Operation Silver Fox - Platinum Fox

Platinum Fox

On June 29 in the North, Dietl's attack, Platinfuchs, got underway, with the two Soviet divisions of the 14th Army opposing his force. As the Germans slowly advanced, the Russians reinforced their front, adding another division and several naval infantry units from Murmansk itself. The Russians were now heavily entrenched and outnumbered their attackers. Constant attacks by British and Soviet naval forces on German shipping also made the supply situation for the Germans very difficult. On 22 September, after repeated attempts to advance past the Litsa river, the offensive was broken off. The Germans lost about 10,300 men during Platinum Fox. The front line soon settled down as the Germans halted offensive operations and dug in. For the remainder of the war, the northern front was to remain relatively stable until the Soviet offensive of 1944, with only small scale ski patrol skirmishes.