German Withdrawal Through Finnish Lapland: Battle of Rovaniemi

Mountain troops of 6.SS-Gebirgs-Division Nord

Norwegian officers of SS-Schijäger-Bataillon Norwegen

Muonio in Finnish Lapland during Operation Nordlicht in October 1944

Germans also wanted to avoid hostilities with their former brothers-in-arms. They therefor had a mutual interest in seeing that German withdrawel proceeded as smoothly as possible. However, given that they fully expected the Soviets to intervene or otherwise pressure the Finns to become more active, the Germans would have been derelict in their duty had they left the road network behind them intact. Finnish soldiers were witnessing German destruction of the country's infratructure and the shock of the Finnish secession from the war caused the fellings of many German soldiers to change from one of trust and confidence in the Finns to one of distrust and bitterness. The 6.SS-Gebirgs-Division Nord formed the rear guard for the three German corps withdrawing from Finland in Operation Birke and the Norwegian SS-Schijäger-Bataillon Norwegen covered and protected the pullback of the Nord itself. All of the retreat routes eventually converged on the crossroads town of Rovaniemi. The Norwegen along with parts of Nord's SS-Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 12 Michael Gaißmair was left behind to guard the evacuated town. On October 13 1944, hostile Finnish commando troops blew up a German ammunition train at Rovaniemi railroad station. This started an accidental firestorm that virtually destroyed the entire town. The destruction of Rovaniemi was later labeled an SS war crime. The very next day the last retreating German forces passed over the Rovaniemi bridges. From September to November 1944 the Nord marched 1,600 km to Mo i Rana in Norway. Top image: SS-Gibirgsjägers on rail transport somewhere in northern Karelia. Commons: Bundesarchiv. Middle image: Norwegian SS officers of the Norwegen around Lake Kapanez in Karelia in 1944. From left to right: SS-Untersturmführer Rolf Ugelstad, veteran from SS-Freiwilligen-Legion Norwegen, SS-Untersturmführer Olaf Wahlmann, veteran from 5.SS-Panzer-Division Wiking, SS-Untersturmführer Hans Petter Hoff also from Wiking and SS-Hauptsturmführer Frode Halle, veteran from Legion Norwegen and SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 23 Norge. Bottom image: SS-Gebirgsjägers put up a bitter sign in Muonio in Oct. 1944 that reads: Als Dank für nicht bewiesene Waffenbrüderschaft, which roughly translates as 'thanks for not demonstrating brotherhood in arms. Photo by Finnish military civil servant A. Viitasalo. PD.