Rout at Salla - Winter War

04 JULY 1941, MARKAJARVI-SALLA ROAD, LAPLAND The Waffen SS unit Kampfgruppe "Nord" was formed in February 1941 in Norway. The unit was composed of SS men used for garrison duties in Norway and Totenkopfstandarten from concentration camps. "Nord" was transferred to Finland to fight alongside the Finnish troops. After the start of Operation Barbarossa, German High Command designed several offensives in Northern Finland. Those offensives aimed securing the Petsamo nickel mine areas; cutting the Murmansk railroad and severing the allied land lease route; and generally forcing STAVKA to move valuable troops from the battlefields of Leningrad. The German High Command created two operations to sever the Murmansk railroad. One of them coded as Polar Fox. According to this plan, two divisions launched from the town of Rovaniemi in central Finland would strike the Soviet strong point at Salla, then advance on the rail head at Kandalaksha, 220 miles south of Murmansk. The operation command was given to Generalleutenant Hans Feige's XXXVI Corps consisting of Kampfgruppe "Nord", 169th Infantry Division and Finnish 6th Infantry Division. General Feige sent the 169th Division to attack Salla from northwest while Finnish 6th Division was to attack as southern pincer. Kampfgruppe "Nord", supported by Panzer Abteilung 40, was ordered to attack the Salla position frontally. Kampfgruppe 'Nord', like all SS combat units, was superbly equipped. However the unit severly lacked training and battlefield experience. Hitler ignored continued reports from Feige that "Nord" needed training drills. Operation date set to 4th of July. Attack at Salla got off to a poor start. German and Finnish troops lost their directions and coordination in the harsh land of the Lapland forests. Only the Northern group (169th Division) made some progress. During the day General Feige struggled to reorganize the "Nord" and resume the advance towards Salla position. Finally, Nord's 7th Regiment deployed near the Russian positions covering Salla. Despite the poor road conditions some panzers were supporting the Waffen SS troops. However, the Soviets struck first at 0100. Elements of the 122nd Rifle Division supported by armor, hit the SS 7th Regiment's sector. Caught off footed, the raw Waffen SS unit found itself in a desperate fight for survival.