Winter War in real time

[lordroel]

Winter War in real time



The Winter War, a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on November 30th 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peace Treaty on March 13th 1940. 

This thread will be a chronology of the Winter War which began on November 30th and ended on March 31st 1940.

[lordroel]

November 26th 1939

At 2.30 PM, Red Army stages a border incident to justify the coming invasion of Finland. They fire 7 mortar shells into a field near the village of Mainila on the Karelian Isthmus, half a mile inside Soviet territory. Fortunately, they clear the area beforehand and no one is hurt. Unfortunately, they are observed by Finnish border guards.

At 9 PM in Moscow, Finnish ambassador Yrjo-Koskinen is summoned to the Kremlin to be informed that “Finnish artillery shelled the area, killing 4 Soviet border guards and wounding 7 more”. The Finns are asked to withdraw their forces 20 – 25 km from the border.

This flimsy pretext does not fool international observers. John Colville, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s private secretary, calls it “a technique which does not gain in dignity for being second-hand”, noting the similarity with Hitler's excuse for invading Poland.

Photo: Location of Mainila on the Karelian Isthmus shown in relation to the pre-war Finnish-Soviet border.

[lordroel]

November 27th 1939

Following the shelling of Mainila and the Soviet accusation of Finnish aggression, the Finns naively reply with a diplomatic note. They claim they could not have fired the shots, having previously withdrawn their guns out of range to avoid just such an incident. Ignorant of the coming storm, the Finns suggest both sides withdraw from the border areas to avoid further incidents.

[lordroel]

November 28th 1939

To observe the correct diplomatic etiquette before declaring war the Soviet Union withdraws from its non-aggression pact with Finland, amid further Finnish protests. The Soviets maintain that Finland is the aggressor, despite a Finnish investigation revealing that Finnish border guards witnessed the shelling of Mainila by Soviet mortars.

[lordroel]

November 29th 1939

The Finnish government vainly tries to restart negotiations with the Soviets, suggesting conciliation or arbitration, in accord with the non-aggression treaty. The Finns even offer to withdraw their troops from the border unilaterally. At midnight, Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov orders the invasion of Finland.

[lordroel]

Day 1 of Winter War, November 30th 1939

The Soviet Union invades Finland with 21 divisions, violating three non-aggression pacts.

At 6.50 AM, artillery barrage starts on the Karelian Isthmus. At 8 AM, Soviet 7th Army advances across the entire Isthmus into mine fields pre-ranged by Finnish machine guns and artillery. 9 Soviet infantry divisions plus tanks (250,000 men) are held by Finnish covering forces (21,000 men) in front of the main defensive line (Mannerheim Line). Soviet planes bomb Helsinki.

Initially, Soviet attacks along the 800-mile border from Ladoga to the Arctic Sea meet little resistance. Eighth Army advances north of Lake Ladoga. Ninth Army strikes into central Finland for the Gulf of Bothnia to cut Finland in half. Fourteenth Army aims to capture the Arctic port of Petsamo.

Photo: Soviet SB-2 bombers over Helsinki, November 30th 1939.

 

YouTube clip (Elmer Davis And The News - Russians Attack Finland)

[lordroel]

Day 2 of Winter War, December 1st 1939

Stalemate continues on the Karelian Isthmus as the Soviet Army infantry advance though dense mine fields and are mow down by Finnish crossfire. Soviet tanks operate independently from infantry, occasionally penetrating Finnish defenses (Finnish soldiers have never seen tanks before and often are terrified) but to little effect.

North of Lake Lagoda, Finnish forces panic and retreat, presenting a dangerous opportunity to the Soviet Army. A Soviet flotilla sails towards Taipale on Lake Lagoda, at the eastern end of the Isthmus. They are to shell Finnish shore batteries and land at Taipale, turning the Mannerheim Line. However, the Finnish guns fire first, forcing the battleship Orangenbaum onto a sandbar (she remains useless for several weeks).

Similarly, Soviet cruiser Kirov is shelled at a range of 24km trying to attack Finnish coastal batteries on the Hanko Peninsula. Damaged by near misses, Kirov returns to Liepāja for the rest of the Winter War.

Photo: Soviet cruiser Kirov.

[lordroel]

Day 3 of Winter War, December 2nd 1939

Soviet Army advances slowly on the Isthmus with massive casualties. In the far North, a handful of Finnish troops (10th Separate Company and 5th Separate Battery, part of the Lapland Group) face 2 Soviet divisions (104th crosses the border on foot while 52nd takes Petsamo by boat).

The International Olympic Committee cancels the planned 1940 Helsinki Summer Olympic Games.

[lordroel]

Day 4 of Winter War, December 3rd 1939

The Soviets capture small islands in the the Gulf of Finland, including Hogland, Seiskari, Lavansaari and Tytarsaari.

Finnish troops in the Karelian Isthmus continue slowly giving up ground to Soviet 7th Army.

Soviet 8th Army north of Lake Ladoga advances past Suojarvi. However, the Finnish resistance there has stiffened and the Finns are now giving up ground grudgingly.

Photo: Finnish soldiers of the covering group "U" leaves the burning Suvilathi on the Karelian Isthmus on December 2nd 1939. The soldiers are well-equipped for winter.

[lordroel]

Day 5 of Winter War, December 4th 1939

Finnish terrain of deep impenetrable forests and long parallel glacial lakes forces Red Army onto the few roads, churned into frozen ruts by heavy tracked vehicles and clogged with horses, men and machines. This road strategy slows their advance everywhere and, worse, forces them into minefields and ranged killing zones in front of the Mannerheim line on the Isthmus. The Soviets grind forward days behind schedule, their hopes for blitzkrieg dashed. North of Lake Lagoda, Soviet 8th Army advances slowly with little resistance but comes in range of Finnish shore batteries at Taipale which pulverise them with higher firing rate and greater accuracy than mobile artillery.

[lordroel]

Day 6 of Winter War, December 5th 1939

The Finns claim to have destroyed 64 Soviet tanks and destroyed 24 planes in the previous two days. The Soviets, of course, have thousands more of each.

On the Karelian Isthmus north of Leningrad, the Soviet 7th Army reaches the Mannerheim Line, the main series of Finnish fortifications and obstacles. There are other projected lines to the rear, but this is their best hope of stopping the Soviets. It is garrisoned by the Finnish 2nd Corps.

The Finns are proving expert at handling the Soviet tanks. They separate the tanks from their supporting infantry, then destroy them piecemeal in close combat, often at night.

[lordroel]

Day 7 of Winter War, December 6th 1939

Fighting continues in the Karelian Isthmus as the Finnish forward defensive troops fall back to the Mannerheim Line. The Soviets already have a taste of the Finnish defenses as their losses mount attempting to cross the Taipale River at the eastern end of the Mannerheim Line.

[lordroel]

Day 8 of Winter War, December 7th 1939

The events of today mark a climax of recent operations. The highly disciplined and well equipped (for winter warfare) Finns have retreated to prepared positions. They can retreat no further without beginning to jeopardize their rear. The battles begun on December 7th 1939 are destined to be major turning points in the Winter War, for better or worse, but at this point nobody knows which way they will go.



The Soviets attack Kollaa north of Lake Ladoga. It is the center of the Finnish line and provides absolutely vital flank protection for positions protecting the heartland of Finland. Their own deep flank also is vulnerable, but is more easily defended because of the nature of the terrain (lakes and forests). The Finnish 12th Division, along with some odds and ends from other units, has to make its stand here at Kollaa. Their determination becomes a rallying cry for the Finns elsewhere: "Kollaa holds!" The Soviets, though, have more troops, more artillery, and more of pretty much everything except experience in the extreme conditions.



The Finns evacuate Suomussalmi, which is threatened from two different directions. They destroy it to deny the Soviets any shelter. The Soviet 163rd division of the 9th Army (KomKor M.P. Duhanov), seeing this as a welcome gift, is coming up the road to occupy it. The Finns have only scratch forces in the area, two incomplete companies, and are badly outnumbered. The Finns withdraw to the opposite shores of lakes Niskanselkä and Haukiperä. The Finns are using lakes and forests as defensive weapons, and are adept at moving through the woods that the Soviets avoid. The Finns have a plan for Suomussalmi and have not given up on it.

On the Karelian Isthmus, the Soviet 7th Army begins pounding against the Mannerheim Line with no success.

[lordroel]

Day 9 of Winter War, December 8th 1939

Soviet troops of the 163rd Division of the 9th Army (Duhanov) take Suomussalmi without a fight after dark at 9 p.m. on December 8th 1939. They quickly attack across the frozen lakes to the west with two companies. The objective is Hyrysalmi and then, ultimately, Oulu on the Gulf of Bothnia, which would split Finland in two and effectively end the war. However, there is very rough country in between which might not be so obvious from maps.

The Finns who had abandoned Suomussalmi, the 15th and 16th Detached Battalions of the Finnish Army, also know the stakes and are waiting. With a clear field of fire across the frozen surface, they beat back the Soviets and inflict massive casualties. The Soviets regroup and try to outflank the Finns to the northwest, at Puolnaka. The Polish 16th detached battalion is there waiting for them and stops the Soviets cold.

Elsewhere on the front, the Soviet forces also are mostly stopped. The Finns are holding against 8th Army at the River Kollaa. Only the Soviet 14th Army in the far north takes some tundra near Petsamo against three Finnish companies led by Captain Antti Pennanen.

[stevep]

Dec 8, 2018 8:34:58 GMT lordroel said:

Day 9 of Winter War, December 8th 1939

Soviet troops of the 163rd Division of the 9th Army (Duhanov) take Suomussalmi without a fight after dark at 9 p.m. on December 8th 1939. They quickly attack across the frozen lakes to the west with two companies. The objective is Hyrysalmi and then, ultimately, Oulu on the Gulf of Bothnia, which would split Finland in two and effectively end the war. However, there is very rough country in between which might not be so obvious from maps.

The Finns who had abandoned Suomussalmi, the 15th and 16th Detached Battalions of the Finnish Army, also know the stakes and are waiting. With a clear field of fire across the frozen surface, they beat back the Soviets and inflict massive casualties. The Soviets regroup and try to outflank the Finns to the northwest, at Puolnaka. The Polish 16th detached battalion is there waiting for them and stops the Soviets cold.

Elsewhere on the front, the Soviet forces also are mostly stopped. The Finns are holding against 8th Army at the River Kollaa. Only the Soviet 14th Army in the far north takes some tundra near Petsamo against three Finnish companies led by Captain Antti Pennanen.

  Interesting, I never realised there were Polish units there.  Mind you after the back-stab a few months before its not surprising.