Army Lapland War
Finland Order of Battle
The III Corps (Finnish: III armeijakunta, III AK) led by Lieutenant General Hjalmar Siilasvuo gradually shifted from the defence of the Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive to the latitude of Oulu and was fully repositioned by 28 September. The III Corps consisted of the 3rd, 6th and 11th Divisions as well as the Armoured Division.
Additionally, four battalions formerly under German command were converted into separate detachments. Two regiments, Infantry Regiment 15 and Border Jaeger Regiment, reinforced the III Corps. In total, Finnish ground forces in the Lapland theatre were 75,000 strong. The number of Finnish troops dropped sharply as the Germans withdrew and the Finnish Army was demobilised; by December 1944 only 12,000 were left. Due to this, the Finnish soldiers were mostly conscripts, as veterans were transferred away from the front. The latter part of the war was therefore dubbed the "Children's Crusade" (Finnish: lasten ristiretki) in Finland.
German Order of Battle
The 20th Mountain Army had been fighting the Soviet Karelian Front since Operation Barbarossa along the 700 km (430 mi) stretch from Oulu River to the Arctic Ocean. It now comprised 214,000 soldiers, a considerable amount of them under SS formations, led by Generaloberst Rendulic. The number of active troops decreased quickly as they withdrew to Norway. The army had 32,000 horses or mules and 17,500–26,000 motorised vehicles as well as a total of 180,000 t (200,000 short tons) in rations, ammunition and fuel to last for six months. The army was positioned as follows:[6][20][21]
The III Corps (Finnish: III armeijakunta, III AK) led by Lieutenant General Hjalmar Siilasvuo gradually shifted from the defence of the Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive to the latitude of Oulu and was fully repositioned by 28 September. The III Corps consisted of the 3rd, 6th and 11th Divisions as well as the Armoured Division.
Additionally, four battalions formerly under German command were converted into separate detachments. Two regiments, Infantry Regiment 15 and Border Jaeger Regiment, reinforced the III Corps. In total, Finnish ground forces in the Lapland theatre were 75,000 strong. The number of Finnish troops dropped sharply as the Germans withdrew and the Finnish Army was demobilised; by December 1944 only 12,000 were left. Due to this, the Finnish soldiers were mostly conscripts, as veterans were transferred away from the front. The latter part of the war was therefore dubbed the "Children's Crusade" (Finnish: lasten ristiretki) in Finland.
German Order of Battle
The 20th Mountain Army had been fighting the Soviet Karelian Front since Operation Barbarossa along the 700 km (430 mi) stretch from Oulu River to the Arctic Ocean. It now comprised 214,000 soldiers, a considerable amount of them under SS formations, led by Generaloberst Rendulic. The number of active troops decreased quickly as they withdrew to Norway. The army had 32,000 horses or mules and 17,500–26,000 motorised vehicles as well as a total of 180,000 t (200,000 short tons) in rations, ammunition and fuel to last for six months. The army was positioned as follows:[6][20][21]
- XIX Mountain Corps (German: XIX Gebirgskorps) in the far-northern Petsamo area beside the Arctic Ocean.
- XXXVI Mountain Corps in the area of Salla and Alakurtti, eastern Lapland.
- XVIII Mountain Corps was in charge of the southern flank at Kestenga and Uhtua.