On the shores of the Arctic Ocean, German mountain troops tried to capture the vital Soviet port of Murmansk. Finland provided very slight support, but when the German advance stalled Mannerheim dispatched two battalions of middle-aged reservists. These soon became involved in a counter-attack against Soviet troops that had landed behind German lines.

Separate incidents drove both the German and Finnish contingents into insane battle-fury, while the Soviet commissars also whipped their men into a frenzy. Both sides lost over half their men, and at the end of the confused fight no Soviets were left on the bare hilltop.