Vesa Nenye: Finland at War: The Continuation and Lapland Wars 1941-45

Task Force J captures the town of Kiestinki.

The German attack in the north of Finland towards Aittojoki is halted.

11 August

II Army Corps captures Hiitola village.

13 August

I Army Corps is formed.

14 August

The United States and Great Britain issue the Atlantic Charter, defining post-war Allied goals. Soviet forces in Karelia are forced back over the Antrea River. Task Force J is reinforced into Division J under Colonel Väinö Palojärvi.

15 August

Sortavala falls to the Finns. The Soviet 88th Rifle Division’s Major-General Andrew Zelentsov and his headquarters staff are wiped out in a Luftwaffe raid.

15–17 August

The Soviet 265th Rifle Division is destroyed at Räisälä.

17 August

On the Karelian Isthmus, forward elements of the Finnish 18th Division establish a bridgehead over the Vuoksi River at Hopeasalmi.

17–19 August

A large proportion of the 168th Rifle Division manages to break out of the Rautalahti motti and escape over Lake Ladoga, but much equipment is left behind.

18 August

The United States informs Finland that the Soviet Union is ready for peace talks.

19 August

Group O and the 11th Division launch a joint operation to capture Suojärvi. The German XXXVI Army Corps reorganises for a new attack, and finally forces a Soviet retreat from the Kairala area of Lapland.

20 August

Formation of the Kiestinki motti resulting in the entrapment of parts of the Finnish Division J. These men are not liberated before early September, after having suffered 1,683 casualties. Soviet troops in Viipuri leave their defensive positions and quietly withdraw south.

21 August

IV Army Corps receives permission to conduct aggressive reconnaissance on the Viipuri front; this turns into an all-out assault. All Finnish land forces are now committed in the war. The 10th Division liberates the town of Käkisalmi. The Suojärvi area and the village of Suvilahti are captured by the Finns. The towns of Enso and Jääski are liberated.

23 August

Finnish forces capture the Kilpola archipelago, although not before significant elements of the 142nd and 198th Rifle divisions have escaped by boat. Tsalkki village is captured. The Finns reach Taipale on the Karelian Isthmus.

24 August

Konevitsa Monastery Island is liberated. The 115th and 123rd Rifle divisions start their counter-attack aiming to drive the Finns back into the Vuoksi River. Ryti and Mannerheim agree that Finland should not, despite German suggestions, participate in the invasion of Leningrad. The Finnish 8th Division crosses Viipuri Bay and cuts off the Soviet route of retreat to the south.

25 August

The capture of the railway station at Kämärä severs the Leningrad–Viipuri tracks acting as Soviet supply routes for large parts of the Karelian Isthmus. Group O reaches Onkamus and secures the bridge over the Suununjoki River. The 11th Division is ordered to swing eastwards towards Prääsä village, and to cut off and create a large motti to contain the Soviet troops. Colonel Matti Tiiainen, the commander of Light Brigade T, is killed by a Soviet barrage.

26 August

Finnish forces capture the narrows between the two largest lakes on the Karelian Isthmus.

27 August

The Finnish 12th Division captures Huumola.

27–29 August

The ‘Russian Dunkirk’: 190 ships of the Baltic Fleet attempt to evacuate Tallinn before the Wehrmacht reaches the city. At least 12,000 men drown.

28 August

The 4th Division occupies Säinö village, thus surrounding the Soviet troops on the western isthmus completely.

German troops liberate Tallinn.

The Soviets launch a counter-attack against the German XXXVI Army Corps causing them to dig in. The German attempt to cut the Murmansk railway fails. Plans for the Soviet 198th Rifle Division’s counter-offensive in the Sortavala area fall into Finnish hands. Finland severs diplomatic relations with Great Britain.

29 August

Finnish forces liberate Viipuri.

31 August

Finnish troops reach the former national border on the Karelian Isthmus. The German XXXVI Army Corps crosses the Tuntsajoki River.

1 September

Finnish forces destroy the Porlammi motti , and capture the largest cache of Soviet equipment of the entire war. The village of Säämäjärvi falls to the Finns, as they push past the large Karelian lakes.

2 September

Koivisto harbour is captured by Finnish troops, thus threatening the Soviet enclaves on the surrounding islands.

4 September

The Karelian Army starts its offensive from Tuulos towards Syväri. Soviet forces conduct a rapid counter-attack from Kiestinki.

5 September

The Finnish 11th Division captures Kinnas village and the important bridge over the Säpsäjoki River. Lagus’ Jäger break the Soviet defence at the Aunus River. The city of Aunus falls shortly afterwards.

6 September

Raappana’s 14th Division reaches Rukajärvi. Nurmoila falls; Soviet troops are forced out of the village.

7 September

The Syväri River is crossed by the 1st Jäger Brigade. The Soviet 3rd Rifle Division narrowly escapes from a motti near Lake Kalajärvi, but is forced to abandon all its heavy equipment.

8 September

Finnish forces capture Prääsä village.

9 September

Mannerheim orders the advance to stop just outside of the defensive lines around Leningrad.

11 September

Mannerheim expands the Karelian Army by granting it use of the 4th Division and the German 163rd Infantry Division, in preparation for the push to Petroskoi.

13 September

Talvela’s men capture the railway bridge across Syväri. The Finnish 7th Division captures the Lumatjärvi crossroads. The joint German–Finnish naval Operation Nordwind begins; Finnish vessels set sail from Utö. The Finnish Navy’s flagship, Ilmarinen , hits a mine and sinks, taking with it two-thirds of its crew.

14 September

The battle for Villavaara ends in a Finnish victory.

15 September

The Finnish 1st Division under Colonel Paavo Paalu captures Pyhäjärvi.

17 September

The German XXXVI Army Corps reaches the Vilmajoki River and takes up defensive positions. Mannerheim orders Raappana to stop at the Ontajoki River, to allow the formation of a unified front with the Karelian Army.

19 September

Colonel Kaarlo Viljanen’s 4th Division captures the crossroads at Markkila.

22 September

The Karelian Army reaches the objective line agreed upon with the Germans prior to the campaign.

23 September

The 1st Jäger Brigade captures Petäjäselkä village, permanently severing Petroskoi from the south.

24 September

Stavka replaces Seventh Army commander Philip Gorolenko with General Cyril Meretskov.

30 September

The battle for Moscow begins.

End of September

Hitler orders the attacks towards Murmansk and the railway to stop. However, Nikolaus von Falkenhorst and Siilasvuo decide to make another attempt to reach Louhi town before the end of 1941.

1 October