 Germany took control of the oil fields and the weather station during this time, although most of the inhabitants on the island were Russian and Germany and the Soviet Union had a non-aggression pact until 22 June 1941.Once the non-aggression pact was ended, the United Kingdom and Canada sent military forces to the island to destroy German installations, both the Soviet coal mines and the German weather station.In 1943, the German battleship "Tirpitz" and an escort flotilla shelled and destroyed the Allied weather station in Operation Zitronella.