The Finnish-German Lapland War (15) Sep 1944 - 27 Apr 1945

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Bjørn from Norway
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#31

Post by Bjørn from Norway » 29 Oct 2002, 19:28

Dear all!
Once again, thanks for a most interesting thread!
To "hmononen": Many Norwegians stayed for 2 weeks in Rovaniemi, and were the last to cross the eastern bridge into the town itself, and took positions along both rivers. Most veterans say the last troops crosses the bridges 15 october 1944, followed by Finnish bicycle soldiers. One veteran said Finnish soldiers were observed together with Soviet troops!

However, some veterans still visit Rovaniemi every year.

As for the Finns in SS-Div 6, noone joined the SS just to fight other Finns, of course! It is really a long story:

Individual Finns remained with the Waffen-SS after the famous "Pantti-Pataljona". A few, such as Lars Olsson, were attending specialist schools, and were allowed to continue their courses up to September 1943, before returning to Finland. Others served on in the Waffen-SS, including Finnish Army officer Ulf-Ola Olin and his cousin Lars Erik Ekroth. Olin served in SS-Panzer Regiment 5, where he commanded a Panther tank platoon in 7th Company, under Knight’s Cross winner Otto Schneider. Olin’s successful leadership in the fighting near Warsaw during the summer of 1944 was rewarded with the German Cross in Gold on February 28, 1945. He later succeeded Schneider as company commander, and remained in Germany after the war.
Another Finnish Army officer, Jouko Itälä, left the Finnish Volunteer Battalion to become a winter conditions specialist for the Waffen-SS. He is best known for his role as the instructor for the Norwegian SS-Ski Company. Itälä also remained in German service until 1945, returning to Finland after the war.
Many members of the disbanded FinnishVolunteer Battalion wanted to continue serving in the Waffen-SS, but were unable to do so because of their assignment to various Finnish Army units, which were often in heavy combat. Finnish sources list 113 veterans of the battalion who were killed in action with the Finnish Army during the continuation war, mostly during the summer 1944 fighting. This included Kalevi Könönen, who lost his life on June 23. A few individual Finns were able to reach German-held territory and join the Waffen-SS during 1943 and 1944, such as Kenneth Henriksson and Olavi Koistinen, who served with the Nord Division in Finland and then on the Western Front.
After Finland made peace with the Soviets during September 1944, there was sporadic fighting between the Finnish Army and the German forces retreating to Norway. Sadly, at least six Finnish Volunteer Battalion veterans were killed in action against the Germans, including Teuvo Hatara, Kauko Kauppi, Jaako Kohola, Keijo Koskelin, Raine Ritari, and Niilo Sääskilahti. The Germans captured hundreds of Finnish prisoners as they left Finnish territory. In Norway, several of the prisoners volunteered for Waffen-SS, and they were joined by other men who left Finland for the same purpose. Together with those already serving, between 100 and 200 Finns fought with the Waffen-SS from late 1944 until the end of the war.
Roughly 1400 Finnish citizens, mosty ethnic-Finns, served with the Finnish Volunteer Batallion of the Waffen-SS, and 256 were killed in action. Most of the others were wounded at least once. Combined with the later volunteers, the Finnish contribution to the Waffen-SS reached perhaps 1500 men. The Finnish volunteers received sound, advanced training, which is what the Finnish military had hoped for them. It sent many of the veterans to officer schools, and 282 former NCOs and enlisted men later became Finnish Army officers. Another 21 Finns graduated from the Waffen-SS officer school at Bad Tölz, and one of these men, Sulo Suorttanen, eventually rose to become Defense Minister in the Finnish goverment.
The German cadre of the Finnish Volunteer Battalion was used as the cadre for the Dutch and ethnic-German SS-Panzergrenadier Regiment 49 “De Ruyter.” Hans Collani commanded the regiment, and with him came Karl-Heinz Ertel, Helmut Scholz, and Eugen Deck. Collani, Ertel, and Scholz won the Knight’s Cross with De Ruyter, and Deck the German Cross in Gold, but all these men had honed their military craft while serving with the Finns.

The Norwegians: Norwegians were most concerned already in 1939, and about 800 volunteered to join the Finns. Therefor, in 1941 and after - many Norwegians felt the call to help out the Finns again. Most did serve with the 6th SS Division "Nord", but there were even AT units present in Carelia. (The Norwegian equivalent to RAD). Most of the Norwegians were gathered in AA 6, and suffered a hard blow 26 June 1944, when they were overrun by overwhelming Soviet forces. Many survivors died in Russian POW-camps, and some remained until the 50s. My neighbour returned in 1946, after being declared dead.

I enclose a picture from Normajärvi. (Copyright: Nicolas von Schmidt -Laussitz)

Another small question to my Finnish friends: do you know the story of the church bells of Kuusamo?

Best wishes!
Bjørn
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Bjørn from Norway
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#32

Post by Bjørn from Norway » 30 Oct 2002, 16:43

Hello!
With the chance of double posting, I post this again, as the first reply does not seem to enter properly...

Dear all!
Once again, thanks for a most interesting thread!
To "hmononen": Many Norwegians stayed for 2 weeks in Rovaniemi, and were the last to cross the eastern bridge into the town itself, and took positions along both rivers. Most veterans say the last troops crosses the bridges 15 october 1944, followed by Finnish bicycle soldiers. One veteran said Finnish soldiers were observed together with Soviet troops!

However, some veterans still visit Rovaniemi every year.

As for the Finns in SS-Div 6, noone joined the SS just to fight other Finns, of course! It is really a long story:

Individual Finns remained with the Waffen-SS after the famous "Pantti-Pataljona". A few, such as Lars Olsson, were attending specialist schools, and were allowed to continue their courses up to September 1943, before returning to Finland. Others served on in the Waffen-SS, including Finnish Army officer Ulf-Ola Olin and his cousin Lars Erik Ekroth. Olin served in SS-Panzer Regiment 5, where he commanded a Panther tank platoon in 7th Company, under Knight’s Cross winner Otto Schneider. Olin’s successful leadership in the fighting near Warsaw during the summer of 1944 was rewarded with the German Cross in Gold on February 28, 1945. He later succeeded Schneider as company commander, and remained in Germany after the war.
Another Finnish Army officer, Jouko Itälä, left the Finnish Volunteer Battalion to become a winter conditions specialist for the Waffen-SS. He is best known for his role as the instructor for the Norwegian SS-Ski Company. Itälä also remained in German service until 1945, returning to Finland after the war.
Many members of the disbanded FinnishVolunteer Battalion wanted to continue serving in the Waffen-SS, but were unable to do so because of their assignment to various Finnish Army units, which were often in heavy combat. Finnish sources list 113 veterans of the battalion who were killed in action with the Finnish Army during the continuation war, mostly during the summer 1944 fighting. This included Kalevi Könönen, who lost his life on June 23. A few individual Finns were able to reach German-held territory and join the Waffen-SS during 1943 and 1944, such as Kenneth Henriksson and Olavi Koistinen, who served with the Nord Division in Finland and then on the Western Front.
After Finland made peace with the Soviets during September 1944, there was sporadic fighting between the Finnish Army and the German forces retreating to Norway. Sadly, at least six Finnish Volunteer Battalion veterans were killed in action against the Germans, including Teuvo Hatara, Kauko Kauppi, Jaako Kohola, Keijo Koskelin, Raine Ritari, and Niilo Sääskilahti. The Germans captured hundreds of Finnish prisoners as they left Finnish territory. In Norway, several of the prisoners volunteered for Waffen-SS, and they were joined by other men who left Finland for the same purpose. Together with those already serving, between 100 and 200 Finns fought with the Waffen-SS from late 1944 until the end of the war.
Roughly 1400 Finnish citizens, mosty ethnic-Finns, served with the Finnish Volunteer Batallion of the Waffen-SS, and 256 were killed in action. Most of the others were wounded at least once. Combined with the later volunteers, the Finnish contribution to the Waffen-SS reached perhaps 1500 men. The Finnish volunteers received sound, advanced training, which is what the Finnish military had hoped for them. It sent many of the veterans to officer schools, and 282 former NCOs and enlisted men later became Finnish Army officers. Another 21 Finns graduated from the Waffen-SS officer school at Bad Tölz, and one of these men, Sulo Suorttanen, eventually rose to become Defense Minister in the Finnish goverment.
The German cadre of the Finnish Volunteer Battalion was used as the cadre for the Dutch and ethnic-German SS-Panzergrenadier Regiment 49 “De Ruyter.” Hans Collani commanded the regiment, and with him came Karl-Heinz Ertel, Helmut Scholz, and Eugen Deck. Collani, Ertel, and Scholz won the Knight’s Cross with De Ruyter, and Deck the German Cross in Gold, but all these men had honed their military craft while serving with the Finns.

The Norwegians: Norwegians were most concerned already in 1939, and about 800 volunteered to join the Finns. Therefor, in 1941 and after - many Norwegians felt the call to help out the Finns again. Most did serve with the 6th SS Division "Nord", but there were even AT units present in Carelia. (The Norwegian equivalent to RAD). Most of the Norwegians were gathered in AA 6, and suffered a hard blow 26 June 1944, when they were overrun by overwhelming Soviet forces. Many survivors died in Russian POW-camps, and some remained until the 50s. My neighbour returned in 1946, after being declared dead.


Another small question to my Finnish friends: do you know the story of the church bells of Kuusamo?

Best wishes!
Bjørn


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#33

Post by Hanski » 30 Oct 2002, 16:56

Bjørn from Norway, thank you for your interesting contribution above.

I have never heard about any Soviet troops arriving at Rovaniemi in October 1944. Would anyone else comment on that?

What about those Norwegians who served with the 6th SS Division "Nord" in Karelia, who survived, and did not become PoW's - were they eventually transferred with their unit to the north, and stayed in Rovaniemi for 2 weeks on their way, as you mentioned? How many of them retreated to Norway in the Lapland War?

Bjørn or anyone else, would you know what happened to all those German troops after they had retreated from the Finnish soil in April 1945?

http://hkkk.fi/~yrjola/war/finland_wwii.html/end.html

How many of them had passed this spot, and how much vehicles and supplies did they bring with them?

I have an impression that at least some of them were shipped further to Northern Germany, and they still participated in the last battles against the Western Allies before Germany surrendered. Please verify this or correct me if I am wrong.

What about the Soviet-Norwegian frontier up north: did the Red Army stop at the border, or advance to Kirkenes from the Petsamo area? If they did cross the border, how far west did they go? Were any Soviets present in Northern Norway in the aftermath of the war, for whatever reason?

Hanski

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Bjørn from Norway
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#34

Post by Bjørn from Norway » 30 Oct 2002, 17:43

Hello!

For the questions:

"I have never heard about any Soviet troops arriving at Rovaniemi in October 1944. Would anyone else comment on that?"

No, I see I wrote it a little unclear. The veteran I spoke to, said "Finnish soldiers were oberved together with Russian troops", he did not say when or where.

"What about those Norwegians who served with the 6th SS Division "Nord" in Karelia, who survived, and did not become PoW's - were they eventually transferred with their unit to the north, and stayed in Rovaniemi for 2 weeks on their way, as you mentioned? How many of them retreated to Norway in the Lapland War?"

Actually all surviving members of "Skijegerbataljon Norge" returned back. Veterans are proud when they say that noone deserted to Sweden, unlike the Germans. The batallion was gathered at Mysen in south Norway, and was organised into a police batallion of 6 companies. They stayed in Rovaniemi to secure the retreat, and were of the last to leave the town.

"Bjørn or anyone else, would you know what happened to all those German troops after they had retreated from the Finnish soil in April 1945?"

Yes. 6th SS Division was reequipped in Denmark, and later on fought in Germany until the war ended. So did some other parts of the "Finnlandarmee", while other parts were used to reinforce the Germans in Norway.

How many of them had passed this spot, and how much vehicles and supplies did they bring with them?

"I have an impression that at least some of them were shipped further to Northern Germany, and they still participated in the last battles against the Western Allies before Germany surrendered. Please verify this or correct me if I am wrong. "

You are 100% correct!

"What about the Soviet-Norwegian frontier up north: did the Red Army stop at the border, or advance to Kirkenes from the Petsamo area? If they did cross the border, how far west did they go? Were any Soviets present in Northern Norway in the aftermath of the war, for whatever reason?"

The Soviets did reach Tana river, and for some reason, actually left quite soon. Please read the article at our website: http://www.nuav.net/soviet.html

All the best,
Bjørn

PS! Have you heard about the church bells at Kuusamo?

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Juha Hujanen
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#35

Post by Juha Hujanen » 31 Oct 2002, 17:40

Björn,if i may :wink:

Church bells of Kuusamo.

When armistice between Finns and Russians was made 4.9.44,Finns were obligated to drive Germans out from Finnish soil by 15.9.Finnish civilians in Kuusamo were evacuated by 12.9.Germans retreated from Kuusamo 23.9 and Russians followed and occupied the village(SS Standartedfuhrer Franz Scheiber,commander of SS Gegirgsjaeger Regiment 12 claims in Gebirgsjäger magazine 4/60 that Russians burned Kuusamo village,but Finnish cilivilian Fredrik Meskus stayed in village and he claims that Germans burned village).
Anyway church of Kuusamo had old and valuable church bells from 1611 and in fear that Russians would stole them,pioneers from Nord removed bells and dig them to graveyard and camouflaged it as grave.Germans retreated and after some time so did Russians and civilians returned to their burned village.Finns assumed that Russians had stolen the bells and whole matter was forgotten.
It was untill 1959 when Nord veterans planned a visit to graves of their fallen comrades,Scheiber remembered the bells.Only him and handfull of others who knew about fate of those bells.In summer of 59 Scheiber and some other Nord veterans returned to Kuusamo and told to vicar that they knew where bells were buryed.
The bells were buryed on the 3th row,3th grave from the west but in burning of village and rebuilding graveyard was changed its apperence and bells remained hidden.A mine-detector was put to job and with it bells were found on 17.7.59.That event helped heal wounds between Finns and Germans,which were get from sudden break of brotherhood of arms.

Chears Juha
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Bjørn from Norway
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#36

Post by Bjørn from Norway » 31 Oct 2002, 19:39

Jumalauta!

You win! I did believe not many knew this these days, so I bow in respect!
The story you wrote, is 110% correct, according to Schreiber.

All the best!
Bjørn :D

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Northern Finland's fate repeated in Finnmark

#37

Post by Hanski » 31 Oct 2002, 22:10

Bjørn from Norway, you gave us a most interesting link to Simon Orchard's website at

http://www.nuav.net/soviet.html .

"Kirkenes was virtually destroyed by the Germans before pulling out, the town was set on fire, port installations and offices were blown up and only a few small houses were left standing. This scene was to be repeated throughout Finnmark, an area larger than Denmark, as the Germans were determined to leave nothing of value to the Soviets, Hitler had told Rendulic to leave the area devoid of people, shelter and supplies. "
-- What can you say? Sounds all too familiar...


Although this is slight sidetracking from the original title, it would be interesting to learn more about the aftermath of WWII in Norway.

So there were two kinds of Norwegian troops in Norway after the war: the Force 138 who sailed in from Britain (what was their number?), and those Norwegians who had served with the 6th SS Division "Nord" and returned from Finland. - How did they get along with each other?

I certainly would not have known the story of the Kuusamo church bells...

Hanski

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#38

Post by mars » 01 Nov 2002, 04:05

I guess the first few years after war must be tough for these Norwegians who Servered in SS, but when the cold war broke out, their situation may get better, I bet they would make an excuse such as "Fighting the communism"

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Bjørn from Norway
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#39

Post by Bjørn from Norway » 01 Nov 2002, 20:42

Hello to both Hmononen and "Mars"!

First to questions and statements:

"So there were two kinds of Norwegian troops in Norway after the war: the Force 138 who sailed in from Britain (what was their number?), and those Norwegians who had served with the 6th SS Division "Nord" and returned from Finland. - How did they get along with each other?"

The number of the Norwegians in British service was about 200 +/-. They did not meet with the men from 6th SS, as they were transported to South Norway (Mysen), and reorganised there.
There is a little known controvercy here: the British/Norwegian soldiers were most hostile to the population of Finnmark, and several sad things happened.
Yes, Finnmark was a victim to the burnt soil tactics, and it is only because of very effective work of the NS government that it worked "so well", and with so few losses. Rendulic was tried for this burning at Nürnberg, but (of course) he did not get any punishment, as these tactics actually are legal warfare.

"I guess the first few years after war must be tough for these Norwegians who Servered in SS, but when the cold war broke out, their situation may get better, I bet they would make an excuse such as "Fighting the communism""

- The situation for the volunteers was tragic, up to these days. They did not need to make any excuse of "fighting communism" - they actually did so. Remember that app. 50 000 Norwegians were on the "wrong" side, when you count all branches. 92000 were investigated after the war, and mor than 55000 were sentenced.

B.

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Bjørn from Norway
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Respect!

#40

Post by Bjørn from Norway » 02 Nov 2002, 03:26

Hello Hanski, and all others,
this thread / discussion has been interesting. I have noted a few book titles I will be looking for :oops:

With another perspective of Finland, I will start a thread concerning the Coastal artillery in North-Finland.

From Bodø, Nordland best wishes,
Bjørn

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#41

Post by Hanski » 02 Nov 2002, 11:56

Bjørn, you have cast light on many interesting details about the Lapland War and the wartime and post-war situation in Norway. I would like to ask one more question on the Norwegian post-WWII history: when the Norwegian Armed Forces were re-built in 1945, who were nominated for the key senior posts? Was it the Force 138 members coming from Britain, or any of the Norwegians who had gained combat experience in the ranks of the Germans?

For members from other parts of the world, it may be informative to look at some photos of the Lappish nature from the website where Sami_K found the maps of Rovaniemi. Although these pictures are from modern times, the nature hasn't changed. They give you an idea of the environment and climatic conditions; these landscapes were held by the German troops then. Pay attention to the smooth shapes of the Lappish mountains, the vast distances and visibility, and the lack of high trees. Many of these pictures have sunshine, but just think how it is when there is a blizzard, temperatures below minus 30 C, or the Arctic winter darkness, with perhaps the northern lights in the sky above.

http://www.pm-netti.com/lapinkuvia/yllas/index.html


Hanski

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Lars Gyllenhaal
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Lapland and Finnmark

#42

Post by Lars Gyllenhaal » 02 Nov 2002, 12:58

Dear all,

As far as I know no Soviet units crossed over the new border by Old Salla, but some Soviet officers may nevertheless have been visible in Rovaniemi as I believe that the Soviet control commission officers in Finland travelled around, following events as they unfolded.

It is my understanding thata a regular Soviet patrol (recce platoon?) did enter Ivalo from the northeast, but did not stay very long - details anyone?

In Finnmark the Soviets stopped by the Tana river but eventually sent a patrol to Lakselv, that did not stay long either.

For more on these Arctic events - what else can I do but cordially recommend you to visit my website WWII in the Arctic - see my www-link below my words.

Näkemin/Cheers/Ha det!
Last edited by Lars Gyllenhaal on 02 Nov 2002, 13:40, edited 1 time in total.

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#43

Post by Hanski » 02 Nov 2002, 13:18

Hi Lars,

As you mentioned, Soviet control commission officers in Finland travelled around later on, but still I cannot believe they would have been following fighting troops, not to speak about being sighted by retreating German troops in Lapland War.

This animated map shows the Soviet advance to Ivalo from the northeast:

http://personal.inet.fi/private/hovi.pa ... lappi.html


Here is a picture of German lorries on Parkkina-Litsa road in early spring of 1942:

http://www.mobilia.fi/petsamo/kulkijakuvat/kul04b.jpg

Unfortunately, your link to the WWII in the Arctic was omitted from your message.

Best greetings,

Hanski

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Lars Gyllenhaal
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Lapland map!

#44

Post by Lars Gyllenhaal » 02 Nov 2002, 13:35

Terve!

The animated Lapland map is really very well made - excellent tip, Hanski!

The front lorry looks non-German to me - perhaps captured at Dunkirk?

Below all my messages on this forum there are three boxes, the one furthest to the right is marked "www" and contains a link to my website. Click on this box and you´ll be taken to WWII in the Arctic.

Cheers,

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Bjørn from Norway
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Army post-45

#45

Post by Bjørn from Norway » 02 Nov 2002, 14:06

Hello!
"when the Norwegian Armed Forces were re-built in 1945, who were nominated for the key senior posts? Was it the Force 138 members coming from Britain, or any of the Norwegians who had gained combat experience in the ranks of the Germans?"

Well, the core of the first officers were a mixture of pre-1940 educated ones + those who had served in the British army. Soldiers were a blend of "English" ones + new recruits, to say it short.
Those who had gained combat experience in German ranks were in concentration camps after 8 May 1945, and usually got harsh sentences at the trials later same year.

Bjørn

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