On the 27th December, 1941, in a small island town in the north Norwegian fjords, a German soldier crunched through the snow back to his barracks.All was calm apart from the sounds of Christmas songs still emanating from some of the bars and houses.

Suddenly, in the distance, the thump of explosions and the bright lights of fireworks clearly showed people were still enjoying the yuletide celebrations.

However, on the edge of the town, a massive assault was actually underway.The fireworks were flares and the explosions were the sound of HMS Kenya’s huge guns firing from the middle of the fjord.Within a few moments hundreds of British Commandos would be assaulting the peaceful hamlet.