For thirteen days following the Soviet invasion of Finland, the Finns fought a series of gruelling rearguard actions. The nation`s morale was teetering on the verge of collapse when Lt.Colonel Talvela struck back and pulled off the first victory against the Russian aggressors, at Tolvajärvi on the 12th December, 1939. The battle was a signal blow which was echoed around the world. Scenario Starts: Dawn Scenario Length: Scenario Finish : Weather: fine, snow on the ground, lake is frozen Visibility: good. Finnish Mission: To clear Soviet troops from and eliminate the Regimental headquaters of the 609th via a three pronged pincer attack. Finnish Forces: Group Talavela under overall command of Lt.Colonel Talavela. Group Malkamäki (Major Malkamäki): HQ (rifle) platoon, 1 MG platoon (ski`s) from 1st Machine-gun Company & Rifle Coys 2 & 3 of 1/JR16 (Jager Regiment); HQ (rifle) platoon & Rifle Coys 1, 2 & 3 ErP9 (Independant Rifle Battalion); The majority of this Group had been in continuous action for the last 13 days and had taken most of the night to get to their jump off positions. Finnish morale was very high but the troops were largely exhausted. Both morale and Tac of this group must be adjusted during the game to represent the growing exhaustion amongst the men. Every failed Tac roll adds 1 to the unit`s Tac for the rest of the game. Rifle Coy 21/ remained in action throughout the battle tying up Soviet forces so Morale: Excellent, Tac 5. Task Force 'P' (Lt.Col.Pajari): HQ (rifle) platoon, 2nd Machine-gun Company & Rifle Coys 4, 5 & 6 of 2/JR16 ; 1 MG platoon from 1st Machine-gun Company; 1 Battery 75mm guns. Fresh troops whose Morale : Excellent, Tac 5, except the artillery battery who only provided desultory support fire : Tac 7 Group ? (South??): HQ (rifle) platoon & Rifle Coys 7, 8, & 9 of 3/JR16 ; Rifle Coy 8 of 3/JR37; HQ (rifle) platoon & Rifle Coys 1 & 2 of ErP112. Morale : Good, Tac 5, except Rifle Coy 9 3/JR16 whose orders were confused and must pass a Tac roll of 9 to enter the battle, when it will resume to Tac 5. Tactical Reserve: 1 Rifle Battalion of PPP7; HQ (rifle) platoon & Rifle Companies 2 & 3 of ErP10; 1 Anti-Tank Platoon (37mm Bofors AT guns). Morale : Good, Tac 5 for ErP10 and Anti-Tank Platoon, Tac: 5 or 6 for PPP7 Finnish Deployment: Group Malkamäki form the northern pincer, 1 1/2 miles north of Lake Hevussalmi. Task Force P in the centre facing Hevussalmi and Group South(?) the southern pincer opposite Kotisaari Island. Finnish Organisation: Battalions have 3 rifle companies, each with 3 rifle platoons. Battalion HQ (rifle) platoons are all Tac 4. 1/JR16 & 2/JR16 both have one 81mm Mortar platoon Tac 5. HQ platoon & one company from each battalion of JR16, and one platoon from ErP10 & 112 may be equipped with SMG`s. Back to The Gauntlet No. 17 Table of Contents Back to The Gauntlet List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Craig Martelle Publications This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com