The Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation: Soviet Breakthrough and Pursuit in the Arctic, October 1944 - Softcover

Gebhardt, James F.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1780392672 ISBN 13: 9781780392677

Publisher: MilitaryBookshop.co.uk, 2011

Synopsis

Originally published in 1989, this a volume from the Combat Studies Institute "Leavenworth Papers" series. In the fall of 1944, some 56,000 German troops of the XIX Mountain Corps were occupying a strongpoint line just 70 kilometers northwest of Murmansk, about 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle. To clear these enemy forces from Soviet territory, STA VKA ordered General K. A. Meretskov's Karelian Front to plan and conduct an offensive, which was to be supported by Admiral A. G. Golovko's Northern Fleet. This Leavenworth Paper explains the planning and conduct of this offensive, known in Soviet military historiography as the Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation. The Soviet force of approximately 96,000 men was organized into a main attack force of two rifle corps, a corps- size economy-of-force formation, and two envelopment forces, one consisting of two naval infantry brigades and the other of two light rifle corps of two brigades each. The Soviets employed over 2,100 tubes of artillery and mortars, used 110 tanks and self-propelled guns, and enjoyed overwhelming air superiority. Engineer special-purpose troops infiltrated up to fifty kilometers behind German forward positions to conduct reconnaissance before the battle. On 7 October 1944, the Soviets began the offensive with a 97,000-round artillery preparation, followed by an infantry attack.

About this title

About the Author:

James F. Gebhardt is a retired U.S. Army officer who served as an enlisted infantryman (1966-69), armor officer (1974-83) and Soviet foreign area officer (1984-91). Gebhardt performed military duty in the Soviet Union and has escorted numerous Soviet scientific, military and diplomatic personnel on U.S. military installations in the United States.

About this edition

• Publisher: MilitaryBookshop.co.uk
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1780392672
• ISBN 13: 9781780392677
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 202