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1Main Staff of the Naval Forces of the USSR ______________________________________________________________________ Copy No. ___ COLLECTION OF MATERIALS ON THE EXPERIENCE OF COMBAT ACTIVITIES OF THE NAVAL FORCES OF THE USSR No. 27 The Northern Fleet in the Operation for the Liberation of the Soviet Far North [The Petsamo–Kirkenes Operation] (7–31 October 1944) Translated by Major James F. Gebhardt, U.S. Army, Retired ______________________________________________________________________ Directorate of the Naval Press of the People’s Commissariat of the Navy of the USSR Moscow 1945 Leningrad ©English Translation James F. Gebhardt 1998 2 Table of Contents Translator’s Foreword Preface Chapter I. Frontline Situation of the Forces of Northern Defensive Region on the Coast of Varangerfjord and Sredniy and Rybachiy Peninsula Chapter II. Commander’s Concept and Operational Plan 1. Concept of the Operation and Plan of Actions of the Forces of Karelian Front 2. Missions of Northern Fleet Chapter III. Decision of the Commander, Northern Fleet, and Plan of Joint Operations with Karelian Front for the Liberation of the Soviet Far North 1. The Decision and Operational Plan on Land 2. Decision for Actions at Sea 3. Decision for Actions from the Air 4. Organization of Command and Composition of Forces Chapter IV. Preparation for Execution of the Assigned Mission 1. Staff Work during the Preparation for the Operation 2. Preparation of Units and Ships for the Amphibious Landing 3. Hydro-meteorological Support 4. Navigational-hydrographic Support 5. Preparation of Units Designated for Breakthrough of the Defenses 6. Preparation of Aviation 7. Logistic and Medical Support 8. Preparation of Military Transportation Units for the Operation Chapter V. Execution of the Assigned Missions 1. Actions of the Forces of Karelian Front 2. The Landing of Amphibious Assault Forces by Northern Fleet Vessels a) Amphibious landing on the southern coast of Maattivuono Bay b) Actions of the composite reconnaissance detachment c) Actions of the demonstration landing d) Amphibious landing in Liinakhamari port on the night of 12–13 October e) Amphibious assault for the capture of the batteries covering the entrance to Petsamovuono Inlet f) Landing of amphibious forces on the southern coast of Varangerfjord 3. Breakthrough of Enemy Defenses and Pursuit by Northern Defensive Region Units 4. Actions against Sea Lines of Communication a) Actions of Surface Squadron b) Actions of Red Banner Torpedo Cutter Brigade c) Actions of Red Banner Submarine Brigade d) Actions of Northern Fleet Air Forces ©English Translation James F. Gebhardt 1998 3 5. Execution of the Mission to Transport Forces by Sea 6. Execution of the Logistic Support Mission 7. Execution of the Medical Support Mission Chapter VI. Organization of Command and Control for Combat and the Accomplishment of Coordination 1. The Fleet Commander’s Decision as a Basis for the Organization of Combat Command and Control 2. Development of the Decision 3. Combat Documents 4. Organization of Combat Command and Control 5. Organization of Coordination 6. Command and Control during Combat 7. Organization and Work of Communications Units General Lessons Conclusion Glossary Appendixes ©English Translation James F. Gebhardt 1998 4 Translator’s Foreword As indicated on its title page, this study was published in 1945, was classified at the time of publication, and declassified in 1989. Unfortunately, I did not gain access to it until after the publication of Leavenworth Papers No. 17, The Petsamo–Kirkenes Operation: Soviet Breakthrough and Pursuit in the Arctic, October 1944. I translated the study some 20 years ago (1998) for my own personal use, and now feel compelled to share the English translation with scholars who may now or in the future be working on the topic. The document is one of a series of 39 such studies of various aspects of the performance of the Soviet Navy during the war. Should anyone need to peruse the original Russian- language version, its title in transliterated Russian is as follows: Sbornik Materialov po Opytu Boyevoy Deyatelnosti Voenno-Morskikh Sil Soyuza SSR, No. 27, Severnyy Flot v Operatsiy po Osvobozhdeniye Sovetsogo Kraynego Severogo (7-31 October 1944). The original Russian-language version is particularly useful because it contains a section at the front naming the units that received honorific titles to recognize their participation in the operation, 27 figures (maps and tables), appendices that contain plans and orders, and a glossary. I have inserted the words [The Petsamo–Kirkenes Operation] into the title of this translation so that the Combined Arms Research Library (CARL) cataloging system will display this study along with other materials containing the words “Petsamo,” “Petsamo– Kirkenes,” and “Petsamo–Kirkenes Operation. A second document, No. 38 in the same series, is also available that contains a section regarding the operation in question. That study is titled Sbornik materialov po Opytu Boyevoy Deyatelnosti Voyenno-Morskikh Sil Soyuza SSR No. 38: Razvedyvatelnoye Obespecheniye Severnogo Flota v Velikuyu Otechestvennuyu Voynu (1941–1945gg.). The English title of my translation is Collection of Materials on the Experience of Combat Activities of the the Naval Forces of the USSR: No. 38, Intelligence Support to the Northern Fleet in the Great Patriotic War (1941–1945). Included in its 90+ pages of text is a 13-page section (Chapter VI) titled (in English) “Intelligence Support to the Northern Fleet in the Pechenga Operation.” (Russian-language sources frequently refer to Petsamo, the town’s Finnish name, as “Pechenga,” its historical Russian name.) The entire 39-volume series was made available on microfiche by East View Publications, a firm located in Minneapolis, Minn. I accessed these microfiche files at the Combined Arms Research Library, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where they remain available with the call number E004714. CARL’s website is https://usacac.army.mil/organizations/cace/carl ©English Translation James F. Gebhardt 1998 5 Preface The Main Staff of the Naval Forces of the USSR, through the Department for the Study and Generalization of War Experience, continues the publication of collections of materials on the experience of the combat actions of the Soviet Navy. The purpose of this collection is to convey to the officer component of the Navy the combat experience of the VMF [voyenno-morskoy flot, military–naval fleet or simply Navy] in the Great Patriotic War. The Main Naval Staff considers that, in isolated cases, the incompleteness of existing materials may lead in itself to insufficiently complete examination of selected questions but, at the same time, considers it inappropriate to avoid study and generalization of the experience of combat operations until exhaustive data is collected. The following issues are discussed in these collections: 1) preparation, organization, conduct, and support of naval and joint operations with the Red Army; 2) combat actions of vessels, and of aviation, artillery, infantry, and special units of the VMF; 3) command and control of operations and combat; 4) the most essential measures for organizational and logistic support of combat actions of the VMF. In this manner, this collection generalizes the experience primarily of the operational employment and support of the VMF. Isues of tactics and combat training are examined in bulletins of the Directorate of Combat Training of the GMSh [glavnyy morskoy shtab, main naval staff] VMF, and and equipment issues are contained in bulletins of corresponding special directorates of the NKVMF [narodnyy komissariat VMF, People’s Commissariat of the Navy]. A fundamental task of the collection is the examination of issues of fleet (flotilla) combat activities in order to extract the necessary lessons from immediate combat experience, to show the causes that made possible or interfered with combat success, and as well the study of those new methods of the conduct of activities that arose in the course of the war and proved themselves on the sea and in joint operations of the fleet with ground forces. During this examination of separate operations and combat engagements, special attention will be given to issues of coordination of forces and combat command and control, on which depends much of the success for accomplishing any combat mission. Materials for these collections are taken from the following sources: 1) accounts of combat activities of fleets (flotillas) and major VMF commands, periodic and pertaining to specific operations, submitted to the Main Naval Staff; 2) Main Naval Staff documents; ©English Translation James F. Gebhardt 1998 6 3) articles written by VMF officers. The collection is a classified document, in as much as it expresses the most recent combat experience of active fleets (flotillas), along with classified data on the organization and armaments of the Soviet Navy. Utilization and protection of these collections are governed by the regulations that pertain to classified documents. Articles and letters containing new data pertaining to the conclusions of earlier published works should be forwarded through classified channels of headquarters of major commands and institutions in accordance with established procedures to the following address: Moscow, Main Naval Staff VMF, Chief of the Department for Study and Generalization of War Experience. Main Naval Staff VMF Department of the Operations Directorate for Study and Generalization of War Experience ©English Translation James