List of military operations in the Nordic countries during World War II
The following is a list of military operations conducted in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Greenland during World War II.
Axis
[edit]- Birke ("Birch") (1944)
— German plan to withdraw from northern Finland prior to the Lapland War - Birkhahn (1945) — German evacuation from Norway.
- Büffel ("Buffalo") (1940) — German operation to relieve troops in Narvik, Norway
- Hokki ("Calk") (1944)
— Finnish plan to destroy railroad tracks to deny the Soviets their supplies. - Holzauge ("Wood knot") (1942) — activities in Greenland
- Ikarus (1940) — planned German invasion of Iceland in response to British Operation Fork
- Juno (1940) — German naval operation to disturb allied supplies to Norway
- Kilpapurjehdus ("Regatta") (1941) — Finnish naval operation for the militarization of the Åland islands.
- Lachsfang (1942)
— Proposed combined German and Finnish attack against Kandalaksha and Belomorsk - Nordlicht 2 ("Aurora Borealis") (1944) — German withdrawal from the Kola Peninsula into Norway
- Silberfuchs ("Silver Fox") (1941) — German and Finnish operations in the Arctic, including:
- Blaufuchs 1 ("Blue Fox 1") (1941) — Staging of German forces from Germany to northern Finland
- Blaufuchs 2 ("Blue Fox 2") (1941) — Staging of German forces from Norway to northern Finland
- Platinfuchs ("Platinum Fox") (1941) — Joint German-Finnish attack towards Murmansk from Finnish Petsamo
- Polarfuchs ("Polar Fox") (1941) — Joint German-Finnish attack towards Kandalaksha from Finnish Lapland
- Renntier ("Reindeer") (1941) — German occupation of Petsamo
- Blaufuchs 1 ("Blue Fox 1") (1941)
- Safari (1943) — German operation to capture and disarm Danish forces
- Sizilien (1943) — German raid upon Allied-occupied Spitzbergen (Svalbard)
- Tanne Ost (1944) — failed German attempt to capture Suursaari from Finland
- Tanne West (1944) — planned German attempt to capture the Åland from Finland
- Weserübung ("Weser Exercise") (1940) — German invasion of Denmark and Norway
- Weserübung Nord ("Weser Exercise") (1940) — German invasion of Trondheim and Narvik
- Weserübung Sud ("Weser Exercise") (1940) — German invasion of Bergen, Kristiansand, and Oslo
- Weserübung Nord ("Weser Exercise") (1940)
- Zitronella ("Lemon flavour") (1943) — alternate name for Operation Sizilien
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Allies
[edit]- Alphabet (1940)
— evacuation of British troops from Norway - Apostle (1945) — SAS operation to enforce German surrender in Norway
- Archery (1941)
— British commando raid on Vågsøy, Norway - Anklet (1941)
— raid on German positions on Lofoten Islands, Norway - Brandy (1943) — MTB and commando raid on Florø, Norway
- Carthage (1945) — RAF bombing of the Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark
- Cartoon (1943) — commando raid on the island of Stord near Leirvik, Norway
- Catherine (1939) British plan to gain control of Baltic Sea
- Claymore (1941) — British raid on Lofoten Islands, Norway
- Crackers (1943) — British raid at Sognefjord, Norway
- Doomsday (1945) — alternative name for Apostle
- Freshman (1942 ) — attempted raid on a Norwegian heavy water plant at Vemork, see Gunnerside
- Grouse (1942) — Norwegian guide party for Freshman
- Grouse (1942)
- Gunnerside (1943) — 2nd raid on the Norwegian heavy water plant at Vemork
- Fork (1940) — Invasion of Iceland by British.
- Gauntlet (1941)
— raid on Spitzbergen - Jupiter (1942) — suggested invasion of Norway
- Kitbag (1941) — aborted commando raid on town of Florø in Norway
- Leader (1943)
— American/British Home Fleet raid on German shipping along the coast of Norway in the Bodø area - Musketoon (1942) — British/ Norwegian destruction of a power station in Norway
- R 4 (1940) — Planned British invasion of Norway
- Source (1943) — British response to German operation Sizilien
- The Sepals/Perianth Operation (1944) — OSS supported operation in Sweden
- Sunshine (1944) — Combined British/Norwegian operation to protect essential power installations against possible German scorched earth tactics towards the end of the war
- Valentine (1940) — British occupation of the Faroe Islands
- Wilfred (1940) — British plan to mine the Norwegian coast
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Other
[edit]- Rädda Danmark ("Save Denmark") (1945)
— Swedish plan to liberate Denmark before the German surrender[1]
- Rädda Själland ("Save Zealand") (1945) — planned Swedish landings on Zealand
- Rädda Bornholm ("Save Bornholm") (1945) — planned Swedish landings on Bornholm
- Rädda Själland ("Save Zealand") (1945)
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2018-01-26.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
Further reading
[edit]- Dear, Ian. The Oxford companion to world war II (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995)
- Elting, John R. Battles for Scandinavia (Time-Life Books 1981)
- Haarr, Geirr. The Gathering Storm: Naval War in Northern Europe, September 1939 to April 1940 (2013)
- Haarr, Geirr. German Invasion of Norway: April 1940 (vol 1 2012); The Battle for Norway, April-June 1940 (vol 2 2010)
- Mann, Chris. British Policy and Strategy Towards Norway, 1941-45 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012)
- Miller, James. The North Atlantic Front: Orkney, Shetland, Faroe and Iceland at War (2004)
- Nissen, Henrik S., ed. Scandinavia during the Second World War (Universitetsforlaget, 1983)
- Petrow, Richard. The Bitter Years; The Invasion and Occupation of Denmark and Norway, April 1940-May 1945 (1974)
- Riste, Olav et al. Norway and the Second World War (1996)
- Stenius, H., Österberg, M. and Östling, J., eds. Nordic Narratives of the Second World War: National Historiographies Revisited (Lund: Nordic Academic Press, 2011).
- Vehvilainen, Olli. "Scandinavian Campaigns." in A Companion to World War II (2012) ed. by Thomas W. Zeiler and Daniel M. DuBois : vol 1 pp 208–21.
- Vehvilainen, Olli. Finland In The Second World War: Between Germany and Russia (2002) excerpt and text search