1941
25 June 1941 Soviet air force bombs Finnish homes. President Ryti
declares that Finland
is at war again to defend itself.
1941. The last Finnish Army Corps yet
to engage
in battle, the 4th, started their attack towards Viipuri on
the Karelian Isthmus, by the Gulf of Finland, on August 22. Viipuri was the
second
biggest
city in Finland prior to the Winter War and had been ceded to the
Soviets in
the 1940 Moscow peace treaty. The 8th Division crossed
the
Viipuri Bay and cut the road leading south of the city on the coast.
The Soviet
troops defending Viipuri left the town too late and were later
surrounded in a
large pocket
south of the city. The Finns got a lot of booty and
prisoners,
including one division commander. The 4th Army Corps took
the
deserted Viipuri on August 29. This was a mental boost for all
Finnish
troops – the liberation of a major Finnish town. Word of the
capture
of Viipuri was quickly passed on to soldiers everywhere and civilians
celebrated in Finland.
The majority of the 1st Army Corps
was moved
to Karelian isthmus from Sortavala and the attack towards the 1939
border on
the isthmus was continued with three Army Corps, the 1st on
the
eastern side of the isthmus by Lake Laatokka, 2nd in the
middle and
4th in the west near the Gulf of Finland. These troops had
altogether seven divisions. Parts of the 4th Army Corps
continued
chasing the Red Army towards Koivisto without stopping in Viipuri. The
1st
Army Corps grouped north of Vuoksi and prepared to attack the enemy on
the
south bank of the river. Troops from the 12th Division (4th
Army Corps) and the 18th Division (2nd Army
Corps)
reached the level of Vammelsuu – Kivennapa on August 30.
By the first
days of
September the 1939 border was reached and crossed in the center to make
a
straighter line from the Gulf of Finland to Lake Laatokka. By September
9 the
liberation of Karelian isthmus was over and the troops grouped for
defense with
the front line going from the mouth of River Rajajoki - Valkeasaari -
Lempaala
to Tappari by Lake Laatokka. The Finns had arrived in front of the
Karelian Fortified Region and advance would have required significant
artillery power and brought increasing casualties. The front line
stayed here until June
1944. In
September and October two divisions and some other troops were moved to
East Karelia. [Wikipedia]
Army of the Isthmus
(Lieutenant General H.Österman, Commander)
Field Artillery Second Corps (II), 5th Division, Jär.Psto. 3 (Light Artillery Unit)
(The 5th Division was a unit of the Finnish Army during the Winter War. It was part of the II Corps (II AC) which fought on the Karelian Isthmus as part of the Army of the Isthmus. It was stationed on the Mannerheim Line between Lake Muolaanjärvi and Kuolemajärvi. Early in the war Finnish forces liberated the Karelian Isthmus. It had been ceded to the soviet Union on March 13, 1940, in the Moscow Peace Treaty, which marked the end of the Winter War.) [Wikipedia]
Call
to the Russian Front
The
armistice didn’t last very long. In June I was called up and refused to wait
around for the Post Office to exempt me from military service. So I
followed my orders which took me to some place between Jyväskylä and Tampere – I can’t
remember the exact location. We were encamped there waiting for developments.
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| Finnish troops on the march at the Finno-Russian border. 1941. |
I
was the secretary for the Battery, but the Battery commander and I didn’t see
eye to eye and so I transferred to the Field Artillery Fire Control Unit of my own accord (18 June, 1941). They
wanted to make me the Battery Commander’s courier to the front lines, but I didn't even show up to talk to them regarding the assignment. And no one came
looking for me about it either. We spent Mid Summer there and then in July we
moved to our attack-ready positions on the eastern front in Parikkala.
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Valto
Antero Tolvanen and Aune Makinen. 1941.
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If
only I had saved the war correspondence between Aune and me, it would certainly
have shed light on many things that now would be so important. But, as we were
leaving Rovaniemi for Canada and Aune asked me what we should do with our correspondence,
my response was that we would burn it, and that’s just what happened. Aune
broke into tears over it, but I was determined to
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Letters, letters, letters!
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shake the dust of the Old
Country off my feet, and so all of those letters burned to ashes in the
fireplace as Yli-Maunula [Rovaniemi]. I have thought about it often since then, but what
can I do about it in retrospect. In those letters would have been recorded all my feelings
and emotions, as well as all sorts of first hand experiences. All of those
letters were written on expensive air mail paper, and I believe that pile of letters
weighed about 50 kilos [110 lbs]. That would have been quite an archive!
First
Combat Experiences In Parikkala
I’m
going to follow the course of the war as it’s recorded in my military passport.
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Valto Antero Tolvanen. Finnish Military Passport. 1941-1944.
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There is no record of anything but the official campaigns – none of the small
skirmishes are mentioned at all, but I’m sure I’ll recall some of them later
when I go through my war album photos. First of course was the place where we settled
into our attack-ready positions: Parikkala. That’s where the cannons were
stationed but we, the Fire Control unit, were right on the border.
In my
passport are mentioned the various battles: Laikko, Ilmee, Purnujärvi – all
places where the initial attack and breakthrough battles took place.
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Rautjärvi
- Laikko
- Ilmee. Karelian Isthmus Campaign arena. 1941.
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Laikko was
a railway station to which the cannons were brought by train, and we were
also transported the same way. Ilmee was on the other side of the border, but
Purnujärvi straddled both sides of the border. After a fierce initial fire
barrage (fifteen minutes and 500 guns) we started moving forward from there
behind the infantry. We followed a forest trail – a few of the dead were still
lying beside the trail – one handsome young man especially stays in my memory.
He had been hit by a bullet in the forehead and his brains were lying on the
ground next to him.
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Purnujärvi, Finnish Karelia. Eastern Front. 1941.
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Purnujärvi Campaign
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Company battery
station. Jär.
Psto. 3. Purnujärvi Campaign.
(Valto Antero Tolvanen, second from right of gun on main back row.) August,
1941.
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On the road
between Rautjärvi and Purnujärvi. Purnujärvi Campaign. 1941.
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| Field Commanders. Purnujärvi Campaign. 1941. |
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H-203 and
tractor. Gun (11,000 kg). (Tractor: 8,000 kg). Purnujärvi Campaign. 1941.
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Transport in progress. Purnujärvi, Finnish Karelia. Eastern Front. 1941.
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Battery station. Purnujärvi Campaign, Finnish Karelia. Eastern Front. 1941.
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| Field Artillery Station. Purnujärvi Campaign. 1941.. |
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| View through the gun barrell. Purnujärvi Campaign. 1941. |
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| Guns away! Purnujärvi Campaign. 1941. |
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| 90-93 kg shell ready to fire. Purnujärvi Campaign. 1941. |
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| Purnujärvi Campaign. 1941. |
Ilmee Campaign
The Soviet fortifications had been concentrated near the river
Vuoksi and along the roads, so the Finns concentrated their forces on
narrow, deep breakthroughs over the roadless terrains which were
supported by pioneers building temporary supply roads through the
forests and over the swamps. The 18.D (Col. Pajari) attacked through the
forest against the northernmost section of the Soviet 115.D and instead
of following roads they secured a road crossing and advanced again over
the forest to the next road where they did the same. The road crossings
were occupied by stronger units, which had to defend against several
armor supported Soviet counterattacks. [Wikipedia]
We
reached Ilmee and the edge of the main road, and began moving forward to the
south in closed ranks. We ran into the Russians almost immediately in ready
positions at their stations. To my left I suddenly saw the nose of a rapid-fire
gun swinging toward me and I immediately threw myself in the ditch. We had a
lot of casualties in that incident – wonder who had ordered that poorly planned
maneuver?
Photos from the Ilmee battlefield
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| Jär. Psto.3. Squad after capture of Ilmee. (Antero Tolvanen sitting at rear of the transport truck). Ilmee Campaign. 1941. |
I was on reconnaissance on the front lines together with Santtu Teriö. We pulled off the bottom slat on
a wooden fence and crawled through it into the woods. We came across some pits
– they were pretty shallow. Then I saw a bullet strike the ground right between
Santtu and me, and pointed it out to him. Santtu crawled backwards a few meters
and then crawled to his right finding a slightly deeper hole. That’s when he
found the Captain of our unit – he had taken a bullet to the head – probably
had lifted his head out of the fox hole trying to see across the road. I can
still capture that moment in my mind’s eye: we were barely 30 meters from the
Russian rapid-fire gun which was firing bullets the whole time. The surprise at
that moment was total on both sides – the Russians were equally taken by
complete surprise.
Finally on August 4, the Finns managed to encircle and capture the Ilmee road crossing, thus forcing the Soviets to abandon their prepared
positions between Ilmee and the border. The main thrust of 15.D (Col.
Hersalo) was against the Soviet IR588/142.D, and concentrated the thrust
against only a two kilometer wide section, where most of the artillery
was concentrated. After breaching the border fortifications, they
advanced five kilometers through the forest before coming to the road
thus bypassing Soviet defenses, which were encircled and captured one by
one by forces coming behind the leading elements. After six days
advance 15.D was only three kilometers from the Viipuri-Sortavala railroad and 15 km from the western corner of Lake Ladoga and close to encircling Soviet forces on its left side. [Wikipedia]
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| Aimed and ready! Ilmee Campaign. 1941 |
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| Women's Army Corps members. Ilmee Campaign. 1941 |
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| Jär. Psto.3. Light artillery gun being readied to fire. Ilmee Campaign. 1941 |
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| First capture from the enemy - 75 mm. long gun. Ilmee Campaign. 1941 |
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| Transport truck. Ilmee Campaign. 1941 |
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| Getting the captured 75 mm gun ready to fire. Ilmee Campaign. 1941 |
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| Night shot of artillery fire. Ilmee Campaign. 1941 |
I
had my automatic rifle – but I didn’t use it at all – I just lay flat on the
ground. Santtu disappeared to do his own thing – and I was scared out of my
wits in my shallow fox hole. It actually
wasn’t much of a hole, more like a depression, but I didn’t dare move from it –
I just stayed as quiet as I possibly could. After a while the firing ceased, or
at least lessened quite a bit – whether it had lasted 15 minutes or a half
hour, I had no idea. I slowly crawled to the hole where the Captain and several
other men lay dead. I later heard that Santtu had taken the Captain’s Suomi
semi-automatic rifle and then turned it over to the Artillery Command.
Otherwise it might have ended up as a war trophy for the Russians. I kept
crawling backwards into the woods until I finally came across the rear guard.
Actually I guess they were mainly infantry men – Santtu had delivered a message
about the firefight back to the rear. We dug our trenches there – every so
often we heard the whine of an automatic- or rapid-fire gun, and a small “naku”
[grenade] from a grenade launcher would fall somewhere close by. That’s where
we stayed the night, and in the morning found that the enemy had dismantled
their stations and disappeared.
Our
Fire Control unit did reconnaissance in the area all the way to the Ilmee Hill
where one Russian soldier came out with his hands raised above his head and
surrendered. Seemed like a really nice guy. I was ordered to escort him back to
the place where the receiving officers were. They took him in for interrogation
at the Artillery Command post.
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| Prisoner of war. Hungarian conscript in the Russian army. (Sergeant Antero Tolvanen standing guard behind the prisoner). Ilmee Hill. Ilmee Campaign. 1941 |
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| Prisoner of war. Hungarian conscript in the Russian army. Ilmee Hill. Ilmee Campaign. 1941 |
On the way I met one of our field couriers who
spoke Russian, and he accompanied us back to the rear so we were able to talk
with the Russian. He turned out to actually be a Hungarian – he had spent two
days hiding in the river since our guns had concentrated their barrage right on
the Ilmee Hill. It goes without saying that those guys got out of there if they
could possibly manage it. We didn’t find anyone else in the area so we
descended the hill only to run right into a mine field. Fortunately all of the
wires had rusted so none of the mines were set off. We deactivated the mine
field which had been seeded with 3-inch grenades and on our return trip we carted
the grenades back to the Battery Command. We had received our baptism by fire
and the rest of the troops stared at us round-eyed with astonishment.
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| Town of Ilmee, Karelia, after victory over Russian troops. Ilmee Campaign. 1941. |
Hiitola - Antrea Campaigns
The 10.D continued attack towards the Käkisalmi-Hiitola railroad, but Soviet forces managed to keep the railroad and road open until August 8, when 10.D captured the village of Hiitola. When the first troops of 10.D reached Lake Ladoga next day, the last
land connection to Soviet troops defending the northwest coast of Lake
Ladoga was severed. The Soviets tried to open the connection with strong
counterattacks during August 10 and 11 but were unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, IR28/2.D had captured the Elisenvaara railway junction on August 9, thus opening supply routes through
railways from Finland. After the battle of Tyrjä IR7/2.D rested two days
as a division reserve before continuing the attack along the railroad
towards the town of Lahdenpohja, which it captured on August 8, thus dividing Soviet forces in the
forming bridgehead. At the same day, 2.D was transferred to new I Corps
with an order to clear northern Soviet bridgehead.
Attack by Finnish forces managed to cut the Soviets' main supply route and a subsequent
Finnish counterattack forced Soviet forces to retreat southwards while
fighting delaying action and first Finnish troops reached the Vuoksi
River on August 14 at Antrea
(now Kamennogorsk), where they continued clearing the left shore of the
river. Soviets started to move forces from southwestern side of Viipuri
to defend Enso
(now Svetogorsk) and to counterattack at Antrea on August 16, but when
the attack failed, the Soviets were forced to evacuate the northern
shore on August 21. At the eastern side the Finns advanced southeastward
and reached Vuosisalmi on August 17 and a northern outlet of the river Vuoksi on August 18.
Immediately, the Finns crossed the River Vuoksi unopposed a few
kilometers west of Vuosalmi on August 17, and by August 20 they had
secured the beachhead. [Wikipedia]
From
there [Ilmee] we moved to the railroad bridge near Antrea – our whole Battery
Company that is. Our Fire Control guys were on the cliffs right above the
railroad bridge and watched while the Russians were making their preparations.
The next night then we started firing at the bridgehead. The Russians blew
up the bridge immediately and fired such a volley across to our side of the
river that they could have easily spotted anyone over on our side.
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| Karelian Isthmus. Finnish and Russian Army Divisions. |
We
were behind the cliffs and the shells flew against that too. I was on patrol
with Ierik Salomaa, a boy from Käkisalmi (now Priozersk), who became a very good friend during
the war. There sure was a lot of running
and commotion on the opposite shore, but we crawled behind the cliffs and back to
our base when all the firing died down. This by the way was the famous
'deception maneuver' which confused the whole Russian defense force. They seemed to be running
around like chickens with their heads cut off because they had no idea from
which direction the actual attack was coming from. We did all of our troop
movements at night of course, and I can’t even recall where we crossed the Vuoksi River.
Be that as it may, we reached Heinjoki after two days and for the first time
were able to get some rest. Or at least we tried to do so.
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| Antrea - Ilmee - Hiitola. Map of Karelian Isthmus. |
On August 15, 1941, Antero Tolvanen was promoted from Corporal to the rank of Sergeant.
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Heinjoki - Kämärä on the Karelian Isthmus.
Hiitola Campaign
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| Approaching Hiitola. Karelian Isthmus. 1941. |
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| Hiitola, Karelian Isthmus. 1941. |
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| 6-inch guns in transport. Hiitola, Karelian Isthmus. 1941. |
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| Harvest time. Hiitola, Karelian Isthmus. 1941. |
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| Russian casualties. Hiitola, Karelian Isthmus. 1941. |
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| Roadside scene. Hiitola, Karelian Isthmus. 1941. |
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| Railroad crossing and rest period. Hiitola, Karelian Isthmus. 1941. |
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| Captured enemy tank. Hiitola, Karelian Isthmus. 1941. |
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| Captured 6-inch gun. Hiitola, Karelian Isthmus. 1941. |
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| Russian collective [kolkhoz]. Hiitola, Karelian Isthmus. 1941. |
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| Russian encampment. Hiitola, Karelian Isthmus. 1941. |
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| Tank column. Hiitola, Karelian Isthmus. 1941. |
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| Grain storage shed on the collective. Hiitola, Karelian Isthmus. 1941. |
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| Escort for prisoners of war. Hiitola, Karelian Isthmus. 1941. |
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| Tank on the move. Hiitola, Karelian Isthmus. 1941. |
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| End of the line for some enemy soldiers. Matkanpää. Karelian Isthmus. 1941. |
There
was a huge dugout left over from the Winter War – it may have served as a
command post bunker or some such thing – but it also served as a sauna. Well,
we boys started warming up the sauna and it was nearly ready when we received
our new marching orders just before midnight.
We protested and at least got in one turn in the sauna bath before we had to
move out.
I guess I put up the biggest fuss because I ended up in front of the
military court. I must have pleaded my case very eloquently because nothing
further happened to me except that I was under home arrest and had to shine up
some captured enemy rifles while the rest of the troops went for a tour of
Viipuri. [The Finnish forces captured Viipuri on 29 August 1941].
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Kämärä
and Hotakka Campaigns
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Finnish troop locations on the Karelian Isthmus. 1941.
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| Building a new bridge at Kiviniemi. Karelian Isthmus. 1941. |
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We
didn’t even have time to get bored with our leave before once again we were
marching south following the railroad tracks. There was another battle at the Kämärä
Station which has been marked down in my passport.
Summa [Sommee] Encirclement (Motti) and Campaign
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| Summa [Sommee] and other Continuation War Battlefields on the Karelia Isthmus. 1941. |
The crossing for the main
road was under heavy fire so that some of our troops advanced while others
retreated from the area. Finally we reached the railroad station where a
Russian munitions train was stranding and which they set on fire with their
cannons. Was that ever a deafening ruckus as the mortar shells exploded all at
once! – Another place marked down in my pass is Hotakka – that’s where we
waited while some of our troops were arriving in open formations from the
south. And no one was aware until the last minute that this was a Finnish
Battalion that had formed behind the enemy’s ranks.
Later
on the Russian generals stated that they had never seen such military tactics
before. It was just like in the Winter War where small units beat overwhelming
numbers of troops – even divisions. Most of the Russian troops were able to
escape by boat to St. Petersburg,
but they left behind all of their supplies. There were cannons and tanks, not
even taking into consideration all of the smaller stuff. And horses, wagons and
soup kitchens – as much equipment as you would ever want. Enough to supply to
whole Finnish army for a whole year!
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| Field Artillery unit on the move. Sergeant Antero Tolvanen standing front right. Summa [Sommee], Karelian Isthmus. 1941. |
As the Finnish army's encirclement tightened, the Soviet troops made a final attempt to save
their men by abandoning all vehicles and trying to escape on foot through
the forests. The ring was already too tight and only small groups
managed to escape during that night. The next morning, demoralized
troops started to surrender. 9,000 men surrendered and 7,000 were buried
there, but almost 12,000 men had managed to escape before the ring
closed. Also, the booty was abundant: 306 artillery pieces, 55 tanks,
673 trucks, almost 300 tractors and around 4,500 horses. [Wikipedia]
Along the main road and railroad between Viipuri and Leningrad, the
Soviet order to retreat and form a new defensive line along the old
Mannerheim Line came too late, as the 12.D at the same day captured Leipäsuo
and continued advance southwest, towards Lake Kuolemanjärvi, and
southeast, along the railroad. The Soviet defences at main road at Sommee (Summa)
held, but the Finns encircled these defenses by breaching the defenses
at Munasuo. The defending remains of Soviet 123.D managed to hold
Finnish advance only few places and continued withdrawing towards
Leningrad. At the morning of August 30 12.D cut the Koivisto-Leningrad railroad at Kuolemanjärvi and reached the Gulf of Finland during the same day. Also at Vammelsuu,
12.D cut the railroad at the same evening, but failed to cut main road.
The Gulf was reached also here in the next morning, and the attack
continued east to Terijoki, which was captured August 31 and reached old border at the river Rajajoki, next day. The encircled Soviet forces at Koivisto retreated to the islands and Soviet fleet transferred them to Leningrad. [Wikipedia]
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Equipment left behind by the Soviet troops. Summa [Sommee], Karelian Isthmus. 1941.
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| Equipment left behind by the Soviet troops. Summa [Sommee], Karelian Isthmus. 1941. |
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| Summa [Sommee], Karelian Isthmus. 1941. |
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| Summa [Sommee], Karelian Isthmus. 1941 |
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| Soviet casualties. Summa [Sommee], Karelian Isthmus. 1941 |
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| Triumphal Arch. Summa [Sommee], Karelian Isthmus. 1941 |
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| Summa [Sommee], Karelian Isthmus. 1941 |
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| Field camp barbershop.. Summa [Sommee], Karelian Isthmus. 1941. |
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Haircut from an army barber during a rest break. Summa [Sommee], Karelian Isthmus. 1941.
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| Aftermath of battle. Taipale, Karelian Isthmus. 1941. |
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| Aftermath of battle. Taipale, Karelian Isthmus. 1941. |
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| Aftermath of battle. Metsäpirtti, Karelian Isthmus. 1941. |
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| Damaged War Memorial to honor fallen Finnish Soldiers in WWI. Joutselkä, Karelian Isthmus. 1941. |
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| Casualty of war. Remains of a Soviet fighter pilot. Metsäpirtti, Karelian Isthmus. 1941. |
Lempaala Campaign
On
August 27, Finnish military headquarters ordered the offensive in the south to
reach the Svir River. Finnish troops cut the Kirov railroad on 7
September, crossed the Svir on 15 September, and then halted the
offensive. On 31 August, 1941, Finnish headquarters ordered the 2nd and
4th Army Corps,
which had advanced the furthest, to halt their offensive after reaching
a line just past the former border that ran from the mouth of the River
Sestra via Retukylä, Aleksandrovka, and the eastern edge of the village of S. Beloostrov to Ohta and form for defense. [Wikipedia]
It
was only a 10-day leave, and almost immediately on my return we turned to area
over to the ARRA Battery which was the 6-inch guns Battery Company from Tampere. As I was in
charge of reconnaissance it was my job to go meet these troops as they came
with their trucks down the road along the railroad tracks. They had already
driven to the other side of the tracks through a previous road crossing, and having
arrived at the front lines they had then walked from there to our battle
station. That movement did not go undetected by the Russians and the mortar
shells started flying toward our encirclement. Several men were killed in the fray
and about a dozen were injured.
I
was still on my way back to the battle station, but in the mean time Major Aarne Vihma [a judge and a soldier, and brother of Colonel Einar Vihma] had received some shrapnel in his shoulder and we didn’t see him on the front lines
after that -- he was stationed at the
Command Post after his release from the hospital. At the battle station the
building of dugouts was under way. We had taken over the Sirkiäsaari frontline
position as well as the lookout tower and the bunker. But we also had to spend
time building our own dugout at the Battery Station. In my album there are some snapshots of
that as well.
In
Lempaala, by the way, Ierik Salomaa and I were given orders to check the
telephone lines which crossed the Lempaala Hill. It was totally open terrain.
The telephone lines ran along the roadside and wouldn’t you know it that a
flock of Russian fighter planes flew over us -- on some type of reconnaissance
mission most likely – appearing from behind us. We threw ourselves on the
ground in the ditch next to the road but one of the planes – a so called “tshaikka”
– flew back over us and started firing with both barrels along the roadside. Something
grazed the heel of my boot, but afterwards not even a mark could be found on my
boot. The plane flew over us once more and fired – fortunately once again very
badly. Maybe it was just our good luck that time but nothing happened to us.
Photos of our artillery position on the east shore of Lake Lempaala. 1941. I was out on reconnaissance at the front lines so I don't appear in these photos.
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| Lempaala. 1941. |
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| Lempaala. 1941. |
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| Lempaala. 1941. |
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| Lempaala. 1941. |
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| Soviet prisoner of war with Finnish guards. Lempaala. 1941. |
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| Lempaala. 1941. |
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| Frontlines. Lempaala. 1941. |
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| View from our positions across the frontlines. Lake Lempaala. 1941. |
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| Railroad bed in the background. Lake Lempaala. 1941. |
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| View from our positions across the frontlines. Lake Lempaala. 1941 |
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| Lake Lempaala. 1941 |
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| Antero Tolvanen standing in the lake washing up. Lake Lempaala. 1941 |
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| Lake Lempaala. 1941 |
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| Fierce artillery battle raging on the opposite shore. Lake Lempaala. 1941 |
