Battle of Salla

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The Battle of Salla was a series of skirmishes in the Salla area during the Winter War between the Soviet Union and Finland . In the battle, outnumbered Finnish units prevented the advance of two Soviet divisions into the Finnish province of Lapland .

prehistory

The Soviet high command had set itself the goal of conquering all of Finland. Part of this plan was the advance on the capital of the Finnish province of Lapland, Rovaniemi . For this purpose, the Soviet 122nd Rifle Division was deployed. It was supposed to unite with the 104th Rifle Division after they had captured the Finnish arctic port of Petsamo . The Finnish High Command did not expect the Soviets to conduct major operations in the northern part of Finland. They thought the terrain was too impassable for massed troops. That is why the Finnish forces only consisted of a few small border guards at the outbreak of war.

course

Map of the Soviet advance
Finnish counterattacks

The 122nd Division crossed the border on the day the war broke out, November 30, 1939. The smaller Finnish units put up slow resistance. On December 10th, the Soviet units managed to take the city of Salla. After achieving this, they were presented with two options. The advance to the village of Sodankylä through the village of Pelkosenniemi provided the opportunity to cut off the Finnish troops in the Petsamo sector. The Soviet 104th Division had managed to take Petsamo itself, but was unable to advance further south against the Finnish resistance. Another option was the advance to Kemijärvi . Via this small town the way led to the actual main destination, the capital of Lapland Rovaniemi. The Soviet command decided to split its forces and tackle both objectives.

The Finnish high command under Mannerheim was alarmed by the Soviet advance and ordered the commander of Petsamofront Wallenius to reinforce the Salla area with the 18th independent battalion. Wallenius himself took command and on December 17th launched his first attack against the Soviet units marching to Pelkosenniemi. The Finnish soldiers on skis managed an undetected approach to the Soviet positions and thus a surprise attack. This part of the Soviet division withdrew around 70 kilometers after the battle. After the Finns had repulsed the northern wing of the 122nd Division, they turned to the southern units, which were just before Kemijärvi. The Soviet troops were only driven back a few kilometers and were able to hold their own on the defensive. However, the Red Army could not achieve another gain in terrain , even when its forces around Salla were doubled by the 88th Rifle Division. On January 19, 1940, the last attempt by the Finns to throw the Soviet troops out of their positions ended. On January 26th, the Finnish troops were replaced by a battalion of Swedish volunteers to strengthen the defenses on the Karelian Isthmus , the main arena of the war. By the end of the war in March 1940, neither side had carried out major operations in the Salla area.

consequences

The Soviet units, despite their numerical superiority, could not achieve their goals. Together with the battles at Suomussalmi and Kuhmo , the operation at Salla fitted into the picture of the Soviet failure in the rough terrain of northern Finland. The battle also showed, however, that the destruction of large Soviet units by outnumbered Finnish units, as in Suomussalmi, could not be repeated at will.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ William Trotter: A Frozen Hell, New York, 1991 pp 178-180; Anthony Upton: Finland 1939–1940, Newark, 1974 pp. 51ff, 63ff.
  2. ^ William Trotter: A Frozen Hell, New York, 1991 pp 178-180; Carl van Dyke: The Soviet Invasion of Finland 1939–1940, London, Portland, 1997 p. 51.
  3. ^ William Trotter: A Frozen Hell, New York, 1991 pp 178-180; Anthony Upton: Finland 1939–1940, Newark, 1974 p. 90.
  4. ^ William Trotter: A Frozen Hell, New York, 1991 pp 178-180; Anthony Upton: Finland 1939–1940, Newark, 1974 p. 90.