List of military operations in the Nordic countries during World War II

The following is a list of military operations conducted in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Greenland during World War II.

Axis

• Birke ("Birch") (1944) — German plan to withdraw from northern Finland prior to the Lapland War
• Birkhahn (1945) — German evacuation from Norway.
• Büffel ("Buffalo") (1940) — German operation to relieve troops in Narvik, Norway
• Holzauge ("Wood knot") (1942) — activities in Greenland
• Ikarus (1940) — planned German invasion of Iceland in response to British Operation Fork
• Juno (1940) — German naval operation to disturb allied supplies to Norway
• Lachsfang (1942) — Proposed combined German and Finnish attack against Kandalaksha and Belomorsk
• Nordlicht [2] ("Aurora Borealis") (1944) — German withdrawal from the Kola Peninsula into Norway
• Silberfuchs ("Silver Fox") (1941) — German operations in the Arctic, including:
  • Blaufuchs 1 ("Blue Fox 1") (1941) — Staging of German forces from Germany to northern Finland
  • Blaufuchs 2 ("Blue Fox 2") (1941) — Staging of German forces from Norway to northern Finland
  • Platinfuchs ("Platinum Fox") (1941) — German attack towards Murmansk from Finnish Petsamo
  • Polarfuchs ("Polar Fox") (1941) — German attack towards Kandalaksha from Finnish Lapland
  • Renntier ("Reindeer") (1941) — German occupation of Petsamo
• Sizilien (1943) — German raid upon Allied-occupied Spitzbergen (Svalbard)
• Tanne Ost (1944) — failed German attempt to capture Suursaari from Finland
• Tanne West (1944) — planned German attempt to capture the Åland Islands from Finland
• Weserübung ("Weser Exercise") (1940) — German invasion of Denmark and Norway
  • Weserübung Nord ("Weser Exercise") (1940) — German invasion of Trondheim and Narvik
  • Weserübung Sud ("Weser Exercise") (1940) — German invasion of Bergen, Kristiansand and Oslo
• Zitronella ("Lemon flavour") (1943) — alternate name for Operation Sizilien

Allies

• Alphabet (1940) — evacuation of British troops from Norway
• Apostle (1945) — SAS operation to enforce German surrender in Norway
• Archery (1941) — British commando raid on Vågsøy, Norway
• Anklet (1941) — raid on German positions on Lofoten Islands, Norway
• Brandy (1943) — MTB and commando raid on Florø, Norway
• Carthage (1945) — RAF bombing of the Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark
• Cartoon (1943) — commando raid on the island of Stord near Leirvik, Norway
• Catherine (1939) British plan to gain control of Baltic Sea
• Claymore (1941) — British raid on Lofoten Islands, Norway
• Crackers (1943) — British raid at Sognefjord, Norway
• Doomsday (1945) — alternative name for Apostle
• Freshman (1942 ) — attempted raid on a Norwegian heavy water plant at Vemork, see Gunnerside
  • Grouse (1942) — Norwegian guide party for Freshman
• Gunnerside (1943) — 2nd raid on the Norwegian heavy water plant at Vemork
• Fork (1940) — Invasion of Iceland by British.
• Gauntlet (1941) — raid on Spitzbergen
• Jupiter (1942) — suggested invasion of Norway
• Kitbag (1941) — aborted commando raid on town of Florø in Norway
• Leader (1943) — American/British Home Fleet raid on German shipping along the coast of Norway in the Bodø area
• Musketoon (1942) — British/ Norwegian destruction of a power station in Norway
• R 4 (1940) — Planned British invasion of Norway
• Source (1943) — British response to German operation Sizilien
• The Sepals/Perianth Operation (1944) — OSS supported operation in Sweden
• Sunshine (1944) — Combined British/Norwegian operation to protect essential power installations against possible German scorched earth tactics towards the end of the war
• Wilfred (1940) — British plan to mine the Norwegian coast

Other

• Rädda Danmark ("Save Denmark") (1945) — Swedish plan to liberate Denmark before the country was occupied by the Soviet Union (cancelled because of German surrender)
  • Rädda Själland (1945) — Swedish landings on Zealand
  • Rädda Bornholm (1945) — Swedish landings on Bornholm

Further reading

• Dear, Ian. The Oxford companion to world war II (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995)
• Elting, John R. Battles for Scandinavia (Time-Life Books 1981)
• Haarr, Geirr. The Gathering Storm: Naval War in Northern Europe, September 1939 to April 1940 (2013)
• Haarr, Geirr. German Invasion of Norway: April 1940 (vol 1 2012); The Battle for Norway, April-June 1940 (vol 2 2010)
• Mann, Chris. British Policy and Strategy Towards Norway, 1941-45 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012)
• Miller, James. The North Atlantic Front: Orkney, Shetland, Faroe and Iceland at War (2004)
• Nissen, Henrik S., ed. Scandinavia during the Second World War (Universitetsforlaget, 1983)
• Petrow, Richard. The Bitter Years; The Invasion and Occupation of Denmark and Norway, April 1940-May 1945 (1974)
• Riste, Olav et al. Norway and the Second World War (1996)
• Stenius, H., Österberg, M. and Östling, J., eds. Nordic Narratives of the Second World War: National Historiographies Revisited (Lund: Nordic Academic Press, 2011).
• Vehvilainen, Olli. "Scandinavian Campaigns." in A Companion to World War II (2012) ed. by Thomas W. Zeiler and Daniel M. DuBois : vol 1 pp 208-21.
• Vehvilainen, Olli. Finland In The Second World War: Between Germany and Russia (2002) excerpt and text search

See also

• List of World War II military operations