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Petsamo-Kirkenes operation - Encyclopedia. Petsamo-Kirkenes Offensive Operation - Encyclopedia Petsamo Kirkenes Offensive Operation

Aces over the tundra [Air war in the Arctic, 1941–1944] Zhirokhov Mikhail Alexandrovich

Petsamo-Kirkenes operation

By the fall of 1944, the Petsamo-Kirkenes direction was covered by the 19th Mountain Rifle Corps. The Germans, using difficult terrain - rocky hills, fiords, lakes - were able to create a defense in depth with long-term structures.

According to the plan of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, the Karelian Front under the command of General of the Army K. A. Meretskov and the Northern Fleet, commanded by Admiral A. G. Golovko, were to bear the brunt of the fighting in this direction. Based on the instructions of the Headquarters, a plan was developed for the Petsamo-Kirkenes operation, according to which the 14th Army was to break through the enemy defenses south of Lake Chapr, capture the Luostari and Petsamo (Pechenega) area, in cooperation with units of the Northern Fleet, encircle and destroy the enemy grouping southwest the Titovka River and further, developing the offensive, liberate the areas of the city of Nikel and Salmiyarvi, reach the state border with Norway and completely clear the Petsam region of the enemy.

From the air, the advancing troops were to be supported by the 7th Air Army. However, its formations were dispersed throughout the Karelian Front, since in June-August they provided the offensive of the 7th and 32nd armies, and in September - the 19th and 26th armies. The first task was to concentrate the division in the Murmansk direction. To reinforce the bomber component, the 113th bomber air division was relocated here from the Stavka reserve. Together with the 122nd Air Defense Fighter Division, it was transferred to operational subordination to the commander of the 7th Air Army, Lieutenant General I. M. Sokolov.

To accommodate these connections, it was necessary to build many new airfields. However, in the conditions of the Arctic, the possibilities for expanding the airfield network were extremely limited. Nevertheless, this problem was solved in a short time. Landing strips were built between the mountains and in the deserted tundra. In a number of places, bulk airfields had to be made, for which hills were cut off, and ravines were covered with excess soil. Wooden overpasses were thrown across deep and wide ravines. Latticed wooden strip airfields were created on swampy swamps.

Thus, 747 aircraft were assembled in the 7th Air Army for the Petsamo-Kirkenes operation. In addition, 275 aircraft were provided by the Air Force of the Northern Fleet, commanded by the Hero of the Soviet Union, Major General Aviation E. N. Preobrazhensky.

Needless to say, Soviet aviation was several times superior to the enemy aircraft fleet in the North.

The scouts were the first to take part in the operation, the crews of which were supposed to open the entire line of defense of the enemy. Among the scouts in the literature, the following crews are noted: Hero of the Soviet Union A. V. Kolesnikov, A. R. Slivka, A. S. Zapadinsky, A. V. Kozlov, as well as A. V. Anokhin, V. I. Donchuk.

According to the air support plan for the operation, the air force was to:

Assist ground forces in breaking through enemy defenses and in the offensive;

Cover the strike force of the 14th Army;

Prevent the approach of enemy reserves and the withdrawal of his troops and equipment, destroy crossings;

Night actions to exhaust and suppress artillery in firing positions;

Destroy enemy aircraft at airfields and in the air;

To sink transports in the fiords and ports of Petsamo and Kirkenes;

Conduct continuous reconnaissance of the battlefield, military and army rear areas.

Based on these tasks, the headquarters of the 7th Air Army developed two options for the combat use of aviation in the operation: one for favorable meteorological conditions, allowing the actions of all types of aviation, the other - in case of bad weather (so common in the Arctic), excluding bomber flights.

According to the first option, the day before the start of the offensive, it was planned to conduct preliminary aviation training, on the day of the offensive, an hour before the end of the artillery preparation, direct aviation training, and then air support for the attack and battle in depth was to follow. But bad weather did not allow for any preliminary or direct aviation training.

Support for the attack of infantry and tanks was planned by air assault actions. For closer interaction between aviation and ground forces, assault air divisions were assigned to rifle corps. The 261st assault air division was supposed to support the actions of the 131st rifle corps, the 260th assault air division - of the 99th rifle corps. After breaking through the enemy's main line of defense, the main forces of the 7th Air Army were to be used to support the operations of the light rifle corps and the 7th Guards Tank Brigade.

For closer interaction, aviation officers with radio stations were sent to each division of the 131st and 99th rifle corps. Their task was to guide the aircraft to the target.

On the morning of October 7, the assault on the enemy defenses began. After artillery preparation, formations of the 131st and 99th rifle corps went on the offensive.

Due to snowfall and rain, a massive air strike, as planned according to the plan, could not be delivered. Only the most trained crews of attack aircraft and fighters took to the air, operating from low altitudes in small groups.

So, the six Il-2 aircraft, led by Captain P. A. Rubanov, who flew out to attack the enemy’s front line, had to go in a tight formation, either descending under the edge of the clouds, or breaking them up. But Rubanov led the group exactly to the target and attacked it on the move. As a result of an unexpected blow, two ammunition depots were blown up, several dugouts were destroyed, and many Nazis were killed. The Ilov group under the command of Captain M. Bakaras dealt a precise blow to the enemy's mortar battery.

During the first day of the offensive, the pilots made 229 sorties, while only 30 sorties were recorded by the enemy.

Troops of the 131st Rifle Corps broke through the enemy's main line of defense, crossed the Titovka River, and seized a foothold on its western bank. Favorable opportunities were created for developing the offensive in the depths of the enemy defenses.

On the second day of the offensive, the weather improved and aviation began to operate at full strength, making over 500 sorties during the day. Attack aircraft were especially effective, providing direct support to the advancing troops on the battlefield. At the request of the commanders of the rifle corps, the Ilov group struck at the nodes of enemy resistance, at accumulations of military equipment and manpower.

Ilys under the command of Major N. Goncharov especially distinguished themselves. Having received the task of destroying the resistance center on the western slopes of height 258.3, eight attack aircraft, under the cover of ten fighters, quickly found the target and destroyed several dugouts with accurate blows, blew up the ammunition depot.

In the morning, aerial reconnaissance, and then from the observation post of the commander of the 99th Rifle Corps, discovered several military columns moving along the road from Luostari. On the instructions of the corps commander, Major General S.P. Mikulsky, the commander of the 260th assault air division, Colonel G.A. Kalugin, sent three groups of Il-2 aircraft, eight in each, to destroy the enemy and his strongholds in the corps offensive zone. The task was completed.

A lot of trouble for the 131st Rifle Corps was delivered by enemy artillery and mortar batteries located in a stronghold on an unnamed height northeast of Lake Chapr. They conducted systematic flanking fire on our advancing troops. Pilots of the 7th Air Army carried out bombing and assault attacks several times, but the surviving guns continued to fire. On October 9, the corps commander, Major General Z. N. Alekseev, set the task of suppressing enemy fire for the 261st assault air division. At the direction of the division commander, General Udonin, six Il-2 aircraft flew out on a mission. It was headed by Captain Y. Andrievsky. Arriving at the target area, the attack aircraft rebuilt in a circle and with well-aimed blows, descending during attacks to strafing flight, defeated two anti-tank and one mortar batteries, and also blew up an ammunition depot. General Z. N. Alekseev highly appreciated the actions of the attack aircraft.

The formations of the strike group of the 14th Army, with the support of aviation, broke into the second line of defense. The left-flank 126th Light Rifle Corps, having bypassed the enemy from the rear, on October 9 reached the area of the fork in the road west of Luostari.

Aviation provided good assistance to the corps. Thus, air reconnaissance discovered the approach of the head regiment of the enemy's 163rd infantry division and immediately reported this to the command post. The first blow to the enemy, approaching the fork in the road, was delivered by attack aircraft, which created a traffic jam on the road and sowed panic. The commander of the 126th light rifle corps, Colonel V.N. Solovyov, took advantage of this and, speeding up the exit of the units to the fork in the road, following the air strike, attacked the enemy, who had not yet had time to take the battle order. According to the testimony of the prisoners, on this day their regiment lost up to 40% of its personnel.

During the operation, the intensity of traffic on the roads behind enemy lines increased sharply, and the camouflage weakened. Therefore, our air strikes against enemy columns were very effective. On October 10 alone, three groups of attack aircraft destroyed up to 50 vehicles and many other military equipment and manpower on the roads west of the Titovka and Petsamo rivers.

However, you should not describe everything only in bright colors. German fighter units, despite their small numbers, offered fierce resistance in the air.

Especially stubborn air battles broke out on October 9th. During the day, the pilots of the 7th Air Army conducted 32 air battles, in which they announced 37 enemy aircraft shot down. Characteristically, most of the air battles took place over enemy territory, which testifies to the offensive tactics of our aviation.

High skill, courage and heroism were shown by the pilots of the 20th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, which since May 1944 was commanded by Major PS Kutakhov, Hero of the Soviet Union.

The pilots of other regiments also fought bravely. Accompanying a group of Il-4 bombers, senior lieutenant I.S. Leonovich, deputy squadron commander of the 29th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, showed courage and endurance in aerial combat. Reflecting the attack of enemy fighters on protected bombers, he attacked a pair of Messerschmitt-109s at an altitude of 3 thousand meters and shot down a wingman from a short distance. The leader of the pair, apparently not noticing the death of his partner, continued to climb. Leonovich took advantage of this and set fire to the leader of the Messerschmitt in the next burst. However, he himself was attacked by two German fighters, and another pair of Messerschmitts attacked his wingman. In the battle, Leonovich was wounded by a shell fragment, the plane was damaged. But the guardsman did not leave the battle: together with his comrades, he continued to protect the bombers. Ilya returned to the airfield without loss. In this battle, Senior Lieutenant Ivan Semenovich Leonovich brought his combat score to 28 downed aircraft. November 2, 1944 he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.

Several stubborn air battles that day were carried out by pilots of the 122nd Air Defense Fighter Division. In the morning, troops in the area of crossings across the Valas-Yoki River were covered by a link of the 767th Fighter Aviation Regiment of this division under the command of Lieutenant N. E. Matveev. Unexpectedly, the pilots noticed six German Me-109 fighters above themselves, which were trying to attack our group from the direction of the sun. Vigorously turning around, Matveev's link went into a frontal attack on the enemy. Dodging an attack from the front hemisphere, the pilot of the leading Messerschmitt turned to the left, but fell under Matveev's machine-gun fire and caught fire. The led Messerschmitt wanted to cut off Matveev, but junior lieutenant V.P. Znamensky prevented him. The Soviet pilot and his opponent in a deep turn tried to follow each other's tail. Znamensky gradually reduced the radius and steadily approached the Messerschmitt. The German pilot could not stand it and fell into a tailspin. A pair of junior lieutenant T. D. Gusinsky acted harmoniously in battle. He and his led junior lieutenant F.I. Tsatsulin, having helped each other more than once, recorded one victory for themselves.

The heavy losses of enemy aviation on October 9 immediately affected its activity. Only five air battles took place the next day. But it was necessary to consolidate the success achieved and inflict a decisive defeat on enemy aircraft. And soon the opportunity presented itself. Our air scouts found up to 60 aircraft at the Salmijärvi airfield. The commander of the 7th Air Army, General I. M. Sokolov, ordered two massive raids on the airfield.

The pilots studied the approaches to the airfield, its anti-aircraft defense and the location of aircraft using a photographic scheme. The regimental commanders distributed in detail the duties between the strike group and the group for suppressing enemy anti-aircraft weapons, as well as in groups of cover fighters.

In the first raid, which was carried out on October 11, 18 Il-2 attack aircraft and 36 fighters took part. Even on the approach to the enemy airfield, Soviet aircraft were met by fire from anti-aircraft artillery batteries. And when attacking the airfield, they were met by small-caliber artillery fire. Moreover, when leaving the attack, the group was attacked by duty fighters. During the heated battle, Senior Lieutenant I.K. Kuznetsov immediately shot down one Focke-Wulf-190. Soon, his second lieutenant M.A. Tikhansky achieved the same success. A few more enemy planes were shot down in this battle by their comrades.

The second raid involved 55 bomb-laden fighters. The first to take to the air were fighters, whose task was to block the airfield, suppress anti-aircraft guns and oust enemy aircraft in case of opposition. They were followed by groups of Yakov and Lavochkin to attack the airfield.

The success of the raid was complete. There was practically no opposition in the air - only when moving away from the target, the Soviet pilots were attacked by a pair of Messerschmitts-109, which had risen from another airfield. Captain V. B. Mitrokhin blocked the path of the enemy and shot down one of the planes in a short fight.

According to Soviet data, as a result of a well-organized and skillfully carried out operation, 33 German aircraft were destroyed in two raids at the Salmijärvi airfield. In addition, Soviet pilots shot down five aircraft in air battles. Our losses amounted to only one Il-2 aircraft, shot down by anti-aircraft artillery. In Soviet post-war literature, it is noted that during the five days of the offensive of the Soviet troops, the enemy lost 99 aircraft.

Despite the complicated meteorological conditions, Soviet aviation continued to provide assistance to the advancing units. In the conditions of the tundra, heavily rugged and sometimes swampy terrain, off-road, with the rapid advance of the troops of the 14th Army, the artillery of the corps often lagged behind the rifle units, so its tasks had to be performed by our bomber and attack aircraft. She became, one might say, air artillery, acting at the request of the ground command. And the aviators immediately responded to their requests.

On October 13, the 325th Infantry Regiment on one of the roads cut off the escape route for a group of enemy troops. In order to dislodge our unit from this sector, the enemy began to concentrate his forces there. The Soviet command called in aviation. Red star planes appeared in the sky. A powerful assault strike followed, and the enemy's counterattack was thwarted.

The pilots were required to perform impeccably accurate work, as the situation on the ground changed very quickly. On October 14, the offensive of the 131st Rifle Corps was hampered by a stronghold at Hill 181, located at a fork in the highways leading to Petsamo. The weather was bad, so the best crews headed by Captain G. Pyankov went on a mission. But when the group of attack aircraft was already in the air, parts of the corps occupied the eastern slope of this height. The air controller redirected the pilots to the western slopes in time. Attack aircraft strikes proved to be very accurate and effective. Four Pyankov suppressed the fire of artillery pieces and mortars, thus clearing the way for the infantry. Thanks to this raid, our units occupied the entire height.

On the night of October 15, Soviet troops captured an important enemy defense center - Petsamo. The 14th Army, in cooperation with the Northern Fleet, with the support of the 7th Air Army, inflicted heavy damage on parts of the Nazi 19th Mountain Rifle Corps and threw them back to the west and northwest of Petsamo and Luostari. Favorable conditions were created for the development of an offensive to the borders of Norway.

By order of the Supreme Commander of the 122nd Air Defense Fighter Division, Colonel F. A. Pogreshaev, as well as to formations and units of the Northern Fleet Air Force: the 6th Fighter Air Division, Major General Aviation N. T. Petrukhin, the 2nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel D. F Marenko, the 46th Assault Aviation Regiment of Major G.V. Pavlov - was given the honorary name "Pechenga".

The Air Force of the Northern Fleet was active during the entire operation. Naval pilots supported the ground troops in the offensive, ensured the landing of amphibious assault forces, and raided enemy ports and ships at sea. Despite the reinforced cover of the convoys, they were subjected to massive strikes by torpedo bombers, bombers and attack aircraft. As a rule, they used the following tactics: fighters tied up the air cover of the convoy, and part of the forces participating in the attack acted on the guard ships, clearing the way for our torpedo bombers and bombers to the transports. If after the first blow the convoy was not defeated, a second blow was struck.

Such a double strike on October 16 destroyed an enemy convoy, discovered by aerial reconnaissance at the exit from the Backfjord. In the first raid, the attack aircraft sank four ships and one boat, and the torpedo bombers sank a transport and a patrol ship. By evening, the second blow was dealt. As a result, our pilots sank two more transports, three patrol ships and a minesweeper. In air battles, four enemy aircraft were shot down.

It was not without losses. So, when striking at the convoy, the crew led by the commander of the 9th Guards Mine-Torpedo Aviation Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel B.P. Syromyatnikov, died. During the attack, his aircraft was hit by a naval artillery shell. On a burning car, the crew nevertheless torpedoed enemy transport, but their plane also fell into the sea. Lieutenant Colonel Boris Pavlovich Syromyatnikov, navigator Major Alexander Ilyich Sknarev and air gunner Senior Sergeant Georgy Safronovich Aseev were posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

With the release of Petsamo, preparations began for the second stage of the operation. The 7th Air Army covered the regrouping of the 14th Army and at the same time pulled air units closer to the front line. Since October 18, all the efforts of the air army were again focused on supporting the formations of the 14th Army, which resumed the offensive.

Fierce battles flared up to overcome the enemy's pre-prepared defensive line, which was trying to delay the advance of the 99th Rifle Corps on Akhmalakhti and the 31st Rifle Corps on Nikel. Here the enemy created two strong artillery groupings. The first, consisting of up to nine batteries, with continuous flanking fire raids, prevented the advance of parts of the 99th Rifle Corps along the road to Akhmalakhti, the second, consisting of up to six batteries, prevented the advance of the 31st Rifle Corps on Nikel.

Attack aircraft came to the aid of the rifle corps. On October 20, an artillery group located at the junction of roads northeast of Akhmalakhti was attacked by groups of attack aircraft, each of which had 6-8 aircraft. The leaders of the groups were experienced pilots captains N. V. Borovkov, P. A. Rubanov, A. Timoshenko, P. Ya. Usachev, senior lieutenants Novikov, D. Chepelenko. According to post-flight reports, the aviators destroyed two batteries of field artillery, blew up four ammunition depots, smashed 16 vehicles, suppressed seven batteries of field and three batteries of enemy anti-aircraft artillery.

Despite the assurances of the Soviet command about the destruction of German aviation in the North, nevertheless, there were planes with a swastika in the sky, and air battles were not a rarity.

Aircraft provided great assistance to the ground forces during the capture of the settlement of Nikel. Supporting the offensive of the rifle corps, the crews of the 7th Air Army on October 21 made 487 sorties. The military council of the 14th army gave a high assessment to the actions of aviation: “In the battles for Nikel, bombers and attack aircraft, escorting the 31st Rifle Corps, thwarted the counterattack of the enemy, who was trying to break out of the encirclement, accelerated the capture of Nikel and the destruction of the enemy group surrounded in this area.”

Fighter aviation reliably covered the grouping of troops and their actions, almost completely driving enemy aircraft from the battlefield. The fighters rendered especially great assistance to units of the 126th and 127th light rifle corps operating behind enemy lines. Despite repeated attempts by enemy aviation to disrupt the advance of these corps, fighters provided cover for them, and the raid of the 126th and 127th light rifle corps passed without losses.

In the future, aviation assisted the ground forces in capturing the port and the city of Kirkenes. In battles for him, the navigator of the 191st Fighter Aviation Regiment, Major Trofim Afanasyevich Litvinenko, won his 21st victory in the air.

From 23 to 25 October 1944, the 7th Air Army made 683 sorties. October 25 Kirkenes was taken.

By order of the Supreme Commander of the 80th Bomber Aviation Regiment Lieutenant Colonel G.P. Starikov, the 114th Guards Long-Range Bomber Aviation Regiment Major A.N. The 9th Guards Mine-Torpedo Aviation Regiment of Major A.I. Fokin, the 20th Fighter Aviation Regiment of Lieutenant Colonel D.A. Petrov and the 118th Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment of Lieutenant Colonel S.K. Litvinov of the Air Force of the Northern Fleet were given the honorary name "Kirkenes".

The Petsamo-Kirkenes operation ended with the complete victory of the Soviet troops. An important role in its achievement was played by the aviation of the Karelian Front and the Northern Fleet. During the operation, the crews of the 7th Air Army made 6,732 sorties, destroyed more than 700 vehicles, about 250 wagons, 21 gas tanks and a gas tanker, blew up 24 ammunition depots, destroyed about 30 dugouts and dugouts, suppressed or partially destroyed about 100 artillery and mortar batteries, dispersed and destroyed many enemy soldiers and officers. In air battles and at airfields, 129 enemy aircraft were destroyed.

Aviation losses of the Northern Fleet during the Petsamo-Kirkenes operation

the date	Regiment	Airplane	Scene	Crew	Notes
10.10.44	46	IL-2		+ ml. l-t Myagkaev + ml. s-t Volodin I. P.	shot down FOR pr-ka
10.10.44	27	"Aerocobra"	district of Vardøyo	+ Art. L-t Laptev V.I.	shot down FOR pr-ka
11.10.44	20	Yak-7 b	district of Kirkenes	+ Art. Lt Shevchenko V.P.	shot down FOR pr-ka
11.10.44	20	"Aerocobra"	Kirkenes	+ Art. Lt Kuznetsov M. I.	shot down by IA pr-ka
11.10.44	20	"Aerocobra"	Kirkenes	+ ml. L-t Boyko A.S.	shot down by IA pr-ka
11.10.44	20	"Aerocobra"	Kirkenes	+ ml. L-t Berdnikov N. T.	shot down by IA pr-ka
11.10.44	36	A-20	district of Kirkenes	+ ml. l-t Vasilenko + l-t Lugovoi + s-t Gamayukov + kr-ts Isaev	missing
11.10.44	78	"Kittyhawk"	Bosfjord	l-t Bozhko	shot down FOR pr-ka
12.10.44	27	"Aerocobra"	district of Kirkenes	+ Art. Lt Evdush I. S.	shot down by IA pr-ka
12.10.44	20	Yak-7b	Varangerfjord	+ l-t Buslaev V.V.	shot down by IA pr-ka
12.10.44	20	Yak-9	Varangerfjord	L-t Gorobets E.I.	shot down by IA pr-ka
12.10.44	46	IL-2	district of Kirkenes	+ ml. l-t Ivchik + ml. St. Feklistov M. A.	shot down FOR pr-ka
12.10.44	46	IL-2		Uskrebkov L. V., Stakov G. T.	wrecked FOR on landing broken
12.10.44	9	A-20	district of Berlyvoye	+ ml. l-t Sausage M. I. + ml. l-t Nesterov A.P. + ml. s-t Rykov + ml. s-t Zimin	shot down FOR pr-ka
14.10.44	36	A-20	W 71.08 D 26.28	Lt Vildyaskin M. A. + Lt Bashkatov M. N. + St Miroshnichenko G. D. + ml. s-t Mospan A.I.	shot down FOR pr-ka
15.10.44	118	"Kittyhawk"		+ ml. Lieutenant Ovchinnikov P.I.	missing
16.10.44	27	"Aerocobra"	Liinakhamari district	+ ml. Lt Naumov N. S.	shot down FOR the enemy
16.10.44	36	A-20	borough of Cybernest	+ m l. l-t Popruzhenko + ml. l-t Porshakov + ml. St. Klimushkin V. V. + Art. kr-ts Kokhanov	shot down FOR pr-ka
16.10.44	36	A-20	borough of Cybernest	+ ml. l-t Matsaev + l-t Sergeev + ml. s-t Murygin M. A.	shot down FOR pr-ka
16.10.44	36	A-20	borough of Cybernest	+ ml. l-t Breeders + ml. Lt Mikhailenko P. I., Art. s-t Tarelkin + st. kr-ts Evstegneev	shot down FOR pr-ka
16.10.44	46	IL-2	Varangerfjord	+ ml. l-t Suchalkin + ml. s-t Lezhnev	shot down FOR pr-ka
16.10.44	46	IL-2	Varangerfjord	l-t Smorodin + s-t Potekhin	shot down FOR pr-ka
16.10.44	46	IL-2	Cape Krolevik	Taravinov I. M., Kostrikov N. V.	shot down by IA pr-ka
16.10.44	46	IL-2	AE Pummanki	Eltikov P. A., Ryazanov A. P.	shot down FOR landing broken
16.10.44	9	A-20	borough of Cybernest	+ p / p-to Syromyatnikov B. P. + Mr. Sknarev A. I. + Art. St. Aseev G. S. + ml. s-t Danilov I. E.	shot down FOR pr-ka and fell into the sea
16.10.44	9	A-20	borough of Cybernest	+ ml. tech. l-t Temples + ml. tech. l-t Azimov + s-t Sandik Sh. K. + ml. s-t Pasynkov	shot down FOR pr-ka
16.10.44	9	A-20	borough of Cybernest	+ ml. l-t Konovalchik + ml. l-t Andreichenko + s-t Sergeev N. V. + ml. s-t Polyakov	shot down by IA pr-ka
16.10.44	9	A-20	borough of Cybernest	crew rescued	shot down FOR pr-ka
16.10.44		A-20		+ Art. l-t Boyko + l-t Gnezdov, + art. s-t Tsipanov + s-t Sidorov V.I.	missing
17.10.44	46	IL-2	Varangerfjord	+ ml. l-t Savenko E. S. + s-t Shishkanov	shot down FOR pr-ka
17.10.44	46	IL-2	Varangerfjord	+ ml. l-t Kapachenko + s-t Sagalatov	shot down by IA pr-ka
17.10.44	46	IL-2	Varangerfjord	+ ml. l-t Gromilo + s-t Chvanov	shot down by IA pr-ka
17.10.44	46	IL-2	Varangerfjord	ml. l-t Ushakov A. G. + Art. s-t Tkachuk N. K.	shot down by IA pr-ka
17.10.44	46	IL-2	Varangerfjord	+ ml. l-t Petlyakov + s-t Fominov F. R.	shot down by IA pr-ka
18.10.44	20	Yak-7 b	AE Pummanki	+ ml. L-t Starkov P.I.	crashed
21.10.44	27	"Aerocobra"	Kirkenes	+ ml. L-t Ryabov N.I.	shot down by IA pr-ka
21.10.44	9	A-20	district of Kirkenes	+ Art. l-t Gubanov O. P. + Art. l-t Dovgal F. M. + s-t Bugaev G. A. + art. St. Balandin N. P.	shot down FOR pr-ka
21.10.44	9	A-20	district of Kirkenes	+ l-t Laborer + ml. l-t Fomin L. A. + s-t Ivanov + art. kr-ts Lvovsky N. G.	shot down FOR pr-ka
22.10.44	20	Yak-7		Art. Lieutenant Shevchenko	crashed
23.10.44	46	IL-2	Varangerfjord	+ ml. l-t Kadiev + ml. s-t Heifitz	shot down FOR pr-ka
24.10.44	46	IL-2		+ ml. l-t Chukisov + Art. s-t Shumsky	crashed
24.10.44	20	Yak-7b		+ ml. Lt Nilov	shot down by IA pr-ka
24.10.44	78	"Kittyhawk"	Kongsfjord	+ ml. Lieutenant Selivestrov	shot down by IA pr-ka
24.10.44	78	"Kittyhawk"		the pilot is unharmed	crashed
24.10.44	9	A-20	Kongsfjord	+ ml. l-t Lukashev + ml. l-t Paranyuk + s-t Baturin + s-t Rocketsky	shot down FOR pr-ka
24.10.44	9	A-20	Kongsfjord	+ ml. l-t Pisarenko + ml. l-t Antonenko + ml. s-t Korshunov + ml. s-t Kulikov	shot down FOR pr-ka
24.10.44	9	A-20	Kongsfjord	+ ml. l-t Abramov M. E. + ml. l-t Pechkurov + ml. s-t Belousov + ml. s-t Zakharov	shot down FOR pr-ka
24.10.44	9	A-20	Kongsfjord	+ ml. l-t Yurchenko + ml. l Plastinin + ml. s-t Lapshin + ml. s-t Kozyrev	shot down FOR pr-ka
25.10.44	78	"Kittyhawk"	Kola bay	ml. l-t Novoseltsev	shot down FOR the enemy
25.10.44	118	A-20	AE Banak	+ l-t Sologubov M. Ya. + l-t Skribin A. T. + art. s-t Kolbanov + s-t Dronsky	missing
25.10.44	27	"Aerocobra"	Yarfjord	+ ml. Lt Kornienko A. M.	crashed

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Great battles of World War II , Collection , Audiobook tells about the greatest battles of World War II, blazing in North Africa and the Arctic, on the Pacific islands and on the Central Russian plain, in the mountains of the Balkan ... Category:

On November 1, 1944, 74 years ago, the Petsamo-Kirkenes operation ended, which liberated the Arctic from the Nazi invaders. The battle, which began on October 7, 1944, was called the Tenth Stalinist Strike.

War in the Arctic: 1941 - 1943

The German command planned to capture the Kola Peninsula, and there were several reasons for this. Firstly, it was important for the Germans to take the base of the Northern Fleet and the ice-free port of Murmansk, which was connected to the country by the Kirov railway: Hitler wanted to urgently cut it. Finland, which then fought on the side of Germany, had its own interest: the Kola Peninsula was to become Finnish territory.

In June 1941, the army "Norway" was concentrated on the border of the USSR, consisting of 3 corps - two mountain German and one Finnish corps. It had 97 thousand people, more than a thousand guns and mortars and a hundred tanks. In addition, "Norway" was supported by parts of the air fleet and the German Navy.

On the Soviet side, the 14th Army, which took up defense in the Murmansk and Kandalaksha directions, under the command of Valerian Frolov, acted. The army had more than 52 thousand people, 1150 guns and mortars, about 400 tanks. From the sea, the 14th Army was covered by ships and aircraft of the Northern Fleet.

Huge assistance to the Soviet troops was provided by the inhabitants of the Murmansk region. More than 50 thousand people volunteered for the front.

On June 29, 1941, German and Finnish troops launched an offensive, but a week later they were stopped by the Red Army. The enemy was not allowed to reach the railroad, forcing them to defend themselves. The Germans repeatedly made unsuccessful attempts to capture Murmansk, and in the future, the main hostilities moved to the sea. Shelling the city from the air, the Germans almost completely burned it, but they failed to stop the work of the port. Throughout 1943, there was a struggle for air supremacy, which was eventually won by Soviet aviation.

Panorama of Murmansk. 1942

On the eve of the battle

In the early autumn of 1944, the territory of the Murmansk region was the 20th mountain army and the 19th mountain ranger corps. German forces: 3 divisions and 4 brigades, 53 thousand people, more than 750 guns and mortars, 160 aircraft.

The Soviet troops are the forces of the Karelian Front under the command of General Meretskov and Lieutenant General Shcherbakov. It included 8 rifle divisions, 21 artillery and mortar regiments, 6 brigades: 2 engineering, 1 tank, 5 rifle. The number of the Soviet army is 97 thousand people. From the air, the army was supported by 689 aircraft.

In September 1944, the Soviet command developed a plan for a military operation to liberate the Arctic from the Nazi invaders.

It was supposed, using a roundabout maneuver, to pinch the German troops from the north and south, who were defending themselves in the area of the Western Litsa River. In other words, the Soviet forces were to form a classic "cauldron". According to historians, the Petsamo-Kirkenes operation was planned under the influence of the Leningrad and Stalingrad battles.

The main blow was delivered by the forces of the left wing of the 14th Army in the direction of Luostari and Petsamo (Pechenga). The Northern Fleet was supposed to land troops in the rear of the German troops and disrupt the enemy's sea communications, support the offensive of the ground forces with the fire of ships and aircraft, block the ports of Petsamo and Kirkenes.

The landing of the amphibious assault.

All the main events of the Petsamo-Kirkenes operation can be seen on our timeline.

October 7th. Offensive

The morning of October 7, 1944 began with a powerful roar. This Soviet artillery began shelling the enemy's defenses.

It was worse than hell, - one of the surviving German rangers later said, - land mines rained down from the sky continuously. It was worth raising your head from the trench, as the mortar shelling began. But your Katyushas finished the job, after their fire our defense crumbled and burst.

Powerful, carefully planned, concentrated fire on enemy strongholds largely predetermined the success of the offensive. But this does not mean that the Germans surrendered without a fight.

In the chain of attacking fighters of the 10th Guards Division, Guard Corporal Mikhail Ivchenko also walked. Suddenly, in one of the pillboxes suppressed by artillery fire, an enemy machine gun came to life, the bursts of which pressed the soldiers of the advancing company to the ground. It was completely impossible to advance along the open rocky slope.

Then Ivchenko crawled to the pillbox. When no more than 12-15 meters were left to the target, he got up and threw a grenade into the embrasure. The machine gun fell silent, but a minute later came to life again. Then the guardsman pressed to the ground jumped up and rushed to the embrasure, covering it with his body. The machine gun fell silent.

Ivan Zimakov.

During the assault on the Small Karikvayvish, the commander of the artillery division of the 29th artillery regiment of the same
division Ivan Zimakov. His gunners repulsed five counterattacks and suppressed the fire of five German batteries. At the end of the artillery duel, two companies of the enemy rushed into the sixth counterattack on the artillery observation post (NP).

At a critical moment, when the huntsmen got close to the NP and it was no longer possible to fire from the guns, Major Zimakov of the Guards raised his fighters to attack. In hand-to-hand combat, the artillerymen pushed back the Nazis. Some of them fled, 20 rangers, throwing their weapons, surrendered. At the same time, the major himself was seriously wounded and died in the hospital a few days later. Like Mikhail Ivchenko, he became a Hero of the Soviet Union.

The enemy resisted stubbornly. From the "fox holes" dug on the mountain Small Karikvaivish, the Nazis were smoked out with smoke bombs. Granite structures were undermined by the roof. At the top of the mountain, the attackers were met by strong enemy artillery fire, and then the tanks of the 73rd Guards Tank Regiment moved to help the infantry. Breaking into enemy positions, they destroyed his guns with fire and caterpillars.

The enemy was stunned by the appearance of Soviet tanks on the front. A Nazi captured during interrogation said: “I heard a roar, I looked: two Russian tanks were moving north of a height where we didn’t even go on foot. Then your infantry appeared, and we surrendered."

By 1500, the divisions of the 131st Rifle Corps broke through the enemy defenses and rushed to the Titovka River. Accompanying guns and shells were carried by hand due to impassability. During the attack, the soldiers of the 28th Guards Rifle Regiment were forced to lie down near the river bank due to heavy fire. And then Private Semyon Kozyrev was the first to rush into the icy river. Others followed. Warriors of the regiment chest-deep in water overcame a water barrier.

October 8th. Big Karikvaivish

The situation in the zone of the 99th Rifle Corps developed differently. Here the enemy, using powerful fortifications on Mount Big Karikvaivish and on neighboring heights, was able to resist on October 7.

Soldiers of the 65th Rifle Division under the command of Major General S.P. stormed the mountain with the stronghold of the German defense "Venediger" located on it. Mikulsky.

The commander made a decision: since it was not possible to break the enemy during the day, this must be done at night. Exactly at midnight from October 7 to 8, 1944, the soldiers rushed forward. For an hour, guns and mortars of all calibers "threshed" the enemy's stronghold. The attack of the Big Karikvayvish was carried out simultaneously from several directions.

Among the attackers was senior sergeant Nikolai Zakorkin, the squad leader of the 3rd rifle company of the 60th rifle regiment of the 65th division. He and his squad secretly reached the bunker at a height occupied by the enemy and, throwing a bunch of grenades into its embrasure, destroyed the crews of an easel machine gun and an anti-tank gun.

The fighters of the squad, having risen to the attack, were forced to lie down again: another revived enemy point spoke. Zakorkin also crushed her with an anti-tank grenade. At the height taken, the brave commander hoisted a red flag. On the same day, Zakorkin died. He was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

At 6 o'clock in the morning on October 8, 1944, the main center of resistance on the Big Karikvaivish was taken. Parts of the 99th Corps rushed to the Titovka River and crossed it on the same day.

The next day - October 9 - the offensive was launched by troops under the command of Lieutenant General Pigarevich.

10 October. Musta Tunturi

The naval part of the operation was called West. Among other things, she meant the landing of troops in Malaya Volokovaya Bay. The purpose of the landing force is to go behind enemy lines blocking our troops on the Sredny Peninsula, and, together with units advancing from the front, defeat it. The plan of the operation provided for a powerful fire reinforcement of the landing force. For this, 236 aircraft and 170 guns were allocated.

On the evening of October 9, detachments of ships of the Northern Fleet with a landing force on board left their places of concentration. A demonstrative landing party (44 men) was landed in the area of Cape Pikshuev, and a sabotage detachment (195 men) landed in the area of Punainen Laht Bay with the task of reaching the German batteries at Cape Krestovy.

On the night of October 10, the landing of the main landing began (63rd Marine Brigade, 2376 people; commander Colonel A.M. Krylov). The landing detachment included 3 torpedo boats, 11 "big hunter" boats, 8 patrol boats, two destroyers ("Thundering" and "Loud") provided cover and artillery support.

There was not a single sandbar in the landing area, not a single flat and low strip of land, and yet the landing operation was successful. The marines immediately went on the offensive and by 10 o'clock on October 10 they reached the flank and rear of the enemy defense on the Musta-Tunturi ridge.

At 3:30 am on October 10, artillery preparation began, in which the destroyers of the Northern Fleet took part, and at 5:00 am, the 12th Marine Brigade, despite a strong blizzard, went on the offensive from the isthmus of the Sredny Peninsula. The enemy defenses were broken through, and by mid-afternoon the German group began a hasty retreat from the positions it had occupied for more than three years. The battles were extremely fierce and abounded in hand-to-hand combat, many lines and important heights were taken by storm.

At the top of Musta Tunturi.

During the assault on Musta-Tunturi, four of our soldiers repeated the feat of Alexander Matrosov. Sergeant Alexander Ivanovich Klepach, assistant commander of a platoon of submachine gunners, who was wounded in a fight, stumbled upon a cunningly disguised bunker that hindered the advance with cutting-off fire from machine guns. Klepach closed the embrasure with himself and gave the machine gunners the opportunity to complete the attack.

Senior Sergeant Leonid Ivanovich Musteykis, also being wounded, crawled up to the embrasure of another bunker, threw two grenades, and when the machine gun started working again, Musteykis closed the embrasure with his body. The feat of Matrosov was also repeated by Petr Ivanovich Bobretsov and Alexander Ivanovich Danilchenko.

The reconnaissance platoon commander Vladimir Vladimirovich Brodyuk also distinguished himself that day. He penetrated the rear of the enemy, where he stumbled upon a previously unexplored stronghold. Brodyuk's platoon defeated him, blew up 12 bunkers along with machine guns and crews, captured a mortar battery and 11 prisoners. Junior Lieutenant Brodyuk was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

On the night of October 11, the isthmus of the Sredny Peninsula was completely liberated by Soviet troops.

October 11. The feat of Anatoly Bredov and Nikolai Ashurkov

On the morning of October 11, soldiers of the 155th Infantry Regiment of the 14th Division began to storm the height of Pridorozhnaya. In front of the rifle company advancing in the main direction, a machine-gun crew was advanced forward, where the commander was, and the gunner was Sergeant Nikita Ashurkov. Machine gunners especially annoyed the Nazis.

German chasseurs more than once fiercely attacked Bredov's calculation. The machine gunners were ordered to hold the Nazis at any cost. An unequal battle began. The superiority was on the side of the enemy. Having discovered the location of the firing point, the Nazis decided to destroy the machine gunners.

The Nazis surrounded our fighters. Soon the last machine-gun belt ran out. Then
Bredov and Ashurkov began to throw grenades at the fascists. When the soldiers had one grenade left, Ashurkov, standing up to his full height, with the words “Russians do not surrender! Get it, bastards! threw his grenade at the Nazis. After that, Bredov and Ashurkov, embracing, blew themselves up and a machine gun with a second grenade.

Inspired by their feat, the Soviet soldiers stormed the height. Bredov and Ashurkov became Heroes of the Soviet Union. Moreover, Nikita Ashurkov managed to survive. After five (!) days, he - wounded - was picked up by our orderlies.

On the same day, October 11, the 12th Marine Brigade finally cleared the Musta-Tunturi ridge from the Germans. In the morning the attack on Luostari continued...

12 October. Battle at Cape Cross

The village of Luostari was an important stronghold of the enemy. During the night of October 12, the 114th Infantry Division crossed to the western bank of the Petsamo-Yoki River, three kilometers south of Luostari.

“The enemy turned Luostari into a strong stronghold,” recalled the commander of the 10th Guards Division, Major General Khariton Khudalov. - All basements and semi-basements were adapted for all-round defense. Having placed a machine-gun point in the basement of the last building, the Nazis blocked the approaches to the city. Attempts to suppress the machine gun were unsuccessful. Then the sappers of the 28th regiment surrounded the building and blew it up along with the machine-gun crew. On the evening of October 12, the 99th Rifle Corps occupied Luostari and cut off the road going north.

On the same day, a dramatic battle took place at Cape Krestovoi near Liinakhamari. During the war years, the entire tip of the cape resembled a bristling hedgehog. Near the water was a coastal long-range battery. An anti-aircraft battery was located halfway from the coast to the top of the cape. In addition, small-caliber cannons and machine guns were installed here and there in stone niches.

The operation to capture the batteries at Cape Krestovy was carried out by a reconnaissance detachment under the command of Major I.P. Barchenko-Emelyanov and the 181st Special Forces Detachment of the Northern Fleet, led by Lieutenant V.N. Leonov - only 195 people. The detachments were landed by three torpedo boats as early as October 9, 1944 in the Punainen Lacht Bay, a few tens of kilometers from the target and, in compliance with careful disguise, made a hidden foot transition to the target.

Capture of an enemy battery at Cape Krestovoi. Artist - V.K. Self-tapping screws.

On the morning of October 12, Leonov's fighters suddenly attacked an enemy 88-mm battery at Cape Krestovoy and captured it.

“Some of the scouts accidentally touched a barbed wire fence,” Leonov’s daughter Tatyana Viktorovna later recalled. - The firing started. The first to die was Vladimir Fatkin, the most desperate and handsome scout of the detachment. He just jumped over the wire and was immediately cut off. The wire was attached to heavy rail crosspieces. And then Ivan Lysenko - a physically very strong man - crawled under the cross and, standing up to his full height, lifted it on his shoulders. One by one the scouts crawled into this opening under the wire. Then, when the wounded Lysenko could no longer hold on, the detachment doctor Alexei Luppov stood next to him. Both died. Lysenko had 33 bullet wounds, but when the scouts, having completed the task, returned to that place, he was still alive! It really is a feat."

For courageous and decisive actions, as well as personal heroism, Major Barchenko-Emelyanov, Lieutenant Leonov, as well as scouts Pshenichnykh and Agafonov were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

October 13th. Liinakhamari

On the evening of October 12, an amphibious assault of 600 people was landed in Liinakhamari. It was headed by Major I.A. Timofeev. The Severomorians acted quickly and decisively.

The boats and "small hunters" with the landing force passed behind enemy lines through the "corridor of death" - the Petsam Bay. The reason for the successful landing is the skillful and courageous actions of the commander of the group of torpedo boats, Hero of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant Commander. Knowing well the way to Liinakhamari, every bend of the bay, every noticeable rock on the shore, he was the first to lead his boat with 25 paratroopers to the harbor, paving the way for the rest of the boats and hunters.

Breakthrough of boats in the port of Liinakhamari. Artist A.G. Gorbunov.

The rapid landing of marines on the piers of Liinakhamari stunned the enemy. But, having come to their senses, the Nazis opened fire on the paratroopers from numerous firing points scattered along the entire coast. A particularly hot battle unfolded for Cape Devkin, which had all-round defenses and a powerful 210-mm battery. Under the leadership of Major Timofeev, the paratroopers cleared the port meter by meter. They were greatly assisted by the aviation of the Northern Fleet.

On the captured battery in Liinakhamari.

On October 13, Liinakhamari was released. A large number of landing participants were awarded orders and medals. Hero of the Soviet Union Alexander Shabalin became twice a Hero, the commanders of the detachments of boats S.G. Korshunovich and S.D. Zyuzin was also awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

And ahead were the battles for Petsamo ...

14 - 15 October. Battle of Petsamo

The German units defending Petsamo were strictly forbidden to retreat. Because the Nazis clung to every hill.

On the outskirts of Pechenga, the commander of the tank of the 7th separate guards tank brigade, junior lieutenant Ashot Asriyan, distinguished himself. On October 14, with fire from a tank, he destroyed 40 enemy trucks with infantry and ammunition, an anti-tank battery, 10 cars, suppressed 12 firing points and, together with the crews of other tanks that came to the rescue, captured a group of Nazis.

In this battle, the tank driven by Asriyan was partially disabled, and all the crew members were seriously wounded, but despite this, the junior lieutenant did not leave the battle. And when reinforcements approached, the brave tanker moved to a serviceable car and again rushed into battle. He became a Hero of the Soviet Union.

By the beginning of the day, the city was already blocked, and all that remained was to make the last effort.

An important task was to capture the bridge on the outskirts of the city. The Nazis managed to prepare him for the explosion. Our soldiers rushed to save the bridge. Time was measured in seconds. The flicker cord was already on fire. The fire approached the explosives planted under the spans. Another moment - and the bridge will fly into the air. But scouts Nikolai Shramko, Anatoly Belotserkovsky, Yegor Belyakin, Pyotr Buyanov and Dmitry Usov did not allow this. Pulling out a cleaver from his belt, Nikolai Shramko hit the cord with it. The burning end of the cord was cut off. The explosion did not take place. The advancing troops moved across the river in the direction of Pechenga.

Landing in Petsamo.

The first to break into Pechenga was the 1226th Infantry Regiment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel A.T. Aleshin. In the city there were such fights that grenades and knives were used. There were such brave men that they picked up the flying up "long-tailed" grenades with which the Germans fought back, and in the blink of an eye threw them back.

“The sight of ancient Pechenga destroyed by the enemy evoked a feeling of bitterness,” recalled Khariton Khudalov, commander of the 10th Guards Division. - The city was a complete ruin. Smoke and ashes... Wherever you look, wherever you step, there are traces of fire and destruction everywhere. Mangled and burnt, the hulls of ships lie like skeletons. Public buildings were burned and blown up, even a church. The power plant was destroyed.

In the liberated Pechenga.

In honor of the victory, military formations, ships and parts of the fleet that distinguished themselves most in the battles for Petsamo were presented for the assignment of the name "Pechenga" and for awarding orders. On October 15 at 9 pm Moscow saluted the heroes.

16 - 17 October. On land and in the air

On October 16, the air forces of the Northern Fleet destroyed an enemy convoy consisting of three transports, three patrol ships, one minesweeper and seven patrol boats, discovered by aerial reconnaissance.

B.P. Syromyatnikov.

The commander of the Northern Fleet, Admiral Arseniy Golovko, recalled: “It was impossible to miss this convoy, intended for the evacuation of enemy troops by sea. boats that were at sea. As a result of all four attacks, the enemy convoy can be considered defeated. Our losses are eight aircraft. "

At the moment of the last, fourth, strike on the enemy convoy, the crew of the torpedo bomber accomplished their feat: Lieutenant Colonel Syromyatnikov, Major Sknarev, Senior Sergeant Aseev and Sergeant Danilov. During a torpedo attack, their winged vehicle received a direct hit by an anti-aircraft shell and caught fire, but the pilots did not turn off the combat course and dropped a torpedo at close range, after which they made an emergency landing on the water 200 meters from the coast. They all died. Three of them: Boris Syromyatnikov, Alexander Sknarev and Grigory Aseev - became Heroes of the Soviet Union.

On the land front on October 17, the soldiers of the 45th Infantry Division, Major General I.V. Panin approached the Norwegian border.

October 19-22. Battles for Nickel and Tarnet

Stubborn battles unfolded for the region of nickel mining. The 127th Light Rifle Corps made an off-road detour. On October 19, his advanced units reached the southern approaches to the village of Nikel.

The fighting for the village dragged on for more than three days. And in the auxiliary direction, battles unfolded on the outskirts of the Norwegian Tarnet.

In these battles, Vasily Ivanov, the platoon commander of the 253rd Infantry Regiment of the 45th Infantry Division, distinguished himself. On October 21, 1944, parts of the division captured an important and fortified height with a sudden blow. Ivanov's platoon was the first to break into it. Soon the Nazis began to counterattack. The officer passed the order along the chain: save the cartridges, keep the height at any cost. The fighters entered into hand-to-hand combat, stabbed the enemy with bayonets, destroyed him with grenades.

The situation became more and more tense. After a heavy artillery raid, the enemy, having received reinforcements, resumed the counterattack. At this critical moment, junior lieutenant Ivanov, jumping onto the parapet, exclaimed “For the Motherland! Forward!" led the platoon hand-to-hand combat. The fight was furious. With pistol fire and a bayonet, the commander destroyed eight Nazis, and, despite three wounds, controlled the battle until it ended. The Nazis could not withstand the blow of the Soviet soldiers, and retreated. Vasily Ivanov became a Hero of the Soviet Union.

The Nazis, anticipating an imminent defeat, blew up the nickel plant. “The northern bypass group under the command of Major Gastenin, having made a difficult march through the swamps and crossing the Kolosjoki River, broke into the northern outskirts of Nikel at night,” wrote Leonid Potemkin in the book “At the Northern Border”. - A fierce battle ensued on the streets of the village. On the morning of October 22, Soviet units attacked the enemy from three sides and by 10 o'clock liberated the ruins of the nickel plant and the village. Kirkenes ahead.

October 23-25. Liberation of Kirkenes

On the night of October 23, the 61st Regiment of the 45th Infantry Division crossed the Yarfjord in amphibious vehicles and captured a bridgehead on the west bank. Having repelled a series of counterattacks, our fighters managed to gain a foothold and continue the offensive on Kirkenes.

P.P. Primakov.

Pavel Primakov, commander of a foot reconnaissance platoon, distinguished himself in battle. His platoon was tasked with crossing the Bekfjord together with a company of submachine gunners, capturing a height on the opposite bank and creating a bridgehead for crossing the regiment and breaking it into Kirkenes. The forcing of the bay took place on makeshift rafts and barrels.

Despite the strong artillery-mortar and machine-gun fire of the Nazis, Lieutenant Primakov's group reached the shore and stormed the height. The scouts repelled several Nazi counterattacks and held the bridgehead, ensuring the crossing of the entire regiment. Then Primakov's group carried out a thorough reconnaissance of the approaches to Kirkenes and the outskirts of the city. The lieutenant became a Hero of the Soviet Union.

In the battles near Kirkenes, the commander of the battalion of the 95th Infantry Regiment of the 14th

K.M. Gontar.

Rifle Division Major Konstantin Gontar. On October 24, his battalion repelled several enemy counterattacks and inflicted significant damage on him. In the battle, Gontar was wounded in the leg, but continued to command the battalion, which, using improvised means, crossed the Bekfjord bay and ensured the crossing of the main forces. The officer was seriously wounded in the head (the fourth time during the war) and sent to the hospital. He became a Hero of the Soviet Union.

To help the ground forces, the commander of the Northern Fleet, Admiral Arseniy Golovko, decided to land troops in the Holmengro Fjord Bay with the task of diverting part of the enemy forces. On October 24, a forward detachment, an incomplete company of marines, was landed there on a patrol boat. He occupied important heights on the coast, blocking the exit from the harbor.

At midnight on October 24, the last two mountain chasseur companies left Kirkenes. Only a sapper platoon remained in the city, which began to destroy buildings, warehouses and port facilities.

On October 25, at 9 am, Soviet troops entered the destroyed Kirkenes. Retreating, the Nazis blew up port facilities, administrative buildings and residential premises. Surviving houses remained only on the outskirts of the city.

On October 27, Soviet troops liberated Nautsi and Neiden. A further offensive was considered inexpedient. The harsh northern winter was approaching. And ahead lay a mountainous, impassable, entire area cut by fjords. The reconnaissance sent ahead reported that further movement was connected with enormous difficulties, and there was no enemy. The frustrated German troops no longer posed a threat and began to surrender en masse to the fighters of the Norwegian Resistance.

The Military Council of the Karelian Front decided to stop further offensive. The troops were ordered not to advance further into Norway, to cover the main directions on the lines reached and to create strong reserves.

Results

As a result of the Petsamo-Kirkenes operation, Soviet troops advanced 150 kilometers westward, liberated the Soviet Arctic and Northern Norway.

German troops lost about 30 thousand people. The Soviet fleet and aviation sank more than 150 enemy ships and vessels. Aviation destroyed 125 German aircraft. Soviet troops lost about 21 thousand people. For distinction in battles, 51 formations and part of the Karelian Front received the honorary titles "Pechenga" and "Kirkenes", 56 Soviet soldiers were awarded the titles of Heroes of the Soviet Union.

The "chronicler" of the Petsamo-Kirkenes operation can be considered the poet Pavel Shubin, an eyewitness and participant in those events. His poem "Blow on Petsamo" is one of the best in poetry about the Great Patriotic War.

For many years the huntsmen lived in steep heights,
We built pillboxes, punched moves in granite,
Machine-gun nests were molded along the steeps, like honeycombs,
The cannons stared sullenly into the valley distance from a height.

The Germans were going to live long on our doorstep,
But according to our clock, the sun comes to our lands,
And at the appointed time of the order short lines
They cut off all the terms of their hateful existence.

And the ordinary gray day passed by:
The rangers inflated the beds in their dugouts,
There was a glass snowball, the sentry stomped on the path,
An icy October breeze swept in from behind the clouds.

And on the Russian clock the arrows moved to the hair,
Cords were pulled, armor came out to the original ones,
And in a landslide buzz, the earth split into pieces,
Ragged air howled over the jagged tusks of fire.

Like rearing mammoths, a dark, wild herd,
Kneading the trenches, erasing dugouts into dust,
Spreading Karikvayvish, trampled, shells roared,
Hot bullets flashed through the smoke like swifts.

Guards mortars reaching the stars voice,
And the tailed flocks of comets that flashed with a screech,
And the arrows on the hair moved on the clock,
And humpbacked ILs went at the behest of the missiles.

And there was no longer enough breathing, and the air from a running start
He swooped in, and brought down, and jammed, and rang on bayonets ...
That's when Meretskov in the autumn, melted snow
The iron regiments moved to break through and chase.

***
A monument called the Russian Monument (Russemonumentet) has been erected in Kirkenes. It was created by the Norwegians in honor of the Red Army soldiers who died during the Petsamo-Kirkenes operation.

The mayor of the commune of Sør-Varanger Cecilia Hansen wrote: "The Red Army came quickly, there were many of them, they expelled the Germans from Finnmark. They are our liberators. Millions of Soviet soldiers laid down their lives in the war against the Nazis. If the Germans burned everything that was in Finnmark, then the Russians, who remained here for another year, built a camp hospital and saved the lives of many Norwegians.

The monument is well maintained, flowers grow around. Residents of the commune bring wreaths and fresh flowers here, and on memorable dates - May 9 and October 25 (the day of the liberation of Kirkenes), solemn events are held here.

The Petsamo-Kirkenes operation was carried out from 7 to 29 October 1944. It was the so-called "tenth Stalinist blow" from the cascade of offensive operations carried out by our troops in 1944. On the territory of Northern Finland, in the Soviet Arctic, in Northern Norway, the Germans kept a solid grouping of troops that threatened our most important port of Murmansk and the delivery of goods under Lend-Lease by allied northern convoys. In 1941-1944, our troops prevented the Germans and Finns from capturing our key northern lines. The defense of the Arctic is inscribed like a golden page in the annals of the Great Patriotic War.

After Finland left the war on September 19, 1944, under an armistice agreement, she undertook to expel German troops from her territory. However, the Finns themselves could not expel the German troops, and meanwhile the Germans pursued a scorched earth policy, destroying Finnish towns and villages. Therefore, the commander of the Karelian Front K.A. Meretskov has long been developing an operation to liberate the Arctic.

When Meretskov submitted his plan to the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, some amendments were made there. As a result, the grouping of our troops amounted to 105 thousand people, 105 tanks, 690 aircraft and 2500 guns. The Germans in this direction had the 20th mountain army; in total, the enemy forces numbered 56 thousand people, 770 guns, 160 aircraft. The main Soviet strike was planned to be delivered in the direction of the Bolshaya Zapadnaya Litsa and Titovka rivers, as well as against the defense positions of the 2nd Mountain Rifle Division.

On October 7, 1944, the operation began. It can be divided into three stages: the breakthrough of the German defense; the pursuit of the enemy and the capture of the city of Nikel (the capture of Nikel meant taking possession of the rich nickel mines used by the Germans to create their military equipment); and, ultimately, the battles for the city of Kirkenes. The Red Army immediately broke through the enemy defenses and rushed to Nikel, cutting off a large enemy grouping. A landing force was landed from the Rybachy Peninsula. The Germans did not hold the front line of defense. Soviet troops reached Cape Krestovy. The Germans fled further to Petsamo (Pechenga). On October 15, Pechenga was liberated. Ten days later, the Red Army was already on the Norwegian border. The USSR had agreements with the Norwegian government that the Red Army would enter Norwegian territory as a liberation army.

The fighting of our troops took place in the difficult situation of the Far North. In addition, the Germans set up bunkers, pillboxes, and bunkers in granite rocks. The troops at Cape Krestovy had difficulty freeing the surrounding area. On October 25, Soviet troops approached Kirkenes, and on the same day they took it. The Norwegian population helped the Soviet troops. Offering their fishing boats, they transported our soldiers to the other side in those places where the Soviet troops did not have enough watercraft. Norwegian patriots reliably guarded the Soviet rear and committed sabotage in the German rear.

On October 29, 1944, General Meretskov reported to Moscow that there was no more enemy ahead. The Petsamo-Kirkenes operation made it possible to eliminate the threat to the Soviet Arctic and secure allied convoys. In addition, assistance was provided to Norway in the liberation from the Nazi invaders.

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 strike 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 fences 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

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