Arctic Naval Combat in Support of Ground Operations: Soviet Naval Support of the Petsamo-kirkenes Operation, October 1944

Translated to English from the original Soviet General Staff report, this is an account of the naval support of the Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation in October 1944—the only large-scale ground/naval and air operation ever fought in the Arctic. With additional contemporary supporting material on wider-scale Arctic combat including descriptions of combat tactics and weaponry from noted Soviet military scholar James Gebhardt, this book provides a comprehensive and detailed description of the tactics and strategies employed by both Soviet and German forces during the operation from the official Soviet perspective.

The largest Arctic battle on record, involving 133,500 Soviets and 45,000 Germans and Quisling Norwegians, the Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation sought to liberate the northernmost part of Norway from German occupation during World War II. The Soviet navy played a previously unrecognized crucial role in the operation by providing fire support and transportation, as well as conducting raids and combat landings on the enemy-held coast. The harsh Arctic environment, including extreme cold, ice, and limited daylight, posed significant challenges to the Soviet and German forces. Despite these hardships, the Soviet forces achieved their objectives, defeated the German Army, and successfully liberated the area.

Arctic Naval Combat in Support of Ground Operations is a powerful companion to Gebhardt’s previous translation, The Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation: Soviet Breakthrough and Pursuit in the Arctic, October 1944, which details this operation’s ground offensive. Providing a starting point for the study and understanding of combined arms and services combat in the Arctic, an increasingly important and accessible part of the planet where military concerns are rapidly expanding, this work is a valuable addition to the literature of World War II military history and a significant additional perspective on the Soviet military.
 

Major James F. Gebhardt was a military historian and translator. He served as an enlisted infantryman, armor officer, and Soviet Foreign Area Officer. After retiring from active duty in 1992 he worked for the US Army, the Department of State, and the Center for Army Lessons Learned. He translated and published seven Soviet memoirs and seventeen user-level technical manuals for Soviet small arms. Many of these memoirs came from personal friendships with the Soviet soldiers in Russia who authored them.