Rejection by Germany of Britain’s ultimatum to suspend
her attack on Poland sealed Europe’s fate, for on September 3rd
1939 Britain and France declared war on Germany. However, unlike the First
World War, the Second World War only inspired one special issue of the
ILN connected with the conflict. A series of panorama-style numbers was
published at irregular intervals, but these were in the nature of informative
publications detailing weaponry and the tactics of warfare in a technical
or diagramatic way.
on April 9th 1940, the Germans began their full-scale invasion of Norway,
and their first targets were the country’s ports, especially the
ice-free port of Narvik from which the Germans could ship back he vital
supplies of iron ore. In addition, these ports could be used as bases
from which the German navy could sweep down on British shipping in the
North Atlantic.
On April 27th 1940, the ILN published ‘The Naval Epic of
Narvik’
(appendix List No. 129) which tells the
graphic story of the British attack on and capture of that port and the
destruction of ten German destroyers with the loss of only two of her
own.
The first attack took place on April 10th and was led by the ‘Hardy’
which was 1st together with her sister ship the ‘Hunter’.
The second attack on April 13th was led by the ‘Warspite’
commanded by Admiral Whitorth accompanied by a strong force of destroyers.
The first attack had seen the destruction of three enemy vessels, but
this second attack wiped out the remaining seven destroyers.
Other pages show the destruction of Stavanger, the only land aerodrome
in West Norway and the landing of the B.E.F. in Norway without a single
casualty.
The cover is the usual advertising wrapper with the special nature of
the issue indicated in bold letters towards the top. It is issue number
5271, vol. 196, pages 541-576, measuring 37 x 26 cm and priced at one
shilling.