James F. Gebhardt

Near the end of the Cold War, the possible use of Soviet special forces on NATO's Northern front was a significant concern. With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO, and Putin's belligerent comments about the need to reinforce Russia's northern border, these concerns are once again highly relevant. A Russian command confronting a multinational coalition in the Far North must seriously consider the use of deep strike with special forces to even the playing field early in a war. This document provides detailed information about the activities and operations of Soviet naval reconnaissance detachments during World War II. The detachments were special operations forces that conducted various missions, including raids, long-range reconnaissance, and sabotage activities. They faced challenges such as harsh weather conditions, German opposition, and coordination issues with other forces. The document highlights the importance of athletic prowess, political loyalty, and foreign language skills in the recruitment and selection process. It also mentions the involvement of covert intelligence agents and foreign nationals in the operations. Overall, the document emphasizes the bravery and resourcefulness of the reconnaissance detachments in carrying out their missions and provides valuable insights into the organization and experiences of Soviet naval special purpose forces during the war. This annotated edition illustrates the capabilities of the AI Lab for Book-Lovers to add context and ease-of-use to manuscripts. It includes five types of abstracts, building from simplest to more complex: TLDR (one word), ELI5, TLDR (vanilla), Scientific Style, and Action Items; three essays to increase viewpoint diversity: Grounds for Dissent, Red Team Critique, and MAGA Perspective; and Notable Passages and Nutshell Summaries for each page.

As war rages between Russia and Ukraine, the doctrines and tactics of the Soviet military legacy remains of great concern. The Soviet Union's doctrine of night attack, or ""nochnoy udar,"" was a key component of the Soviet military's ability to achieve surprise and shock in the early stages of a conflict. This report is a comprehensive case study of the Soviet doctrine of night attack, including its development, its application, and its impact on the battlefield. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of armored warfare, the Soviet and Russian armies, and the history of the modern battlefield. Soviet ground force tactical units conducted night attacks in accordance with a theoretical model that lasted through the Cold War. Its salient characteristics were pre-battle reconnaissance, attack from the march, dismounted assault, illumination, patrolling, commitment of a second echelon, and penetration of the defending brigade reserve positions by dawn. Demonstrated Soviet tactical unit deficiencies in executing nhe bight attack included land navigation and terrain orientation, driving, and use of night vision devices. Theoretical vulnerabilities which were identifed include over reliance on illumination, predictibility of combat reconnaissance patrols, and physical exhaustion of Soviet troops. Actual experience in Ukraine has demonstrated the existence of these deficiences and more. The report includes a thorough bibliography based on the Russian sources. This book is annotated by Nimble AI with: a Foreword by Guderian AI] the Contributing Editor for Armored Warfare at Nimble Books; a variety of abstracts including scientific style, tldr, tldr one word, Explain It to Me Like I'm Five Years Old, Action Items; a choice of Viewpoints including MAGA Perspective and Red Team Critique; a recursive summary with synopsis; page-by-page summaries; and interior mood art by artist herb.loc 'AI'].

»Riktigt bra!« Peter Englund I oktober 1944 inleddes det största slag som någonsin utkämpats norr om polcirkeln. Sverige var i hög grad involverat i konflikten, men trots detta har händelsen haft en undanskymd plats i svensk historieskrivning. Slaget om Nordkalotten bygger på ryska, amerikanska och norska militärhistoriska verk och dokument, deltagares ögonvittnesskildringar och unika fotografier. Det är häpnadsväckande läsning om bland annat SS-soldater i Luleå, Röda armén i Nordnorge och allierade specialförband i norra Sverige. Denna utgåva är en uppdaterad version av succén från 1999. Nu ingår titeln i Historiska Medias bokserie Krigens historia. Författarna Lars Gyllenhaal och James F. Gebhardt briljerar med sina stora kunskaper i ämnet och skriver både fartfyllt och medryckande. Boken är lättläst även för den som inte är inbiten militärhistoriefantast. Gyllenhaal är ledamot av Svenska militärhistoriska kommissionen med flera böcker och mängder av artiklar bakom sig. Gebhardt är tidigare major inom USA:s pansartrupper med filosofie magisters examen i historia vid University of Washington. Fler röster om boken: »De båda författarna beskriver utförligt och inte sällan spännande SS aktiviteter i Norrbotten Gyllenhaal rör sig bekvämt bland allehanda krigsfakta, precis som man är van.« Norrbottens-kuriren »En upplysande bok om ett viktigt skede i nordisk historia.« BTJ»Grym historieskildring om Nordkalotten skriven med fart och personlig touche.« Upsala Nya Tidning »Kring denna problematik har Gyllenhaal funnit en mängd pärlor på den lokala nivån. Det är inte bara underhållande och engagerande utan det känns också bitvis riktigt betydelsefullt.« Försvarets Forum

Sommeren 1944 byttet Finland side og gikk over til russerne. Dette medførte at de tyske styrkene som sto i Finland måtte evakueres i all hast. De trakk seg tilbake nordover og inn i Finnmark. I oktober 1944 iverksatte Stalin Petsamo-Kirkenes operasjonen. Store russiske styrker angrep de tyske bergjegerne på Nordkallotten og jaget dem ut av Finnmark. Kampene var blodige og rå. Tusenvis av soldater mistet livet. Stalins Røde armé frigjorde Finnmark, som det første området av Norge til å bli frigjort fra Hitlers okkupasjon. Det russiske angrepet har satt spor i Finnmark og befolkningen der, helt frem til i dag - over 70 år etter slaget.

Sommeren 1944 byttet Finland side og gikk over til russerne. Dette medførte at de tyske styrkene som sto i Finland måtte evakueres i all hast. De trakk seg tilbake nordover og inn i Finnmark. I oktober 1944 iverksatte Stalin Petsamo-Kirkenes operasjonen. Store russiske styrker angrep de tyske bergjegerne på Nordkallotten og jaget dem ut av Finnmark. Kampene var blodige og rå. Tusenvis av soldater mistet livet. Stalins Røde armé frigjorde Finnmark, som det første området av Norge til å bli frigjort fra Hitlers okkupasjon. Det russiske angrepet har satt spor i Finnmark og befolkningen der, helt frem til i dag - over 70 år etter slaget.

Originally published in 1989, this a volume from the Combat Studies Institute "Leavenworth Papers" series. In the fall of 1944, some 56,000 German troops of the XIX Mountain Corps were occupying a strongpoint line just 70 kilometers northwest of Murmansk, about 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle. To clear these enemy forces from Soviet territory, STA VKA ordered General K. A. Meretskov's Karelian Front to plan and conduct an offensive, which was to be supported by Admiral A. G. Golovko's Northern Fleet. This Leavenworth Paper explains the planning and conduct of this offensive, known in Soviet military historiography as the Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation. The Soviet force of approximately 96,000 men was organized into a main attack force of two rifle corps, a corps- size economy-of-force formation, and two envelopment forces, one consisting of two naval infantry brigades and the other of two light rifle corps of two brigades each. The Soviets employed over 2,100 tubes of artillery and mortars, used 110 tanks and self-propelled guns, and enjoyed overwhelming air superiority. Engineer special-purpose troops infiltrated up to fifty kilometers behind German forward positions to conduct reconnaissance before the battle. On 7 October 1944, the Soviets began the offensive with a 97,000-round artillery preparation, followed by an infantry attack.