Geographical factors pose challenges to all military forces in the Arctic. Growing geopolitical tensions in the High North make Arctic warfare an important and timely research topic. This transnational and interdisciplinary project addresses the role of the northern environment in Arctic ground operations in the Second World War. The project, carried out at the University of Eastern Finland, draws on military history, conflict archaeology, geography and heritage studies. Materials comprise archival documents, aerial photographs, satellite images and the results of fieldwork in northern Finland and Norway. Qualitative analysis, field measurements, and AI and ML aided Historical GIS methods are used. The results offer new insights about the nature, realities, and legacy of the WWII Arctic operations. Developed AI-assisted feature detection and object identification methods will be highly transferable to different disciplines, and also have practical applications for various authorities.

2024

2028