Liberation of Norway
The Situation in Finnmark
The fight for Kirkenes started on October 23, 1944, as the Soviet 14th Rifle Division beat off a series of counter-attacks from Tarnet to Kirkenes as they pursued the retreating Germans from Finland. On October 25, 1944, upon hearing that the Soviets were now entering Northern Norway, the British ordered the immediate deployment of Norwegian forces to the area to assist. The Norwegians assembled under Colonel Dahl.Free Norwegian Forces came to Bjørnevatn in November of 1944. The Soviet commander at the front requested the Norwegians to be deployed to the front lines as soon as possible. With the front being too large for the Free Norwegian Forces to cover, they enlisted local volunteers. These volunteers were put into a company armed with Society weaponry. In total, there are estimates that 1,500 men from the Kirkenes area volunteered. On January 12, 1945 Norwegian police troops, who had been training secretly in Sweden, began arriving. By April 1945, there would be over 3,000 Norwegian soldiers in Northern Norway.
The End of the War
May 8, 1945 conflict ended in Norway and in Europe. The civilian population in North Norway was the group most affected by the campaign. The Germans' vicious strategy of scorched earth destroyed thousands of homes, businesses, farms, and more. Many cities in Northern Norway were completely destroyed. On June 7, 1945 King Haakon returned home to Norway. He was welcomed by thousands upon his return home after the war ended.
