The Unknown War is an American 20-part series that documents the World War II conflict between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
Today, SouthFront shares the 8th part of the series titled “War in the Arctic”. This part highlights the struggle in the Artics, one of the harshest battlefields of WWII, with a special focus on the Soviet port of Murmansk.
The strategic port was the main destination of convoys carrying arms and ammunition from the U.S. and the UK to the Red Army.
German troops moving in the Murmansk direction, July 1941
The Nazis attacked Murmansk on June 29 of 1941. They planned to capture Murmansk within a month but ran into difficulties. By November 17, the attack, dubbed Operation Silver Fox, had ended with a catastrophic defeat for the Germans.
While the Germans continued to attack convoys heading to Murmansk, the allies managed to deliver some 15 million dollars worth of supplies from the U.S., UK, and Canada to the port, Including 10,000 tanks, 18,000 airplanes, equipment for heavy industry and medical supplies.
Soviet pilots and sailors made great sacrifices to secure the strategic Arctic port and support the efforts of their allies.
The Soviet Northern Fleet on its way to Kirkenes
October 7 of 1944 marked the start of the Petsamo–Kirkenes offensive by the Red Army. With the support of the Arctic Fleet, Pechanga was liberated after fierce fighting. On October 21 the troops reached the Norwegian border, and on October 25 Kirkenes was liberated. The offensive marked a significant victory for the allies in the Arctic.
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