Continuation War, day by day.

[Dowly]

26 October 1941

No entry.

Finnish daily losses: 83


Machine gun firing. (Saidoma)

***

27 October 1941

IR 45 captures the town of Käppäselkä and its train station, cutting Soviet train traffic to the north from Kontupohja.

Group O begins to cross river Suunujoki to Kontupohja.



Finnish daily losses: 104




During IR 45's fight over Käppäselkä, a company strength force was sent behind the frontlines to blow up the rail tracks between the town and the station.

(Must be nerve-racking to go through those snowy pine forests, where you can only see as far as the next tree. )

***

28 October 1941

Two ambulance planes donated by the Danish Red Cross arrive to Helsinki.

Finnish daily losses: 76


I have no idea. The caption is in swedish.

***

29 October 1941

4.division attacks towards Tsopina.



Finnish daily losses: 50


”Has Soviet Union ran out of men, instead sending children to war?”

***

30 October 1941

No relevant entry. (Just stuff about education, state police looking for a deserter etc.)

Finnish daily losses: 60


Graves of over 400 fallen Germans. (Alakurtti)

***

31 October 1941

8.division's forces (strenghtened IR 4) attacks to the town of Maaselkä.



Soviet forces retreat from the Koivisto islands on Gulf of Finland.

Finnish daily losses: 110


Kristjan Palusalu, an Estonian Olympic gold medalist wrestler, after deserting to the Finnish side.

***

Here endeth the spam. Now, I shall a beer or 18. Continuing on Monday.. ish.

[Dowly]

1 November 1941

North Finland: III AK attacks towards Louhi in Kiestinki area.

IR 4 (8.D) captures the town of Maaselkä.



Soviet troops begin to evacuate the Hanko peninsula.

Finnish daily losses: 209

Finnish losses in October: 2294

Finnish losses in the war (so far): 22 628


Mechanics working on a fighter in Tiiksjärvi.

***

2 November 1941

Soviet forces retreat from Kontupohja. Group O enters the town during the morning.



Finnish daily losses: 103


Engineer Lieutenant Valjus with bloodied face after mine he was disarming blew up.

***

3 November 1941

IR 26 (4.D) enters the town of Tsopina.



Finnish daily losses: 78


Soviet POW tries to persuade his comrades, still inside the command dug-out, to surrender.

***

4 November 1941

IR 35 (4.D) attacks from Tsopina towards Karhumäki.

IR 60 reaches the Murmansk tracks on the southside of Käppäselkä.



Finnish daily losses: 72


Finnish 10-inch gun in as it was left near the end of the Winter War when Finns retreated off the Koivisto island.

***

5 November 1941

In a letter to Mannerheim, President Ryti draws attention to the heavy casualties suffered by III AK trying to reach the Murmansk railway in Louhi. He suggests that perhaps it would be better to abandon the operation.

Arndt Pekurinen, a long time member of the peace movement, is executed in Uhtua for repeatedly refusing to pick up a weapon.

Finnish daily losses: 93


Patrol heading out.

***

6 November 1941

Mannerheim orders Karelian Army to stop once the Maaselkä train station and Karhumäki have been captured.

Finnish daily losses: 80


The bow of a Finnish minesweeper ”Kuha” that hit a Russian mine.

[Dowly]

7 November 1941

IR 26 tries to flank behind the enemy's positions east of Tsopina.

Finnish artillery begins to fire on Karhumäki at 2350hrs.



Finnish daily losses: 124


There's always time for fishing.

***

8 November 1941

German forces capture Tikhvin.

Finnish daily losses: 100


Leipäsuo in Karelian Isthmus, stage of intense battles during the Winter War.

***

9 November 1941

No entry.

Finnish daily losses: 70


Knocked out Soviet tank in Käppäselkä.

***

10 November 1941

Group O cuts the Murmansk railway south of Karhumäki, in Perälahti (Perguba).



Finnish daily losses: 38


Finns have spotted activity on the enemy side. (Munakukkula)

***

11 November 1941

Commander of III AK, Major General Siilasvuo, halts the Louhi offensive.

Finnish daily losses: 79


Soldier returns from no man's land. (Lempaala)

***

12 November 1941

No entry.

Finnish daily losses: 52


Cemetery of heroes. (Salmi)

***

13 November 1941

Finns capture 41 ships of various size on Lake Onega that were used to evacuate Petroskoi.

Finnish daily losses: 45


Lieutenant Ruohola being interviewed after sinking his third Soviet ship. (Suulajärvi)

***

14 November 1941

4.division's offensive towards Karhumäki stalls. The men are exhausted and many refuse to continue the attack.

Finnish daily losses: 48


Marching towards Karhumäki.

[Dowly]

15 November 1941

German offensive towards Moscow resumes as the mud begins to freeze.

Finnish daily losses: 25


Recruits giving their oath. (Utti)

***

16 November 1941

The burned village of Käkisalmi is ready to house 500 civilians who wish to return. Of the 600 houses, 550 were burned by the retreating Soviets.

Finnish daily losses: 57


Petroskoi wrapped in snow.

***

17 November 1941

Major General Siilasvuo officially ends the operation to capture Louhi.

Group O is ordered to capture Karhumäki. The offensive stalls under heavy enemy resistance.

Finnish daily losses: 42


Two kids come to greet the passing Finns. (East Karelia)

***

18 November 1941

4.division's main force advances to the northwest of Karhumäki.

The Germans request Mannerheim to be more aggressive on the Svir front. They hope that Finns would support Army Group North. The request is answered in the negative.

People living in cities have began to stockpile foodstuffs from relatives living on the countryside.

Finnish daily losses: 34


Captured guns. (Kiestinki area)

***

19 November 1941

No entry.

Finnish daily losses: 24


Dug-out for horses.

[Dowly]

20 November 1941

Rationing of coffee and tea begins.

Vineyard owners in southern Spain donate 5000kg of wine and cognac to Finland.

Finnish daily losses: 28


View towards the enemy side. (Rukajärvi)

***

21 November 1941

8.division attacks southeast of Lake Seesjärvi and captures the Kriv station.



Finnish daily losses: 57


Lieutenant Olli Remes. (Vilmajoki)
(Wonderful shot, I must colorize that at some point.)


During the Winter War, Remes led a detachment in Independent Battalion 17 (ErP 7), a guerrilla unit whose missions often took them behind enemy lines.
In the Continuation War he served first as a platoon leader and later as company commander in Infantry Regiment 54, before taking on company commander's duties in the 12th Brigade.
He was awarded the Cross of Freedom 4th class w/ swords, CoF 3rd class w/ swords, Winter War medal and he was the 10th recipient of the Mannerheim Cross (2nd class).
Remes was killed by a sniper's bullet two days after being promoted to the rank of Captain, on December 31st 1942 in Kriv at the age of 33.

He left behind a wife and two children.
Remes' final resting place is at Vieremä war heroes' cemetery (grave #113).


***

22 November 1941

No entry.

Finnish daily losses: 37


Attack has been repulsed, time for a cigarette! (Lempaala)

***

23 November 1941

German forces capture the town of Klin on the northwest side of Moscow.

Finnish daily losses: 36


Machine gun nest. (3,5km northwest of Karhumäki)

***

24 November 1941

Lottas in Helsinki begin to request christmas gifts for 'unknown soldiers'. These gifts can range from clothing sent to a random soldier, to books and games sent to military hospitals.

Finnish daily losses: 33


Sauna dugout.

***

25 November 1941

Finland signs the Aanti-comintern pact in Berlin.

Väinö Tanner, Foreign Minister during the Winter War, writes a letter to President Ryti in which he criticizes the military operations conducted beyond the pre-Winter War border.

Finnish daily losses: 27


Ukrainian POWs. (Tali)

***

Taking a break tomorrow I think. Independence and possible hangover day.

[Dowly]

26 November 1941

Great Britain demands Finland to cease its offensive operations.

Finnish daily losses: 59


Bodies of some of the 600 Soviet soldiers who tried attacking to Finnish positions north of Karhumäki.

***

27 November 1941

4.division takes positions on the northside of Karhumäki in preparation to attack the town.

Finnish daily losses: 46


Refugees returning to their homes. (Käppäselkä)

***

28 November 1941

8.division takes defensive posture on the Liistepohja-Suurlahti-Maaselkä-Kriv line. This marks the beginning of the trench war phase in this sector.

1.D and 4.D(+1.Jäger Brigade) begin their attack on Karhumäki. The aim is to encircle the town.



Finnish daily losses: 84


Captain Viiri, having just received the Mannerheim Cross. (Lempaala)

***

29 November 1941

Winston Churchill sends a personal letter to Mannerheim, urging Finland to cease offensive operations.

Finnish daily losses: 44


Battery firing. (Kiestinki)

***

30 November 1941

No entry.

Finnish daily losses: 74


Patrol leaving a village in Salla region.

[Dowly]

1 December 1941

Finnish 1.D and 4.D link-up on the east side of Karhumäki.

Decision is made to begin rationing milk and edible fats.

According to the military administration, 63,000 Karelians have returned home thus far.

The Parliament votes unanimously to join the recaptured areas back to Finland.

First schools open in Petroskoi.

Finnish daily losses: 20

Finnish losses in November: 1898

Finnish losses in the war (so far): 24 536


War dog ”Ruli”.

***

2 December 1941

Last Soviet troops evacuate the Hanko Peninsula.

Mannerheim replies to Churchill's letter, explaining that it is impossible for Finland to stop the attack before suitable defensive positions have been reached.
(Mannerheim speaks of the three ishtmuses; Karelian Isthmus, the Svir isthmus and the Maaselkä-Karhumäki isthmus. -D)

Finnish daily losses: 20


Finnish tank near Karhumäki.

***

3 December 1941

6. Squadron reconnaissance flight over Hanko finds it empty of Soviet troops.

Finnish daily losses: 47


Can't have Christmas without a Christmas tree. (Termola)

***

4 December 1941

Swedish volunteer battalion (Svenska frivilligbataljonen) occupies Hanko.

Finnish daily losses: 53


Russian trench in Hanko.

***

5 December 1941

Final assault on Karhumäki begins.

Finnish daily losses: 77


Soldiers of the ”Ace” regiment (IR 26) posing for a photo with what I assume is Karhumäki in the background.

***

6 December 1941

Great Britain declares war on Finland.

1. Jäger Brigade captures Poventsa to the East of Karhumäki.



Finnish daily losses: 84


Street fighting in Karhumäki.

***

7 December 1941

Japan attacks Pearl Harbor.

Finnish daily losses: 43


Karhumäki

***

8 December 1941

Soviet troops blow up the locks of the ”Stalin's canal” near Poventsa.

Karhumäki is captured.

The Finnish offensive phase of the war ends.

Finnish daily losses: 37


Flooding in Poventsa.

[Dowly]

9 December 1941

The Red Army drives Germans out of Tikhvin.

During the offensive phase of the war, Finns haven taken an estimated 56,000 Soviet POWs.

Finnish daily losses: 20


Macabre ice ”sculpture”. (Poventsa)

[Dowly]

Southern Finland in December 1941.
Only division level units marked.

[Dowly]

10 December 1941

The Ministry of Transport urges civilians to avoid using trains when travelling, so all available trains can be used for the war effort.

Finnish daily losses: 21


Crash landed Soviet I-16 with a Finnish AF Blackburn Ripon flying overhead. (Riiska)

***

11 December 1941

Germany and Italy declare war on USA.

Finnish daily losses: 14


Tank barriers built by the Soviets in Hanko.

[Dowly]

12 December 1941

Finnish pioneer platoon lands on the island of Suursaari (Gogland). They find four Estonian deserters on the island, who tell them that Soviet troops had left the island three days prior.

Finnish daily losses: 12



Jägers of the 1.Jäger Brigade in Lumbusi (east of Karhumäki)

[Dowly]

13 December 1941

Sergeant Major Viljo Suokas becomes the first man serving in a LRRP unit to receive the Mannerheim Cross.

Finnish daily losses: 34


Timber worth over 30 million FIM was captured in Karhumäki.

[Dowly]

14 December 1941

Olonets Isthmus: Soviet 114.D launches counter-attack in the Gora area against Finnish 7.D.



Finnish daily losses: 16


Soviet troops tried to destroy as much as they could before evacuating Hanko.

[Dowly]

15 December 1941

Olonets Isthmus: The Soviet counter-attack puts heavy pressure on the forward positions of I/IR 9 in the Gora area.

Former President Svinhufvud turns 80.

Finnish daily losses: 21


Pilots' barracks. (Tiiksjärvi)

[Dowly]

16 December 1941

Olonets Isthmus: I/IR 9 begins to retreat from Gora as Soviet troops move in to encircle them.

Finnish daily losses: 32


View across Lake Lempaala. (Karelian Isthmus)