The Great Patriotic War is considered the most bloody for the Soviet people. According to some reports, she claimed about 40 million lives. The conflict began due to the sudden invasion of the Wehrmacht armies on the USSR on June 22, 1941.
Prerequisites for the creation of the Karelian Front
Adolf Hitler without warning gave the command to deliver a massive blow along the entire front line. The USSR, unprepared for defense, suffered one defeat after another in the first years of the war. 1941 was the most difficult year for the Red Army, and the Wehrmacht was able to reach Moscow itself.
The main battles were fought in Stalingrad, Moscow, Leningrad and other directions. However, the Nazis tried to conquer the more northern regions. To prevent this from happening, the Northern Front was created, subordinate to which was the Karelian Front.
History of creation
During the Great Patriotic War, the Karelian Front was designed to prevent the enemy from penetrating the Arctic. The battle formation was created on August 23, 1941. It was based on individual combat units of the Northern Front. The forces were made up of the 7th and 14th armies. At the time of the formation of the formation, both armies fought for a rather long front line: from the Barents Sea to Lake Ladoga. It will later be called "Dear Life." The front headquarters was located in Belomorsk, which was located in the Karelian-Finnish Soviet Republic.
During the Second World War, the Karelian Front was supported by the Northern Fleet. The main task that the fighters had to cope with was to ensure the northern flank of strategic defense in the North of the USSR.
The 7th Army withdrew from the Karelian Front in 1941. In September 1942, three more armies joined him, and at the end of that year, units of the 7th Air Army. The 7th Army again returned to the front only in 1944.
Commanders of the Front
The first commander in chief of the Karelian front of the Second World War was Major General of the Red Army V. A. Frolov, who commanded Soviet forces in this area until February 1944. From February to November 1944, the front was led by USSR Marshal K. A. Meretskov.
Fighting
Already in August 1941, a month and a half after the outbreak of hostilities, the enemy reached the Karelian front. With heavy losses, the soldiers of the Red Army were able to stop the advance of the Wehrmacht forces and switched to a dead defense. The enemy wanted to take possession of the Arctic, and the task of protecting the region from the Army Group North was laid on the fighters of the Karelian Front.
The operation for the defense of the Arctic lasted from 1941 to 1944 - until a complete victory over parts of the Wehrmacht in the USSR. In 1941, the air forces of Great Britain also participated in the defense of the Arctic , which provided important support to the ground forces and the fleet of the Red Army. British help was appropriate, because the Nazis prevailed in the air.
The troops of the Karelian Front held the defense along the following line: the Western Litsa River - Ukhta - Povenets - Lake Onega - the Svir River. On July 4, the enemy was able to reach the West Litsa River, for which fierce battles began. Bloody defensive actions led to the containment of the enemy offensive by the forces of the 52nd Infantry Division of the Karelian Front. The Marines provided substantial support to her.
The forces of the Karelian Front participated in the Murmansk defensive operation. They managed to stop the advance in this direction. After which the German command decided that it would no longer attempt to take the city of Murmansk in 1941.
Already in the spring of next year, the Nazis again wanted to take the previously unreached line - Murmansk. Parts of the Red Army, in turn, planned to conduct an offensive operation with the goal of pushing the Wehrmacht troops out of the USSR border line. The Murmansk offensive operation was carried out earlier than the Germans planned to launch their attack. She did not bring much success, but did not give the opportunity to launch her own offensive by the fascists. Since the Murmansk operation, the front in this sector has stabilized until 1944.
Medvezhyegorsk operation
On January 3, the forces of the Karelian Front launched another operation - Medvezhyegorsk, which lasted until January 10 of the same 1942. The Soviet army in this sector was significantly inferior to the enemy both in numbers and equipment, and in personnel training of the army. The enemy had much more experience in conducting operations in a wooded area.
On the morning of January 3, the Red Army launched an attack with a little artillery preparation. Parts of the Finnish army quickly responded to the offensive and launched a sharp and unexpected counterattack for Soviet soldiers. The command of the Karelian Front failed to carefully prepare an offensive plan. The troops acted in a stereotyped manner, striking in the same directions, because of which the enemy was able to successfully counterattack them. The successful defense of the Finnish army led to huge losses from the Red Army.
Fierce battles, which did not have much success, lasted until January 10. The Soviet army still managed to advance 5 km and slightly improve its position. By January 10, the enemy received reinforcements, and the attacks stopped. The Finnish troops decided to return to their previous positions, but the forces of the Karelian Front were able to repel their offensive. During the operation, Soviet troops still managed to liberate the village of Velikaya Guba.
Svir-Petrozavodsk operation
In the summer of 1944, hostilities intensified again after a lull since 1943. The Soviet forces, which had already practically supplanted the Wehrmacht forces from the territory of the USSR, carried out the Svir-Petrozavodsk operation. It began on June 21, 1944 and lasted until August 9 of the same year. The June 21 attack began with massive artillery preparation and a powerful air strike against the enemy’s defensive positions. After the overcoming of the Svir River began, and during the battles of the Soviet Army, they managed to take possession of the bridgehead on the other side. On the very first day, a massive attack brought success - the forces of the Karelian Front advanced 6 kilometers. The second day of the fighting was even more successful - the units of the Red Army managed to push the enemy back by another 12 kilometers.
On June 23, the 7th Army launched an offensive. The massive attack developed successfully, and the Finnish armies began a hasty retreat the very next day from the moment the operation began. The Finnish units could not hold the attack on any of the fronts and were forced to withdraw to the Vidlice river, where they occupied the defenses.
In parallel, the offensive of the 32nd Army developed, which managed to capture the city of Medvezhyegorsk, which could not be achieved in 1942. On June 28, the Red Army launched an attack on the more strategically important city - Petrozavodsk. Together with the forces of the Red Army fleet, the city was liberated the very next day. Both sides in this battle suffered substantial losses. However, the Finnish army did not have fresh forces, and they were forced to leave the city.
On July 2, the Karelian Front began to attack the enemy’s position on the Vidlice River. Already before July 6, the powerful defense of the Nazis was completely broken, and the Soviet Army managed to advance another 35 km. Fierce battles were fought until August 9, but they did not bring success - the enemy held a tight defense, and the Headquarters gave the order to move to the defense of already captured positions.
The result of the operation was the defeat of the enemy units that held the Karelian-Finnish SSR, and the liberation of the republic. These events led to the fact that Finland received another reason to exit the war.
Petsamo-Kirkenes operation
From October 7 to November 1, 1944, the Red Army, with the support of the fleet, conducted the successful Petsamo-Kirkenes operation. On October 7, a powerful artillery preparation was carried out, after which the offensive began. During the successful offensive and breakthrough of the enemy defenses, the city of Pestamo was completely surrounded.
After Pestamo was successfully taken, the cities of Nickel and Tarnet were taken, and at the final stage - the Norwegian city of Kirkenes. During his capture, the Soviet units suffered significant losses. In the battle for the city, Norwegian patriots provided substantial support to the Soviet troops.
Results of operations
As a result of the above operations, the border with Norway and Finland was again restored. The enemy was completely crowded out, and battles were already fought on enemy territory. On November 15, 1944, Finland announced its surrender and withdrew from World War II. After these events, the Karelian Front was disbanded. His main forces then became part of the 1st Far Eastern Front, on whose shoulders was entrusted with the task of conducting the Manchu offensive operation in 1945 to defeat the Japanese army and the eponymous Chinese province.
Instead of an afterword
It is interesting that only on the site of the Karelian Front (1941 - 1945) did the fascist army fail to cross the USSR border - the Nazis could not break the defense of Murmansk. Also, dog teams were used on this section of the front, and the soldiers themselves fought in the harsh northern climate. During the years of the Great Patriotic War, the Karelian front was the longest in length, because its total length reached 1,600 kilometers. He also did not have one solid line.
The Karelian front was the only one from all fronts of the Great Patriotic War that did not send military equipment and weapons to the rear of the country for repairs. This repair was done in special parts at the enterprises of Karelia and the Murmansk region.