http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1943/dec1943/f25dec43.htm
Red Army attacks for Christmas
Saturday, December 25, 1943 www.onwar.com
On the Eastern Front... Soviet forces south of Nevel continue attacking and the Vitebsk-Polotsk rail line is cut.
In the Bismarck Archipelago... US Task Group 50.2 (Admiral Sherman) raids Kavieng with 86 aircraft. There are 2 carriers and 6 destroyers employed in the operation but they succeed in sinking only 1 Japanese transport ship.
In the Arctic... The German battle cruiser Scharnhorst under the command of Admiral Bey sets sail from northern Norway to attack convoy JW-55B which has been discovered by German air and submarine patrols. Bey is unaware that the British battleship Duke of York is in distant support of the convoy.
http://www.scharnhorst-class.dk/scharnhorst/history/scharnostfront.html
On 19. December 1943 Admiral Dönitz reported to Hitler that the next convoy sailing through the Barents Sea was going to be attacked by Scharnhorst escorted by the 4th Destroyer Flotilla.
Convoy JW 55B left Loch Ewe on 20. December 1943.
Meanwhile Admiral Fraser (C-in-C Home Fleet) decided to increase the escort to the convoy and by using the Norwegian resident agent informations to prepare a trap for the German battleship in case the Scharnhorst was going to leave the safety of the Langfjord (Altafjord).
Convoy JW 55 B was going to be escorted by Force 2 (battleship H.M.S. Duke of York, light cruiser H.M.S. Jamaica and 4 destroyers, Norwegian KNM (Kongelige Norske Marinen) Stord, British H.M.S. Scorpion, H.M.S. Saumarez and H.M.S. Savage), the homecoming convoy RA 55A was escorted by Force 1 (heavy cruiser H.M.S. Norfolk, light cruisers H.M.S. Belfast and Sheffield), both convoys were also escorted by several other destroyers and armed ships.
Admiral Fraser briefed the Force 2 ships commander of the Scharnhorst attack strategy on 23. December on Iceland anchorage at Akureyri and sailed on 23. December, with Force 2 ships.
During the 24. December, the ships exercised the attack formation established using H.M.S. Jamaica as Scharnhorst/dummy target.
During 25. December 1943 Admiral Fraser decided to detach a group of 4 destroyers from RA 55A to support the convoy escort and the RA 55A convoy escort leader decided (because of the fuel situation) to detach the 36th Division (H.M.S. Musketeer, Matchless, Opportune and Virago ).
During same day the German reconnaissance (U-boat U-601 and a Dornier Do 18 aircraft) intercepted the convoy and issued a report to German Navy high command (SKL).
At 14:15, on Christmas day 1943 Admiral Dönitz issued the order to Rear-Admiral Erich Bey on board Tirpitz to execute operation “OSTFRONT-17.00/25/12”, which meant the attack to the convoys using Scharnhorst and the 4th Destroyers Flotilla.
Rear-Admiral Bey moved the sailing time from 17:00 to 19:00 due to the need to transfer his staff from Tirpitz to Scharnhorst (using R 121) and at 19:00 with Z 29, 34 and 38 escorted by minesweepers R 56, 58 and 121 sailed from Langfjord (Altafjord) through Stjernsundet moving to “Lucie point” were the German group met the destroyers Z 30 and Z 33, then the formation sailed north.
Norwegian agents (Torsten Raaby group) immediately informed via radio transmission UK Intelligence agency that Scharnhorst had left the fjord and was at sea.
At midnight on 25. December 1943 convoys were converging from east (RA 55A) escorted by Force 1 and 36th Div. and from west (JW 55B) escorted by Force 2 to the Bear Island area, while German group was approaching the same area from south.