10 Facts About Otto Ruge

Otto Ruge grew up in Kristiania in a family with strong military traditions.

Otto Ruge attended the Norwegian Military College and took the General Staff exam.

Colonel Otto Ruge became chief of the General Staff in 1933.

In 1940, Colonel Otto Ruge was promoted to major general and assumed command after the former commander-in-chief, Generalmajor Kristian Laake, who was supposed to go into retirement a few days after the German attack on Norway, displayed a defeatist attitude and consequently was relieved of command.

General Otto Ruge persuaded the government to fight the German invaders.

Otto Ruge was convinced that fighting would be vital to the country and the nation's self-respect, but pragmatic enough to realize that a need for Allied help was crucial to succeed.

Otto Ruge had a hard task on his hands: he received command over an only partly mobilised army.

Partially in contrast to what Terje Holm as well as Torkel Hovland claim, military historian Tom Kristiansen emphasizes that even though Otto Ruge participated in the downsizing of the Norwegian Army during the early 1930s, he warned against the renewed threat after 1935 and pointed to the weakness of the Norwegian mobilization system.

Otto Ruge was evacuated after the fall of southern Norway and participated in the Battle of Narvik.

General Otto Ruge was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of St Olav and awarded the Collar of the same order for his service to the nation during World War II.