The town of Rovaniemi destroyed by the Germans

The Battle of Rovaniemi was an event during the Lapland War. The actual fighting between the Finnish Armoured division and the troops of the German Twentieth Mountain Army took place to the south of the town. The notoriety of the encounter derives from the destruction of the town by the Germans. Combatants Germany Finland Commanders Lothar Rendulic Hjalmar Siilasvuo Strength 200,000 60,000 Casualties 950 killed 2,000 wounded 1,300 captured 774 killed 3,000 wounded 262 missing The Lapland War is a name used for the hostilities between Finland and Germany between September 1944 and April 1945. ... Operation Tanne Ost was a German operation during World War II to capture the island Suursaari in the Gulf of Finland before it could fall into Soviet hands. ... The battle of Tornio October 1 - October 8, 1944 was the first major engagement between Nazi Germany and Finland in the Lapland War; although hostilities had already begun elswere (see Tanne Ost). ... Combatants Germany Finland Commanders Lothar Rendulic Hjalmar Siilasvuo Strength 200,000 60,000 Casualties 950 killed 2,000 wounded 1,300 captured 774 killed 3,000 wounded 262 missing The Lapland War is a name used for the hostilities between Finland and Germany between September 1944 and April 1945. ... Army Lapland Twentieth Mountain Army The German Army Lapland (AOK Lappland) was one of the two army-level headquarters controlling German troops in the far north of Norway and Finland during World War II. It was established in January of 1942, and redesignated as the Twentieth Mountain Army () in June. ...

The town of Rovaniemi was the capital of Lapland, the northernmost province of Finland. During the Second World War it was an important transport hub since it lay on the road to the Petsamo area and the only free port in the north, Liinahammari. City scenery of Rovaniemi in January 2004 Rovaniemi (Roavenjárga in Northern Sami) is the administrative capital and the centre of commerce of Finlands northernmost Province, Lapland. ... In politics, a capital (also called capital city or political capital — although the latter phrase has an alternative meaning based on an alternative meaning of capital) is the principal city or town associated with its government. ... National anthem Sámi soga lávlla Languages Sami, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Russian Area ca. ... This article is about political regions. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... The area of Petsamo (Pechenga in Russian) in northern Lapland, indigenously inhabited by Samis, came to Finland in 1920 and to the Soviet Union in 1944. ...

When the Continuation War between Finland and the Soviet Union started in 1941, the Finnish government allowed German troops from the German 20th Mountain Army in Norway to be stationed in Lapland to help defed the long border. The objective of the Germans was to control the nickel mines in Petsamo and to conquer the Russian port of Murmansk, cutting the Soviet Union off from Allied supply convoys. Rovaniemi was the German HQ in Lapland and also the base of Luftflotte 5 of the Luftwaffe. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1941 calendar). ... The Finnish nickel deposits were found in the Petsamo area at Barents Sea, which until the Paris Peace Treaties, 1947, was the northernmost part of Finland. ... Murmansk, Archangelsk, Dikson, Tiksi, on the Arctic Ocean Murmansk coin Murmansk (Му́рманск) is a city in the extreme northwest of Russia (north of the Arctic circle) with a seaport on the Kola Gulf, 20 miles from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia... The group of countries known as the Allies of World War II, was those nations opposed to the Axis Powers during the Second World War. ... A convoy is a group of vehicles or ships traveling together for mutual support. ... Luftwaffe The Deutsche Luftwaffe or (German: Air Arm, IPA: [luftvafə]) is the commonly used term for the German air force. ...

Relations between the German garrisons and the local populace in Lapland were in general cordial during the war. However, when the Finns signed a separate peace with the Soviet Union, relations soured. The Germans had some 200,000 troops in Finland and they were still at war with the Russians. The Soviet Union demanded that the Finns removed all German troops from their territory in two weeks, which was a logistic impossibility. However, the Finns did move against the Germans in the Kemi-Tornio region to convince the Russians of their intention to live up to the treaty. Almost simultaneously with the Tornio operation, the Finnish armoured division advanced north in the direction of Rovaniemi. Garrison House, built 1675, Dover, NH, USA In the military, garrison is the collective term for the body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base. ... The battle of Tornio October 1 - October 8, 1944 was the first major engagement between Nazi Germany and Finland in the Lapland War; although hostilities had already begun elswere (see Tanne Ost). ...

The Germans felt betrayed by the Finns and the German general Lothar Rendulic gave the order that Lapland be destroyed. In many settlements Wehrmacht garrisons were replaced by SS troops who would have less scrupules carrying out the order. The operation to level Rovaniemi started on October 10th 1944. The mostly wooden town burned for 6 days and nights, only 13 buildings were left standing. There were no civilian casualties, because the Finns had evacuated the town (and most of Lapland) already in September, in anticipation of the clash with the Germans. Lothar Rendulic (November 23, 1887 – January 18, 1971) was a Colonel General in the Wehrmacht during WWII. Rendulic was born on in Wiener Neustadt, Austria to a Croatian family (Croatian spelling of the surname is Rendulić). He entered the Austro-Hungarian Army in 1910 and served during World War I... German cavalry and motorized units entering Poland from East Prussia during the Polish Defensive War of 1939 Wehrmacht (help· info) (Defence force) was the name of the armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. ... SS or ss or Ss may be: The Schutzstaffel, a Nazi paramilitary force Steamship (SS) (ship prefix) The United States Secret Service A submarine not powered by nuclear energy (SS) (United States Navy designator), see SSN A Soviet/Russian surface-to-surface missile, as listed by NATO reporting name Shortstop... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ...