With an eye to history: The origins and development of ‘Stay-Behind’ in Norway

Abstract

Based on full access to Norwegian archives up to 1970, the article describes the origins and development of ‘stay-behind’– an organized preparedness, under the aegis of the Norwegian Intelligence Service, for intelligence and sabotage behind enemy lines in case of a Soviet occupation. Initiated by Defence Minister Jens Christian Hauge, wartime leader of the Norwegian military resistance, the set-up built on lessons learnt during the German occupation, when effective resistance was hampered by inexperience and improvisation. Secrecy and security, and national Norwegian control albeit with cooperative links with British and American secret services, were distinctive features of the networks that came into being from 1948 onwards. NATO began to take an interest from 1952, but SACEUR's main concern was for ‘retardation’– guerrilla and sabotage activities to delay Soviet forces even before entering NATO territory.

Key words:

• Stay-behind
• Norway
• Cold War
• NATO
• Intelligence

Notes

*Parts of what follows will be familiar to readers of Olav Riste, The Norwegian Intelligence Service 1945–70 (London: Frank Cass 1999).

¹FO/E (Archives of the Norwegian Intelligence Service), copy file H. Evang to Berg (personal) 5 Aug. 1947.

²SMK (Files of the Prime Minister's Office), Defence Council Protocol, meeting 14 Jan. 1948.

³Hauge in an interview with the author on 6 May 1996 has confirmed that his approaches to the military attachés in January and February had not been cleared with the rest of the Cabinet.

⁴On international security developments and Norwegian reactions 1945–49 see O. Riste, Norway's Foreign Relations – a History (Oslo: Universitetsforlaget 2001 and 2005) Ch. 9.

⁵FO/E, copy file H. Evang to Hauge, 22 May 1948.

⁶The plan was presented and published by parliament as a White Paper, viz. Stortingsmelding nr. 32 (1945–6).

⁷FO/E, Evang Papers, Evang memorandum 25 March 1947.

⁸Hauge Papers, unregistered files, unsigned memorandum to Hauge dated Oslo 18 May 1948, apparently written by an engineer named Per Røed. Hauge passed it on to Evang a few days later with a note that this ‘is the engineer I mentioned to you yesterday’, and offering to introduce the writer if Evang wished to use him.

⁹FO/E, Evang Papers, unsigned memorandum dated 30 March 1950.

¹⁰Ibid., ‘Direktiv’ dated Oslo 16 Jan. 1949.

¹¹FO/E, E-12. Hauge to Berg, 25 Oct. 1948. In conversation with the author Hauge stated that this initiative had not been cleared with his Cabinet colleagues.

¹²Ibid., unsigned document ‘ROC – Oversikt’ dated Sept. 1952. ROC became the short version of the organization's name.

¹³Ibid., ‘Historie E-12’, doc. no. 104.

¹⁴This American interest may have had something to do with a visit to Oslo by Maj. Gen. William B. (‘Wild Bill’) Donovan, founder of OSS, in Oct. 1948, when he met with Defence Minister Hauge. Harold Stuart became Deputy Secretary of the Air Force in the Truman administration later in 1949.

¹⁵FO/E, E-12, ‘ROC – Oversikt’, and doc. no. 104.

¹⁶FO/E, E-12 II, ‘Mobiliseringsoppgjør for ROC’. Undated, but c. Sept. 1952.

¹⁷Ibid., Minutes of meeting, 8 Aug. 1950.

¹⁸Hauge Papers, file ‘Dok. av spesiell interesse’, folder ‘Liaison’: Letter, Hauge–Wisner, 1 Nov. 1950.

¹⁹FO/E, E-12 II, Note on the distribution of ten 57 mm guns, 5 March 1952.

²⁰Ibid., E-12 I, ‘ROC’ survey of Sept. 1952.

²¹FO/E, file 37.00 CPC, ‘Reputation’ doc., 8 Oct. 1952.

²²FO/E, E-12 I, Evang note, 30 April 1952.

²³FO/E, file 37.00 CPC, doc. No CPC/4/52.

²⁴FO/E, file ‘CPC’, two-page memo. ‘Reputation’, 28 Jan. 1953.

²⁵Ibid., unsigned memo. ref. ‘S/19/54, S/20/54, Oct. 1954’.

²⁶Ibid., unsigned memo. of 16 Nov. 1957 ‘Ad RV/6/57 og CPC/2/57 from 19/6/1957’.

²⁸Ibid., memo, 16 Nov. 1957 ‘Møte CPC tirsdag 19. november, avenue Deloison, Neuilly, Paris 14.30’.

²⁷Ibid., unsigned memo, probably by Evang, 2 Sept. 1957.

²⁹Ibid., file CPC, doc. CPC/1/61, 18 July 1961.

³⁰Ibid., doc. RV/1/62, 3 April 1962.

³¹Ibid., unsigned memo. entitled ‘Historikk – ALF (1987)’, and interviews.

³²Ibid., file CPC, two planning documents dated 4 Feb. and 22 June 1953.

³³See also FO/E, E-12 I, doc. CNCS/I/53.

³⁴FO/E, E-12 I, file ‘Retardation in Finland’, dated 13–16 Nov. 1953.

³⁵FO/E, file ‘Vagrant’, 16 June 1961.

³⁶Ibid., unsigned memo from June 1961 ‘Utkast til OCS Plan Finland’.

³⁷Stortinget, Dokument nr. 15. Rapport til Stortinget fra kommisjonen som ble nedsatt av Stortinget for å granske påstander om ulovlig overvåking av norske borgere (Lund-rapporten) (Oslo: Stortinget 1996) Hereafter cited as the Lund Report.

³⁸Jakob Børresen, Gullow Gjeseth and Rolf Tamnes, Norsk forsvarshistorie bd. 5: 1970–2000. Allianseforsvar i endring (Bergen: Eide 2004).

³⁹Lund Report, 456.

⁴⁰Ibid., 458.

⁴¹ Stortingstidende 1977–78 (Proceedings in Parliament), col. 3628–9.

⁴²Lund Report, 456.

⁴³Ibid.

⁴⁴Ronald Bye and Finn Sjue, Norges Hemmelige Hær (Oslo: Tiden 1995). Daniele Ganser, NATO's Secret Armies: Operation ‘Gladio’ and Terrorism in Western Europe (London: Routledge/Frank Cass 2005).

⁴⁵Lund Report, 460.

⁴⁶The Intelligence Act is available on the internet through <http://www.mil.no/etjenesten>.