Thank you to Wondrium for sponsoring today’s video! Signup for your FREE trial to Wondrium here: http://ow.ly/NZGF50MESfo
Shortly after 9am on April 8th 1940, the British destroyer HMS Glowworm rammed the 18,000 ton German Heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper. It was the climax of a running battle that developed after a single British destroyer inadvertently stumbled into the middle of a full scale German invasion of Norway. This is the story of a fight to the end against overwhelming odds, and a tale of gallantry that was only recognised in the most extraordinary of circumstances.
To support the creation of more videos like this, please support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/historigraph
Credits:
Animation for this video by:
https://twitter.com/Scuffed_Lund
https://twitter.com/addaway23
Lutz Olaf
Artwork Lead:
https://twitter.com/ChrisbyFlanker
Written, Directed and Produced by:
https://twitter.com/addaway23
Come join the historigraph discord: https://discord.gg/ygypfs3BEB
Sources:
Geirr Haar, The German Invasion of Norway: April 1940
IWM Oral History interview with Albert Noel Harris, stoker onboard HMS Glowworm https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80016237
IWM Oral History interview with Fred Smith https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80024559
Music Credits:
“Rynos Theme” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
“Crypto” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
“Stay the Course” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Other music and SFX from Epidemic Sound
source
Thanks for watching everyone! 2023 is going to be a big year for Historigraph- IFf you'd like to support the continued creation of these videos and get a weeks early access to new content, check out our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/historigraph
Also, Come join the historigraph discord and say hi: https://discord.gg/ygypfs3BEB
Azur Lane players here ?
The German captain was also an honorable and gallant commander.
I first read about this incident over 50 years ago while in high school in a novel entitled "Battle of the April Storm" by Larry Forrester. Although it's in novel-form, I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about the battle.
Ironically, this incident helped the Germans more in the long run, as it was one of the key factors that led to the British failing to realize the Germans were invading Norway instead of trying to break out into the Atlantic.
Interesting fact I found about this engagment, the Victoria Cross Captain Gerard Roope's was awarded was both the first and last one awarded for WWII. To explain, the engagement occurred in April 8th of 1940, marking the the first action of WWII where the Victoria Cross was earned. However due to not being informed of his action until the near end of the war Captain Roope's Victoria cross was the last one award for WWII in July of 1945 (the medal given to his widow in 46). So while his award marks the first action the cross was awarded for during the war it was the last one given out for the war.
Quite an iconic moment
Captain Heye obviously was a decent and honorable man from the most dishonorable country ever. I've often wondered how men like him, if survived, felt & thought about what Nazi Germany was guilty of.
That guy tried to make fertilizer out of poop.
I is hard to hate the Germans after this!
I'm surprised by how many sailors apparently went over bord.
Why were they on deck in the first place?
Were there actually no alternatives?
These small documentaries you do are bloody brilliant, keep up the good work,
During WW2 more merchant marine sailers were lost than Navy sailers. Their pay was stopped that day. Their identity was difficult to prove and my brave neighbour lost three ships on their voyage to Murmansk. only the clothes they wore, empty stomachs and had to beg ships skippers for help home. A thousand George medals should have been awarded. Those sailers gave their lives to the russian roulette these voyages truly were.
"Fair Winds and Following Seas" Brothers of the Sea.
This story among others make me curious about the role of luck in the course of history. It seems to me, ignoring analysis of the value of their pursuit, the Germans experienced incredibly bad luck in their naval operations.
Old warriors on land, sea, and air who came up in the years prior to the war still abided by the knights code of chivalry. Sad that it would not last long, but while it did, we saw displays such as this. Impossible to imagine today an enemy not only applauding your courage in battle, but to go as far as to recommend to your command that you be awarded.
Interesting story..
It's OK to have a sponsor, but give us a chapter or time signal, so we can avoid the c#$p, you have a Patreon link, so save it for the end, and remember how this started.
Ironically enough, it seemed KMS Admiral Hipper couldn't catch a break. She was constantly getting into scrapes where she would get disproportionately damaged in battle, most infamously in the Battle of the Barents Sea where HMS Sheffield and HMS Jamaica managed to damage her boilers.
Death or Death and Glory?