The Red Army deployed 19 rifle (infantry) divisions and five tank brigades
against Finland. Russian 7th Army, with eight divisions, a tank corps, and
two independent tank brigades, was to attack the Mannerheim Line, capture
Viipuri and move on to Helsinki by the third day of the offensive.
Invasion! From: A Frozen Hell. Page 49.
The Russian 8th Army, with six divisions, was to help 7th Army in its frontal attack by drawing off the Finnish defenders. They would attack on the east shore of Lake Ladoga. Russian 9th Army, with four divisions would launch two columns towards central Finland, with the right column for Kemi and left for Oulu. Russian 14th Army, with one division was to capture Petsamo and cut Finland's communications with Norway.
When the attack began, Marshal Mannerheim had only nine divisions at his disposal. In Karelian Isthmus were five divisions of II and III Corps, under the command of Lieutenant-General Hugo Ostermann. On the east shore of Lake Ladoga were two divisions of IV Corps, under Major-General Hagglund. In central Finland was a small screen of frontier battalions of V Corps under Major-General Vilpo Tuompo and in Lappland were four independent battalions under Major-General Kurt Wallenius. In reserve were two incomplete divisions of I Corps and a cavalry brigade.
When fully mobilized, the Finnish Army would provide 15 divisions, but she faced the initial attack with only 120,000 Finnish against 300,000 Soviet troops. The Red Army was backed by 800 aircraft whereas Finland had only 100 aircraft and many of them were not battle-worthy. But the Finnish made good use of the forest,and their expertise as efficient hunters on the skis soon showed their qualities as natural fighters. Finland's Suomi 9-mm submachine guns worked perfectly well in the sub-zero temperatures.
By the end of 1939, the Red Army had suffered a series of heavy defeats. Russian 7th Army had started its advance in the Karelian Isthmus on a 87-mile front only to be stopped in its tracks by Mannerheim Line's pillboxes and anti-tank defences. The Russian 8th Army, which was attacking in support of the 7th Army on the far shore of Lake Ladoga, suffered even worse. When its 75th and 139th Divisions reached Tolvajarvi on December 12th, they were ambushed by seven Finnish battalions under Colonel Talvela. In this action, the Russians lost over 5,000 dead.
Central Finland
In central Finland, the Russian column from 9th Army advancing on Oulu was counter-attacked at Suomussalmi by Colonel Siilasvuo's detachment. On December 11, the Soviet 163rd Division was cut off and on the 28th of the same month, the Soviet 44th Division which was trying to retreat, was ambushed and destroyed. By now the Red Army had lost 27,500 dead whereas the Finnish army had lost only 2,700 dead and wounded. The Finns had also captured 80 Russian tanks, 70 guns, and 1,600 prisoners-of-war. The Red Army had underestimated the Finns. They had used suicidal tactics of sending tanks and motorised infantry columns along the forest roads where there was no possibility of manoeuvre.
In his memoirs, Mannerheim had stated that Red Army's artillery was not often used in coordination with its tanks and infantry. He said that Russians tanks would advance, open fire, and then fall back before their supporting infantry had had time to move. This caused heavy losses to the Red Army. But Mannerheim maintained that the Russian infantryman was brave, tough, and content with little, but he lacked initiative.
Before the war, the Red Army had suffered heavily due to Stalin's purges of its officer corps in 1937-38. Three out of five marshals had been purged. 13 out of 15 army generals, 57 out of 85 corps commanders, 110 out of 195 divisional commanders, and 220 out of 406 brigade commanders had also been purged. This meant that 403 out of 706 vital generals had been liquidated. To simply put it, the Red Army was not prepared for a big campaign in December 1939.
Second Push
Stalin was quite angry and now prepared his second push into Finland. He now called upon the Military Districts of the Volga, Kiev, Caucasus, and Transcaucasia for this new offensive. No less than 45 divisions now attacked Finland. In the Karelian Isthmus, the Soviet 7th Army, which had failed to break through the Mannerheim Line, was now moved to the Gulf of Finland on the extreme left, to allow the Russian 13th Army to take its place with its right flank on Lake Ladoga. The Russian Armies on the Finnish front were put under the command of Marshal Semyon Timoshenko. He attacked on February 1st, 1940, on the Summa sector.
The Finnish army fought hard to hold Summa but were slowly forced back. Now the Russian coordination between tank, infantry, and artillery had improved, yet still they suffered heavy losses. Timoshenko now switched his main weight of his offensive further to the east and by February 11th had made the first break-through of the Mannerheim Line's defenses. The breach widened as more and more Red Army troops poured in through the gap forcing Mannerheim to order a retreat.
The Finns retreated in perfect order and formed a new defensive line. This line was much longer than the previous and the Finnish troops were stretched thin. On February 24th, Russian troops had captured the island fortress of Koivisto in the Gulf of Finland, and as soon as the ice was thick, Timoshenko ordered the 7th Army to cross to the mainland and capture Viipuri. On March 5th, Mannerheim reported that long-term resistance would not be possible because of manpower and ammunition shortage.
More Russo-Finnish War 1939
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© Copyright 2002 by Shahram Khan.
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