Invasion Day

Original title: 9. april

2015
1h 33m

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

6.7K

YOUR RATING

On April 9, 1940 Germany invaded Denmark. Based on real events - in Southern Jutland a military unit on bicycles was sent south to help hold back the Germans until reinforcement.

Play trailer1:45

1 Video

27 Photos

Drama History War

On April 9, 1940 Germany invaded Denmark. Based on real events - in Southern Jutland a military unit on bicycles was sent south to help hold back the Germans until reinforcement.On April 9, 1940 Germany invaded Denmark. Based on real events - in Southern Jutland a military unit on bicycles was sent south to help hold back the Germans until reinforcement.On April 9, 1940 Germany invaded Denmark. Based on real events - in Southern Jutland a military unit on bicycles was sent south to help hold back the Germans until reinforcement.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

6.7K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 3 nominations total

Videos1

Trailer 1:45

Official Trailer

Photos27

+ 21

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
While bicycle troops might seem risible and impractical to modern eyes, such units were in fact quite common in many countries at the time, including Germany, fielding whole bicycle battalions. Early in World War Two, Japan conquered much of China and South East Asia employing some 50,000 bicycle infantry, such troops taking e.g. Singapore from Great Britain. Bicycle units were also employed by the British during the invasion of Normandy in 1944. Bicycle infantry was seen as cost effective mobility in place of e.g. horses, that needed extra feed and could panic under fire.

Goofs
In the battle of Lundtoftbjerg(1940), a German soldier is equipped with a MG42 machine gun (developed in 1942).

Connections
Featured in Dansk films bedste: Krig, Klasselærere og Kammerater (2022)

User reviews35

Featured review

9/10

Engrossing

As other reviewers have said here, this movie deserves more than a 6+ rating.

As a war movie, it is fantastic in its depiction of the events in one of the shortest invasions in WW2. Good acting and generally good attention to details (equipment, uniforms, tactics, etc.), in addition to a taut, gripping narrative makes it an engaging historical drama.

The strengths of the movie lie in part on its focus on just one small unit and a couple of related engagements over a period of a few hours, instead of trying to tell a wider story that would have distracted and detracted from the experience.

If there is a weakness, it is that there was very little time for the audience to really get to care about the main characters. Perhaps just a few minutes spent on their backgrounds would have been worthwhile.

I would like to highlight the last scene at the end (NO SPOILER). For those who are familiar with the history of WW2, it brings on goosebumps knowing what is about to happen to the Jews in Europe. Fortunately, most of the Jewish population in Denmark were saved, thanks in large part to the Danish resistance and the Swedish government.

If you are looking for a bloody war movie, this is not it. But if you are looking for a brief glimpse into how men react when faced with impossible odds, then April 9th will not disappoint.