Combat operations of the German armed forces on the Northern sea route during the Great Patriotic War

Abstract

The paper is devoted to the combat actions of the German navy and aviation in the Arctic during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 on the Northern sea route. The Northern sea route is the most important sea communication of Russia in the Arctic. It connects the European part of the country with the Far East by the shortest route, and therefore has a special strategic importance for the cargo shipping logistics. This route passes through the seas of the Arctic Ocean and, despite the complexity of navigation in the Arctic seas, is the only communication that provides supply to the Polar Regions and cities of Siberia in the absence of railways and roads. No less important is its military and strategic importance, as the Northern sea route allows for inter-theater maneuver between the Northern and Pacific fleets. At the same time, due to its vast length and uninhabitability of the nearby territories, the Northern sea route is very vulnerable militarily, which can be used by a potential enemy of Russia in case of international relations aggravation in the Arctic, the violation of this route inflicts a heavy blow to the logistics of Maritime transport in the North. The main attention is paid to the creation by the Germans of military bases and weather stations network in the Soviet sector of the Arctic, to the organization and composition of these bases. The paper also analyzed the organization of the meteorological service of the German Navy operation “Wunderland” (“Wonderland”) and mine-laying off at the coast of New Land, the causes of the German fleet failure on the Northern sea route.