Highlights from a summer of 2011 offroad/battlefield trip on the former Petsamo Front in northernmost Russia.
I have no connection with the company behind the above video and thus cannot endorse their trips, but it is evident that they can take foreign tourists - in this case Swedes - to some amazing places on the Kola Peninsula.
The main goal of the tour is the former Petsamo (after 1944 Pechenga) Front or Eismeerfront, the northernmost stretch of the WWII Eastern Front.
I recognize several locations in the film. Many roads are German built and I have myself been inside the bunker that has an inscription that proclaims "TOD DEM FEIND", i.e. "death to the enemy" and "2. GEB. DIV." = 2nd German Army Mountain Division. We also see some coastal artillery I have not visited, I reckon it is Soviet 1950s.
I am not able to make out the German unit insignia visible at, 3:50. Can you?
You should watch this video in large format because the landscapes are just awesome.
Remember, WWII battlefield trips are risky even if you take many precautions. Do not pick up anything that even remotely looks like ammunition. E.g. German antitank mines are still very lethal.
BTW I just found this other video about recent finds around Rajakoski in the southern part of the former Petsamo area, now Pechenga:
About Me
- Lars Gyllenhaal
- Author, film researcher and member of the Swedish Military History Commission.
The insignia at 3:50 looks like the inverted triangle and polar bear of Kommandeur der Armee Nachschub truppen 463, the umbrella organisation for the army level supply units of the 20 Gebirgs Armee
ReplyDeleteVery interesting clip there, Lars.. :-)
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