Category Archives: coastal guns

Stories from seventy years ago make the news again – and some of them have never been told

Posted on October 22, 2014 by scorchedearthvh

There is a wealth of fantastically atmospheric material coming out of northern Norway at the moment in time for the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the north by the Red Army. The town of Kirkenes was bombed repeatedly from … Continue reading →

Posted in 20th Century, Arctic Circle, coastal guns, Finnmark, Finnmarken, German submarines, Germany, Hammerfest, history, Hitler, Honningsvag, Hopseidet, Housing, Hurtigrute, Nazi, Norway, prisoners of war, Scorched Earth, Second World War, Soviet Union | Leave a comment

‘Fire and Ice’ goes to print, out in October 2014

Posted on July 17, 2014 by scorchedearthvh

My account of the Nazi scorched earth burning of Finnmark and Nord-Troms will be available from October 2014, published by The History Press. It will be called ‘Fire and Ice: the Nazis’ scorched earth campaign in Norway’ and will be … Continue reading →

Posted in 20th Century, Arctic Circle, coastal guns, Finnmark, Finnmarken, German submarines, Germany, Hammerfest, history, Hitler, Honningsvag, Hopseidet, Housing, Hurtigrute, Nazi, Norway, prisoners of war, Scorched Earth, Second World War, Soviet Union, traumatic story, Uncategorized, Wideroe airlines | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Oslo’s solid stone reveals what Finnmark lost in the scorched earth flames: its history

Posted on September 2, 2013 by scorchedearthvh

I have reached the Norwegian capital, Oslo, which signifies the end of my research trip gathering interviews about the destruction and devastation caused by the scorched earth withdrawal of the German Army from northern Norway in 1944. From October 1944 … Continue reading →

Posted in 20th Century, Arctic Circle, coastal guns, Finnmark, Finnmarken, German submarines, Germany, Hammerfest, history, Hitler, Honningsvag, Hopseidet, Housing, Hurtigrute, Nazi, Norway, prisoners of war, Scorched Earth, Second World War, Soviet Union, traumatic story, Uncategorized, Wideroe airlines | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Dark secrets and death camps: in the footsteps of the doomed at the Lyngen Line

Posted on August 29, 2013 by scorchedearthvh

I woke up to rain and dark clouds on my second day in the Lyngen Alps, a beautiful if brooding region of mountains and fjords where busloads of tourists flock each year to see the Northern Lights. That sense of … Continue reading →

Posted in 20th Century, Arctic Circle, coastal guns, Finnmark, Germany, Hitler, Nazi, Norway, prisoners of war, Scorched Earth, Second World War, Soviet Union, traumatic story | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Coastal bunker in ‘Paradise Lost’ reveals dark chapter of Soviet PoWs in Nazi-held Norway

Posted on August 28, 2013 by scorchedearthvh

If I had 100 Norwegian kroner (about £10) for every wartime bunker I’ve been to in the past fortnight, I would be a rich man. If nothing else, I am struck by the immense project to militarise Norway that went … Continue reading →

Posted in 20th Century, Arctic Circle, coastal guns, Finnmark, Germany, history, Hitler, Norway, Second World War, Soviet Union, traumatic story, Uncategorized, Wideroe airlines | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Storm forces switch to ocean wave for meeting with Finnmark’s famous film-maker

Posted on August 26, 2013 by scorchedearthvh

Things have gone a little wrong with my plans due to bad weather, but good things have come out of it. I’m sitting at the dockside of a picturesque fishing village at 6am on a Sunday morning having just alighted … Continue reading →

Posted in 20th Century, Arctic Circle, coastal guns, Finnmark, Finnmarken, German submarines, Germany, history, Hitler, Honningsvag, Hurtigrute, Norway, Scorched Earth, Second World War, traumatic story, Uncategorized, Wideroe airlines | Leave a comment

Berries and borrowed cars feels so far from the days of scorched earth

Posted on August 24, 2013 by scorchedearthvh

The tiny fishing village of Mehamn clings to the Arctic coast of Norway east of Hammerfest. It’s a place for the hardy, subject to gale force blasts and driving rain in summer and unimaginably low temperatures due to wind chill … Continue reading →

Posted in Arctic Circle, coastal guns, Finnmark, Germany, Hammerfest, history, Hitler, Hopseidet, Norway, Scorched Earth, Second World War, Soviet Union, Uncategorized, Wideroe airlines | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment