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Narvik is a town in the county of Nordland, Norway. The municipality of Narvik covers large areas outside the town itself.
Iron ore is extracted in Kiruna and Malmberget, and brought by rail to the harbours of Luleå and Narvik. (Borders as of 1920–1940.)
Narvik is one of the most northerly towns in the world, with a railroad connecting to Kiruna, in Sweden, but not to Bodø, which is at the northern end of the rest of Norway's railroad network.
Narvik 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.
Narvik during World War II
People from Narvik
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