[wulfir]

Here are some maps that could maybe be explained a bit:



(Map 301)


Elvenes, Norway*
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200x160*
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This map represents the area around Elvenes, Finnmark (northern Norway), in winter 1940-1944.*
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At the start of WWII this was the border region between Norway and Finland but with the transfer of the Petsamo region to the USSR it would become the border between Norway and the USSR. Elvenes was a smaller village about 10 km south of Kirkenes. A bridge was built at Elvenes in 1928 which spanned the Pasvik river. This bridge was destroyed by the defending Germans in late 1944 causing some trouble for the Soviet 14th Army during it's Petsamo-Kirkenes operation.*
*
During the cold war some incidents of tension occured in this region including the Russian Boris Gleb show of force in 1968.*




(Map 302)


Uscilug, Poland/USSR*
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200x160*
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This map represents the area around Uscilug on the Bug river, in summer 1941.*
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At the start of WWII this town had a large Jewish population and belonged to the eastern parts of Poland. Following the defeat of Poland it became a frontier town between Nazi Germany and the USSR. It was captured by German forces on the first day of Operation Barbarossa.*
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Today the town belongs to the Ukraine. As is the case of many locations in Eastern Europe there are a number of spelling alternatives for the town including Ustilug and Ustyluh.*






(Map 303)


Oleksandrivka, Ukraine*
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This map represents the area around Oleksandrivka in present day Ukraine, in summer 1941.*
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As part of the Soviet Union it was known as Alexandrovka and the site of a major tank clash between the German 14. Panzer-Division and Soviet forces during the first few days of Operation Barbarossa.*





(Map 304)


Markajarvi, Finland*
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200x160*
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This map represents the area around Markajarvi, Finland, in winter 1939-40.*
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Markajarvi was located in the sparsly populated Salla region of Finnish Lappland and saw fighting during the Winter War 39-40. After being checked by Finnish forces the invading Soviet troops withdrew to Markajarvi and dug in, the Soviet garrision being made up of primarily the reinforced 122. Division. During the last few weeks of the Winter War the Finnish troops were relived by the Swedish and Norwegian volunteers of the SFK. After the war Markajarvi was renamed Salla (the original Salla being ceded to the Soviet Union).*
*
To simplify the name Markajarvi was used, but the actual name spelled in English would be something like Maerkaejaervi.*




(Map 305)


Schoenebeck, Germany*
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This map represents the area around Schoenebeck on the Elbe river, near Magdeburg, Germany in the spring of 1945*
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In 1945 this area was the site of clashes between German and US forces at the end of WWII. Despite the bridges having been destroyed the US 2nd Armored Division managed to push infantry units across the river and establish a small bridgehead. A counterattack by the recently organized German Infanterie-Division Scharnhorst managed to push the Americans back across the river, a farily unusual event on the Western Front 1945.*