THE WINTER WAR IN FINLAND 45
Rybachy PeninsulaKola PeninsulaLeningradSallaPelkosenniemiRepolaIIomantsiÄgläjärviKollaa SalmiMainilaTerijokiPetrozavodskKandalakshaKondopogaSvetogorskBelomorskMurmanskSavonlinnaPolyarnyyKemijärvi
MärkäjärviKokkolaHarstadHelsinkiTolvajärviKuhmoSuomussalmiRaatePorvooViipuri
SummaKuopioMikkeliTurkuVaasaSalmijärviNautsiPetsamoKemiOuluPoriReinforcementsNORWAY
ESTONIA
S
W
E
D
E
N
F
I
N
L
A
N
D
U
S
S
R
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Kemi
Ounas
Torne
Tana
Kollaa
River
Lake
Ladoga
Lapland
Dec 16–19, 1939
Parts of a Soviet division
are defeated at the Battle
of Pelkosenniemi and
have to retreat to Salla.
Dec 8–12, 1939
The first
major Finnish victory of the war takes place at Tolvajärvi.
Dec 7–19, 1939
Heavily
outnumbered, the Finns hold their line in the Kollaa River area north of Lake Ladoga. Dec 1, 1939
Nov 26, 1939 The Red Army installs a collaborationist “Finnish Democratic Republic” government in Terijoki.
The Mainila shots incident, a claim that the Finns had fired across the frontier, allows the USSR to depict Finland as an aggressor.
Feb 11, 1940
A
Soviet advance breaks the Mannerheim Line
at Summa.
Nov 30, 1939 Soviet air raids on Helsinki kill almost 100 people.
THE MOSCOW PEACE TREATY MARCH 3–13, 1940 On March 3, the Soviets established a bridgehead to the west of Viipuri. A Finnish delegation in Moscow agreed to Soviet terms, and in the early hours of March 13 a peace treaty was signed. Around 10 percent of the territory that Finland had held since 1920 was ceded to the Soviets. However, the Red Army was seen to have been humiliated by the far weaker Finns; the USSR’s international reputation was badly damaged,
and on December 14, 1939, it was expelled
from the League of Nations.
6
Territory ceded to the SovietsFinland, March 1940
A REINVIGORATED OFFENSIVE
FEBRUARY 1–27, 1940 Reinforced by the 13th Army, and now with
new leadership, tactics, and close air support,
the Soviets resumed their large-scale offensive
in the Karelian Isthmus. The Mannerheim Line, which had held for two months, was finally breached, and by February 15 the Finnish General Headquarters at Mikkeli had ordered a withdrawal from the line as the Soviets poured forward.
5
Soviet attacks
FINNISH VICTORIES
DECEMBER 7, 1939–JANUARY 7, 1940A week after hostilities began, the Soviet 9th Army captured the village of Suomussalmi, but
its progress was then checked by Finnish
motti
tactics. By the end of December the Finns had retaken the village and routed a Soviet division sent to provide relief. A large amount of Soviet equipment was seized, including tanks, artillery, and anti-tank guns. The Finns also overcame
the Soviets at Tolvajärvi.
4
Finnish victory
THE KARELIAN ISTHMUS
NOVEMBER 30–DECEMBER 24, 1939The main Soviet attack, spearheaded by the 7th Army, was a thrust into the Karelian Isthmus—the wide stretch of land between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga. Their objective was Viipuri, a staging post on the route to Helsinki. However, the Finns held the Mannerheim Line, and their forces between Salmi and Ilomantsi blocked the Soviet 8th Army’s attempts to flank the isthmus north of Lake Ladoga.
3
Finnish
counterattacks
Soviet attacks Mannerheim Line
FINLAND BISECTED
NOVEMBER 30–DECEMBER 16, 1939The Soviet 9th Army, positioned to the west of the White Sea, attempted a pincer-style offensive through central Finland. Its target was the capture of the rail junctions of Kemi and Oulu on the Gulf of Bothnia. Soviet divisions to the north became bogged down around Salla, while in the southern sector there was heavy Finnish resistance at Repola and Suomussalmi.
2
Soviet attacks Finnish
counterattacks
Finnish reinforcementsFinnish resistance
Dec 1939 Soviet aircraft attack Finnish ports and shipping. Shipborne antiaircraft batteries defend the Finnish coast.
US_044-045_The_Winter_war_in_Finland.indd 45 19/03/19 5:38 PM