M.S. Cossack". The Times. London. 19 February 1940. p. 10.
  2. ^ Haar p. 378.
  3. ^ "BBC - Press Office - BBC Archive reveals effect mysterious Lord Haw-Haw had on Britain".


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).