Winter War, day by day.

[Dowly]

Recorded live, but broadcasted some days later. (AFAIK)

[Schroeder]

I always wondered how they recorded sound back then. I believe tape wasn't invented yet.

*Edit*
Scratch that, it was already invented...

[Dowly]

2 February - DAY 65 of Winter War

Karelian Isthmus: Soviet forces continue their assault on the 3rd Division's main defensive position.

The Soviet Air Force continues its bombing raids as part of the general offensive on the Isthmus.

Eastern Isthmus: a patrol of seven enemy paratroopers lands on the frozen Lake Pyhäjärvi and is wiped out.

Northern Finland: the Soviet 54th Division, surrounded in Kuhmo, is attempting to break out by attacking in a number of areas.

Another enemy division is brought in to support the attacks.

Ladoga Karelia: 92 enemy aircraft attack Sortavala in five waves, killing 15 people and injuring 44 others; the Lutheran church is among the buildings destroyed in the attack.

Pori: enemy bombers hit a bomb splinter shelter, killing 11 women and 3 men. Altogether 21 people are killed in the raid.

Lake Saimaa: Lieutenant Fritz Rasmussen, a Danish volunteer pilot, is killed when enemy aircraft shoot down his Fokker FR-81 while he is on a defensive flight near Rauha on the shores of Lake Saimaa.

Abroad: the Holmenkollen skiing stadium in Oslo puts on a benefit event in aid of Finland. The main attractions are the oft-crowned Olympic speed-skating champion and World Champion Clas Thunberg and the ski-jumpers Lauri Valonen and Niilo Toppila.

Brazilian President Getulio Vargas announces that Brazil is to send Finland a gift of 10,000 sacks of coffee.

The Finnish Government presents its opening position for peace talks in response to the terms of negotiation presented by the Soviet Union. The response is communicated to the Soviet Union via the Swedish Foreign Ministry.

The Soviet Ambassador in Stockholm, Madame Alexandra Kollontai, indicates that the Soviet Union cannot give up its demand for bases in Finland.

The British War Cabinet rejects a plan for a naval blockade of the Soviet Union.

Daily losses: 165




Destroyed enemy tanks in the western-Lemetti motti.

[Schroeder]

Originally Posted by Dowly

Eastern Isthmus: a patrol of seven enemy paratroopers lands on the frozen Lake Pyhäjärvi and is wiped out.

That sounds completely stupid. Why would anyone drop onto a frozen lake that offers zero cover and within weapons range of the enemy.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Schroeder

That sounds completely stupid. Why would anyone drop onto a frozen lake that offers zero cover and within weapons range of the enemy.

Only Stalin can answer that

[Dowly]

Originally Posted by Schroeder

That sounds completely stupid. Why would anyone drop onto a frozen lake that offers zero cover and within weapons range of the enemy.

Lake Pyhäjärvi is in the rear, behind the Mannerheim line. If you look at the first map on post #8, Lake Pyhäjärvi is where 10.D mark is, that kinda "U" shaped lake. I assume the drop was seen and a patrol was sent to take them out.

***

3 February - DAY 66 of Winter War

Central Isthmus: Finnish defenders successfully repulse enemy attacks on the Mannerheim Line in Summa, Suokanta and Oinaala.

The Russian 7th Army and 13th Army are ordered to begin the work of breaking down the Finnish defences on the Isthmus.

Ladoga Karelia: detachments of enemy troops which had advanced from the south on skis are surrounded in a 'motti' at Lavajärvi.

Battalion Mankonen completes destruction of the enemy ski battalion at Löytöjärvi. In three days the enemy death toll reaches around 400.

Soviet aircraft bomb a number of localities across the country: in Kuopio the air raid leaves 34 dead and 38 injured.

Viipuri: enemy bombers hit hard in and around Torkkelinkatu, Punaisenlähteentori square, the market square, the old town and the district of Havi. The Lutheran cathedral is partly destroyed in the raid.

Kotka: the woodyard at the Enso Gutzeit sawmill is set ablaze and almost totally destroyed.

Eastern Isthmus: a Russian fire control aircraft is in the air all day over Taipale directing the enemy artillery fire.

A captured enemy map contains accurate details of the position of the Finnish command post in the Taipale sector.

Abroad: the International Labour Office announces that the Soviet Union has been expelled from the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Marshall Mannerheim's sister, Countess Eva Sparre arrives in New York to begin a series of lectures in the USA on Finland.

The great Finnish runners Paavo Nurmi and Taisto Mäki receive a hero's welcome on arrival in New York. Thousands of people and dozens of reporters come to the harbour to welcome them.

Daily losses: 129

[Dowly]

4 February - DAY 67 of Winter War

Ladoga Karelia: Finnish troops wipe up the western 'motti' at Lemetti in the early hours of the morning, capturing a considerable amount of enemy material, including 32 assault tanks, 40 lorries, six field kitchens and the instruments of a military band. Only around one hundred enemy troops manage to break out of the 'motti' before its final destruction.

Northern Finland: the Russian Dolin ski brigade launches a counterattack in Kuhmo.

Central Isthmus: enemy artillery, aircraft and assault tanks shell the Finnish positions in Summa and Lähde.

Only in Summa village does the Soviet infantry attempt an advance, using its overwhelming superiority in numbers in an attempt to exhaust the Finnish troops, who are forced to fight and sleep in the open in temperatures of almost 30 degrees below zero.

At 1 o'clock in the afternoon, Moscow's propaganda radio announces that Finland is continuing to hound its workers, with "officer devils" spurring their troops on to burn and loot working-class homes.

The Finnish Army is unable to find any more reserves or transfer those it has in time to cover areas where the Russians are threatening to break through.

Eastern Isthmus: Taipale enjoys its quietest night of the year. Less than 50 mortars are fired in 7th Division's sector.

Helsinki: children, the elderly, and the disabled are to be compulsorily evacuated from the city. Those who do not leave voluntarily will be forcibly removed.

Abroad: Paavo Nurmi and Taisto Mäki, the famous Finnish runners currently on a tour of the USA, attend a flag-raising ceremony in the Finnish pavilion at the New York World's Fair.

(Click for larger photo)

Smouldering Russian dugouts. West Lemetti.

Daily losses: 153

[Dowly]

5 February - DAY 68 of Winter War

Stockholm: Finnish Foreign Minister Väinö Tanner confers with his Swedish counterpart, Christian Günther, before proceeding to Hella Wuolijoki's room in the Grand Hotel to hold a meeting at 11 a.m. with the Soviet Ambassador in Stockholm, Madame Alexandra Kollontai.

Tanner is told the Soviet Union cannot accept Finland's terms for opening talks, and Tanner then suggests one of the islands in the Gulf of Finland as an alternative site for a Soviet base instead of Hanko. Ambassador Kollontai promises to pass the proposal on to her government for consideration.

Karelian Isthmus: following a preliminary artillery bombardment, the enemy launches heavy assaults in the morning in the areas of Summa, Marjapellonmäki and Lake Hatjalahti with the support of over one hundred assault tanks. Despite overwhelming numerical superiority the attack becomes bogged down and ends in the destruction of 22 assault tanks.

Ladoga Karelia: the Finnish counterattack in the Pitkäranta area is unsuccessful.

Northern Finland: the enemy drops a number of parachutists, but the Finnish defences are able to locate where they land.

In the early hours of the morning Finnish aircraft bomb the enemy troops bivouaced around their campfire.

Ladoga Karelia: the Russians begin to take Karelians from the border villages in the municipality of Suojärvi over the border into Soviet Karelia.

Over 1,500 are transferred to two transit camps. Those moved are mainly from Suojärvi but a few are from border villages in the municipality of Salmi. Old people, women and children are transported in lorries to forest labour centres almost 200 kilometres away in Interposolka and Kaimaoja. A number of children die on the cold journey. Over 50 children and old people die in the camps due to a lack of proper food.

Northern Finland: a battalion of the enemy's Dolin ski brigade tries to get behind the Finnish troops at Haukkajärvi, but is pushed back across the border by Detachment Kekkonen.

Abroad: Supreme Allied Command in Paris decides to help Finland. An allied unit of at least two brigades in strength is to be sent to Finland in the middle of March.

The Finnish Red Cross receives a donation from the Belgian Red Cross.

The great Finnish runners Paavo Nurmi and Taisto Mäki travel to Washington, where they are received by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Daily losses: 166




Shot down DB3 at Kerisyrjä.

[Dowly]

6 February - DAY 69 of Winter War

Karelian Isthmus: the Mannerheim Line holds firm. Finnish troops repulse the attempted Soviet breakthrough in Summa village and Marjapellonmäki.

The first enemy tanks are destroyed in the early morning twilight, with the accompanying infantry also suffering heavy losses.

By 7.30 in the evening the Finnish front line is entirely under Finnish control. The retreating enemy suffers heavy losses from the Finnish artillery and machine-gun fire.

Northern Finland: in Kuhmo, the Finnish 9th Division surrounds the Russian 54th Division in a series of 'mottis'.

Ladoga Karelia: Finnish troops capture an enemy base to the northeast of Lake Ladoga. The enemy loses over 500 men and a considerable amount of war material.

Stockholm: Finnish Foreign Minister Väinö Tanner has another meeting with the Soviet Ambassador in Stockholm, Madame Alexandra Kollontai. Madame Kollontai passes on her government's view that Tanner's suggestion of the previous day does not provide a sufficient basis for opening peace talks. Tanner leaves for home.

Norway: the northern Norwegian province of Ruija announces that there are currently 1,179 Finnish refugees in the province: 381 men, 359 women and 429 children.

London: a question is asked in the House of Commons on the urgent dispatch of aircraft to Finland. Due to the sensitivity of the issue no detailed information can be provided.

(Click for larger photo)

Ski patrol in Märkäjärvi.

Daily losses: 94

[Dowly]

7 February - DAY 70 of Winter War

Karelian Isthmus: the pressure on the Isthmus continues to grow. The non-stop Soviet artillery bombardment, bombing and tank and infantry assaults are now into their seventh day in the area defended by the Finnish 3rd Division.

A dugout belonging to the Finnish 9th Infantry Regiment takes a direct hit from a heavy enemy mortar; 18 soldiers are killed and 11 wounded.

Central Isthmus: Red Army tanks and infantry mount two separate assaults in Summa village, both of which are successfully repulsed.

Ladoga Karelia: in the Aittojoki sector, Detachment Pajari is attempting to strike the enemy troops to the west of the River Kuukkausjoki.

The Finnish attack grinds to a halt in the evening in the face of heavy enemy fire.

Northern Finland: in the Suomussalmi sector an enemy detachment which had entered Finnish territory to the south of Raate is pushed back across the border.

Thirty-three enemy aircraft carry out a surprise bombing raid on Kajaani, where the headquarters of the North Finland Group are situated. Four people are killed in the raid, including one doctor, and two civilians are injured. Several buildings are destroyed, the worst hit being the town hospital.

The enemy takes advantage of the resulting confusion to send in reconnaissance parachutists. Those picked up are wearing Finnish military uniforms.

Helsinki: the city court sentences 12 people to pay fines for infringing the blackout regulations.

Abroad: in Copenhagen a new civilian labour agency has attracted 1,250 volunteers for Finland in its first two days of operation.

An article in Leningradskaya Pravda tells of the first executions in Leningrad for hoarding food and profiteering. The official grounds for the convictions are counter-revolutionary activities and serving as a Finnish agent.

The United States' House of Representatives rejects by 108 votes to 105 a motion to withdraw the US Ambassador from Moscow in protest over the war in Finland.

The American trade union movement is today holding a special day to express its support for Finland.

(Click for larger photo)

Captain Teira of 8/kT-Pr.* in Märkäjärvi.

*=8th battalion, field replacement brigade

Daily losses: 195

[Dowly]

8 February - DAY 71 of Winter War

The Soviet Union asks Finland which island it would be willing to surrender to house a Soviet base.

Central Isthmus: Soviet infantry supported by tanks and protected by ski-borne armoured sheets manage to reach the front of the Finnish positions in Summa. By midnight the enemy has been forced to withdraw, leaving almost 150 armoured sheets in Finnish hands.

Eastern Isthmus: two Soviet divisions launch a massive assault in Taipale at 10.15 in the morning.

The enemy directs heavy shelling onto the eastern part of Kirvesmäki and the western strongholds in Terenttilä.

The Finnish positions being shelled are also bombed by nine enemy aircraft at the same time as fighter aircraft strafe the front lines.

Two of the Terenttilä strongholds are lost to the enemy. Finnish losses total 219 men, of whom 32 are killed.

The enemy assault on Kirvesmäki fails with the loss of two assault tanks.

In the north, 1,500 Russians are killed in Kuhmo.

Ladoga Karelia: the enemy wipes out a Finnish ski battalion to the northeast of Lake Ladoga.

An enemy detachment of around 250 men is surrounded to the east of Lake Nietjärvi.

Government ministers Ryti, Walden and Tanner discuss the offer of help from the Allies and decide it should be used to exert pressure on both the Soviet Union and Sweden.

Second Lieutenant Wilhelm Bekassy, a Hungarian volunteer, disappears while flying his Fiat G50 fighter, bought from Italy and assembled in Sweden, from the Swedish city of Västerås to Säkylä in southwest Finland.

The Swedish national collection in aid of Finland has so far generated around 15 million krona.

The British Labour Party delegation visiting Finland leaves for home today.

Abroad: the Paris Opera is putting on a special gala evening to raise funds for Finland.

Daily losses: 187




Ski patrol at Märkäjärvi.

[Dowly]

9 February - DAY 72 of Winter War

Ladoga Karelia: Finnish troops surround a Red Army regiment in Vorojenkivi, to the east of the great Kitelä 'motti', establishing what was later to become known as the 'regimental motti' to the north of Lake Ladoga. The name came naturally from the fact that an entire Russian regiment (JR 203) was trapped there.

The Finnish attempt to immediately take the 'motti' grinds to a halt in face of the Soviet tanks trapped inside. A bloody struggle ensues.

Karelian Isthmus: the commanders of the Soviet northwest front on the Isthmus order a general offensive. Around midday, the Soviet infantry launches a tank-supported assault in the Finnish 4th Division's positions in Marjapellonmäki.

The assault is repulsed, but Soviet troops manage to take the Karhu stronghold to the north of Marjapellonmäki on the Summa front.

Finnish attempts to retake the stronghold prove unsuccessful.

In Summa, a fresh battalion is sent in during the course of the evening to relieve the battalion fighting in the Lähde sector.

Helsinki: graduation as a qualified nurse is to be made easier and more courses provided for trainee nurses in the Helsinki area.

The armed forces payment system is to be overhauled by presidential decree. Every soldier is to receive a monthly salary, ranging from 500 markkaa for a private soldier up to 2,500 markkaa for a general. This basic salary will be further supplemented by 150 markkaa for the first child in the family and an additional 100 markkaa for each subsequent child.

The Government is also to decide on the payment of maintenance benefits to the wife, child or disabled and dependent parents or siblings of a man called up to serve in the armed forces.

Sweden: more than two out of every hundred Swedish doctors are now in Finland, and the Swedish Medical Association's collection for Finland has already brought in over 100,000 krona.

A collection organized by a Lutheran priest in Gothenburg has raised 240,000 krona to buy a fighter aircraft for Finland.

Denmark: 10,000 Danes have volunteered to go and work in Finland.

London: a credit agreement has been signed to facilitate Finland's purchase of war material from the United Kingdom.

(Click for larger photo)

View of the frontline terrain. Oinola.

Daily losses: 182

[Schroeder]

Originally Posted by Dowly

Central Isthmus: Soviet infantry supported by tanks and protected by ski-borne armoured sheets manage to reach the front of the Finnish positions in Summa. By midnight the enemy has been forced to withdraw, leaving almost 150 armoured sheets in Finnish hands.

What is an ski borne armored sheet?
Some sort of protective shield that is used by infantry?

[Dowly]

Originally Posted by Schroeder

What is an ski borne armored sheet?
Some sort of protective shield that is used by infantry?

Yes, exactly that.
http://i.imgur.com/gyjREzZ.jpg

They would be pulled by the tanks.

[Schroeder]

Originally Posted by Dowly

Yes, exactly that.
http://i.imgur.com/gyjREzZ.jpg

They would be pulled by the tanks.

Interesting design. First time I see something like that.