Battle of Rovaniemi

Battle of Rovaniemi Part of the Lapland War of World War II The town of Rovaniemi destroyed by the Germans Date October 12–13, 1944 Location Rovaniemi, Finland Result German retreat Belligerents Germany Finland Commanders and leaders Henrik Saussel Ruben Lagus Strength 500 men 3 tanks 1,500 men 20 tanks Casualties and losses 52 dead 164 wounded 9 missing 1 tank 36 dead 101 wounded 4 missing

The Battle of Rovaniemi was an event during the 1944 Lapland War. The actual fighting between the Finnish Armoured Division and the troops of the German Twentieth Mountain Army took place to the south of the town of Rovaniemi. The notoriety of the encounter derives from the destruction of the town by the Germans.

The town of Rovaniemi was the capital of Lapland, the northernmost province of Finland. During the Second World War it was an important transport hub since it lay on the road to the Petsamo area and the only free port in the north, Liinahamari.

When the Continuation War between Finland and the Soviet Union started in 1941, the Finnish government allowed German troops from the German 20th Mountain Army in Norway to be stationed in Lapland to help defend the long border. The objective of the Germans was to control the nickel mines in Petsamo and to conquer the Russian port of Murmansk, cutting the Soviet Union off from Allied supply convoys. Rovaniemi was the German HQ in Lapland and also the base of Luftflotte 5 of the Luftwaffe.

Relations between the German garrisons and the local populace in Lapland were generally cordial during the war. However, when the Finns signed a separate peace with the Soviet Union, relations soured. The Germans had some 200,000 troops in Finland and they were still at war with the Russians. The Soviet Union demanded that the Finns remove all German troops from their territory in two weeks, which was a logistical impossibility. However, the Finns did move against the Germans in the Kemi-Tornio region to convince the Russians of their intention to live up to the treaty. Almost simultaneously with the Tornio operation, the Finnish armoured division started to advance north in the direction of Rovaniemi.

After the Finnish assault on the German supplies and hospital base in Tornio and the capture of wounded German soldiers in October 1944, the German General Lothar Rendulic ordered the public buildings in Rovaniemi to be destroyed but all Finnish private property to be spared. With the German rear guard troops still in town, a German ammunition train still standing in the Rovaniemi station suddenly exploded and set fire on the wooden houses in rapid progress. The German troops suffered many casualties, mainly caused by glass splinters.

See also

• Lapplandsender