Operation Silver Fox

Operation Silver Fox
Part of Continuation War of World War II

A German column during the advance on Murmansk, July 1941
Date29 June – 17 November 1941
(4 months, 2 weeks and 5 days)
Location
Arctic, Lapland, Northern Russia
68°58′N 33°05′E / 68.967°N 33.083°E / 68.967; 33.083
Result Allied victory
Belligerents
 Germany
 Finland		  Soviet Union
Air & Naval support:
 United Kingdom[a]
Commanders and leaders
N. von Falkenhorst
Eduard Dietl
Hans Feige
Hjalmar Siilasvuo		 Markian Popov
Valerian Frolov
Roman Panin
Stepan Morozov [ru]
Units involved

Army of Norway

Karelian Front[c]

Casualties and losses
21,501 Germans
5,000 Finns[5]		 unknown
Murmansk is located in the European Soviet Union
Murmansk
Murmansk
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Murmansk, port and administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, in the Russian North

Operation Silver Fox (German: Silberfuchs; Finnish: Hopeakettu) from 29 June to 17 November 1941, was a joint German–Finnish military operation during the Continuation War on the Eastern Front of World War II against the Soviet Union. The objective of the offensive was to cut off and capture the key Soviet Port of Murmansk through attacks from Finnish and Norwegian territory.

The operation had three stages. In Operation Reindeer (Rentier) German forces advanced from Norway to secure the area around Petsamo and its nickel mines. Operation Platinum Fox (Platinfuchs; Platinakettu) was an attack from the north by Mountain Corps Norway, as XXXVI Mountain Corps and units from the Finnish III Corps attacked from the south in Operation Arctic Fox (Polarfuchs; Napakettu) to cut off and capture Murmansk by a pincer movement. The German–Finnish forces took some ground but Murmansk was neither cut off nor captured and continued to operate as an important destination for Allied Arctic convoys throughout the war.

  1. ^ Ziemke (1959), p. 152.
  2. ^ Mann & Jörgensen (2002), pp. 81–87.
  3. ^ Ziemke (1959), p. 181.
  4. ^ Shirokorad (2001), Chapter 3, Part X.
  5. ^ Ziemke (1959), p. 184.


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