The movie begins before World War II had begun; Sweden stood by a neutrality pact among other
European countries.
This allowed them to take responsibility for the mining and transporting 85% of the iron
ore used by the German weapons industry.
They do this via train from Kiruna in Sweden across the border to Narvik.
Britain's Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, believed it was essential to halt the transport
to deny the Germans access to resources.
On April 8, 1940, the British Marine Forces mined Norwegian waters.
Narvik native Gunnar Toft is part of Norway's neutrality forces.
He and his fellow soldiers are transferred to Narvik as guards, unaware the neutrality
pact has been violated.
Coming ashore, Gunnar is instructed by his superior to return to base by midnight.
He rushes to the Royal Hotel, where his wife, Ingrid, works as a staff member and an interpreter
for the German Consul Fritz Wussow.
The couple sneaks into the kitchen during the convention to enjoy a brief romantic reunion
before Ingrid is called back to work.
He then steps outside the back entrance to surprise his 6-year-old son Ole for his birthday
while his father, Aslak, looks after him.
Later, after celebrating at home, Ingrid arrives, and they make love as their son is sent to
bed.
However, Gunnar realizes he overstayed and hastily bids farewell to his wife four hours
after the scheduled return to base.
The Corporal immediately informs him about encroaching German warships that have begun
sinking Norwegian vessels to reach the harbor, with one ship entering Narvik.
A standoff with German troops ensues when he gathers with the soldiers.
The Colonel negotiates with the commanding officer and orders the Norwegian forces to
retreat, puzzling Gunnar.
As morning dawns, Ingrid returns to fulfill her shift in the Royal Hotel when German soldiers
take over and demand refuge, evicting their current guests.
Though unnerved by the situation, she translates Consul Wussow's requests, giving each soldier
room and food.
Later, after entertaining two hungry German soldiers in the dining hall, she helps sneak
the British Consul George L.D.
Gibbs and his colleague, Giles Romilly, through the back of the kitchen, instructing them
to hide in a remote cabin in the mountains with the help of the hotel server, Bjørg.
Afterward, she returns home for Aslak to inform that her husband and the Norwegians have refused
to surrender as they march along the train tracks under German surveillance.
They evacuate their home soon after and travel to the harbor to wait for a ferry.
Unfortunately, upon arriving, they are told by German soldiers that civilians are not
allowed to board the vessel, preventing them from leaving town.
While the family takes an alternative plan to ride a train, Gunnar calls his father to
inquire about dynamite stashed beneath the Nordal Bridge, as his superiors are adamant
about detonating the bridge with explosives to cease the ore transport.
However, the young Corporal becomes surprised to discover his wife and son are onboard the
inbound train.
Nevertheless, he follows the instructions to prepare the explosives without hesitation.
Not long after, the troops hear movement in the tunnel, though instead of a train, they
see civilians walking in the tracks; among them are Ingrid and Ole.
While they are asked to flee from the bridge and run toward Swedish territory, Ingrid tells
Gunnar that the Germans delayed their train in Hundalen and will arrive soon.
With time running out, the young Corporal and his unit plant the explosives underneath
the support beams.
Gunnar then bravely climbs the side of the bridge to attach the line on the tracks while
a few German soldiers at the tunnel open fire.
Though bombarded by heavy gunfire, two Norwegian soldiers light the fuse and destroy a part
of the bridge.
Still, this effort is proven futile as they and Gunnar get captured.
Simultaneously, Ingrid and Ole are recovered in the opposite tunnel and promptly returned
to the hotel, where Aslak waits around nightfall.
The young woman is led to the dining hall, where she helps translate the Mayor's pleas
to evacuate to the German Commander and Consul Wussow.
He becomes exasperated when the discussion turns into a disagreement due to the neutrality
grounds getting violated.
After he leaves, Ingrid confides with Consul Wussow about her husband's apprehension, which
he agrees to sort out with his German captors.
The following morning, Bjørg visits her home to inform her about the British nationals'
situation at the cabin, asking her to deliver them tobacco upon their request.
She leaves promptly without rousing suspicion from the German patrol outside.
At the place, Gibbs and Giles plead for assistance in performing reconnaissance work to locate
the Germans' artillery positions so that the British Forces can plan accordingly for a
possible liberation of Narvik on land.
Later, Ingrid returns to the hotel to serve the Germans during their meeting.
While cleaning up, she briefly peeks inside a drawer where maps of the artillery placement
are kept.
Suddenly, English warships approach the harbor and begin firing, prompting the Germans to
retaliate.
Ingrid rushes to Aslak, and Ole and the group retreat to the nearby underground bomb shelter
with other locals and their children.
The attack continues up to nightfall as the electricity powers down.
The refugees huddle up for warmth and pass the time by talking and playing with toys.
A little while later, during a ceasefire, Aslak escorts Ingrid and Ole out on the snowy
street and back to the hotel to check if the Englishmen have come ashore to take over.
Unfortunately, the hotel desk manager, Polly, informs them otherwise despite sinking all
the German ships.
Ingrid is forced to return to work and treat the wounded despite Aslak's apprehensions.
After checking with Wussow, she secretly leaves the hall and sneaks inside the office to retrieve
the maps she saw earlier.
She then immediately gives them to Gibbs and Giles, who trace the drawings and mark the
points of interest around Narvik.
The British thank her profusely for her efforts and promptly send her back to return the maps
while they radio the Navy.
Later after Ingrid walks home and gets inspected by a German patrol, the British Forces start
a bombing run, injuring her as she gets caught in the middle of the bombardment.
Though she rescues a bleeding Ole from their home, she discovers Aslak dead after getting
pinned by debris.
The pair escape, leaving Narvik behind.
Four weeks later, in Roasme, the Germans established an iron ring around Narvik.
At the same time, French and Polish forces attacked from the north and south borders.
The Norwegian troops must attempt to quell the German invaders by locating them in the
mountains.
During this time, Gunnar and his Norwegian mates have become prisoners, doing the German
soldiers' bidding while they try to survive in the snowy trenches.
Later, while the wounded are tended to, Gunnar overhears the soldiers talking about his father's
death but is unable to inquire about the whereabouts of his son when a bombing raid ensues.
Luckily, French soldiers invade the trenches and rescue Gunnar and the Norwegians.
Though Gunnar appears frail, he musters enough strength to arm himself and evacuate.
Along the way, he mistakenly shoots one of his colleagues working at the gunnery, thinking
he is a German soldier.
Upon returning to the Norwegian unit, he requests to return to Narvik.
Still, the commanding officer encourages him to fight and liberate their land first, hoping
he will reunite with his family again.
One week later, the British ships continued their assault on the Germans, forcing all
civilians to hide in the underground shelters.
With no doctor readily available, Ingrid tends to Ole's infected wound with bandages.
Bjørg arrives to inform her to return to the hotel to be the interpreter in Wussow
and the town Mayor's discussion.
Once there, the German Consul explains that they must cut the food rations of the civilians
until the British Consul has been found.
As they retreat to the basement, he warns the mayor he will be tried for treason if
he does not cooperate in revealing who is providing intelligence for the British forces,
a threat that he dismisses.
She then promptly returns to her son, refusing to stay at the hotel even though it is safer.
Unfortunately, Ole succumbs to the infection in the middle of the night, forcing Ingrid
to evacuate from the shelter and rush to the hotel for Wussow's help.
The German Consul hesitates to provide assistance since most doctors are ordered to only treat
wounded soldiers.
Ingrid cracks, revealing the British Consul's location in exchange for treating her sick
son.
Later, while Ole is in surgery, Bjørg goes to the hotel and tells Ingrid the Germans
have discovered the cabin.
Ingrid vaguely implies she is responsible, though she promises she did not implicate
Bjørg with the British.
Two weeks later, in the Rombarks Fjord, Norwegian and French soldiers were ordered to initiate
an attack against the Germans, which would be the only way to liberate Narvik.
Gunnar and his troops are on a transport boat when heavy fire strikes.
The Major instructs them to rush toward the German's cannon in the tunnel as soon as the
French destroy the five mounted guns surrounding the area.
While waiting for the signal, Gunnar leads his men through the snowy hilltop across enemy
lines.
Though unnerved by the sight of many casualties from the French side, he shakes it off and
saves one of his mates from the battlefield.
They are about to retreat downhill when the Major threatens to shoot them for insubordination
if they do not remove the cannon.
Knowing a frontline offensive will achieve nothing, Gunnar leads his fellow soldiers
to the other side of the hill to reach the back entrance of the tunnel.
Once there, they catch the enemy troops off-guard and shoot them down.
The Corporal then climbs onto the cannon and detonates an explosive to destroy it.
The men appear atop the hill to alert the Norwegian army below of their success, helping
them climb upward without issue.
Meanwhile, Ingrid and Ole return to the hotel and meet with a grateful Wussow, who must
retreat with the German troops back to Berlin.
He asks Ingrid to join him, believing Hitler will eventually take over the world.
Though she declines, he shows her a list that includes Gunnar as one of the casualties of
the war effort.
She breaks down to Polly, who gives her compensation for her work in the hotel and asks her to
head north where it is safer.
Unbeknownst to her, Gunnar is alive, victoriously celebrating their siege on the hill with the
troops.
The Frenchmen tell him that Narvik is liberated and he can return home.
The Norwegians officially returned on May 28, 1940.
Breaking off from his unit, Gunnar rushes to his home only to find it in ruins.
Fortunately, Ingrid is waiting inside as he climbs upstairs, feeling relieved he did not
die during the assault.
Though happily reuniting with his family, he confronts Ingrid about rumors spreading
she had been involved with the Germans.
His wife defends her actions, claiming she gave up the British Consul to save their dying
son.
They briefly argue about their moral choices during the war when they get trapped in the
house during the Germans' bombing raid.
Gunnar hurriedly runs to the street as the citizens and soldiers grieve their fallen
comrade who gets killed.
The Major convenes with his unit to keep fighting as Gunnar sees Ingrid leave Narvik with his
son.
Later, when she reaches the docks, she trips, but no one bothers to help her, believing
she is a traitor.
Luckily, Gunnar appears after changing his heart and goes with his family on the boat
to the north.
The movie ends with the local fishing vessels successfully transporting the remaining Narvik
citizens before German bombers eviscerate the town.
The recapture of Narvik (the largest battle in Norway) is considered to be Hitler's first
defeat in World War II, even though it was a brief victory.
The Norwegians were forced to surrender on June 8, 1940, after the French and British
forces withdrew without their knowledge.