Great to see an update, LB! This'll be an interesting war...you should probably be able to take out Leningrad soon, yes? With your positioning in the Baltics and in Finland.
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Well, this is not a situation one finds himself in every day.
Bonne chance, et vive la France!
Bonne chance, et vive la France!
For France!
Good luck there, I hope your German allies can help you out.
Can we have any info on manpower, IC, tech, etc please?
Good luck there, I hope your German allies can help you out.
Can we have any info on manpower, IC, tech, etc please?
Thanks everyone. I am confident that France will be truimphant in this epic struggle. Vive la France! 
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The next installment should be ready soon.
The capture of Leningrad is my first obejective in this war. I am hoping to capture the city within a month (a little optimistic maybe) of the war.Mettermrck said:
I will definitely be relying on Germany for cannon fodder, as well as my other allies. I will include all those details in the following updates.elbasto said:
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The next installment should be ready soon.
Operation Red Sword – The Russian Campaign
“France is now embarking on a struggle that will surely end in catastrophe, death and ultimately, fall of the malevolent Fascist regime. The conquest of Russia has been attempted many times history, and each time the land of the Rus has been a graveyard for those who dared violate the sacred soil of the Motherland! Like Napoleon before him, let Russia be the downfall of the Fascist beast, Sanvea.” – Pravda
The inevitable war had finally arrived. Just moments after the declaration of war, Field Marshall Gamelin, at the French High Command HQ in Ruthenia, gave the orders for the commencement of Operation Red Sword, the attack against the Soviet Union.
The Battle of Helsinki – Part 1
At five o'clock on the morning of the 21st, the telephone rang at the IV Armée headquarters. The HQ was located in the Town Hall of a small village just outside Helsinki. Outside, a torrent of rain began to poor down from the ominous black clouds that blanketed the sky over the Finnish capital. The call was from Major Raimo Lipponen, the gold medallist athlete with the Finnish II Army Corps on the Vladaya Sector (eastern outskirts of Helsinki). His message was logged in the IV Armée war dairy: “According to the statement of a Russian officer captured in the area of the 7th Finish Infantry Division, the expected attack against the capital shall start at five o’clock. The officer claims that the Russian forces are more than double than what French military intelligence estimated.” It was already after five, and there was no sign of the offensive starting. In fact, the frontline had fallen silent after the Russian barrages subsided at about three o’clock. The officer’s suggestion that the size of the Russian force outside Helsinki was larger that predicted (estimated at 8 infantry divisions, and 2 tank divisions) was rejected. The news from Lipponen was not considered important, and so the duty officer did not wake the army’s Chief of Staff.
In fact, all through the night, under the cover of darkness, Soviet snappers in camouflage suits had been crawling forward in the mud, lifting anti-tank mines. The massed Russian artillery and mortar batteries were reloaded at 5.15 a.m. on receipt of the code word ‘Strike’. Ten minutes later, the guns and howitzers received the order to prepare to fire. The signal was relayed by trumpets, which were clearly heard by the Finnish troops opposite. Some 2, 500 guns and heavy mortars had been concentrated to blast a route for the huge Soviet Northern Front Army, compromising a dozen infantry divisions, five tanks divisions and two cavalry divisions. The first round of salvos sounded like sudden thunderclaps in the sky. The ground began shaking as if from a low intensity earthquake. The artillery barrages the day before against Helsinki were nothing in comparison to the concentrated attack that opened the way for the Soviet troops and tanks. After one hour, Soviet rifle divisions, unsupported by tanks, rapidly advanced. The guns and mortar batteries, still shooting behind, increased their range to take on the Finnish second line and artillery. The shaken Finnish infantry fought back bravely. The initial Soviet attack was repulsed. A second assault, this time supported by tanks, smashed through the Finnish lines at around ten o’clock.
A Russian column, advancing through the forest east of Helsinki
In spite of liaison officers and new phone lines that had recently been laid by the Finnish government, little detailed information made its way to the IV Armée headquarters. The first hint that the situation might be more dangerous than previously thought did not arrive until two hours after the Soviet breakthrough. News came of an enemy armoured spearhead that had broken right through the Finnish 9th Infantry Division. This news had already sown panic in Finnish formation headquarters, as boxes of files and personal luggage were thrown on trucks and sent away from the frontline on the eastern approaches of Helsinki. By this time, the IV Armée headquarters was in a panic, and General Gentilhomme responded by sending French units forward to support faltering Finnish lines.
When the French troops arrived at the front, they discovered that the Finnish lines were in anarchy, and countless Finnish soldiers were fleeing in panix, many leaving behind their weapons. Later that afternoon, as the French were attempting to stabilise the frontline, a solid wave of Soviet tanks launched a fresh assault. The French soldiers, lacking sufficient quantities of anti-tank weapons, fought bravely but were unable to hold off the tanks for long. Waves of infantry followed, and under intense pressure, the French formations erupted in chaos, and thousands of soldiers fled back to Helsinki. During the night, the entire front stretching from Vantaa, a large town 20 miles northwest of Helsinki, to the Gulf of Finland collapsed. By morning, the Soviet forces had advanced nearly seven miles, and thousands of bewildered French soldiers were caught behind enemy lines.
Russian officers watching as their troops advance against Finnish and French forces, south of Vantaa
Thousands more were massacred as they tried desperately in vain to halt the wave of Soviet tanks and the seemingly endless supply of men. Fleeing French and Finnish forces were ruthlessly bombed by Soviet aircraft, inflicting a devastating number of casualties. By midday, the Finnish air force had been incapacitated, and there were no French aircraft in Finland. The Soviets now controlled the air space over Helsinki virtually unchallenged.
In the wake of the Soviet assaults, the countryside to the east of Helsinki lay in waste; small towns, hamlets and farm buildings still burned. Soviet aviation and artillery targeted any building in case it carried a command post, or housed enemy soldiers. The shelling of farm buildings as likely depots or posts resulted into the terrible slaughter of animals unable to escape from being burned alive.
For many French units not in the immediate line of fire, the reality of what was taking place took some time to become clear. In the case of Private Richard Amballion, a soldier in the 6th Battalion of the Metz Regiment in the 22nd Infantry division, he and his comrades greeted the news of Russian attack without dismay. “Everyone was optimistic,” he noted in his dairy, “and thought we were winning.” However, this upbeat mood soon changed as reports “of all kinds, which spoke of retreat and disaster to the east of Helsinki” filtered through. On the morning 22nd, he and his comrades, stationed in western Helsinki, realised that there must be “some truth” in these reports when they were told to pack up and prepare to leave at any time.
During the course of the 22nd, the mass of Soviet troops advanced further and further towards Helsinki. By nightfall, news reached General Gentilhomme that Red Army units had smashed through the last defence structures, the “Mannerheim Defence Sector Lines” bordering the eastern edge of the capital. The Finnish forces were in disarray, and reports reached Helsinki that Finnish forces in the Lake Ladoga region had been pushed out of Soviet territory, and that sizeable Red Army formations were massing in Timisjino and Tichvin in preparation for attacks against south western Finland. On the morning of the 23rd, the Finnish government ordered the complete civilian evacuation of Helsinki. During an emergency meeting between General Gentilhomme and the Finnish High Command that same morning, Gentilhomme warned President Mannerheim that “Soviet forces outnumber French and Finnish forces 4 to 1. Our chances of victory are narrow, as our limited forces cannot contend with the pure numbers of the Russian horde.”
At French High Command HQ in Ruthenia, Field Marshall Gamelin received an encrypted telegram from the Château Borgonnesailon signed by President Sanvea. The telegram ordered the immediate “evacuation of French troops from Helsinki,” citing that “it has become evident that Soviet numbers in the region were grossly underestimated. We have made no provision for such an extensive enemy attack on the Finnish capital.” In a meeting with Bombardier, Gamelin’s representative Lt. General Demarche, as well as number of other military advisors, Sanvea revealed his fears of a disaster in Helsinki. Furthermore, he admitted that he was considering a retreat, “I am not going to condemn soldiers of the Republic to a certain death in Helsinki. We have to withdraw before it is too late.” In this way, Sanvea differed from his counterparts, Stalin and Hitler, who had both promoted the notion of “not one step back.” Both dictators would not allow retreats, even if it meant the death of thousands of their own troops. Sanvea, on the other hand, refused to submit to such a blind and irrational view.
In the early hours of the 24th of August, Gentilhomme received orders to withdraw from Helsinki to the Maijo sector (50 miles east of Turku), where a secure defence line would be established. Gamelin assured the distraught Gentilhomme that reinforcements would arrive as soon as possible, so that the French and Finnish could mount a counter-offensive to take back Helsinki. This was an empty pledge, as Gamelin knew that he could not spare sufficient forces for the defence of Finland.
“France is now embarking on a struggle that will surely end in catastrophe, death and ultimately, fall of the malevolent Fascist regime. The conquest of Russia has been attempted many times history, and each time the land of the Rus has been a graveyard for those who dared violate the sacred soil of the Motherland! Like Napoleon before him, let Russia be the downfall of the Fascist beast, Sanvea.” – Pravda
The inevitable war had finally arrived. Just moments after the declaration of war, Field Marshall Gamelin, at the French High Command HQ in Ruthenia, gave the orders for the commencement of Operation Red Sword, the attack against the Soviet Union.
The Battle of Helsinki – Part 1
At five o'clock on the morning of the 21st, the telephone rang at the IV Armée headquarters. The HQ was located in the Town Hall of a small village just outside Helsinki. Outside, a torrent of rain began to poor down from the ominous black clouds that blanketed the sky over the Finnish capital. The call was from Major Raimo Lipponen, the gold medallist athlete with the Finnish II Army Corps on the Vladaya Sector (eastern outskirts of Helsinki). His message was logged in the IV Armée war dairy: “According to the statement of a Russian officer captured in the area of the 7th Finish Infantry Division, the expected attack against the capital shall start at five o’clock. The officer claims that the Russian forces are more than double than what French military intelligence estimated.” It was already after five, and there was no sign of the offensive starting. In fact, the frontline had fallen silent after the Russian barrages subsided at about three o’clock. The officer’s suggestion that the size of the Russian force outside Helsinki was larger that predicted (estimated at 8 infantry divisions, and 2 tank divisions) was rejected. The news from Lipponen was not considered important, and so the duty officer did not wake the army’s Chief of Staff.
In fact, all through the night, under the cover of darkness, Soviet snappers in camouflage suits had been crawling forward in the mud, lifting anti-tank mines. The massed Russian artillery and mortar batteries were reloaded at 5.15 a.m. on receipt of the code word ‘Strike’. Ten minutes later, the guns and howitzers received the order to prepare to fire. The signal was relayed by trumpets, which were clearly heard by the Finnish troops opposite. Some 2, 500 guns and heavy mortars had been concentrated to blast a route for the huge Soviet Northern Front Army, compromising a dozen infantry divisions, five tanks divisions and two cavalry divisions. The first round of salvos sounded like sudden thunderclaps in the sky. The ground began shaking as if from a low intensity earthquake. The artillery barrages the day before against Helsinki were nothing in comparison to the concentrated attack that opened the way for the Soviet troops and tanks. After one hour, Soviet rifle divisions, unsupported by tanks, rapidly advanced. The guns and mortar batteries, still shooting behind, increased their range to take on the Finnish second line and artillery. The shaken Finnish infantry fought back bravely. The initial Soviet attack was repulsed. A second assault, this time supported by tanks, smashed through the Finnish lines at around ten o’clock.
A Russian column, advancing through the forest east of Helsinki
In spite of liaison officers and new phone lines that had recently been laid by the Finnish government, little detailed information made its way to the IV Armée headquarters. The first hint that the situation might be more dangerous than previously thought did not arrive until two hours after the Soviet breakthrough. News came of an enemy armoured spearhead that had broken right through the Finnish 9th Infantry Division. This news had already sown panic in Finnish formation headquarters, as boxes of files and personal luggage were thrown on trucks and sent away from the frontline on the eastern approaches of Helsinki. By this time, the IV Armée headquarters was in a panic, and General Gentilhomme responded by sending French units forward to support faltering Finnish lines.
When the French troops arrived at the front, they discovered that the Finnish lines were in anarchy, and countless Finnish soldiers were fleeing in panix, many leaving behind their weapons. Later that afternoon, as the French were attempting to stabilise the frontline, a solid wave of Soviet tanks launched a fresh assault. The French soldiers, lacking sufficient quantities of anti-tank weapons, fought bravely but were unable to hold off the tanks for long. Waves of infantry followed, and under intense pressure, the French formations erupted in chaos, and thousands of soldiers fled back to Helsinki. During the night, the entire front stretching from Vantaa, a large town 20 miles northwest of Helsinki, to the Gulf of Finland collapsed. By morning, the Soviet forces had advanced nearly seven miles, and thousands of bewildered French soldiers were caught behind enemy lines.
Russian officers watching as their troops advance against Finnish and French forces, south of Vantaa
Thousands more were massacred as they tried desperately in vain to halt the wave of Soviet tanks and the seemingly endless supply of men. Fleeing French and Finnish forces were ruthlessly bombed by Soviet aircraft, inflicting a devastating number of casualties. By midday, the Finnish air force had been incapacitated, and there were no French aircraft in Finland. The Soviets now controlled the air space over Helsinki virtually unchallenged.
In the wake of the Soviet assaults, the countryside to the east of Helsinki lay in waste; small towns, hamlets and farm buildings still burned. Soviet aviation and artillery targeted any building in case it carried a command post, or housed enemy soldiers. The shelling of farm buildings as likely depots or posts resulted into the terrible slaughter of animals unable to escape from being burned alive.
For many French units not in the immediate line of fire, the reality of what was taking place took some time to become clear. In the case of Private Richard Amballion, a soldier in the 6th Battalion of the Metz Regiment in the 22nd Infantry division, he and his comrades greeted the news of Russian attack without dismay. “Everyone was optimistic,” he noted in his dairy, “and thought we were winning.” However, this upbeat mood soon changed as reports “of all kinds, which spoke of retreat and disaster to the east of Helsinki” filtered through. On the morning 22nd, he and his comrades, stationed in western Helsinki, realised that there must be “some truth” in these reports when they were told to pack up and prepare to leave at any time.
During the course of the 22nd, the mass of Soviet troops advanced further and further towards Helsinki. By nightfall, news reached General Gentilhomme that Red Army units had smashed through the last defence structures, the “Mannerheim Defence Sector Lines” bordering the eastern edge of the capital. The Finnish forces were in disarray, and reports reached Helsinki that Finnish forces in the Lake Ladoga region had been pushed out of Soviet territory, and that sizeable Red Army formations were massing in Timisjino and Tichvin in preparation for attacks against south western Finland. On the morning of the 23rd, the Finnish government ordered the complete civilian evacuation of Helsinki. During an emergency meeting between General Gentilhomme and the Finnish High Command that same morning, Gentilhomme warned President Mannerheim that “Soviet forces outnumber French and Finnish forces 4 to 1. Our chances of victory are narrow, as our limited forces cannot contend with the pure numbers of the Russian horde.”
At French High Command HQ in Ruthenia, Field Marshall Gamelin received an encrypted telegram from the Château Borgonnesailon signed by President Sanvea. The telegram ordered the immediate “evacuation of French troops from Helsinki,” citing that “it has become evident that Soviet numbers in the region were grossly underestimated. We have made no provision for such an extensive enemy attack on the Finnish capital.” In a meeting with Bombardier, Gamelin’s representative Lt. General Demarche, as well as number of other military advisors, Sanvea revealed his fears of a disaster in Helsinki. Furthermore, he admitted that he was considering a retreat, “I am not going to condemn soldiers of the Republic to a certain death in Helsinki. We have to withdraw before it is too late.” In this way, Sanvea differed from his counterparts, Stalin and Hitler, who had both promoted the notion of “not one step back.” Both dictators would not allow retreats, even if it meant the death of thousands of their own troops. Sanvea, on the other hand, refused to submit to such a blind and irrational view.
In the early hours of the 24th of August, Gentilhomme received orders to withdraw from Helsinki to the Maijo sector (50 miles east of Turku), where a secure defence line would be established. Gamelin assured the distraught Gentilhomme that reinforcements would arrive as soon as possible, so that the French and Finnish could mount a counter-offensive to take back Helsinki. This was an empty pledge, as Gamelin knew that he could not spare sufficient forces for the defence of Finland.
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Finland seems lost! A setback no doubt but the important battles of this war will be fought between the Baltic and the Black Sea. Great update & Vive la France!
Good to know that Sanvea doesn't intend to follow in the military footsteps of Hitler and re-create Courland in Helsinki.
Yet there is some hope I believe... There is an island in Finnish territory, inside the Baltic sea, that has 1 VP at least. If you block that passagge with your navy, leave the Finnish army (or what is left of it) there and send them some supplies you may, not only avoid the annexation of Findland but also tie a considerable amount of Soviet troops in that area...
Whoa, looks like the Russians are going to give you quite a fight. Are you pulling out of Finland altogether or simply moving back to Turku? Good update!
Excellent updates. Skorzeny saved them at the last minute. [Sarcasm] I could never see that coming [/Sarcasm]
Seriously though, very well written.
I'm shocked you're losing the battle for Finland. Give them a shock in the Baltics or the Ukraine where its better land for the tanks of the Republic.
On another note, I just got Skorzeny@gmail.com... bidding starts at $1
Seriously though, very well written.
I'm shocked you're losing the battle for Finland. Give them a shock in the Baltics or the Ukraine where its better land for the tanks of the Republic.
On another note, I just got Skorzeny@gmail.com... bidding starts at $1
I wasn't expecting that! I hope you don't suffer any more defeats to the Soviets, otherwise your New European Order might be overun by the Red Menace. That last update was excellent LB, very descriptive.
I hope to see the next update soon. Please don't keep us waiting too long.
I hope to see the next update soon. Please don't keep us waiting too long.
The last update was very cool. The fact that the Russians are putting up a formidable fight only makes things even more interesting. It seems perhaps that the French Fascist steamroller isn't invinsible after all.
Feedback
cthulhu: You are quite right, the most important battles of this war will be fought around the Baltic and Balck seas. This battle of Finland does not represent a major defeat per se, but in terms of realistic conflict, it poses a considerable demoralising effect as it was the opening battle of the war.
Vincent Julien: That's right, France is in the hands of a capable leader and flexible, not a stubborn fool.
elbasto: Ah yes, I believe that island is called Aland. That's an excellent strategy elbasto, and I might have to use it. However, for now at least I will try to maintain a strong position at Turku until I can send more reinforcments. If not, I will withdraw to Aland.
Semi-Lobster: Here's hoping! *fingers crossed*
Mettermrck: At this point in time, I am just withdrawing to Turku.
Pud237: I am confident that I will de able to defeat the Soviets on the poorly defended Baltic Coast and on the Southern Front. The loss of Helsinki is only a minor setback, one that I will hopefully reverse before too long.
Machiavellian: Thanks Machiavellian. Like Napoleon and Hitler's seemingly invincible war machines before it, the Fifth Republic's Army has shown it is not unstopabble. I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later.
cthulhu: You are quite right, the most important battles of this war will be fought around the Baltic and Balck seas. This battle of Finland does not represent a major defeat per se, but in terms of realistic conflict, it poses a considerable demoralising effect as it was the opening battle of the war.
Vincent Julien: That's right, France is in the hands of a capable leader and flexible, not a stubborn fool.
elbasto: Ah yes, I believe that island is called Aland. That's an excellent strategy elbasto, and I might have to use it. However, for now at least I will try to maintain a strong position at Turku until I can send more reinforcments. If not, I will withdraw to Aland.
Semi-Lobster: Here's hoping! *fingers crossed*
Mettermrck: At this point in time, I am just withdrawing to Turku.
Pud237: I am confident that I will de able to defeat the Soviets on the poorly defended Baltic Coast and on the Southern Front. The loss of Helsinki is only a minor setback, one that I will hopefully reverse before too long.
Machiavellian: Thanks Machiavellian. Like Napoleon and Hitler's seemingly invincible war machines before it, the Fifth Republic's Army has shown it is not unstopabble. I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later.
Operation Red Sword – The Russian Campaign
The Battle of Helsinki – Part 2
The order for retreat came in the early hours of the morning on the 24th. The roads leading out of Helsinki were full with troops, supply trucks and artillery guns of all description moving west in one continuous stream. Behind the retreating French soldiers a great orange fire was raging – an aerdrome being destroyed before the Russians could get there. As the sun began to rise, splashing a warm golden hue over the countryside, Russian reconnaissance located the main French retreat routes - the Kareski road along the Gulf of Finland Coast and the wide Fahroe road that curved around the hills northwest of Helsinki. Before long, the French soldiers could here the menacing rumble of planes in the distance. During the course of the morning, the Russian planes terrorized the retreating French lines, causing havoc and rampant confusion. The steady stream of soldiers fell apart, as the terrified troops fled in all directions in search of shelter. Lt. Lyonnaise later wrote, “the air attack was devastating, there was nowhere to hide in the open country. The Russians attacked us with devastating accuracy, inflicting overwhelming casualties. After the attacks, the roads out of Helsinki were littered with distorted and mangled corpses, body parts and burnt out trucks. The gutters flowed with blood, and the stench of death filled the heavy smoke filled air.”
After midday, the Russian air attacks subsided, as the Soviet Command launched a concentrated air bombardment on Helsinki. A majority of the city’s population had already fled, and only Finnish troops could be seen on rubble-strewn streets. The Finnish troops did not withdraw from the city like the French. Marshall Mannerheim refused to abandon his nation’s capital. “His dignity and honour must be commended,” General Gentilhomme commented, “but the Marshall must realise that he is condemning those young lads [the Finnish troops in Helsinki] to certain death.” In Moscow, Pravda proudly declared, “Helsinki will become the graveyard of the Fascist Finns.”
The final attack on Helsinki was launched with relentless ferocity on the morning of the 25th, as over fifty thousands Russian soldiers and nearly two hundred tanks, a great wall of steel, descended on the hapless Finnish capital. The Russian guns roared behind the advancing troops. “Storm clouds gathered over the doomed city,” G.K Hajalmare later wrote in The Day Helsinki Died, “as the ferocious Russian horde bludgeoned its way through the courageous Finnish defenders…even as the bloodthirsty Russians entered the very centre of Helsinki, the bells of the Great Church of Suurkirkko still rang boldly. Hearing the bells, a group of drunken Russian soldiers, Godless barbarians from the forsaken steppes of forgotten Russia, broke into the Church, the holy house of our Lord. A volley of gunfire shattered the heavy dank air of the Church, and in an instant, the great bells of Suurkirkko fell deathly silent. At that moment, Helsinki died…”
At 6 a.m., on the morning of the 26th, General Gentilhomme, at his new HQ in Turku received a telehpone call from the Finnish High Command informing him that Helsinki had fallen. Nearly twenty thousands Finnish soldiers had fallen and another five thousand had been captured. “The news was devastating,” Gentilhomme wrote in his personal war dairy, “and I will never forget the voice of Lt. Tjava when he tolled me. His usually burly voice was quivering, and I could tell he was desperately trying to hold back tears…” News quickly filtered through to Turku that the Finnish capital had been largely destroyed. Where the picturesque Helsinki once stood proudly, nothing more than a burnt out husk remained.
Helsinki in ruins; the damaged bell tower of Suurkirkko rises in the distance
The Battle of Helsinki – Part 2
The order for retreat came in the early hours of the morning on the 24th. The roads leading out of Helsinki were full with troops, supply trucks and artillery guns of all description moving west in one continuous stream. Behind the retreating French soldiers a great orange fire was raging – an aerdrome being destroyed before the Russians could get there. As the sun began to rise, splashing a warm golden hue over the countryside, Russian reconnaissance located the main French retreat routes - the Kareski road along the Gulf of Finland Coast and the wide Fahroe road that curved around the hills northwest of Helsinki. Before long, the French soldiers could here the menacing rumble of planes in the distance. During the course of the morning, the Russian planes terrorized the retreating French lines, causing havoc and rampant confusion. The steady stream of soldiers fell apart, as the terrified troops fled in all directions in search of shelter. Lt. Lyonnaise later wrote, “the air attack was devastating, there was nowhere to hide in the open country. The Russians attacked us with devastating accuracy, inflicting overwhelming casualties. After the attacks, the roads out of Helsinki were littered with distorted and mangled corpses, body parts and burnt out trucks. The gutters flowed with blood, and the stench of death filled the heavy smoke filled air.”
After midday, the Russian air attacks subsided, as the Soviet Command launched a concentrated air bombardment on Helsinki. A majority of the city’s population had already fled, and only Finnish troops could be seen on rubble-strewn streets. The Finnish troops did not withdraw from the city like the French. Marshall Mannerheim refused to abandon his nation’s capital. “His dignity and honour must be commended,” General Gentilhomme commented, “but the Marshall must realise that he is condemning those young lads [the Finnish troops in Helsinki] to certain death.” In Moscow, Pravda proudly declared, “Helsinki will become the graveyard of the Fascist Finns.”
The final attack on Helsinki was launched with relentless ferocity on the morning of the 25th, as over fifty thousands Russian soldiers and nearly two hundred tanks, a great wall of steel, descended on the hapless Finnish capital. The Russian guns roared behind the advancing troops. “Storm clouds gathered over the doomed city,” G.K Hajalmare later wrote in The Day Helsinki Died, “as the ferocious Russian horde bludgeoned its way through the courageous Finnish defenders…even as the bloodthirsty Russians entered the very centre of Helsinki, the bells of the Great Church of Suurkirkko still rang boldly. Hearing the bells, a group of drunken Russian soldiers, Godless barbarians from the forsaken steppes of forgotten Russia, broke into the Church, the holy house of our Lord. A volley of gunfire shattered the heavy dank air of the Church, and in an instant, the great bells of Suurkirkko fell deathly silent. At that moment, Helsinki died…”
At 6 a.m., on the morning of the 26th, General Gentilhomme, at his new HQ in Turku received a telehpone call from the Finnish High Command informing him that Helsinki had fallen. Nearly twenty thousands Finnish soldiers had fallen and another five thousand had been captured. “The news was devastating,” Gentilhomme wrote in his personal war dairy, “and I will never forget the voice of Lt. Tjava when he tolled me. His usually burly voice was quivering, and I could tell he was desperately trying to hold back tears…” News quickly filtered through to Turku that the Finnish capital had been largely destroyed. Where the picturesque Helsinki once stood proudly, nothing more than a burnt out husk remained.
Helsinki in ruins; the damaged bell tower of Suurkirkko rises in the distance
Good update, LB! Sad to see Helsinki fall but it appears you had little choice in the face of the Soviet onslaught. Time to bounce back!