Jørstadelva Bridge
Operation Woodlark, also known as the Jørstadelva Bridge sabotage, was an operation carried out on 13 January 1945 by members of the Norwegian Independent Company 1 during World War II. The operation bore the code-name "Woodlark". The aim was to blow up a railway bridge in order to disrupt the railway Nordland Line in Snåsa, Norway. Six hours after the bridge had been destroyed, a military troop train unaware of the sabotage derailed and crashed into the river below, killing 70-80 people (among them two Norwegians) and injuring some 100 more. It remains the single most deadly rail incident ever in Norway.[1]
In the aftermath of the disaster, there were fights between German and US soldiers in the Snåsa mountains, the only fights in Norway between these two countries during the occupation. A war memorial of the sabotage was raised in 1995 at the site.[2] Four out of the five saboteurs who had participated in the sabotage were present at the dedication of the memorial.
[3] Commanding officer Major William Colby lead the NORSO I - troops who were mainly Norwegian nationals. [4]
References
- ↑ List of rail accidents and disasters in Norway (Norwegian)
- ↑ NAF road handbook Trondheim-Mosjøen-Kirkenes. Jørstad river sabotage and memorial mentioned on pages 431 and 433 (Norwegian)
- ↑ Hommelvikulykken m.m. (Hommelvik accident and others), Svein Sando (Norwegian)
- ↑ OSS - Operational groups Operation Rype
- Samfunnsmagasinet Fra Vidkun Quisling til Einar Gerhardsen, published 21 April 2006. Incident is mentioned in the section "Fra Quisling til Gerhardsen". (Norwegian)
Railway accidents in Norway |
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Railway accidents in 1945 (1945) |
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1944   1946 |
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Coordinates: 64°11′31″N 12°11′33″E / 64.1919°N 12.1924°E / 64.1919; 12.1924