Defense of the far north
The Defense of the Far North ( Russian Оборона Заполярья ) was a defense operation of the Red Army during World War II , which lasted from June 29, 1941 to October 29, 1944.
background
As part of the company Silberfuchs , two corps of the "Norway" army of the German Wehrmacht under Colonel General Nikolaus von Falkenhorst , a Finnish corps and parts of Air Fleet 5 were to advance against the Soviet northern front under Markian Popow . The goal was the occupation of the port city of Murmansk and the Kola peninsula , as well as the interruption of the Murman Railway from Murmansk to Leningrad .
course
On June 29, 1941, the advance of the Axis Powers began with two smaller offensives in the direction of Kandalaksha and Ukhta . In July they advanced 20 to 30 kilometers, stopped by two amphibious landings by the Red Army on July 7 and 14.
On August 23, 1941, the Northern Front of the Red Army was divided into two fronts: the Leningrad Front and the Karelian Front , the latter (under the command of Valerian Frolov , later under Kirill Merezkow ) also being responsible for the defense of the polar region. On September 8, 1941, another German offensive began on Murmansk. On September 23, the Red Army carried out a counter-attack and threw the German troops back behind the Sapadnaya Liza River , where the front stabilized and remained in this position until October 29, 1944.
In order to prevent another German offensive on Murmansk, the Red Army carried out a landing operation on the coast (Cape Pikschuev) in April 1942, creating a bridgehead 15 kilometers wide and 12 kilometers deep. This meant that German troops could be tied up temporarily. In mid-May 1942, however, the Soviet troops had to withdraw from these positions.
consequences
The most important parts of the Soviet infrastructure in the transpolar region, in particular the port of Murmansk and the Murman Railway , remained intact.
Web links
- Defense of the Far North (Russian)