The Real Story Of Operation Silver Fox

The German–Finnish Operation Silver Fox, or Murmansk operation, took place from 29 June to 17 November 1941 in the Eastern Front of World War II against the Soviet Union. Finnish and Norwegian operations were meant to cut off and conquer Murmansk, an important Soviet port.

Operation had three phases. German soldiers pushed from Norway to seize Petsamo and its nickel mines in Operation Reindeer. Mountain Corps Norway struck from the north in Operation Platinum Fox, while XXXVI Mountain Corps and the Finnish III Corps assaulted from the south in Operation Arctic Fox to pincer Murmansk. While the German–Finnish troops gained ground, Murmansk remained an essential stop for Allied Arctic convoys throughout the war.

December 1940 marked the commencement of operation planning. Erich Buschenhagen, chief of staff of the Army of Norway (AOK Norwegen), visited Finland and drafted the first German–Finnish operations against the Soviet Union to decide Finland's involvement in the war. Hitler issued Directive No. 21 on 8 December 1940, outlining Operation Barbarossa's campaign strategy and German–Finnish cooperation aims. Nikolaus von Falkenhorst, commander of the Norwegian Army, and his staff developed the action plan in January 1941.

The Norwegian Wehrmacht chief of staff, Colonel Erich Buschenhagen, arrived in Helsinki on February 18, 1941, and he met with Finnish general staff members General Aksel Fredrik Airo and General Erik Heinrichs the following days.

The 2nd and 3rd Mountain Divisions of Mountain Corps Norway, led by Eduard Dietl, were to move east from Kirkenes and secure the nickel mines in the Finnish-held area around Petsamo in Operation Reindeer (Unternehmen Rentier).

Later, Colonel Buschenhagen reconnoitered Kuusamo, eastern Rovaniemi, and Petsamo, ending on February 28.

The second phase of Operation Silver Fox was a pincer assault on Murmansk, a winter-free Soviet port that was anticipated to receive Western Allied supplies via Arkhangelsk. Mountain Corps Norway would attack Murmansk frontally. Murmansk was to be taken by two divisions east of Petsamo. Finnish border troops helped them seize the Rybachy Peninsula. The first pincer strike was Operation Platinum Fox.

Operation Arctic Fox (Unternehmen Polarfuchs) was to move south to take Salla, ceded to the Soviet Union after the Winter War, and then east along the railway to capture Kandalaksha, cutting the vital Murmansk Railway line connecting Murmansk to Central Russia. The German XXXVI Corps under Hans Feige and the Finnish III Corps under Hjalmar Siilasvuo would participate.

Luftflotte 5 in Norway and the Finnish Air Force supported the attack. The Luftwaffe shifted its headquarters to Finland for Operation Silver Fox. Early in hostilities, the Finnish air force had 230 aircraft of different kinds. Luftflotte 5 gave Silver Fox 60 aircraft in Finland and used Junkers Ju 87, Ju 88, and Heinkel He 111 aircraft for close air support during the Finnish–German attack.

For Operation Reindeer, the German 2nd and 3rd Mountain Divisions were transported to Kirkenes in Finland in late February 1941 after Germany acquired transit rights via neutral Sweden. XXXVI Corps main body had two marine transport operations, Blue Fox 1 and Blue Fox 2 (Blaufuchs I and II). German troops left Stettin and Oslo for Oulu and Rovaniemi via rail. Once there, they joined Finnish soldiers and marched into position for the attack as border defense drills.

References

https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/operation-silver-fox-murmansk-siege/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Silver_Fox