The Karelian Front was created in August 1941 when
Northern Front was split into Karelian Front and
Leningrad Front to take account of the different military developments and requirements on the Leningrad approaches versus those along the Finnish border to the Arctic. It remained in existence until the end of the war. The front covered the sector north of
Lake Ladoga and the
Svir River to the
Arctic Coast near Murmansk. It was involved in combat with both
Finnish and
German forces along the Soviet-Finnish border. The front between Lake Ladoga and
Lake Onega was split off to the independent 7th Army during the static phase of the war. During 1944, the Karelian Front participated with the Leningrad Front in the final offensive against Finland which led to the Soviet-Finnish armistice. In October 1944 the
Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation was conducted along the front, capturing some parts of northern Finland and liberating the easternmost parts of the Norwegian
Finnmark province from German occupation. The Karelian Front in the
Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation conducted the only successful major military operation ever undertaken in an Arctic environment in modern warfare. The experiences in the conduct of the operation, particularly in terms of organising rear-area services and supply, were considered important to the conduct of the
Red Army's offensive against the
Japanese Kwantung Army in
Manchuria, and many leading officers were transferred from Karelian Front to the
Baikal Theatre of War. == Order of battle ==