The effect of removing Kattegat from the Germans' supply chain was devastating, the German destroyers at Narvik could only be refuelled two at a time, instead of the planned four at a time.Sivertsen 2001: 86 Also, Jan Wellem did not hold enough fuel for all 10 of the German destroyers. Consequently, the German warships at Narvik failed to make their escape in time and were destroyed by the Royal Navy in the Battles of Narvik. As the five-destroyer-strong 2nd Destroyer Flotilla under Commodore Bernard Warburton-Lee entered the Ofotfjord on 10 April to initiate the First Battle of Narvik, Vice Admiral William Whitworth, in charge of the Royal Navy forces in the Narvik area, received a message from Norway stating that Kattegat had been intercepted and sunk off shore.Waage 1963: 83
