Operation Arctic Fox

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Operation Arctic Fox
Part of World War II
Date July, 1941
Location Lappland
Result Stalemate
Belligerents
Flag of Germany Germany,
Flag of Finland Finland		 Soviet Union
Commanders
Hans Feige Gen. Maxim Hartsenko
Strength
3 divisions: 45 000 2 divisions: 28 000
Casualties and losses
6000 dead, 14 000 wounded, 400 lost 4000 dead, 7500 wounded, 750 lost
v • d • e
Arctic 1941–44

Operation Arctic Fox (from the German Operation Polarfuchs) was the codename given to a campaign by German and Finnish forces during the Second World War, against Soviet defences at Salla, in Finland, in July 1941.

Contents

[edit] Background

Salla was one of the areas occupied during the Russian invasion of Finland in 1939. The German XXXVI Corps, consisting of both German and Finnish troops, carried out Operation Arctic Fox as part of the larger Operation Silver Fox (Silberfuchs), which aimed at capturing the Soviet port at Murmansk.

This was part of the overall attack on the Soviet Union, Operation Barbarossa, and was, for the Finns, in the initial phase of their Continuation War(Jatkosota).

[edit] Action

Operation Arctic Fox started on 29 June 1941 with an attack towards Russian-occupied Salla. This quickly ran into difficulties, imposed by the terrain and the Russian defence (the Nord division in particular lost 700 men in two days of fighting) and the advance was halted. XXXVI Corps took up defensive positions, and the front stagnated, degenerating into a series of small scale operations and patrols.


[edit] Order of Battle

[edit] German XXXVI Armeekorps

[edit] Soviet XLII corps

  • Soviet 104th Division
  • Soviet 122nd Division
  • Soviet 1st Tank Brigade (?)

[edit] References


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