Norway 1941 ▶ Gebirgsjäger Mountain Troops "Unternehmen Silberfuchs" (Part 2/2) Norwegen Kirkenes Murmansk - "Unternehmen Rentier" / "Unternehmen Platinfuchs" / "Unternehmen Polarfuchs" / "Unternehmen Silberfuchs" / "Unternehmen Nordlicht"
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Playlist ▶ • GERMAN HISTORY ARCHIVE
Unternehmen Platinfuchs: Operation Platinum Fox began on 29 June 1941. The 2nd and 3rd Mountain Divisions under Dietl crossed the border together with some Finnish border units. Opposing them were the Soviet 14th and 52nd Divisions, as well as a whole series of ad hoc units formed during the course of the operation from marines of the Soviet Northern Fleet. The operation faced major difficulties from the beginning: the Arctic terrain was very difficult for ground troops and slowed the advance immensely. Furthermore, the Germans had no accurate maps and thus had to advance mostly through unknown terrain over open fields. Nevertheless, the advance was initially successful. The Germans were able to push back the Soviet units at the Titovka River and at the neck of the Fisher Peninsula. After that, the German troops advanced to the Liza River against fierce Soviet resistance. In early July, however, the advance had to be halted due to supply difficulties. The Germans now had to hold a 57 km front line through difficult terrain. All further attack attempts in July failed. Dietl therefore demanded further reinforcements. These were granted to him by transferring the 6th Mountain Division, which replaced the worn-out 3rd Mountain Division. Only its Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment 139 remained on the Lapland front. It was also assigned Infantry Regiment 388 and SS Infantry Regiment 9 from Norway. However, constant attacks by Soviet and British ships on German transport and supply ships prevented the 6th Mountain Division from arriving before October. Nevertheless, Dietl launched a new offensive on September 8. This ended in disaster: the two SS units, which had not been trained for Arctic warfare, suffered heavy losses with no ground gains. While the supply situation for the German attackers continued to deteriorate, supplies of troops and material for the Red Army, on the other hand, began to arrive. On September 22, 1941, after several unsuccessful attempts to cross the Liza River or to expand the bridgehead across the river, Dietl realized that the Platinum Fox enterprise had failed; Murmansk remained in Soviet hands. The front line largely stiffened for about two years until the German divisions withdrew to Norway as part of Unternehmen Nordlicht beginning in late 1944. Total German losses during Operation Platinum Fox were 10,300 men (killed, wounded and missing).
Unternehmen Polarfuchs: The enterprises Platinum Fox and Polar Fox were started on the same day. In the latter, the XXXVI Army Corps under General Hans Feige was to attack Kandalaksha from Salla and then advance on Murmansk from the south. As a hedge, further south the Finnish III Corps, consisting mainly of the Finnish 3rd Division, was to take the towns of Kiestinki and Ukhta in two groups, then advance further on Kem and Loukhi, where it would disrupt the railroad to Murmansk. The Finnish troops were therefore under German high command. Here, too, the German troops had problems with the difficult terrain from the very beginning. In addition, the SS division "Nord" turned out to be very unsuitable for Arctic warfare. Facing the Germans were three Soviet divisions (the 122nd Rifle Division, the 104th Rifle Division, and the 1st Armored Division). The German advance began slowly, and against heavy resistance Salla was taken on July 8. Thereafter, the Germans were stopped at the towns of Alakurtti and Kayrala, and further attacks in July failed. Finnish troops in the south handled the terrain much better and advanced quickly. Opposing them was the Soviet 54th Rifle Division. The Finns encircled several Soviet units and inflicted heavy losses on them. On August 7, Kestenga was taken and the advance continued eastward. The attack on Ukhta, on the other hand, was repulsed and the Soviets moved several units (including the 88th Rifle Division) into the area. Because of the good Finnish progress, the SS "Nord" Division was moved south to support the Finns. On October 30, a new offensive began east of Kestenga, encircling a Soviet regiment. The fighting continued until November 13. After several frontal assaults against the heavily fortified Soviet positions yielded only minor gains in terrain, this offensive was also halted at the end of September. This marked the end of Operation Polar Fox.
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