Its primary task was to provide protection to the then vital nickel mining operations at Petsamo (now Pechenga, Russia).
The second phase, which would be keyed to the code phrase "Birke fällen" (fell the birch), would consist of the actual military withdrawal to the first fortified position by using a scorched-earth policy.
The final planned phase, keyed to the code phrase "Birke zerkleinern" (crush the birch), would send German units towards strong positions around Rovaniemi while a delaying action would be fought.
20th Mountain Army managed to evacuate sizeable amount of the war material and get the withdrawal towards Norway well underway under the Operation Birke.
[3][4][5] Since the existing German stocks of nickel were deemed sufficient and new deposits had been located in Austria, the importance of holding Petsamo region or Finnish Lapland decreased considerably.