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Lapland War
During World War II, the Lapland War (; ; ) saw fighting between Finland and Nazi Germany – effectively from September to November 1944 – in Finland's northernmost region, Lapland. Though the Finns and the Germans had been fighting together against the Soviet Union since 1941 during the Continuation War (1941–1944), peace negotiations between the Finnish government and the Allies of World War II had been conducted intermittently during 1943–1944, but no agreement had been reached. The Moscow Armistice, signed on 19 September 1944, demanded that Finland break diplomatic ties with Germany and expel or disarm any German soldiers remaining in Finland. The ''Wehrmacht'' had anticipated this turn of events and planned an organised withdrawal to Nazi-occupied Norway, as part of Operation Birke (Birch). Despite a failed offensive landing operation by Germany in the Gulf of Finland, the evacuation proceeded peacefully at first. The Finns escalated the situation into warfare ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muonio
Muonio (previously called ''Muonionniska''; ) is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. The town is located in fell-region of far northern Finland above the Arctic Circle on the country's western border with Sweden, the Muonio (river), Muonio River. It lies within the area of the former Lapland, Finland, Lappi (Lapland) provinces of Finland, province in the Fell Lapland subregion. The next closest Finnish municipalities are Enontekiö to the north, Kittilä on the east, and Kolari to the south. Southwest of the town, a road bridge crosses the Muonio River, across the river, in Sweden, lies the nearby hamlet of Muoniovaara ("Muonio hill") in northern Pajala Municipality in Norrbotten County. The area has been occupied by humans for at least 10,000 years; their arrival is thought to have coincided with deglaciation at the end of the Younger Dryas. They likely arrived from the south or east, since the Scandinavian Mountains rise 2,100 metres on the west, and over ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allies Of World War II
The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international Coalition#Military, military coalition formed during World War II (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers. Its principal members were the "Four Policemen, Big Four" – the United Kingdom, United States, Soviet Union, and Republic of China (1912–1949), China. Membership in the Allies varied during the course of the war. When the conflict broke out on 1 September 1939, the Allied coalition consisted of the United Kingdom, French Third Republic, France, and Second Polish Republic, Poland, as well as their respective Dependent territory, dependencies, such as British Raj, British India. They were joined by the independent dominions of the British Commonwealth: Canada, Australia, Dominion of New Zealand, New Zealand and Union of South Africa, South Africa. Consequently, the initial alliance resembled Allies of World War I, that of the First World War. As Axis forces began German invasion of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along a front, with the main goal of capturing territory up to a line between Arkhangelsk and Astrakhan, known as the A-A line. The attack became the largest and costliest military offensive in history, with around 10 million combatants taking part in the opening phase and over 8 million casualties by the end of the operation on 5 December 1941. It marked a major escalation of World War II, opened the Eastern Front—the largest and deadliest land war in history—and brought the Soviet Union into the Allied powers. The operation, code-named after the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa ("red beard"), put into action Nazi Germany's ideological goals of eradicating communism and conquering the western Soviet Union to repopulate it w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paris Peace Treaties, 1947
The Paris Peace Treaties () were signed on 10 February 1947 following the end of World War II in 1945. The Paris Peace Conference lasted from 29 July until 15 October 1946. The victorious wartime Allied powers (principally the United Kingdom, Soviet Union, United States, and France) negotiated the details of peace treaties with those former Axis allies, namely Italy, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Finland, which had switched sides and declared war on Germany during the war. They were allowed to fully resume their responsibilities as sovereign states in international affairs and to qualify for membership in the United Nations.They each joined the United Nations on 14 December 1955. The settlement elaborated in the peace treaties included payment of war reparations, commitment to minority rights, and territorial adjustments including the end of the Italian colonial empire in North Africa, East Africa, Yugoslavia, Greece, and Albania, as well as changes to the Italian–Yugo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Land Mine
A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, which are designed to disable tanks or other vehicles; and anti-personnel mines, designed to injure or kill people. Land mines are typically pressure activated, exploding automatically when stepped on by a person or driven over by a vehicle, though alternative detonation mechanisms are sometimes used. A land mine may cause damage by direct blast effect, by fragments that are thrown by the blast, or by both. Land mines are typically laid throughout an area, creating a ''minefield'' which is dangerous to cross. The use of land mines is controversial because of their indiscriminate nature and their potential to remain dangerous many years after a conflict has ended, harming civilians and the economy. With pressure from a number of campaign gro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scorched Earth
A scorched-earth policy is a military strategy of destroying everything that allows an enemy military force to be able to fight a war, including the deprivation and destruction of water, food, humans, animals, plants and any kind of tools and infrastructure. Its use is possible by a retreating army to leave nothing of value worth taking, to weaken the attacking force or by an advancing army to fight against unconventional warfare. Scorched earth against non-combatants has been banned under the Additional Protocol II, 1977 Geneva Conventions. Origin of the term The term was found in English in a 1937 report on the Second Sino-Japanese War. The retreating Chinese forces burned crops and destroyed infrastructure, including cities, to sabotage the logistics of the advancing Japanese forces. Military theory Clausewitz wrote in ''Principles of War'': Clausewitz wrote in ''On War'': Historic examples Notable historic examples of successful scorched-earth tactics include the fai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
End Of World War II In Europe
The end of World War II in Europe occurred in May 1945. Following the Death of Adolf Hitler, suicide of Adolf Hitler on 30 April, leadership of Nazi Germany passed to Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz and the Flensburg Government. Soviet Union, Soviet troops Battle of Berlin, conquered Berlin on 2 May, and a number of German military forces surrendered over the next few days. On 8 May, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel signed the German Instrument of Surrender, an unconditional surrender to the Allies of World War II, Allies, in Karlshorst, Berlin. This is celebrated as Victory in Europe Day, while in Russia 9 May is celebrated as Victory Day (9 May), Victory Day. Some fighting continued after the German surrender. Some battles continued on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front such as the Courland Pocket in western Latvia surrendering on 10 May, and the Prague offensive in Czechoslovakia ending on 11 May. On 25 May 1945, the Battle of Odžak ended in a Yugoslav Partisan victory. Fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Finnish Army
The Finnish Army ( , ) is the army, land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: infantry (which includes armoured units), field artillery, anti-aircraft artillery, Combat engineering, engineers, Military communications, signals, and materiel troops. The commander of the Finland, Finnish Army as of 1 January 2022 is Lieutenant General Pasi Välimäki. Role The duties of the Finnish Army are threefold. They are: [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gulf Of Finland
The Gulf of Finland (; ; ; ) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and Estonia to the south, to Saint Petersburg—the second largest city of Russia—to the east, where the river Neva drains into it. Other major cities around the gulf include Helsinki and Tallinn. The eastern parts of the gulf belong to Russia, and some of Russia's most important oil harbors are located there, including Primorsk, Leningrad Oblast, Primorsk. As the seaway to Saint Petersburg, the gulf is of considerable strategic importance to Russia. Some of the Baltic Sea#Environmental status, environmental problems affecting the Baltic Sea are at their most pronounced in the shallow gulf. Proposals for an undersea tunnel, undersea Helsinki–Tallinn Tunnel through the gulf have been made. Geography The Gulf of Finland has an area of . The length (from the Hanko Peninsula to Saint Petersburg) is and the width varies from near the entrance to on the meridian of Mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Birke
Operation Birke (Operation Birch) was a German operation late in World War II in Finnish Lapland to protect access to nickel. Background Finnish attempts to find an acceptable exit from the Continuation War in spring 1944 alarmed the Germans, who had sizable stores in Northern Finland. In April 1944, the Germans started a feverish effort to recon and construct defensive positions against possible advances from the south. Plan The name Birke was assigned for the operation on 9 April 1944. Its primary task was to provide protection to the then vital nickel mining operations at Petsamo (now Pechenga, Russia). Orders for the operation were prepared meticulously in extreme detail. It consisted of several phases, the first of which would be triggered by the code phrase "''Birke anschlagen''" (mark the birch for felling), would consist of evacuation of military stores and preparation for later phases. The second phase, which would be keyed to the code phrase "''Birke fällen''" (fell ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Occupation Of Norway
The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until the capitulation of German forces in Europe on 8 May 1945. Throughout this period, a pro-German government named '' Den nasjonale regjering'' ('the National Government') ruled Norway, while the Norwegian king Haakon VII and the prewar government escaped to London, where they formed a government in exile. Civil rule was effectively assumed by the Reichskommissariat Norwegen (Reich Commissariat of Norway), which acted in collaboration with the pro-German puppet government. This period of military occupation is, in Norway, referred to as the "war years", "occupation period" or simply "the war". Background Having maintained its neutrality during the First World War (1914–1918), Norwegian foreign and military policy since 1933 was largely inf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
