The Petsamo–Kirkenes offensive was a major military offensive during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, mounted by the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...
against the ''
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previou ...
'' in 1944 in the
Petsamo Petsamo may refer to:
* Petsamo Province, a province of Finland from 1921 to 1922
* Petsamo, Tampere, a district in Tampere, Finland
* Pechengsky District, Russia, formerly known as Petsamo
* Pechenga (urban-type settlement), Murmansk Oblast
...
region, ceded to the Soviet Union by Finland in accordance with the
Moscow Armistice, and
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
. The offensive defeated the ''Wehrmacht''s forces in the
Arctic
The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada ( Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm ( Greenland), Finland, Iceland ...
, driving them back into Norway, and was called the "Tenth Shock" by Stalin. It later
expelled German forces from the northern part of Norway and seized the
nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow ...
mines of Petsamo.
Situation
In the aftermath of the failed German–Finnish offensive,
Operation Silver Fox, in 1941, the frontlines in the
Arctic
The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada ( Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm ( Greenland), Finland, Iceland ...
had seen little change. Environmental and supply conditions in the remote, nearly roadless region made it difficult, if not impossible, to undertake major military operations, and as far as land warfare was concerned, the Arctic had become a backwater. Considerable German forces were deployed in the sector to protect the Finnish
nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow ...
mines of
Petsamo Petsamo may refer to:
* Petsamo Province, a province of Finland from 1921 to 1922
* Petsamo, Tampere, a district in Tampere, Finland
* Pechengsky District, Russia, formerly known as Petsamo
* Pechenga (urban-type settlement), Murmansk Oblast
...
, which were of importance to German armour plate fabrication, and to guard the coast of northern Norway against an
Allied landing operation.
After the armistice between the Soviet Union and Finland on 4 September 1944, the Petsamo region (though still largely occupied by the Germans) became part of the
Russian SFSR
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
, and the Finnish government agreed to remove the remaining German troops from its territory by 15 September (leading to the
Lapland War). During the retreat of the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previou ...
20th Mountain Army, called
Operation Birke, the decision was made by the ''
Oberkommando der Wehrmacht'' to withdraw completely from northern Norway and Finland in
Operation Nordlicht. During the preparations for this operation, the Russians went over to the offensive on the
Karelian Front.
[ Glantz (1995) pp. 229–230]
Preparations
The
Stavka
The ''Stavka'' ( Russian and Ukrainian: Ставка) is a name of the high command of the armed forces formerly in the Russian Empire, Soviet Union and currently in Ukraine.
In Imperial Russia ''Stavka'' referred to the administrative staff, ...
decided to move against the German forces in the Arctic in late 1944. The operation was to be undertaken jointly by the
Karelian Front under the command of General
Kirill Meretskov
Kirill Afanasievich Meretskov (russian: Кири́лл Афана́сьевич Мерецко́в; – 30 December 1968) was a Soviet military commander. Having joined the Communist Party in 1917, he served in the Red Army from 1920. During th ...
and the
Northern Fleet
Severnyy flot
, image = Great emblem of the Northern Fleet.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Northern Fleet's great emblem
, start_date = June 1, 1733; Sov ...
under Admiral
Arseniy Golovko. The main operations were to be conducted by the
14th Army Fourteenth Army or 14th Army may refer to:
* 14th Army (German Empire), a World War I field Army
* 14th Army (Wehrmacht), a World War II field army
* Italian Fourteenth Army
* Japanese Fourteenth Army, a World War II field army, in 1944 converted ...
, which had been in the Arctic since the beginning of the war. Meretskov was provided with several units specially configured to meet the requirements for operations in the far north. The 126th and 127th Rifle Corps consisted of light infantry with a number of ski troops and naval infantry. The Soviets also had 30 engineer battalions, numerous horse- and reindeer-equipped transportation companies, and two battalions equipped with US-supplied amphibious vehicles for river crossings.
[ Glantz (1995) pp. 230–231] In addition, the Soviets massed thousands of mortars and artillery pieces, 750 aircraft, and 110 tanks (while the Germans lacked any armour), making Soviet forces far superior to the Germans.
[
Soviet preparations, which had lasted for two months, had not gone unnoticed by the Germans. The highly capable General ]Lothar Rendulic
Lothar Rendulic ( hr, Rendulić; 23 October 1887 – 17 January 1971)Rudolf Neck, Adam Wandruszka, Isabella Ackerl (ed.) (1980): ''Protokolle des Ministerrates der Ersten Republik, 1918–1938, Abteilung VIII, 20. Mai 1932 bis 25. Juli 1934''. ...
, who served as both head of the 20th Mountain Army and overall theater commander, was well aware of the threat posed by the upcoming offensive. Prior to the start of the Soviet drive, the defending Germans had been ordered to abandon Petsamo on 15 October, and Kirkenes by the beginning of November.[ Ahto (1980) pp. 260–263]
Offensive
The offensive can be divided into three phases: the breakthrough
Breakthrough or break through may refer to:
Arts Books
* ''Break Through'' (book), a 2007 book about environmentalism by Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger
* ''Break Through'' (play), a 2011 episodic play portraying scenes from LGBT life
* ...
of the German position, the pursuit to Kirkenes
Kirkenes (; ; Skolt Sami: ''Ǩeârkknjargg;'' fi, Kirkkoniemi; ; russian: Киркенес) is a town in Sør-Varanger Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, in the far northeastern part of Norway. The town lies on a peninsula along the Bøk ...
, and the battle for Kirkenes, including the southward pursuit that followed it. During the offensive several amphibious landings were conducted by naval infantry and army units. Initially, the Germans' intended withdrawal was hampered by Hitler's strict orders to Rendulic to evacuate all supplies from the Petsamo region before abandoning it.
Despite intensive planning before the offensive, the initial attack on 7 October immediately met with problems. Poor visibility made it difficult to co-ordinate artillery and fire support, slowing the assault; nevertheless, after some fierce fighting the Soviets broke through the German lines on the Titovka River. Blowing up the bridges behind them, the Germans retreated. The Soviets pursued, and over the following days conducted several amphibious landings to cut off the German forces.[ On 10 October the Germans shifted the 163rd Division, which was already withdrawing from Finland to Norway, to the Petsamo region to bolster their defenses.] On 13 October the Soviets were poised to attack German forces around the town of Petsamo, and units of the 126th light Rifle Corps were able to establish a roadblock on the only escape route; however, troops of the German 2nd Mountain Division were able to clear the roadblock on 14 October, securing the retreat of Rendulic's forces. The Soviets captured Petsamo on 15 October, but due to supply problems, then had to halt the offensive for three days.
For the rest of the campaign the Soviets advanced after the withdrawing Germans along the coast of Norway, with the Soviets trying to block and cut off German units on their retreat. But because of constant supply shortcomings and German delaying efforts, which forced sizable forces to be detached to road reconstruction, the Soviets were not able to achieve success and the Germans escaped with the bulk of their forces intact. The Germans abandoned Kirkenes on 25 October and finally on 29 October Meretskov halted all operations except reconnaissance.
Outcome
The Soviet offensive ended with a victory for the Red Army, but the Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previou ...
20th Mountain Army successfully performed an orderly retreat with the bulk of its forces intact as it did against Finnish forces during their retreat through Lapland carried out at the same time. Soviet failure to inflict clear defeat on the withdrawing Germans was largely due to the supply issues caused by efficient German destruction of road connections in the area. With often the only road available being out of service due to damage and mines, both supplies and heavy equipment, like artillery, could not be transported to front lines in sufficient quantities while lighter equipped forces were at a disadvantage against heavily armed German forces.
The Soviet commander Meretskov was promoted to Marshal of the Soviet Union
Marshal of the Soviet Union (russian: Маршал Советского Союза, Marshal sovetskogo soyuza, ) was the highest military rank of the Soviet Union.
The rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was created in 1935 and abolished in 19 ...
, and was given a prominent command during the Soviet invasion of Manchuria
The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, formally known as the Manchurian strategic offensive operation (russian: Манчжурская стратегическая наступательная операция, Manchzhurskaya Strategicheskaya Nastu ...
in August 1945. The Petsamo–Kirkenes offensive was the last major offensive in an Arctic environment. It was studied intensively in the Soviet Army for this reason.
Forces involved
Soviet
*14th Army Fourteenth Army or 14th Army may refer to:
* 14th Army (German Empire), a World War I field Army
* 14th Army (Wehrmacht), a World War II field army
* Italian Fourteenth Army
* Japanese Fourteenth Army, a World War II field army, in 1944 converted ...
( Vladimir Shcherbakov), total; 113,200 men
**31st Rifle Corps
31 (thirty-one) is the natural number following 30 and preceding 32. It is a prime number.
In mathematics
31 is the 11th prime number. It is a superprime and a self prime (after 3, 5, and 7), as no integer added up to its base 10 digits ...
**99th Rifle Corps
**131st Rifle Corps
**Corps Pigarevich
**126th (light) Rifle Corps
**127th (light) Rifle Corps
* Northern Fleet
Severnyy flot
, image = Great emblem of the Northern Fleet.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Northern Fleet's great emblem
, start_date = June 1, 1733; Sov ...
total; 20,300 men
German
* 20th Mountain Army
**XIX Mountain Corps
Mountain Corps Norway (german: Gebirgskorps Norwegen) was a German army unit during World War II. It saw action in Norway and Finland.
The corps was formed in July 1940 and was later transferred to Northern Norway as part of '' Armeeoberkommand ...
, total; 45,000 men
*** 2nd Mountain Division
*** 6th Mountain Division
****Grenadier Regiment 388 attached
*** 210th Infantry Division (a fortress division)
***Division Group van der Hoop (regiment strength)
***Bicycle Brigade Norway (regiment strength)
See also
* Lapland War
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
Further reading
James F. Gebhardt – The Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation: Soviet Breakthrough and Pursuit in the Arctic, October 1944
* 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)
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petsamo-Kirkenes Offensive
Conflicts in 1944
1944 in Norway
Battles involving the Soviet Union
Arctic military operations of World War II
Naval battles and operations of the European theatre of World War II
Strategic operations of the Red Army in World War II
Battles and operations of the Soviet–German War
Military operations of World War II involving Germany
Norway–Soviet Union relations
Amphibious operations of World War II
October 1944 events