Everything about Petsamo-kirkenes Operation totally explained
The
Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation was an operation conducted by the
Red Army against the
Wehrmacht in 1944 in northern
Finland and
Norway. The operation defeated the Wehrmacht's forces in the
Arctic, driving them back into Norway. It liberated the northern part of Norway from German occupation and seized the
nickel mines of
Peschenga.
Situation
Following the failure of the Wehrmacht’s
Operation Silver Fox in summer 1941, the frontline in the Arctic had seen little change. The environmental and supply conditions made it difficult, if not impossible, to undertake major military operations, and as far as land warfare was concerned, the Arctic had become a back-water. Sizable German forces were kept in the sector to protect the Finnish nickel mines of Peschenga, which produced a metal that was of high importance to German armour plate fabrication, and to protect the coast of northern Norway against an Allied landing operation.
Following the armistice between the
Soviet Union and
Finland on 4 September 1944, the Finnish government agreed to remove the remaining German forces from its territory by 15 September. During the retreat operations of the German 20th Mountain Army called
Operation Birke, a decision was taken by the
German Armed Forces Command to withdraw completely from northern Norway and Finland in
Operation Nordlicht. During the preparations for this retreat operation, the
Karelian Front went over to the offensive.
The preparations
Following the highly successful offensive operations along the whole of the frontline, the
STAVKA decided to move against the German forces in the Arctic in late 1944. The operation was to be undertaken jointly by
Karelian Front under the command of
K.A. Meretskov and
Northern Fleet under Admiral
Golovko. The main operations were to be conducted by
14th Army, which had been in the Arctic since the beginning of the war.
The battle
The battle can be broken into three phases, the breakthrough of the German position, the pursuit to
Kirkenes, and the battle for Kirkenes including by the southward pursuit following it.
Outcome
The battle ended in a complete victory for the Red Army. The Soviet commander Meretskov was promoted to the rank of
Marshal of the Soviet Union, and was given a prominent command during
Operation August Storm, the Red Army's attack on
Japanese held
Manchuria, in August 1945.
The Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation is notable in that it's so far the last, major successful operation of a modern military in an Arctic environment. It has been studied intensively in the Red Army for this reason.
Forces involved
Soviet
- 14th Army, total ca. 96,000 men
- 31st Rifle Corps
- 99th Rifle Corps
- 131st Rifle Corps
- Corps Pigarech
- 126th (light) Rifle Corps
- 127th (light Rifle Corps
German
20th Mountain Army
Recommended reading
James F. Gebhardt - The Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation
Meretskov, K.A. ‘Im Dienste des Volkes’ (memoirs of the commander of Karelian Front)
Khudalov ‘Am Rande des Kontinents’ (memoirs of the commander of 10th Guards Rifle Division)
Further Information
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