Planning and Preparation
Following the occupation of Norway in July 1940, Germany had planned to occupy the Petsamo nickel mines in an operation code-named Reindeer (Rentier) in case of a new Finnish-Soviet war. Germany had possessed supply and troop transfer rights through Northern Finland since September 1940.
In January 1941, German officer Erich Buschenhagen was ordered to Finland to discuss the possibility of a Finnish-German cooperative effort against the Soviet Union with the Finnish leadership.
In late February, Buschenhagen was authorised to negotiate a combined offensive effort. Taking advantage of the co-belligerent pact, plans were made for German forces from the German Army 'Norway' to begin moving into Finnish territory. These operations, codenamed Blue Fox 1 and Blue Fox 2 (Blaufuchs I and Blaufuchs II) began in June 1941. Five German divisions and various attached elements (Including two 'special purpose' Panzer units) were moved into position in Northern Finland, joining the Finnish forces, currently being mobilised under the guise of border exercises.
The Finns and Germans agreed on a two-pronged, three-phase offensive. The first action, Operation Reindeer, was to be the occupation of the Petsamo region by the two Alpine Infantry divisions of Generaloberst Eduard Dietl's German Alpine Corps Norway (Gebirgskorps Norwegen). This would move the Alpine Corps from the Norwegian territory around Kirkenes into position to attack towards Murmansk.
The second and third stages were to be launched in unison. The northern assault, codenamed Operation Platinum Fox (Platinfuchs) called for Norwegen, assisted by the Finnish Ivalo Border Guard Battalion to strike east from Petsamo, attacking towards the Barents Sea port of Murmansk along the coast. These would be opposed by the two divisions of the Soviet 14th Army, the 14th and 52nd Rifle Divisions. The objective of Platinum Fox was to capture Murmansk, and to tie down Russian troops, keeping them from the southern operations near Leningrad.
The southern assault, codenamed Operation Arctic Fox (Polarfuchs), by the German XXXVI Corps under General of Cavalry Hans Feige, was to attack eastwards from the Kuusamo region along the line Salla-Urinsalmo. This force was composed of two German divisions, 169th and SS Nord, and the Finnish 6th Division, with two special purpose Panzer units attached. These would be opposed by the Soviet 122nd Rifle Division. This operation was aimed at the capture of the town of Kandalaksha, by the White Sea in the Karelia region, tying down troops from the Soviet Northern Front, who would otherwise be sent to defend against Platinum Fox, and to cut Murmansk and the Kola Peninsula from the rest of the Soviet Union in the process.
These actions would be followed by Finnish operations, including the offensives of the Finnish army around Lake Ladoga and through the Karelian Isthmus, and later into East Karelia, as part of their Continuation War.
Read more about this topic: Operation Silver Fox
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