Battle of Porlampi | |||||||
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Part of Continuation War | |||||||
Soviet artillery pieces of the 101st Howitzer Artillery Regiment captured at Porlampi | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Finland | Soviet Union | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Paavo Talvela Karl Lennart Oesch | Mikhail Gerasimov Vladimir Kirpichnikov (POW) Filipp Starikov | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
IV Corps | 23rd Army | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
43,000 | 35,000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
3,400
| 17,000+
|
The Battle of Porlampi, also known as the Battle of Porlammi, was a military engagement fought between the Finnish Army and Red Army from 30 August to 1 September 1941 on the Karelian Isthmus. [1] The battle was fought near the town of Porlampi during the second month of the Continuation War. [2] The battle was a Finnish victory and effectively ended the reconquest of Karelia. [3]
Territorial disputes between the Soviet Union and Finland caused the outbreak of the Winter War in November 1939. Several months of fighting ensued, during which the Red Army was able to push back the Finnish defenders on the Karelian Isthmus. Located on the main road to the vital port of Vyborg, the town of Porlampi was occupied by the Soviets in March 1940 following the Battle of Summa. [4]
Following the end of the Winter War in March 1940, Finland was forced to cede part of Karelia to the Soviet Union, with Porlampi being one of the territories handed over. [5] [4]
On 22 June 1941 the German Wehrmacht launched Operation Barbarossa, the planned invasion of the Soviet Union. Prior to the commencement of Barbarossa, Finnish and German officers had planned for possible Finnish participation in the war against the Soviet Union. Finland mobilized 16 infantry divisions, one cavalry brigade, and two jäger brigades of the Finnish Army to the newly established border with the Soviets on 21 June, and on 22 June conducted Operation Kilpapurjehdus, an action that violated the Moscow Peace Treaty. [5] That same day, German naval bombers began mining the waters around Leningrad, with some of the aircraft being deployed from airfields in Finland. [6] On 25 June a flight of Soviet bombers struck at airfields in Finland, and Soviet artillery stationed in Hanko fired on Finnish targets. [7]
With the border situation growing more volatile, the Finnish Army prepared to enter the widening conflict. On 29 June Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, Marshal of Finland, formed the Army of Karelia under the command of Erik Heinrichs. Combat operations against the Red Army and Air-force commenced on 1 July, and war was declared that same day. The first Finnish offensive into Ladoga Karelia began on 10 July, a move that split the zones of Soviet occupation in Karelia into separate fronts. Despite Finnish success in other areas, the IV Corps was unable to begin its advance against the Soviets until the II Corps reached the northern shore of Lake Ladoga on 9 August. [3]
Once the offensive began, the objective of the IV Corps was the recapture of the town of Vyborg. [3] Plans were made to begin an offensive on 15 August, but movement by Soviet troops changed the situation. The Soviet 23rd Army withdrew some of its divisions from the Finnish border, seeking to use the narrow part of the Karelian Isthmus to better utilize their numerical superiority for defense. [8] The Finns postponed their offensive until the Soviets had abandoned their fortifications, finally striking on 21 August. The Finnish plan had been modified as the situation changed; rather than assault Vyborg, the IV Corps would now maneuver around the northern flank of the city and pursue the withdrawing Soviets to the Vuoksi River. [3] [9]
The main body of the Finnish IV Corps crossed the border to the north of Vyborg on 22 August, and continued to advance towards the Vuoksi River in the opening days of the offensive. On 24 August the Finnish 8th Division crossed Viipuri Bay, landing to the south of Vyborg and cutting the coastal road to the city. [10] Hoping to re-establish the road link to Vyborg, the Soviet 43rd, 115th and 123rd Rifle Divisions launched a counter-offensive directed at the Finnish 8th Division. Though heavily outnumbered, Finnish Light Brigade T stalled the Soviets for a few crucial hours while IV Corp advanced southward on 25 August. [11] For the next few days both armies drew up their forces and prepared for an engagement in the heavily forested terrain around the town of Porlampi, which was positioned between the coastal and central Karelian highways. [3]
The battle commenced when advanced elements of the Soviet 43rd Rifle Division encountered the Finnish 8th Division in the forests around Porlampi on 30 August. [12] Both sides called for reinforcements. The Soviets were unaware (or only partially aware) [8] that the Finnish soldiers they were fighting had crossed Viipuri Bay, and it was incorrectly assumed that the 8th Division was part of the main body of the IV Corps—in reality, IV Corps was advancing unopposed to the north and east of the Soviet divisions, threatening to swing south and partially encircle the Soviet forces. [12]
In the several days of fighting that ensued in the Porlampi area, the Finns employed motti skirmishing tactics to counter the superior Soviet numbers. The Finnish artillery was reported to have been particularly effective during the engagement as it disabled many soviet vehicles, blocking roads and creating bottlenecks. [9] [13] Late in the day on 30 August the 43rd Rifle Division pushed the 8th Division out of Porlampi and into the nearby village of Somme, which lay several miles to the northwest. There the fighting continued throughout the night. On the morning of 31 August the main body of the IV Corps arrived, attacking the 123rd Rifle Division at Porlampi and the 115th Rifle Division at Ylasomme, an action which collapsed the north flank of the Soviet army. The Soviets were forced back, and the Finnish forces made ready to encircle them. However, the 8th Division was still engaged in heavy fighting with the 43rd Rifle Division to the northwest of town and was unable to complete the encirclement. Using the heavily forested terrain to their advantage, the Soviet 123rd and 115th Rifle Divisions withdrew southwest towards Koivisto. [12] [9] Vyborg fell on 31 August, freeing up more Finnish forces to engage the remaining forces of the 23rd Army. The 43rd Rifle Division, which had advanced furthest west, was almost completely destroyed by the Finnish forces on 1 September. Some survivors retreated to the south and were evacuated from the Baltic coast by the Soviet Navy in November. [14]
The Red Army suffered 7000 killed, 1000 wounded and 9000 captured, predominantly from the destroyed 43rd Rifle Division. The Finnish IV Corps lost 700 killed and 2700 wounded. [1] The Finns seized a vast quantity of Soviet equipment at the battle, including 164 artillery pieces of various calibers. [9] The Finns also managed to capture Major general Vladimir Kirpichnikov, who was the highest-ranking Soviet POW captured during the Winter War and the Continuation War.
The Finnish Army advanced towards Koivisto after the victory at Porlampi, capturing the port on 2 September. The Finnish Army declined a German proposal to attack Leningrad, and the offensive was ended on 5 September. [6] [15]
A memorial dedicated to the casualties of the battle stands outside of the modern town, known as Sveklovichnoye since 1948. The memorial consists of a boulder inscribed with the date and outcome of the battle. [1]
Paavo Juho Talvela was a Finnish general of the infantry, Knight of the Mannerheim Cross and a member of the Jäger movement. He participated in the Eastern Front of World War I, the Finnish Civil War, the Finnish Kinship Wars, the Winter War and the Continuation War.
Karl Lennart Oesch was one of Finland's leading generals during World War II. He held a string of high staff assignments and front commands, and at the end of the Continuation War commanded three Finnish army corps on the Karelian Isthmus. He received numerous awards, including the Finnish Mannerheim Cross during his service. Following the end of the Continuation War, he was tried and convicted for war crimes relating to the treatment of Soviet prisoners-of-war.
The III Corps was a corps of the Finnish Army during the Continuation War, where Finland fought alongside Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union. Formed from the peacetime V Corps and subordinated to the German Army High Command Norway, III Corps fought initially in northern Finland on the flank of the German XXXVI Corps, participating in the Finno-German Operation Arctic Fox. In February 1944, it was moved to the Karelian Isthmus just prior to the launch of the Soviet Vyborg–Petrozavodsk offensive. Following the Moscow Armistice, III Corps took overall command of the Finnish forces participating in the Lapland War, the removal of German forces from northern Finland.
The 3rd Division was a unit of the Finnish Army during the Continuation War. It initially fought in the northern Finland, participating in the Finno-German Operation Arctic Fox. In 1944, it was transferred to the Karelian Isthmus to defend against the Soviet Vyborg–Petrozavodsk offensive. Following the Moscow Armistice in 1944, the division was moved to Oulu and participated in the Lapland War.
The Vyborg–Petrozavodsk offensive or Karelian offensive was a strategic operation by the Soviet Leningrad and Karelian Fronts against Finland on the Karelian Isthmus and East Karelia fronts of the Continuation War, on the Eastern Front of World War II. The Soviet forces captured East Karelia and Vyborg/Viipuri. After that, however, the fighting reached a stalemate.
The Battle of Ilomantsi was a part of the Svir–Petrozavodsk Offensive of the Continuation War (1941–1944). It was fought from 26 July to 13 August 1944, between Finland and the Soviet Union in an area roughly 40 kilometers wide and 30 kilometers deep, near the Finnish-Soviet border, close to the Finnish village of Ilomantsi, in North Karelia. The battle ended with a Finnish victory—the last major Soviet attack against Finland was stopped here.
The Battle of Vyborg Bay was fought in the Finnish-Soviet Continuation War (1941–1944).
The Finnish invasion of Ladoga Karelia was a military campaign carried out by Finland in 1941. It was part of what is commonly referred to as the Continuation War. Early in the war Finnish forces liberated the Ladoga Karelia. It had been ceded to the Soviet Union on 13 March 1940, in the Moscow Peace Treaty, which marked the end of the Winter War. Later, in the summer of 1944, the Soviet Union reconquered the eastern part of Ladoga Karelia in the Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive.
The Finnish invasion of East Karelia was a military campaign in 1941. It was part of the Continuation War. Finnish troops occupied East Karelia and held it until 1944. For over a month after the outbreak of the Continuation War, the Karelian Army reinforced and prepared to resume its earlier offensive while waiting for the recapture of the Karelian Isthmus. The Soviets had prepared fortifications and brought troops to the front. When encirclements on the western shore of Lake Ladoga were resolved, the Finnish 7th Division was transferred to the junction of VI and VII Corps.
The 23rd Army was a Field Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army.
The Battle of Tali–Ihantala was part of the Finnish-Soviet Continuation War (1941–1944), which occurred during World War II. The battle was fought between Finnish forces—using war materiel provided by Germany—and Soviet forces. To date, it is the largest battle in the history of the Nordic countries.
Antero Johannes Svensson was a Finnish major general, a member of the Jäger Movement and a recipient of the Mannerheim Cross. He participated in the Eastern Front of World War I as a volunteer of the 27th Royal Prussian Jäger Battalion, in the Finnish Civil War as a platoon and squadron commander, the Winter War as a brigade and division commander, and the Continuation War as a division and corps commander.
Taavetti Laatikainen was a Finnish General of Infantry and a member of the Jäger movement. He fought in the Eastern Front of World War I, the Finnish Civil War, the Winter War and the Continuation War. During the last of these, he was awarded the Mannerheim Cross of Liberty 2nd Class. Before the Winter War, he commanded both the Reserve Officer School and the Officer Cadet School. He retired in 1948 from the position of Inspector of Infantry.
The I Corps refers to several short-lived units of the Finnish Army before and during the Continuation War. The longest-lived I Corps participated in both the Finnish invasion of Ladoga Karelia and the Finnish invasion of the Karelian Isthmus in 1941 before being disbanded in early 1942, before being re-designated V Corps.
The II Corps was a unit of the Finnish Army during the Continuation War. During the war the corps participated in combat first northwest of Lake Ladoga and on the Karelian Isthmus before moving to the Povenets–Lake Segozero region by late 1941. During the Soviet offensive of 1944, the corps conducted a fighting retreat to the region of Ilomantsi, with parts of its forces participating in the subsequent Battle of Ilomantsi.
The IV Corps was a unit of the Finnish Army during the Continuation War. During the 1941 Finnish invasion of the Karelian Isthmus, it encircled three Soviet divisions in the area south of Vyborg before being disbanded. Reconstituted in 1944, the corps was the target of the spearhead of the Soviet Vyborg–Petrozavodsk offensive. Elements of the corps fought in the decisive Battle of Tali-Ihantala at the end of the war.
Aarne Leopold Blick was a Finnish lieutenant general, Knight of the Mannerheim Cross and a member of the Jäger movement. He participated in the Eastern Front of World War I, the Finnish Civil War, the Winter War and the Continuation War.
The VII Corps was a corps of the Finnish Army during the Continuation War of 1941 to 1944, where the Finnish Army fought alongside Germans against the Soviet Union. Under command of Major General Woldemar Hägglund, it took part in the Finnish invasions of Ladoga Karelia and East Karelia, including the capture of Petrozavodsk. During its existence, its composition varied significantly. It was disbanded in May 1943.
The 2nd Division was a unit of the Finnish Army during the Continuation War. It participated in the Finnish invasion of Ladoga Karelia at the start of the war and defended against the 1944 Soviet Vyborg–Petrozavodsk offensive on the Karelian Isthmus where it suffered heavy casualties.