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the Arctic 1945: German Surrender

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Political map of the Arctic & the Far North on 07 May 1945 (World War II in the Arctic: German Surrender), showing the following events: Petsamo-Kirkenes offensive; Retaking of Finnmark; Battle of Berlin; German Instrument of Surrender.

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Feb/Mar

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Aug/Sep

7–29 Oct 1944Soviets drive Germans from
northern Finland & Norway

10 Nov 1944–8 May 1945Norwegians return
& retake Finnmark

16 Apr–2 May 1945Soviets take Berlin

7 May 1945Germany agrees
to surrender

7 May 1945

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World War II in the Arctic

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German Surrender

10 Sep 1939 Outbreak of World War II 10 Apr 1940 Invasion of Denmark and Norway 10 May 1940 Invasion of Iceland 9 Apr 1941 Greenland Protectorate 3 Sep 1941 Operation Silver Fox 7 Dec 1941 Attack on Pearl Harbor 7 Jun 1942 Aleutian Islands Campaign 31 Dec 1942 Arctic Convoys 22 Oct 1943 North Atlantic Weather War 25 Jun 1944 Removing the German Surface Threat 4 Oct 1944 Lapland War 7 May 1945 German Surrender 15 Aug 1945 End of World War II

While the Germans were withdrawing from Finland, the Soviets attacked in northern Scandinavia, capturing Petsamo (Finland) and Kirkenes (Norway) and all but concluding the War in the Arctic. To the south, the Allied forces were now invading Germany itself and by early May the War in Europe was over.

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Main Events

7–29 Oct 1944 Petsamo-Kirkenes offensive ▲

The Soviet 14th Army under K. A. Meretskov attacked the German 20th Mountain Army under Lothar Rendulic, defeating their forces in the Arctic and driving them from Pechenga/Petsamo, Finland, and Kirkenes, Norway. in wikipedia

10 Nov 1944–8 May 1945 Retaking of Finnmark ▲

Norwegian forces arrived in Kirkenes, Norway, traveling from Britain via Murmansk, relieving the Soviet forward positions and retaking Finnmark, the northernmost province of Norway, from the retreating Germans. in wikipedia

16 Apr–2 May 1945 Battle of Berlin ▲

In mid-April 1945 three Soviet fronts, comprising some 2.5 million men, converged on Berlin from the east, south, and north, facing a little over 766 thousand German defenders. On 20 April—Hitler’s birthday—they began bombarding the city, with the fronts completing its encirclement on the 25th. German attempts to break the siege failed and on 2 May the advancing Soviets captured the Reichstag at Berlin’s heart. Over 80,000 Soviet troops died in the offensive for German losses of up to 100,000 (including Adolf Hitler, who committed suicide on 30 April). in wikipedia

7 May 1945 German Instrument of Surrender ▲

Representatives of the German armed forces signed the Instrument of Surrender in Berlin, along with representatives of the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom (on behalf of the Western Allies, who had also overseen a surrender ceremony in Reims earlier that day). This act brought an end to World War II in Europe. in wikipedia

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