The Strange Incident that Changed WW2

In early 1940, the German oil tanker Altmark was traveling through neutral Norwegian waters hoping to avoid being spotted by the fearsome Royal Navy.

The ship was carrying almost 300 Allied prisoners of war rescued from vessels sunk by the Admiral Graf Spee pocket battleship in the Southern Atlantic Ocean during the first months of World War 2.

When Altmark was spotted by a British aircraft, she found refuge in a fjord, accompanied by a Norwegian escort. But the British were determined to rescue the prisoners, and the 4th Destroyer Flotilla led by HMS Cossak and her captain Philip Vian was tasked with following the formation.

The British then made several attempts to board Altmark, but the Norwegians suddenly aimed their torpedo tubes at Cossack. Soon, all three sides settled for a standoff.

Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, ordered Vian to take back the prisoners and only use force if necessary. However, the Germans would not give up so easily, and fierce hand-to-hand combat ensued.

It was the Germans and the British who were fighting each other, but the encounter would mostly have disastrous consequences for Norway…