Arctic Naval Combat in Support of Ground Operations

Soviet Naval Support of the Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation, October 1944

Charles Bartles, Lester Grau, James F Gebhardt

• Publisher: University of Alaska Press
• Year: 2025
• Print ISBN: 9781646427901
• eBook ISBN: 9781646427918
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

Translated to English from the original Soviet General Staff report, this is an account of the naval support of the Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation in October 1944—the only large-scale ground/naval and air operation ever fought in the Arctic. With additional contemporary supporting material on wider-scale Arctic combat including descriptions of combat tactics and weaponry from noted Soviet military scholar James Gebhardt, this book provides a comprehensive and detailed description of the tactics and strategies employed by both Soviet and German forces during the operation from the official Soviet perspective.

The largest Arctic battle on record, involving 133,500 Soviets and 45,000 Germans and Quisling Norwegians, the Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation sought to liberate the northernmost part of Norway from German occupation during World War II. The Soviet navy played a previously unrecognized crucial role in the operation by providing fire support and transportation, as well as conducting raids and combat landings on the enemy-held coast. The harsh Arctic environment, including extreme cold, ice, and limited daylight, posed significant challenges to the Soviet and German forces. Despite these hardships, the Soviet forces achieved their objectives, defeated the German Army, and successfully liberated the area.

Arctic Naval Combat in Support of Ground Operations is a powerful companion to Gebhardt's previous translation, The Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation: Soviet Breakthrough and Pursuit in the Arctic, October 1944, which details this operation's ground offensive. Providing a starting point for the study and understanding of combined arms and services combat in the Arctic, an increasingly important and accessible part of the planet where military concerns are rapidly expanding, this work is a valuable addition to the literature of World War II military history and a significant additional perspective on the Soviet military.
 

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Foreword
• Manuscript Editor’s Preface
• Original Title Page
• Translator’s Foreword
• List of Abbreviations Used in This Study
• Preface
• Order of the Supreme High Command, 15 October 1944
• Order of the Supreme High Command, 1 November 1944
• Chapter I. Frontline Situation of the Forces of the Northern Defensive Region on the Coast of Varangerfjord and Sredniy and Rybachyy Peninsulas
• Chapter II. Commander’s Concept and Operational Plan
• Chapter III. Decision of the Commander, Northern Fleet, and Plan of Joint Operations with the Karelian Front for the Liberation of the Soviet Far North
• Chapter IV. Preparation for Execution of the Assigned Missions
• Chapter V. Execution of the Assigned Missions
• Chapter VI. Organization of Command and Control for Combat and the Accomplishment of Coordination
• General Lessons
• Conclusion
• Glossary of Abbreviations Used in Appendixes
• Appendix 1: Order of the Commander, Northern Fleet
• Appendix 2: Combat Directive No. 0052/op of Commander, Northern Fleet (for Operation “West”)
• Appendix 3: Combat Order No. 0014/op, Headquarters Northern Defensive Region SF
• Appendix 4: Results of Submarine Attacks
• Translator’s Appendix 1: Excerpted from Study No. 38, Intelligence Support of the Northern Fleet in the Great Patriotic War (1941–1945)
• Translator’s Appendix 2: Excerpted from Frontovyye bydni Rybachevo (Frontline life on the Rybachyy Peninsula) by I. P. Barchenko-Emelyanov and Litsom k litsu: Vospominaniya morskogo razvedchika (Face to face: Recollections of a naval scout) by Viktor Leonov
• Translator’s Appendix 3: Higgins and Vosper Patrol Torpedo Boat Deliveries to Northern Fleet Through Lend-Lease, 1943–1945
• Recommended Bibliography
• About the Translator
• About the Contributors