Germany sought to interrupt the Allied supply line to the USSR through the Arctic by the demonstrative destruction of one of its convoys. The operation was named Ostfront, which translates as "Eastern Front".
On December 22 1943, German forces discovered a group of transports moving along the Norwegian coast. After long hesitations and intelligence gathering, the Kriegsmarine command was unable to spot the British force screening the convoy, and decided to take the risk and attack. On December 25 1943, the battleship Scharnhorst, accompanied by the 4th destroyer flotilla with Z-29 as its flagship, took to the sea.
On the morning of December 26, due to a severe storm and mistakes by the German admiral, Scharnhorst was separated from its destroyer escort. The ship stumbled across a British squadron consisting of three cruisers led by HMS Belfast. The first British salvos took the Germans by complete surprise. Shells from HMS Norfolk knocked out its main radar but Scharnhorst, unwilling to engage cruisers, used its better speed in the stormy conditions to shake off the pursuers, and continued looking for the Allied convoy.
The Vice Admiral Burnett's cruiser squadron returned to protect the transports. Meanwhile, Scharnhorst spent several hours trying to locate the convoy, but without success. Burnett's forces were joined by a destroyer flotilla (HMS Musketeer, HMS Matchless, HMS Opportune, and HMS Virago), but British admirals grew anxious that the enemy might have escaped their trap. However, in the poor weather conditions, the German battleship was effectively blind, while the British radars performed flawlessly.
At about 12:00 on December 26, HMS Belfast picked up Scharnhorst on radar again. In the ensuing skirmish, the battleship gave the British ships a hard time. German 283-mm shells disabled a primary armament turret on HMS Norfolk and inflicted serious damage to its hull. The HMS Sheffield was riddled with heavy shrapnel, while the destroyer Virago was nearly sank after being hit by a salvo from the Scharnhorst's main guns.
Without knowing it, by engaging cruisers again, Scharnhorst was some 12 to 15 miles away from the convoy. However, Rear Admiral Bey, commanding from the battleship, decided to abort the operation and ordered Scharnhorst and destroyers, which were still vainly looking for the convoy, to turn towards Norway.
Burnett's squadron pursued the German battleship at maximum speed maintaining radar contact, but keeping outside its visibility range. Damaged British cruisers fell behind one after another, fighting against the raging storm. HMS Belfast continued the pursuit alone, constantly transmitting the German ship's position to Admiral Fraser's forces rushing towards the combat area. German destroyers led by Z-29 were too far away and couldn't provide spotting and reconnaissance for their flagship. Meanwhile the Scharnhorst, with it's radar disabled, headed straight into a trap.
Battleship HMS Duke of York, cruiser HMS Jamaica, and four destroyers (HMS Savage, HMS Saumarez, HMS Scorpion, and Norwegian Stord) were quickly approaching on an intercept course. Vice Admiral Fraser on the bridge of the British flagship gave the order to open fire, but only after getting as close to the enemy as possible. Finally, at 16:47, the German battleship was lit up by star shells from HMS Belfast, and completely taken by surprise. Right after that, Duke of York fires a full broadside with ten 356-mm guns. One of the first hits on Scharnhorst knocked out the primary armament turret.
Caught in a trap, Scharnhorst changed course. Now going at full speed while firing back with all guns available, it was desperate to shake off the pursuers. British cruisers attempted a pincer movement, with HMS Belfast and HMS Norfolk coming from the north, and HMS Jamaica from the south. The German battleship found itself between the hammer and the anvil.
By this point, Duke of York is now firing at the maximum rate, showering the enemy ship with shells. Hits followed one after another, disabling artillery and destroying the superstructure. However, the thick armour belt of the German battleship protects it from critical damage, and Scharnhorst is able to put some distance between it and the British ships by gaining a speed of more than 30 knots. It escaped the cruisers' firing range and soon the British flagship stops firing too. However, just before that, a 356-mm shell from Duke of York penetrated the thin top armour belt of the German battleship and explodes in the engine room. Scharnhorst quickly lost speed—this fatal hit sealed its fate.
The British ships approached the heavily damaged, but still threatening, German battleship. Admiral Fraser ordered destroyers to carry out a torpedo attack. Despite return fire, Savage, Saumarez, Scorpion, and Stord went right up to the target and launched 28 torpedoes in total, 4 of which hit. Regardless of sustained damage, Scharnhorst demonstrated excellent survivability, and continued to manoeuvre and fire its remaining guns. Having approached, Duke of York fired at the battleship from an extremely close range. The German ship doesn't answer the helm anymore, and almost stops.
Cruisers Belfast and Jamaica, together with the remaining destroyers, approached to finish it off. HMS Musketeer launched four torpedoes at the Scharnhorst from a distance of a several hundred metres. In total, the battleship was hit by at least 11 torpedoes.
At 19:45, Scharnhorst sank in a cloud of smoke and fire.
The British were astonished by the resilience of their adversary. After the battle, Admiral Fraser told his officers, "I hope that if any of you are ever called upon to lead a ship into action against an opponent many times superior, you will command your ship as gallantly as Scharnhorst was commanded today."
