Vokhtozero 3
This Finnish improvised military hospital will have it's work cut out after the bloody Finnish defeat in Vokhtozero, and an intensive bombing campaign on the province.
Maj. General
Popov SK4, DD may have thought he snuck his 9.994 man 57 MSD
(Motx3, Eng) back into Vokhtozero unnoticed, but Maj. General
Oinonen SK2, WS, Eng did notice, and by 11am, (1 hour after the last upgrade), he was under Assault from the 8.997 men of 12. DIvisioona.
Having snuck into the province, his men were ideally positioned to set up Ambushes in the muddy forest.
On the 21st the Finns calmed down a little and settled down into a conventional Attack, Maj. General
Popov now showed his superior skill by orchestrating a slow motion Masterful Delay. On the 22nd his Delay became less Masterful. On the 23rd Ambushes were set up again and after a final Delay on the 24th, the Finns withdrew at midnight from what was essentially a drawn out game of lethal hide and seek. 374 Russians, and 665 Finns were found dead in the muddy forests.
Sortavala
An Finnish ambulance in Sortavala rushing to help the victims of the latest Aerial bombardments by I ShAK
At noon on the 20th, Maj. General
Tjernjakovskij SK3 rushed his 142. SD
counting 10.000 men into the fortified province of Sortavala. The Enemy was 13. Divisioona
(Infx3), 7.850 men, but a full General
, General
Walden SK3, was in charge, as his 1st Army HQ
was present in Sortavala. Tactics were conventional, with a Russian Attack being held off by Defending Finns. Fighting conditions were bad, especially for the attacker, but 13. Divisioona
was tired, while the Soviet Riflemen were well rested. At 4pm the next day, the Finns ran as their organisation and unit cohesion collapsed to their exhaustion, they had fought bravely, while they could, and 147 dead Russians, and 134 dead Finns were left on the battlefield.
Mikkeli, Juva & Mikkeli 2
Beside a few buildings destroyed in a short Soviet Bombing run, not much was damaged in Mikkeli, the province is now in our hands.
On the 22nd Maj. General
Tiulenev SK3 and his 104 SD
followed 8. Divisioona
(Infx3) into Mikkeli. The 7.587 Finns, lead by Maj. General
Kaila SK1, OG, WS, were exhausted from previous battles, and Maj. General
Tiulenev received support from 31 SD
, giving him a total Breakthrough force of 19.989 to throw at the Finns. And at 4am, after only 3 hours of very low intensity Battle, the Finns ran towards Juva having lost 16 of theirs and killed only 10 of ours.
A day later, 38 SD
, lead by Maj. General
Kurasov SK3, cut off 8. DIvisioona
by arriving in Juva before them, and in the confusion 2 Soviet Riflemen and 9 Finnish Infantrymen lost their life before the Finns turned tail again.
This change of direction meant that the now 7.571 Finns got caught up in a Shock Attack on Mikkeli, they tried desperately to Delay the 20.000 Soviet Riflemen of 104 SD
and 31 SD
, still lead by Maj. General
Tiulenev SK3, before they northwards at 5am, 10 more Russians, and 11 more Finns had died.
Suomussalmi 2 & Kuusamo
Finnish soldiers planning an Ambush in the forests of Suomussalmi.
With temperatures on the rise and some repositioning, the northern front came alive at 1pm on the 22nd with a Soviet Shock attack on Suomussalmi. Maj. General
Gorbatov SK3 now had 2 Mountain Rifle Divisions (18 GSD, 28 GSD) at his disposal, a total of 17.991 men. Unsurprisingly, 9. DIvisioona
(Infx3) had not been reinforced since the first battle of Suomussalmi, and even worse for them, they were running low on supplies, Maj. General
Sundman SK3, LW thus ordered his 8.997 men to Ambush the Mountaineers, using as little ammunition as possible. At 9am the next morning the Finns retreated quietly and organised, the lack of bullets seems to have become too severe, and with 76 Soviet Mountaineers, and 128 Finnish Infantry men dead, casualty numbers were consequently not in the Finns' favour.
With his confidence bolstered by the win in Suomussalmi, Maj. General
Susaikov SK3, sent his own 9.000 man 28 GSD
after 9. Divisioona
, now 8.698 men in Kuusamo. With little supplies at his disposal Maj. General
Sundman SK3, LW, had ordered Ambushes to be prepared in case an Soviet Attack were to come, and before the Finns were done digging foxholes the Russian Mountaineers were spotted, the first shot was fired at 4am on the 29th, the battle is still ongoing, but it's not looking very good for our comrades...
Lammi
75 SD
and 177 SD
were marching into Lammi when, at 1pm on the 22nd, Erilliset Pataljoonat (2)
retreated into their path. The 5.784 tired Finns lead by Svänstrom SK1, FB suddenly had to Defend against a Breakthrough attempt by Maj. General
Ptuhin SK3's 19.985 Riflemen. By 2pm the next day, the Finns were limping away, having lost 81 men to our 31.
The Tornilinen family home was a landmark of Lammi with it's 'Coffee pot' tower.
Suonenjoki
At 2pm on the 28th 23. DIvisioona
, 8.289 men, lead by Maj. General
Blick SK3, OD, WS, out of supply and still tired from Lappeenranta 2, was Shocked by the 9.992 advancing Russians. Lead by Maj. General
Parkhomenko SK2, the Russian riflemen mostly impressed their Finnish counterparts with the speed of their advance, and the fact that they were carrying more than 5 rounds per man. Through clever Elastic Defence tactics, the better lead and more experienced Finns briefly evened the odds before retreating at 6pm, when every man had, sparingly, fired his 5 rounds, 23 Russians and 22 Finns were killed.
Kitee & Värtsilä
As soon as 31 SD
's 10.000 men, and their Maj. General
Rodin A.G. SK3, BM arrived in Kitee(North-West of Sortavala), they found themselves under Attack from a well-rested, but out of supply, 11. Divisioona;
8.995 men lead by Maj. General
Hanell SK2, DD. In a stroke of genius, Maj. General Rodin ordered a Counter-Attack, this put the initiative, and the advantage, on the side of the Soviets, and at 6am on the 28th, only 12 hours after the start of their attack, the Finns retreated. 38 Russians died along with 75 Finns.
11. Divisioona
could probably have kept up the Attack on Kitee a little bit longer, but at 4am on the 28th, their base in Värtsilä came under Attack from both 43 SD
. Lead by Maj. General
Vatutin SK3, the 9.992 riflemen were in good spirits and well supplied. The now 8.808 Finns still hadn't manage to get more supply, and were Defending with conservation of ammunition as the number 1 priority, after winning the battle. In the dense Forests, after 2 days, the Finns still bravely hang on, using extremely close combat tactics and the trees for cover, making every round count, but will it be enough for them to defeat the odds?
An Aerial photograph of the town of Juurila, in the province of Värtsilä, taken by a Yak-4 gunner of I BAK
.
The war from the Air
With the Finnish Army in the south a shadow of it's former self, and the weather warming up, the northern front is where Air Support can still sway a battle, so I BAK
was sent up to Murmansk, and it's absence in the South was not felt by the units in the south...
Lt. General
Yakovlev SK3, TB 's II BAK
flew 29 missions with it's 200 Yak-4's based out of Leningrad:
From the 20th to the 24th, 18 missions were flown over Suojärvi in support of Vokhtozero 3, killing 1.975 out of 17.979 Finns, 8 downed Aeroplanes.
From the 27th to the 30th, 11 missions were flown over Värtsilä, killing 1.112 out of 8.993 Finns, 3 downed Aeroplanes.
Lt. General
Zhigarev SK3, TB 's I ShAK
flew 7 missions with it's 200 Il-2's, and 100 La-5's based out of Leningrad:
On the 20th and the 21st, 5 missions were flown over Sortavala, killing 294 out of 9.840 Finns, 2 downed Il-2 Shturmovik Aeroplanes.
On the 22nd and 23rd, 2 missions were flown over Lammi, killing 106 out of 5.747 Finns, 1 downed Il-2 Aeroplane.µ
Lt. General
Golovanov SK3, CB 's I BAK
flew 5 missions with it's 200 Yak-4's, rebasing from Tallin to Murmansk Air Base on the 22nd.
On the 22nd, 1 mission was flown over Mikkeli, killing 72 out of 15.958 Finns, 1 downed Aeroplane.
Ater rebasing to Murmansk,
On the 22nd and the 23rd, 2 missions were flown over Suomussalmi, killing 166 out of 8.938 Finns, no downed Aeroplanes.
On the 29th and the 30th, 2 missions were flown over Kuusamo, killing 117 out of 8.693 Finns, no downed Aeroplanes.
To sum things up:
Soviet Union:
Men sent into Battle: 1.386.485 (+146.943), ground combat casualties for finished battles: 7.325 (+711) men,
Planes sent into Battle: 5.697 = (Air Battles only), 158 (+15) planes lost (90(+12) Yak-4's, 2 DB-3's, 22 SB-2's, 9 CAG's, 9(+3) Il-2, 9 La-5's, 23 Su-2's, 5 I-16's)
Finland:
Men sent into Battle: 731.862 (+89.156), ground combat casualties for finished battles 13.369 (+1.141) men, Bombing Casualties: 21.144 (+3.842), POW: ca. 38.860
Planes sent into Battle: 1.029 = (Air Battles only), at least 1/4 planes lost.
Supply shortages are getting more common especially on the Finnish side with half of the roads to Helsinki in Soviet hands. The Red Army had only a single supply issue, Maj. General
Bogdanov I.A.'s 67. SD,
which had been marching into a, for now, unguarded Helsinki from the East, but ran out of supply with the City centre in sight, they are now regrouping and waiting for supplies... If it wasn't for this small hiccup, the city would have been ours, it's just a matter of days now...
Well, that's it for these last 10 days, the next report will probably be coming from Soviet Helsinki. We're almost there, but with Divisions outrunning supply lines, and very muddy roads, it is hard to predict when Finland will be taken for the people. The clock is ticking...
'Odin'