Improvised Liberation, October 1944: The Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation and the Red Army in Norway. Part 2

Abstract

ABSTRACT This is the second of a two-part article exploring the background of the Red Army’s move into Norway on 18 October 1944. Did it reflect ambitions to prepare the ground for a long-term Soviet military presence in Norway or to create leverage for political influence? It was not: crossing the border became unavoidable once the strategic aim of the offensive, to surround and then destroy the main forces of the Germans’ 19th Mountain Corps on Soviet territory, failed. The rational for the Soviet move was tactical, not strategic or political. This part follows general Meretskov’s planning for and the execution of the successive steps of the operation starting from the elaboration of the final plans in late September. The military events are related to events in Moscow, including the interaction between the Norwegians and their Soviet ally and an illuminating exchange between Stalin and Churchill on the evening of 14 October. It concludes by briefly discussing the Soviet withdrawal in September 1945.