The Lapland War: fighting and results

The Lapland War is one of the little-known episodes of World War II. It is not necessary to speak, of course, of the serious influence of the events of this war on the overall victory of the USSR, but these military operations led to a general reduction in the number of opponents of the Union.

What did Hitler promise Finland?

This war could not have been the case only in the case of the victory of the Hitlerites over the USSR, until the summer of 1943. Why is it a specific date? The fact is that the Finns were initially considered by the Germans as allies in the struggle against the USSR. At the time of 1941, it was planned to strengthen the Finnish army with a large number of German units for the offensive by Finland in the direction of Karelia and Leningrad.

In fact, the situation has developed quite differently. The Finnish command received at its disposal 303th brigade of assault artillery and several small units. Technical support was manifested in the transfer of 20-30 tanks and aircraft to the Finns by the Germans, which were already in the arsenal of the German army for more than one year.

The logic of the situation is that Finland had its own grievance against the USSR for the events of 1939-1940, therefore the representatives of the people of Suomi initially saw in Wehrmacht an ally, which promises to help restore the lost territories.

Lapland War: preconditions for conflict

The German command understood that sooner or later Finland would withdraw from the war against the USSR. They could not fight with their own forces against the Union of Suomi. Active fighting, they stopped as early as 1942 (in the summer). The Finnish-German army stopped at protecting the nickel deposits in the area of Petsamo (the present Murmansk region). By the way, apart from armament, the Finnish side also received food from Germany. In the middle of 1943, these supplies cease. The sanctions did not affect the Finns, since they still understood all the risks of participating in hostilities against the USSR. The Germans, in turn, understood the strategic importance of control over nickel deposits, and therefore planned to transfer additional parts to these areas if necessary. Thus, the German-Finnish relations developed as of the summer of 1943.

Formal causes of war

In 1944, the fighting between the USSR and Finland intensified. It is about the offensive of the Soviet army in the framework of the Vyborg-Petrozavodsk operation. As a result, after this operation, Finland and the USSR signed a peace treaty on the following terms:

- the border between states is established as of 1940;

- The USSR receives control over the Petsamo sector (nickel deposits);

- rent of territory near Helsinki for a period of 50 years.

The conditions for the ratification of the peace treaty by the Union were such requirements:

- the expulsion of German soldiers from Finnish lands;

- demobilization of the Finnish army.

Lapland War - is, in fact, the actions of the Finns, aimed at implementing the requirements of the Moscow Peace Treaty.

Common starting conditions for war

The number of groups at the time of September 1944, when the Lapland War began, spoke of the full advantage of the German troops. It is another matter - in what moral condition were these troops, how much they were provided with technology, fuel, etc. The Finnish army under the command of Yalmar Sialasvuo numbered 60 thousand people. The group of German troops, led by Lothar Rendulich, numbered up to 200 thousand people.

The Finnish troops looked more efficient. First, most of the units had experience of participating in the battles of the Finnish war. Secondly, the T-34 and KV tanks of Soviet manufacture were supplied to the army of Suomi. The superiority of the fascists in the number of people by 140 thousand was completely offset by the advantage in technology.

The War Begins

The Lapland War in Finland began on September 15, 1944. The plan of the Germans was that their troops would capture the island of Hogland and be able to restrain the Soviet Baltic Fleet. For the fascists, Finland has never been a basic front. It was used as a diversionary maneuver and deterrent, so that the Soviets held a certain amount of forces there and could not transfer them to more important sectors. So, the events took place as follows. On this island, a detachment of coastal defense was based. The Germans counted on the effect of surprise, but this trap did not work for them. In addition, the fascists mined all approaches to the island. The battle might not have been, if the Finns had complied with the command of the landing command to surrender, but they understood that they were standing on their own land, which they had to protect.

The island of Hogland was not able to seize the troops of Germany. If we talk about the losses of German forces in this battle, then in different sources is given quite contradictory information. There is evidence that the troops of the invaders lost in this clash of 2153 people killed on the ground and in sunken ships. Other sources claim that the entire Lapland war took about 950 lives of German soldiers.

Fighting in October-November 1944

At the end of September 1944, a major land battle took place near the town of Pudojärvi. The Finns won this fight. According to many historians, the main result of the battle was the withdrawal of the order for the retreat of fascist forces from Estonia. The Germans were no longer as strong as in the early years of World War II.

On 30 September, a major landing operation of the Finnish forces began, in which a transfer of forces from Oulo to Tornio was carried out by sea. On October 2, additional strengths of the Finnish army came to strengthen Tornio's position. Strong battles took place on this site for a week.

The offensive of Finnish troops continued. October 7, the army of Suomi took the city of Kemijoki. Let's notice, that with each passing the progress was complicated, because the Hitlerites acquired combat experience and strengthened their positions. After the October 16th takeover of the city of Rovaniemi, the offensive from the more active phase passes into the positional one. The battles take place along the defensive line of the Germans between the towns of Ivalo and Caaressuvanto.

Unknown Lapland War: USSR Participation

The troops of the Union carried out a very interesting function in the course of the clashes between Finland and Germany. In the fighting, Soviet aviation participated, which, in theory, was supposed to help the Finns cleanse the territory of their state from the Nazis. Military historians point out that there were different situations:

- Soviet aircraft really destroyed German equipment and personnel;

- Soviet aircraft inflicted damage on the Finnish infrastructure, bombed military facilities of the army of Suomi.

To such actions of the USSR there can be several explanations. The Lapland War of 1944 for many Soviet pilots was the first combat experience, because the personnel was constantly updated due to huge losses. The lack of experience led to pilots' errors. In addition, a version of a certain revenge for the unsuccessful war of 1939 is allowed.

For a long time Soviet military strategists did not enter into a conflict between Finland and Germany, which lasted, in general, since July 1943. Before the military there was a strategic choice: to have Finland as a friend and ally or to occupy. Generals of the Red Army chose the first option as a result.

The second stage of the war

In October 1944, the Lapland War (photo attached) received a new round of development. The point is that parts of the Red Army entered the fighting on this sector of the front. On October 7-10, Soviet Army troops attacked Hitler's positions in the direction of Petsamo (nickel ore deposit). The mines located in this area produced up to 80% nickel, which was used in the production of weapons.

After successful attacks by the Soviet Army and constant pressure from the Finns, the Germans began to retreat to the territory of Norway, which they occupied. Until the end of January, the main forces of Wehrmacht left Finland. The date of the end of the war is April 25, 1945. It was on this day that the last German soldier left the land of Suomi.

Results of the war

Here one should speak not so much of the results of the Lapland war as much as of the consequences of the entire Second World War for Finland. The level of economic development has sharply fallen. More than 100,000 people were forced to become refugees because of the loss of a roof over their heads. All the destruction was estimated in an amount equivalent to 300 million US dollars at the rate of 1945.