Continuation War, day by day.

[Dowly]

17 August 1944

President Mannerheim informs the Germans that President Ryti's personal guarantee to not seek separate peace does not bind him.

Finnish daily losses: 36


Estonian volunteer regiment (IR200) marching to Myllykoski station. They are scheduled to leave Finland within couple of days.

***

18 August 1944

No entry.

Finnish daily losses: 37


Colonel Aarnio, commander of Infantry Regiment 56. (Loimola area, Ladoga Karelia)

***

19 August 1944

No entry.

Finnish daily losses: 28

***

20 August 1944

Wilhelm Keitel presents Mannerheim with the Knight's Cross with Oak leaves from Hitler.

Finnish daily losses: 43


Unit sign with the unit's number and what I assume are bases/sectors.
From top: Lantern, Lock, Sledge-hammer, Castle, Bay

***

21 August 1944

As nights are getting darker, blackout regulations begin.

Finnish daily losses: 59

***

22 August 1944

No entry.

Finnish daily losses: 23


Finnish patrol heading out to enemy side. (Uuksujärvi area)

***

23 August 1944

No entry.

Finnish daily losses: 41

[Dowly]

24 August 1944

President Mannerheim makes the decision to seek peace with the Soviet Union. The decision is made on Mannerheim's train in Herttoniemi at a meeting attended by Prime Minister Hackzell, Walden and Tanner and the Finnish Ambassador to Sweden, Gripenberg. Everyone agrees that there can be no further delay to seek peace, even though goods are constantly coming from Germany.

Finnish daily losses: 29


Strong artillery bunkers in Rukajärvi area.


Inside view.

***

25 August 1944

Ambassador Gripenberg flies to Stockholm on 25 August, accompanied by a letter signed by Foreign Minister Enckell to Alexandra Kollontai. The letter proposes the opening of negotiations in Moscow. At the same time, Finland officially announces in Berlin that President Ryti's agreement with Hitler is no longer in force.

Finnish daily losses: 28


Camouflaged 'Sturmi'.

***

26 August 1944

Eleven people are arrested in Pietarsaari; they had attempted to flee to Sweden on a motor boat.

Finnish daily losses: 27


Ihantala road.

***

27 August 1944

No entry.

Finnish daily losses: 26

***

28 August 1944

No entry.

Finnish daily losses: 27

***

29 August 1944

The Soviet Union announces that Finland must immediately and publicly end its relationship with Germany and demand that it withdraw its troops from Finland by 15 September. If Germany does not withdraw its troops from Finland within the time limit, they must be disarmed and surrendered as prisoners of war to the Allies. Once these preconditions have been met, the Soviet Union agrees to receive the Finnish delegation in Moscow.

Finnish daily losses: 31

***

30 August 1944

President Mannerheim decides to agree to Soviet Union's preconditions.

Finnish daily losses: 25

***

31 August 1944

No entry.

Finnish daily losses: 38

Finnish losses in August: 1,849

Finnish losses in the war so far: 62,803


Commander of Infantry Regiment 15, Colonel von Schrowe. (Vuosalmi direction)

[Schroeder]

Originally Posted by Dowly

Commander of Infantry Regiment 15, Colonel von Schrowe. (Vuosalmi direction)

The name sounds very German.

[Dowly]

Originally Posted by Schroeder

The name sounds very German.

Probably some old nobility no one's ever heard of.

[Dowly]

1 September 1944

Risto Westerlund, who has been sentenced to death for defecting to the enemy side and for treason is executed. He is one of the last to be executed during the war.

Finnish daily losses: 41

***

2 September 1944

Foreign Minister Carl Enckell invites Ambassador Wipert von Blücher to the Foreign Ministry at 22:00 in the evening and informs him of Finland's termination of diplomatic relations with Germany.
Enckell reads to the Ambassador a politely formulated statement, first stating that Germany has sacrificed support and assistance to Finland. Then comes the justification for breaking diplomatic relations: "However, when the interests of Finland demand that peace be guaranteed as soon as possible, under conditions that safeguard the country's independence, it is no longer possible to use the Finnish territory for German military purposes."
The statement further states that Finland is required by the Allies to publicly announce the termination of diplomatic relations and to require the Germans to leave Finland by 15 September. The Finnish Government sees itself as having to comply with these conditions.
It ends with the wish that Germany, in the name of past comradery, would show a benevolent understanding of the difficulties Finland is undergoing to secure its freedom in the future.
When Foreign Minister Enckell finishes reading, the bitter and angry von Blücher waits a moment and then says, "And that you dare say to me!"

*

In the evening of September 1, the Finnish Government receives an ultimatum from the Soviet Union to announce whether it will accept the preconditions set by the Soviet Union for peace talks, by the evening of September 2. Within the same period, Finland shall notify Germany of the termination of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The Parliament votes 108-45 in favor of commencing peace talks.

*

Generaloberst Lothar Rendulic, the commander of the German troops in Lapland, visits the headquarters and meets Mannerheim for the last time. Rendulic threatens that if the Finns and the Germans were at war with each other, the battles would become very bloody, as the two best armies in the world would face each other.

Finnish daily losses: 37


Crash landed Soviet Yak.

***

3 September 1944

Mannerheim orders the 6th Division and the 15th Brigade to head to north Finland.

Germans abandon their plan to occupy Åland (Tanne West).

Finnish daily losses: 29


Testing a Soviet AT rifle. (Uuksujärvi)

***

4 September 1944

At 3.15 in the morning, the headquarters orders that the fighting against the Soviet Union be stopped at 7 am.

Finnish daily losses: 31


Soviet and Finnish officer compare pocket watches. (Viipuri direction)

***

5 September 1944

Soviet troops cease fighting at 7 am, 24 hours late.

Finnish daily losses: 13


Word of the truce has arrived. (Kirvesmäki)

***

6 September 1944

No entry.

Finnish daily losses: 15

[Schroeder]

Originally Posted by Dowly

6 September 1944

No entry.

Finnish daily losses: 15

Guess some units didn't get the memo of the truce (happened a lot back in the day).

[Dowly]

Originally Posted by Schroeder

Guess some units didn't get the memo of the truce (happened a lot back in the day).

The figure includes all causes of death, most of the fifteen died of other than combat related causes.

[Schroeder]

Originally Posted by Dowly

The figure includes all causes of death, most of the fifteen died of other than combat related causes.

I heard stories about Finnish dentists....

[Dowly]

7 September 1944

The Peace Delegation, appointed by Mannerheim, crosses the border line at Juustila on 7 September and arrives in Moscow the same evening.
The delegation is headed by Prime Minister Hackzell and other members include Defense Minister Walden, Chief of Staff Heinrichs and General Oscar Enckell.

*

The Finnish Government is asking the Swedish Government whether the Swedish authorities can receive approximately 100,000 refugees from the area west of the Oulujoki and Kemijoki rivers, if necessary. The Swedish Government replies in the affirmative.

*

Headquarters' LRRP detachment Jauri hands over their loaner seaplanes back to the Germans.

Finnish daily losses: 18


Grim reminder of the fighting at Vuosalmi during the summer; A fallen Russian soldier still where he fell in July.

***

8 September 1944

German forces begin to withdraw from the Kiestinki area.

Finnish daily losses: 13

***

9 September 1944

Mauno Olavi Laiho, sentenced to death in 1943 for treason, is executed in Oulu.

Finnish daily losses: 13


Prisoner exchange in Ihantala.

***

10 September 1944

No entry.

Finnish daily losses: 11


Ihantala.

***

11 September 1944

The sole survivor of detachment Vehniäinen's three man patrol which was paradropped behind enemy lines on the Isthmus on 31 August returns back to own lines at 03.00

*

Lieutenant Colonel Haahti, the representative of the headquarters, begins negotiations in Rovaniemi on cooperation, the so-called "autumn maneuvers", between German and Finnish troops. Contrary to the ceasefire agreement with the Soviet Union, the plan of the headquarters is that military action in Lapland would be merely illusory. On retreat, the Germans would destroy bridges and roads. The Finns would move into the emptied areas according to a pre-agreed schedule. Its implementation would be monitored on a regular basis. The slow progress could be justified by the aforementioned destruction of bridges and roads.

*

Hitler shows green light to Operation Tanne Ost, the capture of Suursaari island on Gulf of Finland.

Finnish daily losses: 22

***

12 September 1944

8-man LRRP patrol returns from north of Seesjärvi on foot, having trekked for over 200km.

Finnish daily losses: 25

***

13 September 1944

No entry.

Finnish daily losses: 11

[Dowly]

14 September 1944

Last German troops leave southern Finland.

Prime Minister Hackzel suffers a stroke in Moscow, leaving him unable to speak. General Walden takes his place in the first negotiations the same evening.

Finnish daily losses: 11


Men of IR 56 return the body of a fallen comrade from no man's land. (Loimola area)

***

15 September 1944

German troops try to capture Suursaari island in Gulf of Finland:

Germany had ready plans for an invasion of the Åland Islands and the Suursaari island in case Finland collapsed in a war against the Soviet Union. It wanted to secure shipping links in the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland. Hitler withdrew from the Åland operation, but the order to attack the Suursaari island had already been issued on 3 September. Around 1,600 Finns defended the island.
Immediately after midnight on September 15, three German ships entered the port of Suursaari, from which a German officer stepped ashore and demanded Lieutenant Colonel Martti Miettinen to surrender the island peacefully. Miettinen rejected the German demands outright. Soon, the Germans began an assault throughout the harbor, and the Finns opened fire. By the morning the Germans had captured an area of about four kilometers wide and one kilometer deep. Although there were about 2,000 Germans, the attempt to conquer the island went awry because heavy equipment could not be landed. The Finnish navy and artillery on the island, as well as the Soviet Air Force, sank or drove off German ships that supported the attack. German losses were 153 fallen and 1231 captured. Finns suffered casualties of about 100 men.

*

German timed mines destroy the Pori airfield.

*

A patrol of three Germans is destroyed in Oulu after they refuse demands to lay down their weapons.

Finnish daily losses: 61

***

16 September 1944

No entry.

Finnish daily losses: 11

***

17 September 1944

AA battery in Helsinki opens fire on three Soviet planes, possibly downing one.

Finnish daily losses: 20


German POWs. (Suursaari)

***

18 September 1944

Headquarters sends more troops to the north; Armored Division and 3rd Division to Oulu and Border Jaeger Brigade to Kajaani.

Finnish daily losses: 13

***

19 September 1944

Ceasefire is signed in Moscow:

The initial draft of the ceasefire agreement did not bring about much change in the Moscow negotiations. Foreign Minister Molotov, the chief negotiator of the Soviet Union, remained on the firm line that had become familiar. His standard response to the Finnish amendments was: "Not planned." In two cases, the Soviet Union was flexible: the payment period for war compensation was extended from five to six years, and the demobilization period for the Finnish army was extended by two weeks until the beginning of December. The talks ended on 18 September with a threat: if Finland did not sign the agreement by 12 noon on 19 September, the Soviet Union would occupy Finland.
The Finnish government met on September 19 at three o'clock in the morning. Parliament was convened at six o'clock. The government proposed the acceptance of the terms of the peace, which was accepted by all parliamentary groups. The Finnish delegation signed agreement at 12 noon. The terms of the peace included the 1940 Moscow Peace Borders, the surrender of Petsamo, the 50-year lease of Porkkala, $ 300 million in war compensation, the expulsion of Germans, and the conviction of war criminals. The agreement also included the abolition of "fascist" organizations, the return to the Soviet Union of more than 60,000 Ingrians who had migrated to Finland during the war, and the demobilization of the army.
The peace made was called a ceasefire because the final peace would not be made until after the end of the World War. An monitoring commission, consisting mainly of a representative of the Soviet Union and overseeing the interests of the eastern neighbor, was sent to Finland to oversee its terms.

Finnish daily losses: 19

***

20 September 1944

Finnish troops begin to withdraw towards the border.

Finnish daily losses: 16

[STEED]

Just book marking to pick up from this spot onwards when I get the chance in a few weeks time.

Looks like part three is about to kick off.

[Dowly]

21 September 1944

Operation 'Stella Polaris' begins.

Finnish daily losses: 16


Last sentry at IR 45's camp area. (Syskyjärvi-Uomaa area)

***

22 September 1944

First 15 members of the Allied Cotrol Commission arrive at Malmi airfield. The commission immediately wants to know what plans Finns have for demobilizing the army, disbanding the Civil Guard and pursuing of war criminals.

Lieutenant-General Hjalmar Siilasvuo is given command of Finnish forces in North Finland.

Lieutenant-Colonel Wolf Halsti meets with Siilasvuo and suggests an amphibious landing either to Kemi or Tornio.

Finnish daily losses: 14


II/IR 52 has crossed the border in the morning fog. (Kolvasjärvi)

***

23 September 1944

The Council of State adopts a decree on the release of political prisoners.

The operative department of the Finnish HQ begins to prepare for hiding military weapons and equipment to be used in case of Soviet occupation of the country. (See: Weapons Cache Case)

Finnish daily losses: 15

***

24 September 1944

100,000 people living in North Finland have been evacuated.

Finnish daily losses: 12

***

25 September 1944

11th Division is ordered to Oulu.

Finnish daily losses: 16

***

26 September 1944

N/A

Finnish daily losses: 13

***

27 September 1944

Lieutenant-General Siilasvuo takes front responsibility in North Finland.

The III AK's attack plan is decided: the focus is on the coastline, where the 3rd Division strengthened by 15th Brigade advances towards Kemi. One of its regiments, IR 11, is to be sent by sea to Kemi to help Detachment Pennanen to capture the city's briges. The Armored Division attacking in Pudasjärvi direction is advancing south of Kemi, thus completing the encirclement.

The Border Jäger Brigade, subordinated to III AK, begins it's advance from Kontiomäki towards Suomussalmi.

Finnish daily losses: 10


One of the last photos from a Finnish outpost "Talo". (Rukajärvi direction)

***

28 September 1944

First combat situation between German and Finnish troops takes place near Pudasjärvi where Jäger Battalion 5 (of the Jäger Brigade) encircles a German unit holding onto a bridge. The Germans are surprised when the Finns demand them to surrender and open fire towards them, despite the earlier agreed withdraw plans. Two Germans are killed, four wounded and an unspecified number are taken prisoner.

Russo-Finno Naval cooperation starts in Gulf of Finland as per the truce agreement.

Finnish daily losses: 5

***

29 September 1944

Battlegroup Hautala, advacing on the Kemi road, tries to capture the bridge over river Olhavajoki intact, but the Germans manage to destroy it.

Porkkala is handed over to the Soviet Union at 08.00am.

Finnish daily losses: 14

***

30 September 1944

The Allied Control Commission gives an ultimatum to President Mannerheim, demanding that active military operations against the Germans in North Finland must begin no later than 08.00am on the next day.

Lieutenant-General Siilasvuo assures Mannerheim that there will be some "good news" tomorrow regarding the issue.

Infantry Regiment 11 sets sail from Oulu towards Tornio. Due to severe weather conditions, the landing in Kemi is abandoned.

Finnish daily losses: 9

Finnish losses in September: 544

[STEED]

Just started reading this one from Osprey

Petsamo and Kirkenes 1944
THE SOVIET OFFENSIVE IN THE NORTHERN ARCTIC
CAMPAIGN 343


This title examines the bitter conflict between two highly tactical armies as they battled across challenging terrain to gain control of strategically significant Northern Finland.

https://ospreypublishing.com/store/m...-kirkenes-1944

Thank you Dowly for another year.

You soon be on the home stretch mate.

[Dowly]

Originally Posted by STEED

Thank you Dowly for another year.

You soon be on the home stretch mate.

If only I had more time to write this.

As for home stretch, my book goes to December 1945 i.e December 2020... but I haven't checked how relevant all that stuff is.


Let me know how that book is, can't say I'm familiar with the German-Russian bit of the fighting in North Finland.

[STEED]

No rush mate you have done well Dowly, will post about the book some time next week.