Battle of Vuosalmi
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Vuosalmi — the main bulk of it — lasted from July 4 to July 11, 1944. It was fought during the Continuation War
(1941–1944), a part of World War II
, between Finland
and the Soviet Union
.
against the Finnish defenders in the late June and early July 1944, they tried to break the Finnish positions in Vuosalmi
(now Druzhnoye) and encircle the southern part of the Finnish forces in the Karelian Isthmus
. Soviet forces of the 23rd Army in the region had made unsuccessful low-scale attacks against the Finnish defenses for nearly two weeks at Äyräpää region. Lack of success from the 23rd Army's performance lead to change of command on July 3.
region started to slow down.
's 23rd Army (Svetsov) was assigned with the task of making a crossing and a breakthrough at Vuosalmi. For this task 23rd Army assigned first the 98th (Anisimov) Corps with 92nd, 281st and 381st Rifle Divisions and later switched it to 115th Corps (Kozatsek) with 10th, 92nd and 142nd Rifle Divisions.
Soviet 115th Corps reinforced the bridgehead and had all its three divisions in the bridgehead on July 11. Finns also received reinforcements in form of the depleted Finnish Armored Division directly from Ihantala
and on July 11 both sides were attempting to attack simultaneously. Attempts on both sides were halted when they ran into attacking enemy formations. Though Soviets now had access to the fields on the northern side, which were advantageous to the Soviet armor, the Finns were able to stop all further Soviet advances. The following Finnish counter attacks in Vuosalmi
at this point amounted to not much success either, and thus both sides were on defensive here in mid-July, 1944.
The Finnish artillery fired altogether over 122,000 rounds of ordnance in Äyräpää and Vuosalmi
, from June 20 to July 17, 1944 – same amount, as in the Battle of Tali-Ihantala
, which was fought during exactly the same time period in a near vicinity, on the relatively narrow Karelian Isthmus
of Finland.
, Marshal Leonid Govorov
criticized heavily the 23rd Army, 98th Corps and 115th Corps commanders when the offensive in Vuosalmi had not yielded any concrete results despite of the intolerably heavy casualties.
Continuation War
The Continuation War was the second of two wars fought between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II.At the time of the war, the Finnish side used the name to make clear its perceived relationship to the preceding Winter War...
(1941–1944), a part of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, between Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
Background
After the Soviets saw that they had failed in the Battle of Tali-IhantalaBattle of Tali-Ihantala
The Battle of Tali-Ihantala was part of the Continuation War , which occurred during World War II. The battle was fought between Finnish forces—using war material provided by Germany—and Soviet forces...
against the Finnish defenders in the late June and early July 1944, they tried to break the Finnish positions in Vuosalmi
Vuosalmi
Vuosalmi is a former village on Karelian Isthmus, on the northern shore of Vuoksi River in front of Pölläkkälä , where the battle of Vuosalmi took place in 1944....
(now Druzhnoye) and encircle the southern part of the Finnish forces in the Karelian Isthmus
Karelian Isthmus
The Karelian Isthmus is the approximately 45–110 km wide stretch of land, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia, to the north of the River Neva . Its northwestern boundary is the relatively narrow area between the Bay of Vyborg and Lake Ladoga...
. Soviet forces of the 23rd Army in the region had made unsuccessful low-scale attacks against the Finnish defenses for nearly two weeks at Äyräpää region. Lack of success from the 23rd Army's performance lead to change of command on July 3.
Finnish
Finnish defenses on the Vuosalmi consisted initially with only the 2nd Division (Martola, later Blick). But this got later reinforced with the Armored Division (Lagus) after the battles in the Tali-IhantalaBattle of Tali-Ihantala
The Battle of Tali-Ihantala was part of the Continuation War , which occurred during World War II. The battle was fought between Finnish forces—using war material provided by Germany—and Soviet forces...
region started to slow down.
Soviet
Soviet Leningrad FrontLeningrad Front
The Leningrad Front was first formed on August 27, 1941, by dividing the Northern Front into the Leningrad Front and Karelian Front, during the German approach on Leningrad .-History:...
's 23rd Army (Svetsov) was assigned with the task of making a crossing and a breakthrough at Vuosalmi. For this task 23rd Army assigned first the 98th (Anisimov) Corps with 92nd, 281st and 381st Rifle Divisions and later switched it to 115th Corps (Kozatsek) with 10th, 92nd and 142nd Rifle Divisions.
The battle
The Finnish positions were very unfavorably located in the ridge of Äyräpää, with the wide River Vuoksi behind. Though position was very unfavorable the Äyräpää ridge dominated the lower lands on the northern shore requiring the defensive lines to be placed on the ridge. The Red Army 98th Corps started heavier attacks on July 4 and heavy battles raged on the control of the ridge until July 9 when Finns finally withdrew to the northern shore. Soviet 115th Corps then continued the attack and crossed the Vuosalmi on July 9.Soviet 115th Corps reinforced the bridgehead and had all its three divisions in the bridgehead on July 11. Finns also received reinforcements in form of the depleted Finnish Armored Division directly from Ihantala
Battle of Tali-Ihantala
The Battle of Tali-Ihantala was part of the Continuation War , which occurred during World War II. The battle was fought between Finnish forces—using war material provided by Germany—and Soviet forces...
and on July 11 both sides were attempting to attack simultaneously. Attempts on both sides were halted when they ran into attacking enemy formations. Though Soviets now had access to the fields on the northern side, which were advantageous to the Soviet armor, the Finns were able to stop all further Soviet advances. The following Finnish counter attacks in Vuosalmi
Vuosalmi
Vuosalmi is a former village on Karelian Isthmus, on the northern shore of Vuoksi River in front of Pölläkkälä , where the battle of Vuosalmi took place in 1944....
at this point amounted to not much success either, and thus both sides were on defensive here in mid-July, 1944.
The Finnish artillery fired altogether over 122,000 rounds of ordnance in Äyräpää and Vuosalmi
Vuosalmi
Vuosalmi is a former village on Karelian Isthmus, on the northern shore of Vuoksi River in front of Pölläkkälä , where the battle of Vuosalmi took place in 1944....
, from June 20 to July 17, 1944 – same amount, as in the Battle of Tali-Ihantala
Battle of Tali-Ihantala
The Battle of Tali-Ihantala was part of the Continuation War , which occurred during World War II. The battle was fought between Finnish forces—using war material provided by Germany—and Soviet forces...
, which was fought during exactly the same time period in a near vicinity, on the relatively narrow Karelian Isthmus
Karelian Isthmus
The Karelian Isthmus is the approximately 45–110 km wide stretch of land, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia, to the north of the River Neva . Its northwestern boundary is the relatively narrow area between the Bay of Vyborg and Lake Ladoga...
of Finland.
Aftermath
The commander of the Soviet Leningrad FrontLeningrad Front
The Leningrad Front was first formed on August 27, 1941, by dividing the Northern Front into the Leningrad Front and Karelian Front, during the German approach on Leningrad .-History:...
, Marshal Leonid Govorov
Leonid Govorov
Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov was a Soviet military commander. An artillery officer, he joined the Red Army in 1920. He graduated from several Soviet military academies, including the Military Academy of Red Army General Staff. He participated in the Winter War as a senior artillery officer.In...
criticized heavily the 23rd Army, 98th Corps and 115th Corps commanders when the offensive in Vuosalmi had not yielded any concrete results despite of the intolerably heavy casualties.