April 9th
The film begins with a last minute recall of reservists and a feeling of trepidation as the troops await the invasion. I was intrigued with how the film portrayed the initial meeting engagement, then a running skirmish between two reconnaissance forces.
Not many war films focus on the reconnaissance phase of a battle and due to its swift capitulation, Denmark was spared the horrors of full scale combat. There is a scene in which the Danes prepare to defend a town. The platoon commander directs his troops into defensive positions and instead of fortifying buildings has his troops take cover behind stairways. His riflemen have better line of sight down the road from which the Germans will approach but pay for this with less concealment (though one can argue that cement stairways offered more cover than mostly wooden buildings).
I love the film's emphasis on historical accuracy. Danish soldiers are referred to by number, not by name and an avuncular Capt. Tom Hanks with that right mix of command and empathy is missing. On a movie message board I noted a comment mentioning the lack of character development and how addressing soldiers by their service numbers detracted from the film's enjoyment. I admit it is jarring to hear that with modern years but applaud the historical accuracy and insight into life of a 1940 Danish solider.
Danish Military History Links
It is hard to find information on the unit and battles depicted in the film. While researching I found the following links relevant to Danish military history with an emphasis on WW2:
Overall campaign
https://infogalactic.com/info/German_invasion_of_Denmark_(1940)
Trivia section has some comments on Danish weapons.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3542188/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv
Nice picture and some info on the Dane's most effective weapon in the war, the 20mm cannon plus Forgottenweapons is going up as a permanent link on this blog.
https://www.forgottenweapons.com/vintage-saturday-danish-technical/
Overall campaign
https://infogalactic.com/info/German_invasion_of_Denmark_(1940)
Trivia section has some comments on Danish weapons.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3542188/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv
Nice picture and some info on the Dane's most effective weapon in the war, the 20mm cannon plus Forgottenweapons is going up as a permanent link on this blog.
https://www.forgottenweapons.com/vintage-saturday-danish-technical/
German Occupation Dane National Museum.
https://en.natmus.dk/historical-knowledge/denmark/german-occupation-1940-1945/
Weapons
https://ww2-weapons.com/danish-armed-forces/
Discussion on Danish armed forces. Some OOB information.
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=9118
Great site on Danish military history.
https://milhist.dk/category/slaget/
The war wasn't over for the Danes in 1940. There was varying levels of resistance, some overt such as the Danish Navy's refusal to turn over fleet units to the Germans.
Operation Safari - German attempt to neutralize Danish fleet assets
https://milhist.dk/operation-safari-det-tyske-forsog-pa-at-afvaebne-det-danske-forsvar-2/
Scuttling of Danish subs 1943
https://milhist.dk/saenkningen-af-undervandsbaden-havfruen-29-aug-1943-2/
More on the 1943 "mutiny"
http://www.navalhistory.dk/English/History/1939_1945/August29.htm
Hungarian regiments training in Denmark as the Soviets had entered Hungarian territory.
https://milhist.dk/vabenlose-ungarere-i-danmark/
Small post on German invasion
https://milhist.dk/danmark-under-den-anden-verdenskrig/
Danish fortifications
https://military-history-denmark.dk/index_eng.htm
April 9th Availability
For those with AMZN Prime, it is free to view.
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