Early in the morning of June 29, 1941, the enemy brought down strongholds in the northern part of the Soviet-Finnish border with an avalanche of fire. Artillery preparation lasted an hour and a half. At 04:20, after a raid by 120 bombers, parts of the German mountain rifle regiments "Norway" went on the attack. The offensive was carried out along separate accessible directions with a gap between them of 5-8 kilometers. Despite the heroism of individual soldiers and entire units, the enemy, having absolute superiority in infantry, artillery and aviation, reached the line of the river by evening. Titovka. On the night of June 30, the southern bridge over the river and a small bridgehead on its right bank were captured in good condition.

The enemy units advancing in the direction of Ivari and Kutovaya reached the isthmus of the Sredny Peninsula by the end of June 29, where they were stopped.

Having abandoned the offensive on his right flank, the enemy is concentrating his efforts on defeating our units defending the Sredny and Rybachy peninsulas. All enemy attacks were repulsed with heavy losses for him, and he was forced to go on the defensive.

By the morning of July 2, with the support of artillery and aviation, German troops reached the Western Litsa River. An attempt by advanced enemy units to cross the water barrier on the move was repulsed. The mountain rifle corps spent five days regrouping units and repairing the road. During this time, our units on the other side managed to organize a defense.

But by the end of July 7, individual units of the enemy were able to cross the river and reach the firing positions of our artillery, break through to the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe regimental rear and command posts. To weaken the onslaught of the Nazis in this direction on the night of July 8, the ships of the Northern Fleet in Bolshaya Zap Bay. Persons landed troops as part of a battalion of border guards. This made it possible to eliminate the bridgehead captured by the enemy, and by the end of July 8, to push the enemy back to the western bank of the river. Zap. faces

On July 9 and 10, the enemy showed no activity. On the morning of July 11, the main forces of the mountain rifle division resumed their offensive and crossed Bolshaya Zap Bay on inflatable and fishing boats. Faces.

For 12 days of the offensive, the enemy captured only a small bridgehead (6m-4m) on the eastern bank of the river. Zap. Faces. During this time, the Nazis lost about 3 thousand soldiers and officers killed and wounded.

The landing party played a major role in disrupting the July offensive. The German historian W. Hess was forced to admit that "thanks to the landing, for a long time the initiative was kept in the rivers of the Soviet troops."

The landing units, after landing, struck in the direction of Bolshoi Zap. Persons and advanced 6-8 kilometers, attracted forces intended to reinforce the offensive grouping of the mountain rifle corps.

Parts intended to reinforce the mountain rifle corps were transferred from Greece. New squadrons of bomber and fighter aircraft were concentrated on airfields.

Fierce battles were fought on the isthmus of the Sredny Peninsula. Artillery and air fleet were used to storm the isthmus. But they never managed to take possession of a single meter of our land.

June 14 On the northwestern coast of Bolshaya Zap Bay. Litsa and on Cape Pikshuev another landing force of 1350 people was landed under the command of Major A. A. Shkita and a volunteer detachment of sailors (150 people) of the Northern Fleet. During the crescent, the paratroopers waged a heroic struggle behind enemy lines.

By July 20, by the joint forces of artillery, infantry and aviation, the enemy was driven out of the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe dominant height of 314.9, thrown back to the border of the village of Bolshaya Zap. Faces. During the defensive battles, which lasted almost 20 days, the divisions of the mountain rifle corps were bled white. To resume the attack on Murmansk, the enemy needed a long preparation - more than a month. At the same time, attacks on German positions led to a new offensive on Polyarnoye and Murmansk.

Our troops tried to liquidate the bridgehead on the banks of the Bolshoi Zap. Faces, but due to poor preparation of frontal attacks, the command gave the order to go on the defensive.

On August 23, 1941, the Northern Front was divided into two parts: the Leningrad and Karelian fronts. Karelsky included all the troops from Lake Onega to the Arctic Ocean.

After the regrouping, the German mountain rifle corps, this time again, built its battle formation in one echelon. There were no reserves. The offensive was supported by 10 field artillery battalions and 280 aircraft.

At 0350 hours on September 8, the enemy went over to the offensive under the cover of fog. Parts of the northern group suddenly attacked the subdivisions of the rifle regiment, which had weakened their vigilance, and threw them back in a southeasterly direction. On September 9, the enemy was stopped, and then thrown back to the line of height 173.7, the northern slopes of height 314.9. On September 15, the enemy again suffered a blow, but advanced only 1-2 kilometers. Further enemy attacks were also unsuccessful. For 10 days of fighting, despite the 3-fold superiority in strength, the northern enemy groups expanded their bridgehead by only 2-3 kilometers and were forced to go on the defensive.

Things were more serious on the left flank of the defense of the 14th Army. The enemy quickly crossed the undefended section of the Zap River. Face and quickly went around the flanks. The units that arrived in time were forced to retreat with heavy fighting. Developing the offensive, the enemy crossed in the region of the 42nd kilometer our only communication - the road Murmansk, Bolshaya Zap. Faces.

In connection with the situation, a division of the people's militia called `Polyarnaya' was created. On September 15, she went to the right flank of the enemy and struck from the rear. During the fighting, the enemy lost 1,500 soldiers and officers killed and several thousand wounded. The headquarters of the regiment was defeated, large trophies and valuable documents of the German command were captured.

In the Kandalaksha direction, the Nazis managed to advance somewhat deep into our territory with heavy fighting, but they could not reach the Kirov railway.

Murmansk offensive operation (April 28 - May 10, 1942). The plan of the planned offensive operation of the Soviet troops in this direction was to break through the defenses south of Lake Baikal by pinning down the enemy from the front. Charp, cover its left flank, in cooperation with the landing of the Northern Fleet, surround and destroy parts west of the river. Zap. Persons.further

The army must develop a blow to the rear of the enemy, who was on the isthmus of the Sredny Peninsula, in order to destroy him and reach the state border in the area from the coast of Malaya Volokovaya Bay to Lake. Charp.

A marine brigade under the command of V. V. Rassokhin was allocated to participate in the operation. It was intended for landing troops on the southern coast of the Motovsky Bay.

Air support for the troops was assigned to the air forces of the army, the front and the Northern Fleet. The air defense of the troops was assigned to aviation and anti-aircraft artillery of the 14th army and the Murmansk air defense region. In addition, to combat enemy aircraft, in units and formations, specially trained for this purpose, calculations of easel machine guns and anti-tank rifles were involved.

In all rifle units, assault groups were created and trained for action. On the eve of the operation, significant work was carried out to prepare the initial area for the offensive.

The control of all the forces of the ground forces, fleet and aviation involved in the operation was carried out by the commander and headquarters of the front. To ensure interaction, representatives of aviation formations were located at the command posts of the divisions. Their task was to guide the aircraft to the target. At the command post of the 14th Army was a representative of the fleet. But the preparations were not entirely successful, the army was unable to provide ammunition. Instead of 3-5 rounds of ammunition, she had the following reserve: mines - 1.5-1.0 rounds of ammunition, shells - 2-3 rounds of ammunition. The issues of food and food supply were somewhat better resolved.

During the defensive battles in 1941 and the offensive operation in the spring of 1942, the front line finally stabilized and remained basically unchanged until the troops of the Karelian Front went on the offensive in the summer of 1941. took all measures to create an insurmountable defense.

The basis of the defensive lines were battalion defense areas. The front headquarters demanded that in the engineering equipment of the area, the main attention should be paid to covering the main directions, and primarily roads, for which blockhouses with all-round defense were created on the supply and evacuation routes every 5-6 kilometers, blockages and notches, anti-personnel obstacles were widely used. warriors in the Arctic during the creation of defensive structures in the rocky ground. Here, it was often necessary to lay out shelters for firing points, trenches, trenches and communication passages from stones, fastening them with cement mortar. In general, powerful defensive structures were built. The headquarters of the front and the headquarters of the armies paid great attention to securing the junctions and flanks. For this, strong points and barriers were created at the joints between the formations. The front experienced a great shortage of anti-aircraft weapons.

Unable to break through to Murmansk, the Germans wintered on the hills of Musta-Tunturi. The Hitlerite command set the task of systematically delivering strikes against Murmansk and being ready to support the actions of ground forces and offensives for its air forces. In addition, aviation was supposed to monitor and control the northern Norwegian and Finnish coastal strips, the air defense of the Petsamo area, ports and fleet bases.

For seven months, German troops created a defense in depth, consisting of a system of strongholds up to 20 kilometers deep. The most developed was the main line of defense, consisting of two positions, saturated with a large number of earthworks, explosive and wire obstacles.

The offensive of the 14th Army began on the morning of April 28 after 3 hours of artillery preparation. But the artillery could not destroy the enemy's fortifications and suppress his firing points, since the targets were not detected by reconnaissance. Aviation dropped several bombs on strongholds, but did not provide these troops with significant assistance.

The troops of the shock group of the army failed to fulfill their tasks. By May 3, our advancing forces managed to capture only enemy strongholds on the front line. The landing troops landed in Motovsky Bay were also unsuccessful.

On the evening of May 4, the temperature dropped sharply and a blizzard began, which forced our troops to stop active operations. The delivery of food and ammunition to all parts of the army was stopped.

From 1941 to 1944, a positional war unfolded on the Kola Peninsula. Taking into account the nature and characteristics of the theater of operations, the insufficient number of personnel and military equipment, the troops of the Karelian Front used such forms and methods of military operations in defense that exhausted the enemy’s forces, as well as ensured the capture of new territories. The most characteristic of them were battles to improve the front line, destroy enemy defenses and destroy his manpower and military equipment, reconnaissance in force, raid operations of units and subunits behind enemy lines, and the use of snipers. Reconnaissance in force was carried out not only for the purpose of reconnaissance, but also pursued the goal of destroying defensive structures and disabling enemy military equipment. Special reconnaissance was widely practiced, which was organized by the chiefs of the armed forces and services in order to obtain the data necessary for the use of troops in battle.

Ski units were also well used. The harsh winter and long polar nights, the presence of the enemy's open flanks and joints between formations favored their actions. Typically, the detachments that went on raids numbered from 150 to 300 people, and sometimes more. The skier was behind enemy lines from 10 to 12 days, overcoming huge distances during this time. They had to carry the entire set of ammunition, as well as mines for sabotage actions. In some cases, reindeer teams and drag boats were used to transport machine guns, sick and wounded.

The main object of attack in the rear were the enemy garrisons. Usually the raids were carried out at night or at dawn, when the Nazis were the least ready for battle. The front command also practiced other forms of fighting behind enemy lines. Beginning in 1942, miners were systematically sent behind enemy lines in small groups to blow up rails, blow up bridges, undermine communications, etc.

On the Karelian front, in rough terrain suitable for camouflage, sniper movement became widespread. The front commander, during the transition of the front troops to a stable defense, demanded that the commanders of formations and units pay more attention to the training of snipers, and reward the best of them with a personalized sniper rifle. The snipers usually worked in pairs. Each pair equipped the main, spare and false positions. In the conditions of the mountain-tundra Arctic, under the special control of snipers were mountain paths, passes, gorges, mountain valleys.

With a significant stretch of the front line, it was important to create in the enemy's mind the enemy's high saturation of positions with firepower and manpower. For this, "Nomadic" guns, mortars, and even machine guns and machine guns were allocated.

The artillery of the Northern Fleet also operated effectively. On the Rybachy Peninsula, from the first to the last day of the war, battery No. 221 successfully fought the enemy, which struck enemy ships at the entrance to the Petsam Bay. To suppress this battery, the Nazis fired 17,000 large-caliber shells and dropped 7,000 aerial bombs. But the battery continued to fight.

On September 4, 1941, the Government of Finland announced its break with Nazi Germany. On the same tribute, the Finnish army ceased hostilities. The German army found itself without support in this direction.

On September 29, 1944, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command approved an offensive operation in the Arctic. The idea of ​​the operation was to break through the defenses on a narrow 9-kilometer front southeast of Luostari, then capture the city of Pechenga and develop an offensive towards the Norwegian border. The 7th Air Army, in close cooperation with artillery, was to suppress the enemy's defenses. It was entrusted with covering the main communications of the front from air strikes, direct support of formations and units during the offensive, and, if necessary, the delivery of ammunition, fuel and food to them.

On the morning of October 7, the weather in the combat area began to deteriorate. Because of the fog and clouds, visibility decreased, so aviation failed to fully fulfill its task.

Team "Fire!" was served at 8 o'clock. The artillery preparation was powerful and covered the strongholds on the front line and in the nearest depth, covered the headquarters, communication centers, reserves, artillery and mortar batteries of the enemy.

At 9:30 a.m., due to even worse weather, the rate of fire slowed down. At 10:30, our troops beat the enemy.

As a result of the 1st day of the offensive, the troops of the 14th Army broke through the main enemy defense line on the front about 6 kilometers, crossed Titovka and captured a bridgehead on its northern coast. On the afternoon of October 8, the troops of the 14th Army continued their offensive. The greatest success this time was achieved on the right flank. Troops in off-road conditions advanced 5-7 kilometers. For two days of fighting in the territory liberated by our troops, the enemy left over 1.5 thousand corpses of soldiers and officers, 14 guns, 48 ​​mortars, 79 machine guns, 9 warehouses with various property, thousands of rifles and machine guns. During this time, 210 soldiers and officers were taken prisoner.

At the same time, the light rifle corps made a deep detour of the right flank of the enemy's defensive line. Their successful movement in the direction of Luostari endangered the encirclement of the enemy grouping defending at the line of the West. Faces. Fearing this, the command of the mountain rifle corps ordered the withdrawal of its units from this line. Our command has set a goal here to prevent this. But due to the lack of roads, the operation was delayed, and the enemy was able to withdraw part of his troops. Due to poor meteorological conditions, lack of artillery, and a very large lack of ammunition, the enemy operation was able, in a relatively calm situation, to withdraw troops from the turn of the river. Zap. Face your main forces and launch violent counterattacks against our units that have cut the Zap road. Persons, Pecheneg.

From October 10 to 12, our troops reached the Luostari region, thereby dividing the enemy grouping into two parts and creating favorable conditions for the development of an offensive in the direction of Nikel and north towards the Pechenegs. On October 9, at 11:30 p.m., a landing force was landed on the southern coast of the Malaya Volokovaya Bay with a total number of 411 people. His task was to prepare for the landing of the main landing force. Then at 0 o'clock the main landing was landed in the amount of 1628 people. The landing was successful, and the troops proceeded to storm the Musta-Tunturi ridge.

Having suffered a defeat in the region of the ridge, and fearing encirclement, the enemy at 12 o'clock on October 10 began to retreat from the isthmus of the Sredny Peninsula to the Pechenga region. During October 12 and 13, units of the Marines pursued the enemy along the road to Porovar.

On October 13, troops landed at Linnahamari. Under heavy enemy fire, Captain Shabalin's boats broke into the port and landed the fighters ashore at 23:00. By 12 o'clock on October 13, they captured the main defense bastion - a 210-mm battery. By 19 o'clock the port was completely captured.

During the period of fighting from September 9 to 14, the Northern Fleet inflicted significant losses on the enemy: More than 3 thousand enemy soldiers and officers were killed, various weapons and military equipment were destroyed and taken as trophies, including 39 warehouses with fuel, ammunition and food.

By the evening of October 14, German units with a total strength of 3,500 people in the Pechenga region were surrounded. On October 15, at 2 o'clock, fierce street fighting in the city ended in a complete victory for the Soviet troops.

In five days of intense fighting (October 18-22), the troops of the 14th Army advanced 20-30 kilometers. An important area of ​​nickel production with large settlements - Nikel and Akhmalakhti was completely liberated from the Nazi invaders. Soviet troops entered the territory of Norway.

Thus the September offensive was not successful. The enemy did not manage to complete the assigned tasks. Having suffered heavy losses, he was stopped and was forced to switch to positional warfare. By December 1941, the troops of the front were on the defensive on the river. Zap. Persons, not a system of rivers and lakes (90 kilometers west of Kandalaksha), 40 kilometers west of Loukhi, 10 kilometers west of Ukhta, Rugozero, Maselskaya station, Povenets, Lake Onega, r. Svir.

During the first 12 days of the offensive, the enemy captured only a small foothold on the eastern bank of the river. Zap. Faces. During this time, the Nazis lost about 3 thousand soldiers and officers killed and wounded. The offensive operation did not achieve the result that the German government expected from it.

In accordance with the instructions of the Headquarters, the troops of the 14th Army went on the defensive at the Bolshaya Zap line from mid-May. Faces, south of height 314.9, height 180.4.

The purpose of offensive operations carried out in 41-42 years. was not achieved, but the troops of the 14th Army and the Northern Fleet gained rich combat experience in preparing and conducting a major offensive operation.

For about 3 years, the troops of the Karelian Front and the sailors of the Northern Fleet fought active defensive battles in the Arctic. The leadership of fascist Germany kept large forces here, as they feared the advance of the Karelian Front to the west of Murmansk. It was afraid of losing the Nickel mines in the Petsamo (Pechenga) region, which provided 32% of the all-European production of nickel, which is a strategic raw material. The defense of the troops was very active. Day or night, at any time of the year and weather, the soldiers of the front exhausted the enemy, forced him to keep his forces in constant tension, forbade him to carry out defensive work, constantly disrupted his rest, suppressed the morale of the enemy troops, weakened his combat capability.

Having collected enough of these things, the Soviet command in September 44 went on the offensive and by November completely cleared the Arctic from the enemy.

The defense of the Arctic lasted from June 1941 to October 1944. The plans of Nazi Germany and its allies included the rapid capture of the Soviet north, where there were many strategically important objects. Through the ports of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk, cargo was delivered from Siberia and the Far East. The Kirov railway was also of great importance - by establishing control over it, the Germans could cut off the supply of the central regions of the USSR.

Finland was interested in annexing the Kola Peninsula, which the local Nazis considered part of "Greater Finland". In this region there were significant deposits of nickel, which were necessary for the German industry.

The battles took place on the Kola Peninsula, in North Karelia and in the waters of the White, Caspian, Kara and Barents Seas.

balance of power

Germany back in 1941 formed the army "Norway", consisting of German and Finnish units and designed to capture the Soviet Arctic.

In northern Norway, Germany had moorings for warships, on which the fleet was based. During the period of hostilities, the enemy had to repeatedly reinforce the army with troops that were previously in reserve. The number of German aircraft on TVD reached 500, there were more than 50 ships, and up to 25 submarines.

The defense was carried out by the troops of the 14th Army with the assistance of the Northern Fleet. The Soviet command prepared for the enemy's offensive in the north, so part of the forces of the 14th Army were transferred to the border in mid-June.

Fighting on land: June 1941 - October 1944

The Germans switched to active hostilities on June 29, 1941. The first to cross the borders were 2 German and 1 Finnish corps. According to the plan "Polar Fox" developed at the headquarters of the Wehrmacht, the mountain rifle and tank units of the enemy launched an offensive, inflicting the main blow on the Murmansk direction. Part of the enemy troops advanced to the Kandalaksha and Ukhta directions. The auxiliary German 36th Army Corps was supposed to capture Kandalaksha, and then in the Murmansk region to connect with the mountain rifle corps "Norway". The headquarters of the Wehrmacht allotted 2 weeks for the capture of the Kola Peninsula.

Polar Fox Plan

Soviet units managed to detain the enemy 20-30 km from the border. The enemy was almost 4 times superior to the Soviet troops in terms of manpower and military equipment, but the defenders of the Arctic used the defensive fortifications created earlier and the natural conditions of the area. A large role was played by the landings abandoned in the German rear on July 7 and 14.

On September 8, the Murmansk operation was resumed. But the troops of the 14th Army stopped the enemy advance. On September 23, the defenders of the Arctic pushed back the German troops across the Western Litsa River, where the front line passed until the autumn of 1944. Historians attribute the failure of the operation in the Arctic to the underestimation by the German command of the natural conditions of the far north.

Naval battles in September 1941 - October 1944

In 1941, the number of ships of the Northern Fleet of the USSR was increased by the conversion of fishing vessels. On July 10, the German flotilla moved to the port of the city of Kirkenes and began active hostilities. At the end of 1941, the Germans carried out the first successful attack on the ships of the British convoy PQ-13. After shelling from Soviet destroyers escorting cargo ships, the German ship was forced to hide. But after some time, the enemy resumed the attack and disabled the British cruiser.

The command of the Wehrmacht set a goal for the fleet to prevent the delivery of aid from the allies along the Northern Sea Route. The ships of the German Navy attacked fishing, cargo and military vessels. Against each Allied convoy, the Germans undertook a sea and air operation.

In August, the Admiral Schreer, the most famous German cruiser-raider, entered the waters of the Arctic to intercept British and Soviet ships. All the efforts of the enemy army and navy were aimed at blockading the foreign relations of the Soviet Union. But despite all the efforts of the enemy during the years of the war, more than 2.5 thousand transport ships successfully passed to the ports of the North.

Activities of Soviet sabotage groups in northern Norway

During almost the entire war, until the entry of Soviet troops into the territory of Norway, partisan units operated in the German and Finnish rear. Some of them were natives of Norway, trained in the USSR, the other part were units of the Red Army.

Partisan formations monitored the movements of the ships of the enemy military flotilla and transmitted information to the headquarters located in Murmansk. The scouts enjoyed broad support from the local population.

Results

Attempts at a counteroffensive by the Soviet armies in 1942 did not lead to the desired result, but the German plan for the "Northern Blitzkrieg" was a complete failure. Thanks to the competent actions of the command of the ground forces and the Northern Fleet, the situation of the Soviet troops was less difficult than on other fronts. The resistance of the defenders of the Arctic for a long time fettered significant enemy forces. Nazi Germany was unable to use the armies involved on the Northern Front to strengthen the blockade of Leningrad.

The civilian population provided significant assistance to the front. Despite frequent airstrikes that destroyed three-quarters of the city, Murmansk residents continued to work in factories that switched to military production. Fishing crews continued to catch fish. Railway communication with the mainland was maintained. Aid continued to come from Lend-Lease allies.

In 1944, Soviet troops went on the offensive. During the Petsamo-Kirkenes operation, the enemy was expelled from the Soviet Arctic. The Finnish army suffered a crushing defeat. Shortly after the advance of the Red Army, Finland began negotiations for peace and withdrew from the war.

Awards

On December 5, 1944, the medal was established "For the defense of the Soviet Arctic". More than 300,000 servicemen and 24,000 home front workers were on the list of award recipients. One hundred thirty-six defenders of the northern regions of the country were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

The awards were received by the ships participating in the hostilities. The most distinguished units were awarded the title of Guards. The USSR awarded the Orders of Lenin to 4 British pilots from the Allied squadron based in Murmansk. British pilots, who arrived to train the Soviet military in handling foreign equipment, actively participated in air battles and shot down enemy aircraft.

MUK Severomorskaya CBS

Central Children's Library

The Great Patriotic War

in the Arctic

Bibliography Lesson

Severomorsk

Scenario

Lesson plan

1. War has come to the North.

2. Vaenga in battles and campaigns.

3. Streets are named after them.

4. Labor rear of the Kola Peninsula.

5. Petsamo-Kirkenes operation.

6. We are looking for the right book: the skills of working with the reference apparatus of the library.

7. "Alive, remember them!": Instead of a conclusion.

This year marks the 65th anniversary of the defeat of the Nazi troops in the Arctic. For 65 years our region has been living without war.

The war came to the Kola land in June 1941.

The German government set itself the goal of capturing not only the nickel mines in Petsamo, but the entire Kola Peninsula, thereby trying to solve at least three tasks: to provide itself with strategically important raw materials; to paralyze the Northern Fleet in order to achieve dominance in the North Atlantic; and cut the Murmansk railway linking the center of the country with the outside world.

For more than three years, the defense of the Arctic continued. Three years filled with fierce battles on earth, in the sky and at sea.

The reference book on the Great Patriotic War dispassionately reports: the defense of the Arctic (June 1941-October 1944), the fighting of the troops of the Northern (from September 1, 1941 Karelian) Front, the Northern Fleet and the White Sea military flotilla on the Kola Peninsula, in the northern part of Karelia, on the Barents, White and the Kara Seas.

During the defense, the Soviet troops, fleet and workers of the Arctic did not allow the enemy to isolate the Soviet Union from external relations through the northern ports and cut the Northern Sea Route to the Far East, ensured the uninterrupted operation of land and sea internal communications in the north of the country.

To understand at what cost the operation in the Arctic was won, what people experienced in the war, we are helped by the poems of poets who fought on the Kola land.

No,

Not to gray hair

Not up to fame

I would like to extend my life

I would only go to that ditch over there

Half a blink, half a step to live;

Cling to the ground

And in azure

July clear day

See the grin of the embrasure

And sharp flashes of fire.

I would only

Here is the grenade

put her in

Cut it the right way

Four times the damned bunker,

To become empty and quiet in it,

So that he dusts a donkey in the grass!

I would live these half a moment,

And I will live there for a hundred years!

Pavel Shubin "Half a blink" 1943

Of course, the Northern Fleet took an active part in the hostilities. After the fascist "scout" on June 17, 1941 flew over the Kola Bay, Polyarny and Vaenga, the combat readiness in the fleet was sharply increased. The commander of the fleet and a member of the Military Council, the divisional commissar, personally found out why the anti-aircraft gunners did not open fire on the German aircraft. The gunners explained that they were afraid of making a mistake. The order to open fire on the violators brought clarity and increased vigilance. With regard to fascist planes violating our border, the commander of the fleet gave a categorical instruction - to shoot down. The entire fleet on the eve of the war was in the highest combat readiness.

On the first day of the war, artillerymen of the 221st battery spotted an enemy minesweeper near the opposite shore of the bay, which was covered by guns. There was a command: "To battle!" The shells of the first three volleys covered the ship. The battery commander, senior lieutenant Pavel Kosmachev, reporting this to the fleet headquarters, did not think then that he was reporting on the opening of the combat account of the Severomors.

The Nazis unleashed the fire of their coastal batteries on the Kosmachev guns, located on the other side of the bay. The 221st battery was dealt severe blows by enemy aircraft. But Kosmachev's gunners continued to fire at the enemy. And so month after month, year after year. After the war, the gun raised on a pedestal in Severomorsk became a symbol of steadfastness and courage.

And the sky was scary

Watch how the sailors

Throwing yourself into the fiery water.

They held shaky footbridges,

So that the Soviet infantry

I went dry to the shore

And, uprooting pillboxes,

I found the right path.

As before, the mines rustled.

In a deaf gorge the wind howled -

And the wounded did not want

Evacuate to the rear.

And even the dead seemed

Wouldn't give up for anything

That span that mixed with their blood

On the conquered plateau!

Alexander Oyslander "Landing"

So wrote in 1944 the front-line poet Alexander Efimovich Oyslander. In commemoration of the feat of the troops, the heroism and courage of the population, the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of December 5, 1944 established the medal "For the Defense of the Soviet Arctic", which was awarded to over 307 thousand soldiers and workers - participants in the defense.

The war has long died down. The blood and pain of our grandfathers and great-grandfathers have become the property of history. And you need to know the history of your country, your region in order to be a full-fledged person and citizen.

Where can I read about the operation in the Arctic, how to quickly find information about the Great Patriotic War? The reference apparatus of the library will help us with this. First of all, we need the Systematic Catalogue. In the catalog in the box "Recent History (1917-)" there is a separator "63.3 Period of the Great Patriotic War ()", behind which are collected descriptions of all books about the war stored in our fund. I want to draw your attention to the fact that in the catalogs of our (Central Children's) Library you can find descriptions not only for books, but also for electronic disks and video recordings.

Additional information can be obtained using the Systematic Card Index of Articles. There you can find information about newspaper and magazine publications on the theme of the Great Patriotic War.

If you need to read about the operation in the Arctic, then it is better to turn to the Local Lore Card Index. It collects information about the most interesting articles from newspapers and magazines about the Murmansk region and Severomorsk and local history books. The card file is organized by subject headings, which makes it easier to search. In this case, we are interested in the separators "Historical past of the region" and "Red Banner Northern Fleet".

Why do we discuss these issues in such detail? The fact is that after some time you will become readers of adult (city or regional) libraries. And there you will have to work independently with catalogs and file cabinets, fill out the requirements for literature on your own. And you can get the necessary skills for this only here, in the children's library.

We are separated from the liberation of the Arctic for 65 years. This is a long time for a person, a lifetime. Farther and farther away from us are the heroes of dead battles. They left us a bright memory and a saved country. Remember those who paid for the victory in the Great Patriotic War with their lives, remember your history and let this help you build the future of our Fatherland.

I will not open the Americas for you

And I won’t sparkle with a catchy rhyme.

I just remember the flat coast

And the sea is a hard wave.

To the far northern latitudes

I wanted to take you

To the boys from the Marine Corps.

who are not even twenty.

Are they fighting?

Yes, they are fighting

Fighting all around and death all around.

Also, do they dance?

Yes, they dance

In the underground front-line club.

Boys need the world to be happy,

Their thirst is not quenched...

Between two alarms, without removing the weapon.

They dance the waltz.

There is a war going on.

The boys are someone's fathers

Could be... Could be.

But at sea, in the hills, near Petsamo

They can't rise, they can't get up.

They do not love, do not smile,

Do not touch hundreds of cases.

Just stay forever young

Got the boys in destiny.

Still got - the price of life

They pay for the lives of others,

Those who come to replace them...

remember them!

Elizabeth Stuart "Memory"

List of used literature

1. There was a war ... Front-line poetry of the Kola Arctic: a collection of poems / comp. D. Korzhov; Educational center "Dobrohot" .- Murmansk: Dobromysl, 200p.: ill.

2. The Great Patriotic War: dictionary-reference book / comp. ; under total ed. .- 2nd ed., add.- M .: Politizdat, 198s.

3. Zhdanov, /, .- Murmansk: Book publishing house, 197 pp.: ill.- (Cities and districts of the Murmansk region).

4. Polar bridgehead: / ed. .- St. Petersburg: KINT-print, 2005.- p.: ill.

5. Simonov, K. Poems and poems: / Konstantin Simonov.- M.: Goslitizdat, 195p.

List of illustrations used

(recordings are listed in order of presentation).

1. [Map of the Murmansk region] [Izomaterial] // From Murmansk to Berlin / .- Murmansk, 1984.- S. .

2. [Fights on the Rybachy Peninsula] [Izomaterial] // From Murmansk to Berlin / .- Murmansk, 1984.- S. .

3. Air defense systems [Izomaterial] // Polar bridgehead / ed. .- SPb., 2005.- S. 80.

4. Monument to the heroes-artillerymen of the 221st Red Banner Battery of the Northern Fleet [Izomaterial] // Severomorsk. The fate of my capital: photo album / comp. R. Stalinskaya.-Severomorsk, 2008.-S. .

5. Nyssa, torpedo boats. 1944 [Izomaterial] // Artistic chronicle of the Great Patriotic War / .- M., 1986.- No. 000.

6. [Severomorsk in 1951] [Izomaterial] // Severomorsk. The fate of my capital: photo album / comp. R. Stalinskaya.-Severomorsk, 2008.-S. .

7. [Izomaterial] // From Murmansk to Berlin / .- Murmansk, 1984.- S. .

8. Hero of the Soviet Union [Izomaterial] // Feat of the North Sea / I. Ponomarev. - 2nd ed., Rev. and additional - Murmansk, 1970.- P.149.

9. [Portrait] [Izomaterial] // Military sailors - heroes of the underwater depths (): biographical reference book.-M .; Kronstadt, 2006.-p. 60.

10. [Deer] [Izomaterial] // From Murmansk to Berlin / .- Murmansk, 1984.- S. .

11. Ivanov, V. For the Motherland, for honor, for freedom!: poster [Izomaterial] // Polar bridgehead / ed. .- SPb., 2005.- S. 82.

12. [Landing] [Izomaterial] // Polar bridgehead / ed. .- SPb., 2005.- S. 41.

13. Dividers of local lore card file.

14. [Fighters of the Soviet army] [Izomaterial] // From Murmansk to Berlin / .- Murmansk, 1984.- S. .

Computer typing and design: bibliographer TsDB

Responsible for the release: head of the Central Library

During the Great Patriotic War, it is difficult to find a sector of the front more difficult in terms of climate than the Arctic. Opponents had to operate in a harsh climate, sparsely populated and other "charms" of the nature of the Far North and the Arctic. Magnetic storms are not uncommon here, affecting, among other things, radio communications. During the polar night, foggy weather is not uncommon, and storms rage in autumn.

These difficult natural conditions greatly complicated the combat activities of aviation. At the same time, the war in the Arctic on the border between the USSR and Germany, which occupied Norway, and from June 25 in Soviet and Finnish Lapland, was waged on both sides in conditions of extremely limited resources (both material and human). At the same time, the almost nowhere described air war that took place in this area is one of the most interesting chapters in the history of air conflicts. Here, between the best aces of the opposing sides, real knightly duels took place, comparable to those that took place in the sky over the Western Front during the First World War.

Much attention is paid to the role of aviation in ensuring the escort of allied convoys to the ports of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk, as well as the participation of allied (primarily British) aviation. At the same time, almost the entire layer of domestic and foreign printed sources, documents and memoirs of veterans available today was used.

Over the past seven decades, the topic has received fairly broad, but one-sided coverage.

A comprehensive study of the air war in the Arctic began immediately after its end. Among the priorities at that time was the creation of an official history. So, in 1945–1946, the Chronicle of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union at the Northern Theater appeared, as well as the Historical Report on the Combat Activities of the Northern Fleet Air Force in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. The monograph Wings of the Northern Fleet by V. Boyko, published in 1976 in Murmansk, completed the creation of the “lacquered” history of the aviation of the Northern Fleet in the Second World War. It should be noted that even today this work is practically the only generalizing work on the topic of the aviation of the Northern Fleet in the war. Of course, the author did not manage to get away from the role of the party in general and political workers in particular - the time was such.

A new surge of interest in the topic (as well as in the entire history of the Great Patriotic War) began in the 1990s. First of all, the works of aviation historians such as Alexander Mardanov and Yuri Rybin stand out, who published three dozen articles on various aspects of the air war in the Arctic in various specialized journals.

Separately, it is worth noting the activities of Associate Professor of the Pomor International University M.N. Suprun from Arkhangelsk, who was able to organize the release of four issues of the collection of articles “Northern convoys. Research. Memories. Documentation". In addition, in collaboration with R.I. Larintsev, he published an excellent book "The Luftwaffe under the North Star", which today is a help to all those who are interested in the topic of the opponents of the North Sea.

All the same Roman Larintsev, together with the well-known researcher from Taganrog Alexander Zablotsky, in a relatively short time published a whole series of articles on the confrontation between Soviet aviation and the Kriegsmarine in the north, which eventually resulted in the book "Soviet Air Force against the Kriegsmarine" (M .: Veche, 2010).

Attempts were also made to evaluate actions with the opposite sign - that is, the Luftwaffe against the Northern Fleet. This was done in the book of the trio of authors known for their Germanophile views - M. Zefirov, N. Bazhenov and D. Degtev "Shadows over the Arctic: Luftwaffe actions against the Soviet Northern Fleet and allied convoys" (M .: ACT, 2008).

Assessing the published literature on the topic as a whole, it is worth recognizing that at the moment there is no complete picture of the air war in the Arctic. And I hope that the proposed work will be the first sign in understanding the results of the war on the northern sector of the huge Soviet-German front.

The region of the Soviet Arctic has always been famous for its large reserves of raw materials, fuel and seafood. After the revolution, powerful sawmills were built in Arkhangelsk, Onega, Mezen, industrial development of copper-nickel ores and apatites on the Kola Peninsula, the Vorkuta coal deposit, fluorite deposits in the Amderma region, coal in Norilsk, salt and coal in Nordvik began.

Of particular importance was the only ice-free port in the north of the Soviet Union - the small town of Murmansk. Founded on October 4, 1916 as Romanov-on-Murman, it was originally intended to provide military supplies from Europe from the Entente allies. It was precisely because of this that the Civil War in the North had its own specifics, when, under the pretext of protecting huge warehouses with weapons and ammunition, an allied expeditionary force was landed here. Largely because of this, Soviet power in the Arctic was established relatively late - only on March 7, 1920. Over the next 12 years, the city received serious development. Thus, the population of Murmansk increased 16 times, reaching 42 thousand people.

At the time of the start of Operation Barbarossa, compared to other sectors of the front in Finland and Norway, the group opposing the Soviet troops was actually the weakest of all, since Hitler only tried to prevent a British landing in this area. Therefore, very limited forces were deployed on the border of the Soviet Union with Norway and Finland. On the other hand, the entire Karelian sector, from Lake Ladoga northeast of Leningrad to the southern shore of the Barents Sea far to the north - and this is 950 kilometers - was covered by only two Soviet armies (7th and 14th). The 14th Army was located west of the Kola Peninsula and had the main objective of covering Murmansk.

The Air Force of the 14th Army and attached units of the Air Force of the Northern Fleet were commanded by a talented pilot, Major General of Aviation Alexander Kuznetsov. On June 22, 1941, Soviet aviation units defending the Arctic zone and the Kola Peninsula were located as follows:

According to pre-war plans, the 7th Army stretched along almost the entire Soviet-Finnish border, from Lake Ladoga to the southern part of the Kola Peninsula. The army command had very limited air forces - only one air regiment (72nd sbap 55th garden).

The presence of a relatively small number of aircraft was compensated by the high level of training of pilots. Almost half of them served in Karelia and the Far North for more than two years, many had solid combat experience gained in the skies of Spain and Khalkhin Gol or during the Soviet-Finnish war.

As already noted, at the initial stage of the war against the USSR, the main task of the German group in Norway was to prevent any attempts by Great Britain to land troops on the continent (and such a possibility was seriously discussed in London). Therefore, limited contingents of ground and air forces were allocated for the offensive and capture of Murmansk.

As of June 22, 1941, Colonel-General Hans-Jurgen Stumpf's 5th Air Fleet had a total of 240 aircraft in Norway and a small unit in Finland. The main combat units were KG 30.1./KG 26, separate parts of JG 77 and IV.(St)/LG 1. Before the war, the units intended to fight against the Soviet Union were united in the Luftwaffenkommando Kirkenes under the command of Colonel Andreas Nielsen .

September 19, 1944 Finland and the Soviet Union sign the Moscow Armistice. Two weeks before the signing of this document, Mannerheim officially announced a complete break in relations with Germany. In addition, the territories of Karelia and the Pechenga region, which at that time was called Petsamo, went to the USSR.
However, a rather large grouping of Nazi troops continued to hold their positions.
Berlin entrusted the execution of tasks to Lothar Rendulich and Ferdinand Jodl, the commander of the 20th Army and the 19th Mountain Jaeger Corps.

The importance of the region, which was still under German control, was enormous. The German fleet, including the battleship Tirpitz, which, although it did not take an active part in the hostilities, but constantly threatened the Arctic convoys and fettered part of the forces of the British fleet, was based in ice-free ports, and strategically important nickel and copper were mined in the Petsamo area and Kirkines.

The German formations stationed in the Arctic were among the most combat-ready in the Wehrmacht. By the beginning of October, about 56,000 soldiers and officers of the 20th Army were stationed in the Arctic. The ground grouping was supported by the aviation of the 5th air fleet of the Luftwaffe.
In the Arctic, the enemy created a defense in depth, consisting of several defensive lines and lines. The main line of defense, laid in difficult terrain, had a length of more than 60 kilometers. In addition, defenses were also prepared on the coast.

To liberate the Arctic, the troops of the Karelian Front, commanded by General of the Army K.A. Meretskov and formations of the Northern Fleet under the command of Admiral A.G. Golovko. The Soviet troops were to destroy the main enemy forces, the 19th Mountain Jaeger Corps, liberate Petsamo and, developing the offensive, reach the Soviet-Norwegian border.

According to the plan of the operation, the main blow on the left flank was to be delivered by the 14th Army under the command of Lieutenant General V.I. Shcherbakov. The shock grouping of the Karelian Front was supposed to go on the offensive in the direction of Lowstari - Petsamo, go to the rear of the enemy grouping, intercept the escape routes, and then, interacting with the amphibious assault of the Northern Fleet, destroy the encircled enemy grouping.
In front of the operational group of Lieutenant General B.A. Pigarevich, operating on the right flank, was tasked with diverting enemy reserves.

On the morning of October 7, 1944, a powerful two-hour artillery preparation began, after which formations of the 131st and 99th rifle corps went on the offensive.

By the middle of the day, in the offensive zone of the 131st Rifle Corps, the main line of defense of the Nazi troops was broken through.
In the offensive zone of the 99th Rifle Corps, the situation was much more complicated: the advancing troops were stopped at wire obstacles and during the first day of the operation they could not advance a kilometer. However, already at midnight, without preliminary artillery preparation, the formations went on the attack and by morning were able to break the resistance at the main strongholds.

By the end of the second day of the operation, Meretskov set the task for the command of the 14th Army - by increasing the pace of the offensive, to capture Luostari and Petsamo, and to prevent the withdrawal of German units from the occupied lines.
On the same day, the Northern Fleet also joined the fighting.

On October 12, Soviet troops cleared Luostari of the enemy. After that, the main forces of the Soviet troops were sent to encircle and destroy the enemy grouping based in the Petsamo area as soon as possible. Three days later, the encircled enemy grouping was completely destroyed.

On October 15, 1944, the Headquarters of the Supreme Command received from the commander of the troops of the Karelian Front considerations on the continuation of the operation.
It was assumed that the Soviet troops would clear the areas west and northwest of Petsamo from the enemy and continue to pursue the retreating units of the Wehrmacht in Norway.
The persecution of the enemy began only after the negotiations between Stalin and Churchill - the territory of Norway was included in the sphere of interests of the Allies, and not the USSR.

On October 18, 1944, units and formations of the 14th Army resumed hostilities. Three days later, the 131st Rifle Corps reached the border area with Norway, and the very next day the first Norwegian settlement was liberated.
The remaining units and formations of the army reached the border with Norway after five days of heavy fighting.

Six days later, the divisions of the 131st Rifle Corps reached the Kirkenes area and within 24 hours, crossing the Bekfjord bay, captured the city and port.

The Petsamo-Kirkenes operation ended on October 29, 1944: it was on this day that Soviet troops completely cleared the Soviet Arctic and put an end to the Nazi occupation of Norway