OPERATION 'WEST': THE ROLE OF THE NORTHERN FLEET AND ITS AIR FORCES IN THE LIBERATION OF THE RUSSIAN ARCTIC IN 1944

摘要

During World War II, 1944 was a year of decisive victories for the Allies. By the autumn, the German Army had retreated hundreds of kilometers on the Eastern Front. On the map, the solid front line almost coincided with the dotted line of the pre-war Soviet border. However, in the North it remained the same as the invaders had marked it in 1941. On 31 March 1944, Stalin signed a special directive on the liberation of the Russian Arctic. From this point on, the leadership of the Karelian Front and Northern Fleet proceeded to prepare the requisite operation: maps were checked, documentation at headquarters level was prepared, and strategy and tactics were worked out. But this was not all. In the summer, with the beginning of the advance of the Soviet Army in Karelia, units located in the Arctic significantly increased their activity. The number of attacks by Soviet aircraft on the ports of Varanger Fjord alone increased more than fourfold. The Northern Fleet organized a number of high-intensity operations in order to interrupt enemy's communications and to reveal weaknesses in their opponent's defense. Rarely did an enemy convoy pass Varanger Fjord without losses. On 23 August air forces of the Northern Fleet performed the biggest air strikes of the war on the ports of Vardo and Vadsoe. Starting on September with the beginning of the preliminary stage of the operation for the liberation of the Russian Arctic, the number of strikes on the enemy increased sharply. This resulted in fourteen enemy ships operating in northern Norway being lost during September.