Operation Zitronella

Operation Zitronella
Part of World War II
Map of Svalbard with Spitsbergen in the west emphasised
Date 8 September 1943 Location Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Norway Result German victory Severe damage to Kapp Linné, Kapp Heer, Barentsburg, Finneset and Longyearbyen
Belligerents
Nazi Germany	Free Norway
Commanders and leaders
Friedrich Hüffmeier	Morten Bredsdorff (POW) Trond Astrup Vigtel †
Strength
2 battleships 9 destroyers 600 soldiers	152 soldiers coastal artillery AA guns
Casualties and losses
9 killed 49 wounded 3 destroyers damaged	11 killed 74 captured

Coordinates: 78°54′N 18°01′E / 78.900°N 18.017°E / 78.900; 18.017

Operation Zitronella, also known as Operation Sizilien (which translates to Sicily), was an eight-hour German raid on Spitzbergen on 8 September 1943.

During the Second World War, the Svalbard archipelago was the scene of a number of military operations. In August 1941, British, Canadian, and Free Norwegian Forces landed on Spitzbergen during Operation Gauntlet. This was aimed to destroy the islands' rich coal mines together with associated equipment and stores, it was correctly assumed the Germans intended to use. No attempt was made to establish a garrison, and the civilian population was evacuated.

In April 1942, a Norwegian force landed at Barentsburg in Operation Fritham, intended to establish a permanent presence in the islands. The operation met considerable difficulties, but by the summer of 1943, the Norwegians were well established.

Meanwhile, Nazi Germany had set up a number of manned meteorological stations in the Arctic to improve weather forecasts vital for the warfare against Allied convoys from the UK to the USSR. One of the first manned stations, "Knospe", was established in late 1941 in the inner part of Krossfjorden in the main island, commanded by H.R. Knoespel, following the evacuation of the Norwegian and Russian civilians that September.

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Wikipedia