Finnish invasion of East Karelia
The Finnish invasion of East Karelia took place in 1941 as part of the Finnish Continuation War in World War II . The second phase of the offensive began two months after the Finnish offensive on the Karelian Isthmus on September 4, 1941 and led to the reconquest of East Karelia by December 6. The Finnish troops were able to recapture East Karelia and hold the province until the Soviet counter-offensive ( Vyborg-Petrozavodsk Operation ) in the summer of 1944.
prehistory
After the loss of the province of Karelia to the Soviet Union in the winter war , the defeated Finland began to work closely with the German Reich at the end of 1940 , after insufficient help from its western neighbor Sweden and the western allies was expected for a future war . In an agreement dated May 25, 1941, the defense of northern Finland was assigned to the German Wehrmacht , which began with the Blaufuchs company on June 5, 1941 . By June 14, this operation had transferred almost 30,600 German soldiers to Finland.
Leadership and deployment planning
According to the plans of the Finnish High Command, the 6th Corps (General Talvela) had to advance on the eastern coast of Lake Ladoga to the southeast, while to the left of it the 7th Corps (General Hägglund) first take the important road junction from Prjascha and then bring all forces to Petrozavodsk should.
The Finnish armed forces were under the command of Lieutenant General Axel Erik Heinrichs ; as its chief of staff acted Colonel Tapola. Farthest to the south, before the attack began, the 6th Corps operated under Major General Paavo Talvela , which had two divisions (5th and 17th divisions) on the front line and the Lagus group (consisting of the 1st Jäger Brigade and parts of the 5th. Division) under Colonel Ruben Lagus as a mobile reserve. In the middle, the Finns had the 7th Corps under Major General Woldemar Hägglund , which initially had two divisions (1st and 11th division), but was soon reinforced with the 7th division. Further north, the Oinonen group (1st Cavalry and 2nd Jäger Brigade) operated under Major General Oinonen together with the German 163rd Infantry Division (Lieutenant General Engelbrecht ). Farthest to the north was the Kuussaari Combat Group under Lieutenant Colonel Eero Kuussaari.
The opposing Soviet armed forces consisted of the 7th Army under Lieutenant General Filipp Danilowitsch Gorelenko , which operated in two combat groups. The Olonets Operations Group was in the south and the Petrozavodsk Operations Group was in the middle.
course
The Finnish East Karelia Army began the offensive on September 4, focusing on Lake Onega and against Petrozavodsk, with the aim of reaching the Zvir River . The Finnish 5th Division quickly breached the Soviet defenses and crossed the river south of Tuloksa . Other parts of the 5th Division and the 17th Division carried out attacks on both sides by Nurmolizy (Nurmoila), which was defended by the 3rd Soviet Militia Division. By attacking from the south and north, the Finns forced the defending Soviet troops there to withdraw to the east despite strong field fortifications. The advance of the combat group Lagus reached the Swir on September 7th opposite Lodeinoje Pole . On the same day the railway line to Murmansk was cut off by the Finnish 17th Division. On September 13, the Finns invaded Swirstroi and captured the local railway bridge over the river Swir. The advance of the Finnish 11th Division in the direction of Prjasha met with strong Soviet resistance, but they were able to advance through the forests and encircle the defending Soviets. The 11th Division occupied Prjascha on September 8, while the Finnish 1st Division advanced south of it. The Finns brought further reinforcements in the form of the 4th Division, which reinforced the advance on the road from Lake Syamozero to Petrozavodsk. Up to September 14th, the Finns encountered fierce resistance, but due to the numerical superiority in this section, the Finns managed to force the defending Soviet 313rd Rifle Division to withdraw. The Finns captured the village of Markkila on September 19, but, despite repeated attempts, could not break through the defense of the Soviet 313rd Rifle Division at Besovets (Pesoutsa).
On September 22nd, the Finnish 6th Corps advanced towards the Swir, occupied Podporozhye and took up defensive positions there. The advance of the Finnish 11th Division reached the city of Petrozavodsk on October 1st. Almost simultaneously the Finnish 1st Division reached the front line and occupied the city the following day. While most of the Finnish troops had concentrated on the conquest of Petrozavodsk, elements of the Finnish 7th Division had advanced along the coast of Lake Onega to the mouth of the Svir. Attempts to cross the river on October 6th initially failed. The Finnish 5th Division took positions on the north bank of the Swir, which reached to the mouth of the river, while the Finnish 17th Division occupied the southern bridgehead. The Finnish bridgehead south of the Swir between Swirstroi and Wosnessenje was extended to 100 km wide and 20 km deep; here the so-called Aunus Front was established.
The capture of Medvezhjegorsk (Karhumäki) was the target for the next Finnish attack. The troops deployed for this consisted of the 4th Division, the Oinonen Combat Group and the 8th Division brought in from the Karelian Isthmus as reinforcement. The Soviet defense against consisted of the 37th, 71st and 313rd Rifle Divisions. The Finns advanced in two ways: a larger group, which followed the road from Petrozavodsk to Medvezhyegorsk; and a smaller group along the road from Porososero (Porajärvi) to Lake Segosero to Padany (Paatene). With the occupation of Padany, the Finnish units were able to connect to the Finnish 14th Division, which had previously reached Rugozero (Rukajärvi). Medvezhjegorsk was captured on December 5th and the Finns reached Powenez the following day , where the advance was stopped by order of Mannerheim.
The German Army Group North planned to advance in October 1941 from the south from the Leningrad area in the direction of the river Svir. In the Tikhvin operation , however, the German troops were forced by Soviet counter-attacks to retreat to the Volkhov River . The Soviet forces tried repeatedly in October and December 1941 to expel the Finns from their bridgehead south of the Svir, but were repulsed.
literature
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