Operation Nordlicht

This article is about German operations in World War II. For the U.S. counter-insurgency operation in Iraq, see Operation Northern Lights.

Operation Nordlicht ("Northern Light") refers to two distinct German military operations on the Eastern Front during World War II.

Operation Nordlicht (1942):Siege of Leningrad

The first Operation Nordlicht was devised by the German high command, the Oberkommando des Heeres ("High Command of the Army") after a year-long battle for Leningrad when Adolf Hitler ordered a final assault on the besieged city. ^[1] The main objective of the operation was to capture Leningrad using forces of Army Group North under Field Marshal Georg von Küchler ^[2], and thereby bring an end to the siege and free up hundreds of thousands of troops. Meanwhile, the Germans were also preparing for the Battle of Stalingrad. Both attacks on Leningrad in the North and on Stalingrad in the South were synchronized by the Germans so as to confuse the Soviets.

Operation Nordlicht was to begin on 23 August 1942 with a massive artillery bombardment of Leningrad, following with aerial bombardments by the Luftwaffe. But when the Soviets launched the Sinyavino Offensive on 19 August, the forces that were intended to be used for Nordlicht were transferred from the planned offensive to the defense of the German lines. Although the Sinyavo Offensive was a failure, it caused the Germans to cancel their operation and they were never be able to launch an offensive against Leningrad again.

Operation Nordlicht (1944-45): Retreat across Finnish Lapland

The second Operation Nordlicht was a German operation during the end of World War II. After Finland had made peace with the USSR, the Germans planned to fall back to defense lines built and equipped in advance across Finnish Lapland (Operation Birke). During the operation, the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht gave an order to move from Operation Birke to Operation Nordlicht on 4 October 1944. This meant that instead of evacuating everything and then fortifying on the strong defensive positions German 20th Mountain Army was to retreat according to a set timetable to a new defense line in Lyngen, Norway.^[3] The Germans retreated using scorched earth tactics, and destroyed almost all buildings and all boats in Finnmark, thus denying the enemy any facilities in the area. These same tactics had already been used in Finnish Lapland.

References

1. ^ "August 23". Feldgrau. http://www.feldgrau.com/august.html. Retrieved 28 January 200828. 
2. ^ Operation Nordlicht"?". http://www.rateitall.com/i-886718-operation-nordlicht.aspx. 
3. ^ Ahto, Sampo (1980) (in Finnish). Aseveljet vastakkain - Lapin sota 1944-1945 [Brothers in arms against each other - Lapland War 1944-1945]. Helsinki: Kirjayhtymä. pp. 92-99. ISBN 951-26-1726-9.