Hitler's Arctic War : The German Campaigns in Norway, Finland, and the USSR 1940-1945

by Mann, Chris

• ISBN13: 9780312311001
• ISBN10: 0312311001
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-03-13
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books

Summary

The German army's first campaign in the far north was an outstanding success: Between April and June 1940, German forces of less than 20,000 seized Norway, a state of three million people, while suffering only minimal losses. The army learned new skills to fight effectively in snow and ice. Since the terrain prohibited the use of tanks and heavy artillery, and lack of airfields restricted the employ-ment of aircraft, the war became an infantry duel waged across a frozen landscape. While the war in the far north was an effec-tive campaign that resulted in significant losses to the Red Army and Allied convoys, the Wahrmacht resources com--mitted there ultimately drained the German war effort. In the end, Hitler's obsession with preventing an Allied invasion of Norway contributed heavily to the German collapse of 1944-45.

Author Biography

Chris Mann is a lecturer in European history at the University of Surrey and University College, London. A holder of a doctorate in war studies from King's College, London, his area of expertise is Scandanavian military history in the twentieth century, specifically during World War II. He is the author of Norwegian Armed Forces in Exile 1940-1945, and The T-34, and co-author of Inside Hitler's Germany. He currently lives in London.

Table of Contents

Introduction	6	(6)
Germany, Finland and the Winter War	12	(20)
The Invasion of Norway	32	(30)
Hitler's Barbarossa Venture	62	(36)
Stalemate on the Frozen Front	98	(18)
The War on the Arctic Convoys	116	(42)
Red Storm -- Stalin's Revenge	158	(28)
The Price of Occupation	186	(16)
Conclusion	202	(12)
Chapter Notes	214	(6)
Bibliography	220	(3)
Index	223