During the years of the Great Patriotic War it is difficult to find a sector of the front more difficult in terms of climate than the Arctic. Opponents had to operate in a harsh climate, sparsely populated and other "charms" of the nature of the Far North and the Arctic. Magnetic storms are not uncommon here, affecting, among other things, radio communications. During the polar night, foggy weather is not uncommon, and storms rage in autumn.
These difficult natural conditions greatly complicated the combat activities of aviation. At the same time, the war in the Arctic on the border between the USSR and Germany, which occupied Norway, and since June 25 - in Soviet and Finnish Lapland, was waged on both sides in conditions of extremely limited resources (both material and human). At the same time, the almost nowhere described air war that took place in this area is one of the most interesting chapters in the history of air conflicts. Here, between the best aces of the opposing sides, real knightly duels took place, comparable to those that took place in the sky above Western Front during the First World War.
Much attention is paid to the role of aviation in ensuring the escort of allied convoys to the ports of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk, as well as the participation of allied (primarily British) aviation. At the same time, almost the entire layer of domestic and foreign printed sources, documents and memoirs of veterans available today was used.
Over the past seven decades, the topic has received fairly broad, but one-sided coverage.
A comprehensive study of the air war in the Arctic began immediately after its end. Among the priorities at that time was the creation of an official history. Thus, in 1945–1946, the Chronicle of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union at the Northern Theater appeared, as well as the Historical Report on the Combat Activities of the Northern Fleet Air Force in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. The monograph Wings of the Northern Fleet by V. Boyko, published in 1976 in Murmansk, completed the creation of the “varnished” history of Northern Fleet aviation in the Second World War. It should be noted that even today this work is practically the only generalizing work on the topic of the aviation of the Northern Fleet in the war. Of course, the author did not manage to get away from the role of the party in general and political workers in particular - the time was such.
A new surge of interest in the topic (as well as in the entire history of the Great Patriotic War) began in the 1990s. First of all, the works of aviation historians such as Alexander Mardanov and Yuri Rybin stand out, who published three dozen articles on various aspects of the air war in the Arctic in various specialized journals.
Separately, it is worth noting the activities of Associate Professor of the Pomor International University M.N. Suprun from Arkhangelsk, who was able to organize the release of four issues of the collection of articles “Northern convoys. Research. Memories. Documentation". In addition, in collaboration with R.I. Larintsev, he published an excellent book "The Luftwaffe under the North Star", which today is a help to all those who are interested in the topic of the opponents of the North Sea.
All the same Roman Larintsev, together with the well-known researcher from Taganrog Alexander Zablotsky, for relatively a short time published a whole series of articles about the confrontation between Soviet aviation and the Kriegsmarine in the north, which eventually resulted in the book "Soviet Air Force against the Kriegsmarine" (M .: Veche, 2010).
Attempts were also made to evaluate actions with the opposite sign - that is, the Luftwaffe against the Northern Fleet. This was done in the book of the trio of authors known for their Germanophile views - M. Zefirov, N. Bazhenov and D. Degtev "Shadows over the Arctic: Luftwaffe actions against the Soviet Northern Fleet and allied convoys" (M .: ACT, 2008).
Assessing the published literature on the topic as a whole, it is worth recognizing that this moment there is no complete picture of the air war in the Arctic yet. And I hope that the proposed work will be the first sign in understanding the results of the war on the northern sector of the huge Soviet-German front.
German offensive (June-September 1941)
The region of the Soviet Arctic has always been famous for its large reserves of raw materials, fuel and seafood. After the revolution, powerful sawmills were built in Arkhangelsk, Onega, Mezen, industrial development of copper-nickel ores and apatites on the Kola Peninsula, the Vorkuta coal deposit, fluorite deposits in the Amderma region, coal in Norilsk, salt and coal in Nordvik began.
Of particular importance was the only ice-free port in the north of the Soviet Union - the small town of Murmansk. Founded on October 4, 1916 as Romanov-on-Murman, it was originally intended to provide military supplies from Europe from the Entente allies. It is precisely because of this that it had its own specifics and Civil War in the North, when, under the pretext of protecting huge warehouses with weapons and ammunition, an allied expeditionary force was landed here. Largely because of this, Soviet power in the Arctic was established relatively late - only on March 7, 1920. Over the next 12 years, the city received serious development. Thus, the population of Murmansk increased 16 times, reaching 42 thousand people.
At the time of the start of Operation Barbarossa, compared to other sectors of the front in Finland and Norway, the group opposing the Soviet troops was actually the weakest of all, since Hitler only tried to prevent the British landing in this area. Therefore, very limited forces were deployed on the border of the Soviet Union with Norway and Finland. On the other hand, the entire Karelian sector, from Lake Ladoga northeast of Leningrad to the southern shore of the Barents Sea far to the north - and this is 950 kilometers - was covered by only two Soviet armies (7th and 14th). The 14th Army was located west of the Kola Peninsula and had the main objective of covering Murmansk.
The Air Force of the 14th Army and attached units of the Air Force of the Northern Fleet were commanded by a talented pilot, Major General of Aviation Alexander Kuznetsov. On June 22, 1941, Soviet aviation units defending Arctic zone and the Kola Peninsula, were located as follows:
According to pre-war plans, the 7th Army stretched along almost the entire Soviet-Finnish border, from Lake Ladoga to the southern part of the Kola Peninsula. The army command had very limited air forces - only one air regiment (72nd sbap 55th garden).
The presence of a relatively small number of aircraft was compensated high level pilot training. Almost half of them served in Karelia and the Far North for more than two years, many had solid combat experience gained in the skies of Spain and Khalkhin Gol or during the Soviet-Finnish war.
As already noted, at the initial stage of the war against the USSR, the main task of the German group in Norway was to prevent any attempts by Great Britain to land troops on the continent (and such a possibility was seriously discussed in London). Therefore, limited contingents of ground and air forces were allocated for the offensive and capture of Murmansk.
As of June 22, 1941, Colonel-General Hans-Jürgen Stumpf's 5th Air Fleet had a total of 240 aircraft in Norway and a small unit in Finland. The main combat units were KG 30.1. / KG 26, separate parts of JG 77 and IV. (St) / LG 1. Before the war, the units intended to fight against the Soviet Union were united in the Luftwaffenkommando Kirkenes under the command of Colonel Andreas Nielsen .
The defense of the Arctic lasted from June 1941 to October 1944. In plans Nazi Germany and its allies included the rapid capture of the Soviet north, where there were many strategically important objects. Through the ports of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk, cargo was delivered from Siberia and the Far East. The Kirov railway was also of great importance - by establishing control over it, the Germans could cut off the supply of the central regions of the USSR.
Finland was interested in annexing the Kola Peninsula, which the local Nazis considered part of "Greater Finland". In this region there were significant deposits of nickel, which were necessary for the German industry.
The battles took place on the Kola Peninsula, in North Karelia and in the waters of the White, Caspian, Kara and Barents Seas.
Back in 1941, Germany formed the "Norway" army, consisting of German and Finnish units and intended to capture the Soviet Arctic.
In northern Norway, Germany had moorings for warships, on which the fleet was based. During the period of hostilities, the enemy had to repeatedly reinforce the army with troops that were previously in reserve. The number of German aircraft on TVD reached 500, there were more than 50 ships, and up to 25 submarines.
The defense was carried out by the troops of the 14th Army with the assistance of the Northern Fleet. The Soviet command prepared for the enemy's offensive in the north, so part of the forces of the 14th Army were transferred to the border in mid-June.
The Germans switched to active hostilities on June 29, 1941. The first to cross the borders were 2 German and 1 Finnish corps. According to the plan "Polar Fox" developed at the headquarters of the Wehrmacht, the mountain rifle and tank units of the enemy launched an offensive, inflicting the main blow on the Murmansk direction. Part of the enemy troops advanced to the Kandalaksha and Ukhta directions. The auxiliary German 36th Army Corps was supposed to capture Kandalaksha, and then in the Murmansk region to connect with the mountain rifle corps "Norway". The headquarters of the Wehrmacht allotted 2 weeks for the capture of the Kola Peninsula.
Polar Fox Plan
Soviet units managed to detain the enemy 20-30 km from the border. The enemy was almost 4 times superior to the Soviet troops in terms of manpower and military equipment, but the defenders of the Arctic used the defensive fortifications created earlier and the natural conditions of the area. A large role was played by the landings abandoned in the German rear on July 7 and 14.
On September 8, the Murmansk operation was resumed. But the troops of the 14th Army stopped the enemy advance. On September 23, the defenders of the Arctic pushed back the German troops across the Western Litsa River, where the front line passed until the autumn of 1944. Historians attribute the failure of the operation in the Arctic to the underestimation by the German command of the natural conditions of the far north.
In 1941, the number of ships of the Northern Fleet of the USSR was increased by the conversion of fishing vessels. On July 10, the German flotilla moved to the port of Kirkenes and began active fighting. At the end of 1941, the Germans carried out the first successful attack on the ships of the British convoy PQ-13. After shelling from Soviet destroyers escorting cargo ships, the German ship was forced to hide. But after some time, the enemy resumed the attack and disabled the British cruiser.
The command of the Wehrmacht set a goal for the fleet to prevent the delivery of aid from the allies along the Northern Sea Route. The ships of the German Navy attacked fishing, cargo and military vessels. Against each Allied convoy, the Germans undertook a sea and air operation.
In August, the Admiral Schreer, the most famous German cruiser-raider, entered the waters of the Arctic to intercept British and Soviet ships. All the efforts of the enemy army and navy were aimed at blockading the foreign relations of the Soviet Union. But despite all the efforts of the enemy during the years of the war, more than 2.5 thousand transport ships successfully passed to the ports of the North.
During almost the entire war, until the entry of Soviet troops into the territory of Norway, partisan units operated in the German and Finnish rear. Some of them were natives of Norway, trained in the USSR, the other part were units of the Red Army.
Partisan formations monitored the movements of the ships of the enemy military flotilla and transmitted information to the headquarters located in Murmansk. The scouts enjoyed broad support from the local population.
Attempts at a counteroffensive by the Soviet armies in 1942 did not lead to the desired result, but the German plan for the "Northern Blitzkrieg" was a complete failure. Thanks to the competent actions of the command of the ground forces and the Northern Fleet, the situation of the Soviet troops was less difficult than on other fronts. The resistance of the defenders of the Arctic for a long time fettered significant enemy forces. Nazi Germany was unable to use the armies involved on the Northern Front to strengthen the blockade of Leningrad.
The civilian population provided significant assistance to the front. Despite frequent airstrikes that destroyed three-quarters of the city, Murmansk residents continued to work in factories that switched to military production. Fishing crews continued to catch fish. Supported railway communication with the mainland. Aid continued to come from Lend-Lease allies.
In 1944, Soviet troops went on the offensive. During the Petsamo-Kirkenes operation, the enemy was expelled from the Soviet Arctic. The Finnish army suffered a crushing defeat. Shortly after the advance of the Red Army, Finland began negotiations for peace and withdrew from the war.
On December 5, 1944, the medal was established "For the defense of the Soviet Arctic". More than 300,000 servicemen and 24,000 home front workers were on the list of award recipients. One hundred thirty-six defenders of the northern regions of the country were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
The awards were received by the ships participating in the hostilities. The most distinguished units were awarded the title of Guards. The USSR awarded the Orders of Lenin to 4 British pilots from the Allied squadron based in Murmansk. British pilots, who arrived to train the Soviet military in handling foreign equipment, actively participated in air battles and shot down enemy aircraft.
- combat operations of the troops of the Northern and Karelian (since September 1, 1941) fronts, the Northern Fleet and the White Sea military flotilla against German and Finnish troops on the Kola Peninsula, in North Karelia, in the Barents, White and Kara Seas in June 1941 - October 1944.
Murmansk is the world's largest city located beyond the Arctic Circle. Murmansk is located on the rocky eastern coast of the Kola Bay of the Barents Sea. One of the largest ports in Russia.
On May 6, 1985, Murmansk was awarded the title of Hero City for defense against German troops during the Great Patriotic War. He was awarded the Order of Lenin, the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree, the Order of the Red Banner of Labor and the Gold Star medal.
"Murmans", "Urmans" Russians called Norwegians, Normans. Later, this name was also transferred to the land where events took place with the participation of foreigners. "Murman" began to be called the coast of the Barents Sea, neighboring Norway, and then the entire Kola Peninsula. Accordingly, the name "Murmansk" means "the city on Murman". (A. A. Minkin. Toponyms of Murman)
By the early 1920s, Murmansk had less than 2,500 inhabitants and was in decline. The industry was represented mainly by handicraft artels, the fishing industry fell into decay. The urban landscape was made up of two or three streets one-story houses, overcrowded workers' barracks, a disorderly cluster of shacks, railway cars adapted for housing, "suitcases" abandoned by the invaders - houses made of corrugated iron with semicircular roof. One of the districts of the city was nicknamed the "Red Village" because of the red vans adapted for housing.
From the second half of the 1920s, the city began to develop rapidly, since the Soviet Union had a strategic need to equip a large port, transit through which would not depend on relations with neighboring countries. Since 1933, Murmansk has been one of the supply and ship repair bases for the Northern Fleet. In addition to military-strategic goals, sea communication was carried out through the port with the Norilsk MMC under construction, the development of the Murmansk port also pursued the task of increasing fish catches: in the city, a fish port was created on the site of the former military enterprise for fish processing and ship repair, which began to develop rapidly, and after for several years, it provided supplies to other regions of the USSR of two hundred thousand tons of fish annually.
Streets were laid with wooden sidewalks and rows of one- and two-story log houses. In 1927, the first multi-storey brick building appeared, which has survived to this day. In 1934, the first shuttle bus went through Murmansk - from the northern outskirts to the southern part of the city. At the same time, the Polar Arrow express train began to run to Leningrad along the railway line. In 1939, for the first time in the city, asphalt laying began on Leningradskaya Street. By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, there were already several dozen brick and stone buildings in Murmansk, and the population of the city reached 120 thousand inhabitants.
In the 1920s-1930s, due to changes in the administrative-territorial division, the city changed its status several times. In 1921, Murmansk became the center of the province of the same name, since 1927 - the district of the same name as part of the Leningrad Region, and since 1938 - the Murmansk Region.
Panorama of the central part of the city of Murmansk (filmed from an airplane), 1936
The German command planned to capture an important strategic point in the North - Murmansk and the Kirov railway, defeat the bases of the USSR Northern Fleet and take possession of the Kola Bay. To do this, German and Finnish troops struck in three directions: Murmansk, Kandalaksha and Loukhi.
Planned operations of Germany and Finland in the Kola Arctic
The command of the Wehrmacht considered the Arctic as an auxiliary (albeit important) sector of the Eastern Front. The German command developed plans for military operations for the mountain army "Norway" in advance, giving them code names: "Renntier" ("Reindeer", beginning June 22, 1941) - capturing the area of nickel mines in the Petsamo Region, carrying out activities (building roads, etc.) .) for the implementation of the next operation - "Platinfuchs" ("Black Fox", beginning June 22, 1941 + 7 days) - an attack on Port Vladimir, Polyarny along the Arctic coast to Murmansk. The XXXVI Army Corps of the Wehrmacht was supposed (according to the plan "Polarfuchs" - "Arctic fox"), advancing from Rovaniemi (Finland), where it ended up by June 14, 1941 as a result of the implementation of a sea transport operation from Norway ("Blaufuchs 2"), take Salla, Kandalaksha, then turn north and, advancing along the Kirov railway, connect with the mountain rifle corps "Norway" to take Murmansk. Joint actions of the German and Finnish armies north of the Oulu-Belomorsk line until June 05, 1941 were code-named "Silberfuchs" ("Silver Fox"). It was planned to master the Kola Peninsula in two weeks.
German troops enter Petsamo (Pechenga) as part of Operation Silberfuchs. June 1941.
On the northern flank, Soviet troops were opposed german army"Norway" (from January 1942 - "Lapland", from June 1942 - XX mountain) under the command of Colonel General N. von der Falkenhorst as part of 3 army corps, the mountain rifle corps "Norway", considered the elite ground forces Germany and who had valuable combat experience in mountain warfare, including in high latitudes; operationally subordinate to the III Finnish Army Corps; parts of the forces of the 5th Air Force of Germany and a few Navy. The Finnish Karelian army had the task of capturing southern regions Karelia and the Karelian Isthmus and after reaching the line of the river. Svir in the Leningrad region to connect with the troops of the German Army Group North. The enemy grouping consisted of 530 thousand people, 4.3 thousand guns and mortars, 206 tanks, 547 aircraft, 80 ships and 6 submarines.
From the side of the Red Army, which was part of the Northern Front (formed on 06/24/1941), the 14th Army (commander until 08/23/1941 Lieutenant General V. A. Frolov) covered the Murmansk, Kandalaksha and Ukhta directions. The Northern Fleet provided defense against invasion from the sea and protected the northern sea lanes. To protect transports in the White Sea, in the eastern regions of the Barents Sea and the Northern Sea Route, the White Sea Military Flotilla was created in August 1941, during the war years it ensured the escort of more than 2,500 transports. In the troops of the Northern Front under the command of Lieutenant General M. M. Popov, together with the Northern Fleet, there were 420 thousand people, 7.8 thousand guns and mortars, 1.5 thousand tanks, 1.8 thousand aircraft, 32 ships and 15 submarines.
On June 29, 1941, German and Finnish troops launched an offensive, delivering the main blow in the Murmansk direction and secondary in the Kandalaksha and Loukh directions. By July 4, Soviet troops retreated to the line of defense on the Zapadnaya Litsa River, where the Germans were stopped by the 52nd Infantry Division and units marines. A huge role in the disruption of the German offensive on Murmansk was played by the landing in the bay of Bolshaya Zapadnaya Litsa (1941). On the Kandalaksha and Louhi directions, Soviet troops stopped the advance of the German-Finnish troops, who failed to reach the railway, and they were forced to go on the defensive.
Military operations in the Arctic resumed on September 8, 1941. Having not achieved success in the Kandalaksha and Loukh directions, the command of the army "Norway", in accordance with the order of the Wehrmacht headquarters, transferred the main blow to the Murmansk direction. But here, too, the offensive of the reinforced German mountain rifle corps failed. The northern group of Germans, advancing on Polyarny, was able to advance only 4 km in 9 days. By September 15, the southern group, with the support of aviation, managed to cut the Titovka-Murmansk road and create a threat of access to the Murmansk region. However, the 14th Army, with part of its forces (1st Polar Rifle Division), supported by aviation and artillery of the Northern Fleet, launched a counterattack on September 17, defeated the 3rd Mountain Rifle Division, throwing its remnants across the Zapadnaya Litsa River, and turned the tide of hostilities for defense the city of Murmansk in favor of the troops Karelian Front. After that, the German command stopped the attack on Murmansk. The Germans, unable to break through the defenses of the Red Army in the region of the peninsulas, entrenched themselves on the plateau of the same name and the Musta-Tunturi ridge 40 kilometers in the direction of Murmansk, turning their citadel with a defense in depth (in four rows of fortifications and barriers). In the body of the ridge, trenches and trenches were cut in full height, bomb shelters, ammunition depots, headquarters, hospitals, etc. Fortifications in a monolithic granite rock about four kilometers long, in some places towering 260 meters above the sea: there were guns, mortars, pillboxes, stationary, remotely controlled flamethrower installations. Roads were built along the plateau to the coast. For more than three years, there were continuous fierce and bloody battles.
Border sign A-36 (apparently a copy) in the Museum of Defense of the Sredny and Rybachy Islands
The height of 115.6 of the ridge has its own name Pogranznak and is better known as the place where our soldiers kept intact the border sign A-36 of the former Soviet-Finnish border throughout the war.
Scouts of the Marine Corps of the Northern Fleet on the Musta-Tunturi Ridge.
The offensive of the German mountain rifle corps, which began on September 8, 1941 in the Murmansk direction, was stopped by a counterattack by the 14th Army. September 23, the enemy was driven back over the river. Bolshaya Zapadnaya Litsa, where the front stabilized until October 1944. Great importance in the disruption of the plans to capture Murmansk had the Polar Division, which became a necessary reserve for the bloodless Soviet troops. The German troops were exhausted, but due to Hitler's desire to ensure the safety of Norway from being captured by Britain at any cost, they did not receive the necessary forces to carry out the operation. The underestimation by the German command of the enemy and the features of the terrain also had an effect. By October 1941, the Norge GC, having lost 10,290 people killed and wounded, advanced only 24 km towards Murmansk.
Defensive battles of the Soviet troops in the Murmansk direction in 1941-1944
The fighting in the Kandalaksha direction, where more enemy troops were concentrated than in the Murmansk direction, began on July 1, 1941 and went on with particular ferocity: the fighting was carried out here by the 101st border detachment, the 42nd rifle corps (122nd, 104th rifle divisions). On July 7, Soviet troops began to retreat to the second line of defense, which was defended by the 104th Infantry Division. On September 17, the spacecraft troops occupied a line along the Verman River (90 km from Kandalaksha), where hostilities stabilized for three years. "Silberfuks" (attack on Kandalaksha), according to the German generals, was just an "expedition" (F. Halder), the main military operations unfolded to the south (although this "expedition" cost the Finns alone 5 thousand killed and wounded soldiers to mid-September 1941).
In the southern direction, the Finns, having created a great superiority in forces and means in the direction of the main attack, on September 5, 1941, captured the city of Olonets, reached the river. Svir, cut the Kirov railway, captured Petrozavodsk on October 2, but did not achieve success in the offensive in the Medvezhyegorsk direction. The plan to connect the German and Finnish troops to create a second ring of blockade around Leningrad was prevented. The active actions of the Red Army troops fettered more than 20 enemy divisions, exhausting and bleeding them. The losses of the Soviet troops in this defensive operation amounted to: irretrievable - over 67 thousand people, sanitary - about 69 thousand people, as well as 540 guns and mortars, 546 tanks, 64 aircraft, 8 ships.
Jaegers under the protection of seid. May 1942
From 1942 the main fighting shifted to the sea, where the German Navy and Air Force tried to disrupt maritime traffic by allied convoys. The importance of Murmansk increased after the failure of the blitzkrieg and the start of allied aid under Lend-Lease (the Wehrmacht command, of course, did not count on such a development of events in its plans).
Attack of the Soviet Marine Corps on the Northern Front. 1942
The enemy concentrated his efforts on defeating Murmansk and its port from the air in order to paralyze the work of processing and sending goods to the center of the camp. The city was almost completely burned (despite the fact that at the beginning of the war the USSR had 4 times more aircraft in the North than Germany), but the Nazis failed to complete the task - the port continued to work even in those conditions that made it possible to call Murmansk "a city of front." A busy life was going on in Murmansk and the region: fish was caught for the front and rear of the country, all enterprises worked for victory.
Murmansk watch the air battle over the city. 1943
The Luftwaffe made up to fifteen or eighteen raids on separate days, dropped a total of 185 thousand bombs during the war years and made 792 raids.
In terms of the number and density of bombings inflicted on the city, Murmansk is second only to Stalingrad among Soviet cities.
As a result of the bombing, three-quarters of the buildings were destroyed, especially wooden houses and buildings. The heaviest bombing was on June 18, 1942. German planes dropped mainly incendiary bombs on the predominantly wooden city; in order to make it difficult to fight fires, mixed bombardments were used using fragmentation and high-explosive bombs. Due to dry and windy weather, the fire spread from the center to the northeastern outskirts of Murmansk.
Fire after the bombing of the city, 1942
The feat of volunteer builders who rebuilt the city during the war is immortalized in the monument "In honor of the builders who died in 1941-1945", opened in 1974.
Monument "In honor of the builders who died in 1941-1945"
During the first year of the war from England and Iceland to the ports White Sea 7 convoys were carried out (PQ-0 ... PQ-6). 53 transports arrived, including Soviet ones. 4 convoys (QP-1 ... QP-4) were sent from our ports to England. A total of 47 transports left.
Since the spring of 1942, the German command launched active operations at sea. In northern Norway, the Germans concentrated large naval forces. From March 1942, the Germans carried out a special sea and air operation against each allied convoy. However, the KVMF of Great Britain, with the support of the Federation Council of the USSR, as well as American ships, thwarted the plans of the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe to isolate the USSR in the North from Great Britain and the USA.
In total, during the years of the Second World War, the Northern Fleet provided 1471 convoys to the GDP, in which there were 2569 transport ships, while the merchant fleet lost 33 ships (19 of them from submarine attacks).
Throughout 1943, there was a stubborn struggle for air supremacy, which was eventually won by Soviet aviation. The Northern Fleet managed to ensure the escort of allied convoys in its zone of responsibility and began operations to destroy enemy combat and transport ships - the crews of submarines and torpedo boats especially distinguished themselves in these tasks.
The TKA-12 torpedo boat, commanded by twice Hero of the Soviet Union Alexander Osipovich Shabalin during the Great Patriotic War, is installed on a pedestal on Courage Square in the city of Severomorsk, Murmansk Region.
In 1944, as a result of the Vyborg-Petrozavodsk operation successfully carried out by the Soviet troops (06/10-08/09/1944), which led to Finland's withdrawal from the war (09/19/1944), the Wehrmacht command decided to withdraw its troops operating in the Kandalaksha and Kestenga directions and strengthen the defense in the Arctic. On September 3, 1944, the German command approved the withdrawal operation plan (codenamed Birke - “Birch”): break away from the Soviet troops in the Loukhi and Kandalaksha sectors, transfer the liberated troops through Rovaniemi to the north of the Kola Peninsula and gain a foothold there. September offensives of the 19th and 26th armies in the Kandalaksha and Ukhta directions despite well-echeloned defense German troops were successful: on September 14, 1944, Alakurtti was taken, in the last ten days of September, divisions of the 19th Army reached the state border with Finland, freeing 45 settlements, incapacitating 7 thousand German soldiers and officers; The 26th Army, which was opposed by the XVIIIth German Mountain Corps, by the end of September advanced 35 km deep into Finland. Nevertheless, at the direction of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, the troops went on the defensive, saving forces for the primary task in the Arctic - the liberation of the Pechenga region. Thus, it became possible to successfully carry out the Petsamo-Kirkenes offensive operation, compressed in time (07.10-29.10.1944).
Musta-Tunturi Ridge
Soviet scouts on the slope of the Musta-Tunturi ridge. 1943.
On a rainy night on October 10, 1944, the assault on the German fortifications on Musta Tunturi began from several directions, including bypassing. The most difficult task fell to the lot of the 614th separate penal company, equal in number to a battalion or regiment: 750 people. In difficult weather conditions, in order to divert the attention of the enemy, she had to from below, from the sea, from the side of the Sredny Peninsula, climbing up the sheer wall through barbed wire and machine-gun fire, storm the height of 260.0 in order to capture the peak dominating the Small Range. Almost all the fighters of the company perished in the gorge between the heights, but gave the opportunity to other units to capture the ridge and, through the joint efforts of the Soviet troops, clear the western part of the Kola Peninsula from the invaders. From here, from the banks of the Western Litsa River, the troops of the Karelian Front began the expulsion of the Nazi troops from the Kola Arctic and the liberation of the territory of northern Norway.
German military burial in Petsamo.
On October 7, 1944, Soviet troops went over to the offensive, delivering the main blow from the area of Lake Chapr on the right flank of the 19th German Corps in the direction of Luostari - Petsamo. Pursuing the retreating German troops, the 14th Army, supported by the forces of the fleet, drove the Germans out of Soviet territory, crossed the Finnish border and began to capture Petsamo, on October 22, Soviet troops crossed the Norwegian border and on October 25 liberated the Norwegian city of Kirkenes. By November 1, the fighting in the Arctic ended, the Petsamo region was completely liberated by Soviet troops.
Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of December 5, 1944 established the medal "For the Defense of the Soviet Arctic" (awarded 307,000 people). During the war years, the army, navy and workers of industrial enterprises and agriculture of the region managed to carry out the most important strategic task: they thwarted the plans of the German command to isolate the USSR from the allies, did not allow the Northern Sea Route to be cut and ensured the constantly increased supplies of equipment, military equipment and food coming to country under the Lend-Lease program.
Losses of Soviet troops and civilians for 1941-44. - OK. 200 thousand people (killed, missing, wounded). For the courage and heroism shown by the inhabitants of Murmansk, the city received the honorary title of "Hero City" (1985), the city of Kandalaksha was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree (1984).
Memorial "To the Defenders of the Soviet Arctic during the Great Patriotic War" ("Alyosha") is a memorial complex in the Leninsky district of the city of Murmansk.
The main figure in the memorial is the figure of a soldier in a raincoat, with a machine gun over his shoulder. The height of the pedestal of the monument is 7 meters. The height of the monument itself is 35.5 meters, the weight of the hollow sculpture inside is more than 5 thousand tons. The statue of "Alyosha" is inferior in height in Russia only to the Volgograd statue "Motherland". The monument belongs to one of the highest monuments in Russia.
The gaze of the warrior is directed to the west, towards the Valley of Glory, where during the Great Patriotic War the most fierce battles took place on the outskirts of Murmansk. In front of the monument is the podium "Eternal Flame", which was made of blocks natural stone black color. A little higher, next to the figure of a soldier, is a sloping trihedral pyramid. As conceived by the authors, this is a battle banner lowered to half-mast as a sign of mourning for the fallen soldiers. Next to it is a polished granite stele with the inscription:
To the defenders of the Arctic - the soldiers of the 14th Army, the 19th Army, the Red Banner Northern Fleet, the 7th Air Army, border detachments No. , Bolshevik. Glory to those who defended this land!
Slightly away from the monument are two anti-aircraft guns. During the hostilities, anti-aircraft batteries were located on this peak, covering the city of Murmansk from the air. Two capsules are immured at the foot of the monument. One with sea water from the place of heroic death legendary ship"Fog", the other - with land from the Valley of Glory and from the battle area at the turn of Verman.
Active hostilities in the Kola North began on June 29, 1941. The enemy delivered the main blow in the Murmansk direction. During the first half of July, the troops of the 14th Army stopped the enemy 20-30 kilometers from the border. The Marines of the Northern Fleet provided great assistance to the soldiers of the 14th Army. The amphibious assaults on the enemy's flank on July 7 and 14 played a significant role in frustrating the plans of the fascist command.
The Nazis also failed to capture the Rybachy Peninsula - a strategic point from which the entrance to the Kola, Motovsky and Pechenga bays was controlled. In the summer of 1941, Soviet troops, with the support of the ships of the Northern Fleet, stopped the enemy on the Musta-Tunturi ridge. The Rybachy Peninsula became the "unsinkable battleship of the Arctic" and played an important role in protecting the Kola Bay and the city of Murmansk.
On September 8, 1941, the Nazis resumed their offensive in the Murmansk direction, but the troops of the 14th Army forced the enemy to go on the defensive, and on September 23 they launched a counterattack and threw the enemy back across the Bolshaya Zapadnaya Litsa River. In these battles, the Polar Division formed in Murmansk received its baptism of fire. When the enemy managed to move forward and create a direct threat to the capture of Murmansk, the regiments of the Polar Division immediately engaged in battle with the group that had broken through and threw the enemy back to their previous positions.
At the turn of the Western Litsa River, the front line ran until October 1944. The enemy delivered an auxiliary blow in the Kandalaksha direction. The Nazi troops made their first attempt to cross the border in this sector of the front on June 24, but were repulsed. On July 1, 1941, the enemy began a more massive offensive, and again he failed to achieve tangible success. The enemy units were able to advance deep into Soviet territory only 75-80 kilometers, and were stopped thanks to the resilience of our troops.
By the autumn of 1941, it became clear that the blitzkrieg in the Arctic had been thwarted. In heavy defensive battles, showing courage and heroism, Soviet border guards, soldiers of the 14th Army, sailors of the Northern Fleet bled the advancing enemy units and forced him to go on the defensive. The fascist command failed to achieve any of the goals set in the Arctic. Here was the only sector of the Soviet-German front, where the enemy troops were already stopped a few tens of kilometers from the line of the State border of the USSR, and in some places the enemy could not even cross the border.
Residents of the Murmansk region provided invaluable assistance to units of the Red Army and the Navy. On the first day of the war, martial law was introduced in the region. In the military commissariats, the mobilization of those liable for military service began, the military registration and enlistment offices received about 3,500 applications from volunteers. Every sixth inhabitant of the region went to the front - more than 50 thousand people in total. Party, Soviet, military bodies organized general military training for the population. In cities and districts, units of the people's militia, fighter detachments, sanitary squads, and formations of local air defense were created. The Murmansk Fighter Regiment, in the first weeks of the war alone, went on missions 13 times related to the elimination of enemy sabotage groups. The fighters of the Kandalaksha fighter battalion were directly involved in the fighting in Karelia in the area of the Loukhi station. The fighters of the Kola and Kirov regions guarded the railway.
About 30 thousand people were mobilized for military construction work. On the outskirts of Murmansk and Kandalaksha, several belts of defensive structures were created, with the participation of the population, mass construction of cracks, trenches, bomb shelters was carried out.
Since the end of June, the evacuation of industrial equipment and the population from the Murmansk region began - first by rail, later - by ships to Arkhangelsk. They took out children, women, stocks of strategic raw materials, equipment of the Severonickel plant, units of the Tuloma and Nivsky hydroelectric stations. In total, more than 8 thousand wagons and over 100 ships were sent outside the region. The work of the remaining enterprises was restructured in a military way, reoriented to fulfilling, first of all, front-line orders.
All serviceable fishing trawlers were handed over to the Northern Fleet. Shipyards converted them into combat drifters - submarine hunters. On June 23, 1941, all enterprises switched to round-the-clock operation. The factories of Murmansk, Kandalaksha, Kirovsk, Monchegorsk mastered the production of machine guns, grenades, mortars; furniture factory- skis. Artels of trade cooperation produced reindeer teams, soap, potbelly stoves, camping utensils for the front, sewed uniforms, and repaired shoes. Reindeer collective farms provided reindeer and sleds at the disposal of the military command, regularly sent meat and fish. Women, adolescents and pensioners, who replaced men in production, mastered new professions, fulfilled the norms by 200% or more. Already in the fall of 1941, Murman fishermen resumed fishing for fish needed for the front and rear. Although the Murmansk region itself experienced difficulties with food, several trains with fish and fish products were sent to besieged Leningrad.
The northerners took an active part in raising funds for the Defense Fund: they donated 15 kg of gold, 23.5 kg of silver to the fund, in total, during the war years, more than 65 million rubles were received from the inhabitants of the region. In 1941, residents of the region transferred 2.8 million rubles for the creation of the squadron "Komsomolets Zapolyarye", railway workers built the squadron "Soviet Murman" at their own expense. More than 60,000 gifts were sent to the soldiers of the Red Army. School buildings in cities and towns were converted into hospitals.
In 1942, the North Atlantic became the main arena of battles in the Arctic. First of all, this was caused by the beginning of deliveries by countries - allies of the USSR in the anti-Hitler coalition of military equipment, food, military equipment, and other cargo. In turn, the Soviet Union supplied these countries with strategic raw materials. In total, during the war, 42 allied convoys (722 vehicles) arrived in the ports of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk, 36 convoys were sent from the USSR (682 vehicles reached the port of destination).
To combat the allied convoys, significant forces of German aviation, submarines and large surface ships located in Norwegian bases were involved. Ensuring the escort of caravans was entrusted to the British Navy and the Soviet Northern Fleet. To protect the allied convoys, the ships of the Northern Fleet made 838 exits to the sea. Through the joint efforts of the Allied and Soviet covering forces, 27 enemy submarines, 2 battleships and 3 destroyers were sunk. On the way, 85 transports were sunk by the enemy, and more than 1,400 reached the port of destination. During the years of the Great Patriotic War, the Northern Fleet destroyed over 200 enemy warships and auxiliary vessels, more than 400 transports with a total tonnage of over 1 million tons, about 1,300 aircraft.
In 1942, hostilities continued on land. In order to disrupt the new offensive that the Nazis were preparing in the Arctic, the troops of the 14th Army, with the support of the Northern Fleet, in the spring of 1942, carried out a private offensive operation in the Murmansk direction, which pinned down the enemy forces. On April 28, the Northern Fleet landed the 12th Separate Marine Brigade in the area of Cape Pikshuev, which captured the bridgehead and held it for two weeks. Only on May 12-13, by decision of the command of the Karelian Front, the landing was withdrawn.
In the summer of 1942, at the initiative of the Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, partisan detachments "Bolshevik of the Arctic Circle" and "Soviet Murman" were formed in the Murmansk region. Since the region was practically not occupied, the detachments were based on their territory and carried out deep raids behind enemy lines. The main object of the partisans' actions was the Rovaniemi-Petsamo highway, along which the enemy troops located in northern Finland were supplied.
With the beginning of the receipt of goods from the allies, the importance of the Murmansk Commercial Sea Port increased many times over. The first allied caravan arrived in Murmansk on January 11, 1942, and in total during the war, about 300 ships were unloaded in the port of Murmansk, more than 1.2 million tons of imported cargo was processed.
Failing to capture Murmansk and block the sea communications through which strategic cargoes entered the USSR, the Nazis intensified their bombing attacks on the port and the regional center. The city was subjected to especially cruel bombardments in the summer of 1942. On June 18 alone, 12,000 bombs were dropped on Murmansk, over 600 wooden buildings burned down in the city.
In total, from 1941 to 1944, 792 Nazi air raids were made on Murmansk, about 7 thousand high-explosive and 200 thousand incendiary bombs were dropped. More than 1,500 houses (three quarters of the housing stock), 437 industrial and service buildings were destroyed or burned down. During the hostilities, an average of 120 bombs were dropped for every kilometer of the Kirov highway. In 1941-1943, 185 enemy aircraft were shot down over Murmansk and the strip of the Kirov railway.
By the autumn of 1944, the Red Army firmly held the strategic initiative on the Soviet-German front. In early September, in the Kandalaksha direction, the troops of the 19th Army went on the offensive and by the end of the month reached the Soviet-Finnish border. On September 19, 1944, Finland withdrew from the war.
On October 7, 1944, units of the 14th Army and ships of the Northern Fleet, with the support of aviation from the 7th Air Army and the Air Force of the Fleet, launched the Petsamo-Kirkenes offensive operation, which aimed at the complete expulsion of the Nazi invaders from the Soviet Arctic. The main blow was delivered by the left flank of the 14th Army in the direction of Luostari and Petsamo. On the night of October 10, ships of the Northern Fleet landed the 63rd Marine Brigade on the southern coast of Malaya Volokovaya Bay. On October 15, the troops of the 14th Army, in cooperation with the forces of the Northern Fleet, liberated Petsamo, by October 21 they reached the border with Norway, and on the 22nd they captured the village of Nikel. At the same time, amphibious assaults, landed by ships of the Northern Fleet, launched offensive operations along the coast of the Varanger Fjord Bay. During the Petsamo-Kirkenes operation, the territory of the Soviet Arctic was completely cleared of Nazi invaders.
The heroic defense of the Arctic, the dedication of the workers of the Murmansk region fettered significant enemy forces in the Arctic, ensured the uninterrupted operation of strategic sea and land communications in the north of the country, and the regular flow of military supplies from our allies in the anti-Hitler coalition.
In 1982, the city of Murmansk, and in 1984 - Kandalaksha were awarded the Order of the Patriotic War of the first degree.
For the courage and stamina shown in the defense of Murmansk by the city's workers, soldiers of the Soviet Army and Navy during the Great Patriotic War, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 6, 1985, Murmansk was awarded the title "Hero City"
Defense of the Arctic |
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Murmansk region, North Karelia, Petsamo |
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USSR victory. Capture of Petsamo by Soviet troops |
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Third Reich |
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Finland |
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Commanders |
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Kirill Meretskov |
Nicholas von Fankelhorst |
Valerian Frolov |
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Arseniy Golovko |
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Side forces |
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unknown |
unknown |
unknown |
unknown |
Defense of the Arctic (Battle for the Arctic)- combat operations of the troops of the Northern and Karelian (since September 1, 1941) fronts, the Northern Fleet and the White Sea military flotilla against German and Finnish troops on the Kola Peninsula, in North Karelia, in the Barents, White and Kara Seas in June 1941 - October 1944.
The German command planned to capture an important strategic point in the North - Murmansk and the Kirov railway. To do this, German and Finnish troops struck in three directions: Murmansk, Kandalaksha and Loukhi.
The combat area is a mountain tundra, with many lakes, impenetrable swamps and vast expanses cluttered with boulders, with harsh climatic conditions. The nature and time of hostilities are influenced by the polar night.
On June 29, 1941, German and Finnish troops launched an offensive, inflicting the main blow in the Murmansk direction (see Murmansk operation (1941)) and secondary in the Kandalaksha and Loukh directions. By July 4, Soviet troops retreated to the line of defense on the Zapadnaya Litsa River, where the Germans were stopped by the 52nd Infantry Division and units of the Marine Corps. A huge role in the disruption of the German offensive on Murmansk was played by the landing in the bay of Bolshaya Zapadnaya Litsa (1941). On the Kandalaksha and Louhi directions, Soviet troops stopped the advance of the German-Finnish troops, who failed to reach the railway, and they were forced to go on the defensive.
Military operations in the Arctic resumed on September 8, 1941. Having not achieved success in the Kandalaksha and Loukh directions, the command of the army "Norway", in accordance with the order of the Wehrmacht headquarters, transferred the main blow to the Murmansk direction. But here, too, the offensive of the reinforced German mountain rifle corps failed. The northern group of Germans, advancing on Polyarny, was able to advance only 4 km in 9 days. By September 15, the southern group, with the support of aviation, managed to cut the Titovka-Murmansk road and create a threat of access to the Murmansk region. However, the 14th Army, with the support of aviation and artillery of the Northern Fleet, launched a counterattack on September 17 and defeated the 3rd Mountain Rifle Division, throwing its remnants across the Zapadnaya Litsa River. After that, the German command stopped the attack on Murmansk.
In the spring of 1942, both sides were preparing offensive actions: the Germans with the aim of capturing Murmansk, the Soviet troops with the aim of pushing the enemy back beyond the border line. Soviet troops were the first to go on the offensive. During the Murmansk operation (1942) and the amphibious assault in the bay of Bolshaya Zapadnaya Litsa, it was not possible to achieve decisive success. But the planned German offensive was also disrupted and the front in the Arctic stabilized until October 1944.
At the time of the outbreak of hostilities in the Arctic region, Germany and Finland did not have large warships.
According to the mobilization plan, 29 patrol ships (SKR) and 35 minesweepers converted from fishing trawlers, 4 minelayers and 2 SKR - former icebreaking ships, 26 patrol boats and 30 boat minesweepers were enlisted in the Navy of the Federation Council (USSR) in June - August 1941 , converted accordingly from drifterbots and motobots.
Only on July 10, 1941, the 6th flotilla of Kriegsmarine destroyers arrived in Kirkenes: Z-4, Z-7, Z-10, Z-16, Z-20.
Their first operation was undertaken on July 12-13, destroyers in the area of Kharlov Island attacked a Soviet convoy consisting of trawlers (EPRON vessels) RT-67 and RT-32 (towing underwater fuel tanks from Murmansk to Yokangu), guarded by a patrol ship (former fishing trawler armed with 2x45-mm cannons and machine guns under the command of Okunev V. L.) "Passat" (died) (RT-67 also died). The second operation was carried out on July 22-24 near Teriberka, the Germans sank the Meridian hydrographic vessel. In the third campaign on August 10, 3 destroyers attacked the guard ship Tuman, which was on patrol on the Kildin reach (died). After an air raid by the Northern Fleet, Z-4 received serious damage and the ships returned to base. The combat activity of the 6th flotilla ended there, and its ships went to Germany for repairs.
At the end of 1941, the 8th flotilla appeared on the theater of operations, consisting of destroyers: Z-23, Z-24, Z-25, Z-27. Her ships undertook an operation against the transports and ships of the PQ-6 convoy, but had no combat success. German destroyers tried to attack the Allied convoys. During the German attack on the PQ-13 convoy, the destroyers "Crushing" and "Thundering" discovered German ships and opened fire. The destroyer Z-26 was hit by a shell from a Soviet destroyer and was forced to hide in a snow charge. However, the Germans soon returned and attacked the convoy. They managed to damage english easy cruiser "Trinidad", but at the same time, the destroyer Z-26 was lost in a battle with British and Soviet ships.
The first allied convoy arrived in Arkhangelsk on August 31, 1941. It was called "Dervish", only then received the code PQ-0. It consisted of 6 transports guarded by 1 aircraft carrier, 2 cruisers, 2 destroyers, 4 patrol ships and 3 minesweepers.
During the first year of the war, 7 convoys (PQ-0 ... PQ-6) were carried out from England and Iceland to the ports of the White Sea. 53 transports arrived, including Soviet ones. 4 convoys (QP-1 ... QP-4) were sent from our ports to England. A total of 47 transports left.
Since the spring of 1942, the German command launched active operations at sea. In northern Norway, the Germans concentrated large naval forces. From March 1942, the Germans carried out a special sea and air operation against each allied convoy. However, the KVMF of Great Britain, with the support of the Federation Council of the USSR, as well as American ships, thwarted the plans of the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe to isolate the USSR in the North from Great Britain and the USA.
5th Air Fleet and the Finnish Air Force, which totaled up to 900 aircraft. Over 150 machines acted against the ships.
On July 20, at the entrance to Ekaterinskaya Harbor (where the main base of the fleet was located in Polyarny), 11 aircraft sank the destroyer Stremitelny.
On September 18-21, 1942, aviation made more than 125 sorties on transports and escort ships PQ-18.
Since 1942, the activity of submarines began to increase, the number of which in the theater reached 26.
On August 16, the Admiral Scheer left Narvik with the aim of disrupting the communications of the Northern Fleet. On August 26, the icebreaker Alexander Sibiryakov destroyed near Belukha Island in the Kara Sea, and on August 27, it fired at the Soviet base Port Dixon, damaging 2 ships stationed there.
Operation "Queen" - the goal is to lay mines in the Matochkin Shar Strait. "Admiral Hyper" took 96 mines and September 24, 1942 went on a campaign from Alta Fjord. On September 27 he returned having completed the task.
In 1942, the Allies handed over seven AM-type minesweepers and five MMS-type minesweepers to the USSR, and ten AM-type ships the following year. Also received were 43 large SC-class submarine hunters, 52 Higgis, Vosper, and ELKO-class torpedo boats.
The Northern Fleet received a major replenishment in 1944, when, on account of the USSR’s share in the division of the Italian fleet, the Allies temporarily transferred 9 destroyers (US-built 1918-1920), the battleship Arkhangelsk (the same years Royal Sovereign) and 4 submarines of the B type "(one under the command of I. I. Fisanovich did not reach), as well as the American light cruiser Milwaukee" ("Murmansk"). From the arrived ships and those available in September 1944, a squadron of the Federation Council of the USSR was formed.
During the years of the Second World War, the Northern Fleet provided 1471 convoys to the GDP, in which there were 2569 transport ships, while the merchant fleet lost 33 ships (19 of them from submarine attacks).
In February 1944, the Finnish government sent its representative Paasikivi to Stockholm to find out through Soviet ambassador in Sweden Kollontai conditions for Finland's withdrawal from the war. On February 19, Paasikivi received Soviet conditions - a break in relations with Germany, the restoration of the Soviet-Finnish treaty (that is, the border) of 1940, the transfer of the Finnish army to a peaceful position, compensation for the damage caused to the Soviet Union in the amount of $ 600 million and the transfer of Petsamo to the USSR. On April 19, the Soviet terms were rejected.
On July 2, 1944, from a speech on the radio, Prime Minister Linkomies - Germany was given an obligation not to conclude a separate peace with the USSR, only after that, on June 30, the United States broke off diplomatic relations with Finland. June 10 begins Vyborgskaya offensive Soviet troops - June 20 Vyborg was liberated.
On June 19, the Finnish government asked the German government to urgently send 6 divisions and a significant amount of aviation to Finland. The German command could not fulfill this request.
On June 21, the Svir-Petrozavodsk offensive operation begins - on June 28, Petrozavodsk is liberated.
On August 1, President Ryti resigned. On August 5, the Sejm elects Mannerheim as president. On August 8, a new government headed by A. Hackzell was formed, which declared that it did not consider itself bound by the obligation given to Hitler by Ryti. On August 25, the Finnish government asked the Soviet government to receive a delegation in Moscow to negotiate an armistice or peace between Finland and the Soviet Union. The Soviet government agreed to negotiations with the obligatory acceptance by Finland of the preliminary condition. The Finnish government must publicly declare that it is breaking off relations with Germany and will demand the withdrawal of German troops from the country no later than September 15th. This precondition has been accepted. Finland ceased hostilities on the morning of September 5, 1944. On September 19, an armistice agreement was signed. Finland pledged to transfer the army to a peaceful position, disband organizations of the fascist type, lease the territory of Porkka-Udd (near Helsinki) to the USSR for the naval base, and compensate for losses in the amount of $ 300 million.
On October 7, 1944, Soviet troops went on the offensive, delivering the main blow from the area of Lake Chapr on the right flank of the 19th German Corps in the direction of Luostari - Petsamo. Pursuing the retreating German troops, the 14th Army, supported by the forces of the fleet, drove the Germans out of Soviet territory, crossed the Finnish border and began to capture Petsamo, on October 22, Soviet troops crossed the Norwegian border and on October 25 liberated the Norwegian city of Kirkenes. By November 1, the fighting in the Arctic ended, the Petsamo region was completely liberated by Soviet troops.
During the entire period of confrontation between the USSR and Nazi Germany in the North, Soviet sabotage units carried out reconnaissance activities in the rear of the Germans in the border regions of Northern Norway.
It is advisable to call the armed struggle in the rear of the German grouping in this geographical area precisely reconnaissance and sabotage activities, and not the partisan movement of the Norwegian people, as was customary in Soviet historiography, since the struggle behind enemy lines was carried out mainly by regular units of the Red Army, only with the support of the Norwegian citizens.
The operations of Soviet reconnaissance and sabotage units on the territory of Northern Norway during the Second World War is the topic of the research activities of the Murmansk historian Dmitry Alekseevich Kurakulov:
The basis of the reconnaissance detachments that worked in East Finnmark were officers of the reconnaissance department Northern Fleet, NKVD and immigrants from Norway. Scouts monitored German fortifications, troop movements and military depots. From their hiding places along the coast, they observed, with the help of binoculars, the anchorage of German ships. Then they transmitted all information about the deployment and movement of ships to bases in the Murmansk region. Thus, the USSR and the Allies received important information that helped them to carry out air strikes and destroy important German facilities in Finnmark. From 80 to 120 German ships were sunk by the USSR and the Allies thanks to data received from the Soviet-Norwegian sabotage groups. In the region of Murmansk, a training camp was founded to train scouts, including Norwegians. Here they underwent a short but thorough training course. After training, the groups landed in Finnmark from Soviet submarines and boats or dropped from the air by parachute. The troops were fairly well equipped. They had with them food, clothing, weapons and means of communication. However, it often happened that supplies were damaged as a result of airdrops or unloading from ships. Such cases put the life of the scouts in serious danger and, of course, this prevented them from carrying out their tasks. Human losses among the military personnel operating behind enemy lines were quite serious. When the Germans uncovered this or that group, they spared no one. Scouts were shot when resisting or executed after short trials. Some committed suicide so as not to fall into the hands of enemies and not give them any important information. Many fighters against fascism have been imprisoned or sent to concentration camps. Finally, many agreed to cooperate with the Germans. |
