We are all well aware of the various battlefields of the Great Patriotic War - Smolensk, Leningrad, Rostov, Stalingrad, Sevastopol. But the theme of the Karelian Front somehow always remained forgotten. But half of Karelia (then the Karelian-Finnish SSR), including Petrozavodsk, was occupied by Finnish troops allied to the Germans. In 1941, Finland opposed the USSR in the camp of the allies Nazi Germany. There were several reasons that prompted the Finnish leadership to take such a step. This is the thirst for revenge for the Soviet-Finnish (Winter) war of 1939-1940, and the anti-Soviet attitude of the Finnish political elite, which began in 1918, coupled with the intention to annex Karelia to Finland, and, finally, the fear of falling under German occupation, the threat of which appeared in April 1940, when German troops occupied Norway and reached the Finnish border.
So, in Karelia, the Finnish troops acted independently, participating in the implementation of the Barbarossa plan, in June-September 1941, the Finns again occupied the Karelian Isthmus and the Northern Ladoga Region, which belonged to them until 1940, and then crossed the old border, closing the blockade of Leningrad on the Karelian Isthmus from north, and in Eastern Karelia moving towards the Murmansk railway and Lake Onega. At the same time, part of the airfields in northern Finland was given to Luftwaffe aircraft, which bombed Murmansk and Soviet ports on the Kola Peninsula.
2. On October 2, 1941, Petrozavodsk was occupied by the Finnish Karelian Army as a result of the fighting. (Karjalan armeija):
3. Finnish soldier hoisting a flag over the station:
5. Soon the city was renamed by the Finns into Äänislinna, which translates from Finnish as "City on Onego". In fact, the given Russian transcription is not entirely correct, since there is no sound corresponding to the Finnish letter Ä in Russian.
6. In the buildings of government offices on Lenin Square, the occupation administration was located:
7. A in wooden buildings on the left was the occupying military commandant's office:
8. Finnish soldiers in front of the monument to Lenin:
9. And the Finns overthrew Ilyich himself and put a cannon in his place:
10. View of the city from above:
11. During the occupation, 10 concentration camps operated in Petrozavodsk and adjacent territories, the first of which was opened on October 14, 1941.
The concentration camps housed mainly the Russian population, which, as "unrelated", was significantly infringed in its rights compared to the Finno-Ugric population, and, by order of the commander-in-chief of the Finnish troops K. G. Mannerheim, was subsequently to be deported to the German zone of occupation. During the years of the Finnish occupation of Karelia, about 30 thousand people passed through the concentration camps, and the death rate in the concentration camps averaged about 10%, that is, conditions in the Finnish zone of occupation were only slightly better than in the German one.
12. Children-prisoners of the Petrozavodsk concentration camp. This photo was taken in 1944 after the liberation of the city and was presented as evidence at the Nuremberg trials.
13. Finnish soldiers in front of the building of the Council of Ministers:
14. The gate of the teacher training school, in the building of which the Finnish school was arranged by the occupation authorities:
15. Finns on Dzerzhinsky Street:
It must be said that Mannerheim was careful in the matter of an alliance with Hitler and did not try to fulfill all of his requirements, since he understood that the Soviet Union could still win, and in this case, nothing good would come of allied loyalty to Hitler to him and Finland.
In the summer of 1944, the Vyborg-Petrozavodsk offensive began. On June 20, the Red Army took Vyborg, and the next day went on the offensive in Eastern Karelia, where it began to push the troops of the Finnish Olonets group (Aunuksen ryhma). The Finns retreated in some places without a fight, and on June 28, 1944, units of the Red Army liberated Petrozavodsk. By the end of August, the Finnish troops had completely retreated beyond the border line.
16. Soviet officers in Petrozavodsk after his release. Photo against the background of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral:
Since that moment, peace has come to Karelia again.
Considered the bloodiest Soviet people. She claimed, according to some reports, about 40 million lives. The conflict began due to the sudden invasion of the Wehrmacht armies on the USSR on June 22, 1941.
Adolf Hitler, without warning, gave the command to launch a massive blow to the entire front line. The USSR, unprepared for defense, suffered one defeat after another in the first years of the war. 1941 was the most difficult year for the Red Army, and the Wehrmacht was able to reach Moscow itself.
The main battles were fought on the Stalingrad, Moscow, Leningrad and other directions. However, the Nazis also tried to conquer more northern regions. To prevent this from happening, the Northern Front was created, to which the Karelian Front was subordinate.
During the Great Patriotic War, the Karelian Front was called upon to prevent the enemy from penetrating the Arctic. The combat formation was created on August 23, 1941. It was based on separate combat units of the Northern Front. The backbone was the forces of the 7th and 14th armies. At the time of the creation of the connection, both armies fought for a rather long front line: from Barents Sea and to Lake Ladoga. It will be called "The Road of Life" in the future. The front headquarters was located in Belomorsk, which was located in the Karelian-Finnish Soviet Republic.
The Northern Fleet provided support to the Karelian Front during the Second World War. The main task that the fighters had to cope with was to ensure the northern flank of the strategic defense in the North of the USSR.
The 7th Army withdrew from the Karelian Front in 1941. In September 1942, three more armies joined it, and at the end of the same year, units of the 7th Air Army also joined it. The 7th Army returned to the front again only in 1944.
The first commander in chief of the Karelian Front of the Second World War was Major General of the Red Army V., who commanded the Soviet forces in this direction until February 1944. From February to November 1944, Marshal of the USSR K. A. Meretskov led the front.
Already in August 1941, a month and a half after the start of hostilities, the enemy reached the Karelian Front. With heavy losses, the soldiers of the Red Army were able to stop the advance of the Wehrmacht forces and went on the defensive. The enemy wanted to take possession of the Arctic, and the fighters of the Karelian Front were tasked with protecting this region from Army Group North.
The operation lasted from 1941 to 1944 - until the complete victory over the Wehrmacht units in the USSR. In 1941, they also participated in the defense of the Arctic, which provided important support to the ground forces and the fleet of the Red Army. British help was appropriate, because the Nazis prevailed in the air.
The troops of the Karelian Front held the defense along next line: river Zapadnaya Litsa - Ukhta - Povenets - Lake Onega - Svir river. On July 4, the enemy was able to reach the Western Litsa River, for which fierce battles began. Bloody defensive actions led to the containment of the enemy offensive by the forces of the 52nd Infantry Division of the Karelian Front. She received significant support from the Marine Corps.
The forces of the Karelian Front participated in the Murmansk defensive operation. They managed to stop the offensive in this direction. After that, the German command decided that it would no longer attempt to take the city of Murmansk in 1941.
Already in the spring next year the Nazis again wanted to take the previously unreached milestone - Murmansk. Parts of the Red Army, in turn, planned to conduct an offensive operation in order to push the Wehrmacht troops beyond the border lines of the USSR. The Murmansk offensive operation was carried out earlier than the Germans planned to launch their attack. She did not bring much success, but did not give the Nazis the opportunity to launch their own offensive. From the moment of the Murmansk operation, the front in this sector stabilized until 1944.
On January 3, the forces of the Karelian Front launched another operation - Medvezhyegorsk, which lasted until January 10 of the same 1942. The Soviet army in this area was significantly inferior to the enemy both in numbers and equipment, and in personnel training of the army. The enemy had much more experience in fighting in a wooded area.
On the morning of January 3, the Red Army launched an attack with a small artillery preparation. Parts of the Finnish army quickly reacted to the offensive and began sharp and unexpected Soviet soldiers counterattacks. The command of the Karelian Front failed to carefully prepare an offensive plan. The troops acted in a pattern, striking in the same directions, because of which the enemy was able to successfully counterattack them. The successful defense of the Finnish army led to huge losses on the part of the Red Army.
Fierce fighting, which did not have much success, continued until 10 January. The Soviet army still managed to advance 5 km and somewhat improve their positions. By January 10, the enemy received reinforcements, and the attacks stopped. The Finnish troops decided to return to their previous positions, but the forces of the Karelian Front were able to repel their offensive. During the operation, the Soviet troops still managed to liberate the village of Velikaya Guba.
In the summer of 1944, the fighting intensified again after a lull since 1943. The Soviet troops, who had already practically ousted the Wehrmacht forces from the territory of the USSR, carried out the Svir-Petrozavodsk operation. It began on June 21, 1944 and continued until August 9 of the same year. The attack on June 21 began with massive artillery preparation and a powerful air strike against the enemy's defensive positions. After that, the overcoming of the Svir River began, and during the fighting, the Soviet army managed to seize a bridgehead on the other side. On the very first day, a massive attack brought success - the forces of the Karelian Front advanced 6 kilometers. The second day of hostilities was even more successful - the Red Army units managed to push the enemy back another 12 kilometers.
On June 23, the 7th Army launched an offensive. The massive attack developed successfully, and the Finnish armies began a hasty retreat the very next day from the start of the operation. The Finnish units were unable to hold the offensive on any of the fronts and were forced to withdraw to the Vidlitsa River, where they took up defensive positions.
In parallel, the offensive of the 32nd Army developed, which managed to capture the city of Medvezhyegorsk, which was not achieved in 1942. On June 28, the Red Army launched an offensive against a more strategically important city - Petrozavodsk. Together with the forces of the Red Army fleet, the city was liberated the very next day. Both sides suffered significant losses in this battle. However, the Finnish army did not have fresh forces, and they were forced to leave the city.
On July 2, the Karelian Front began to attack enemy positions on the Vidlitsa River. Already before July 6, the powerful defense of the Nazis was completely broken, and Soviet army managed to advance another 35 km. Fierce battles were fought until August 9, but they did not bring success - the enemy held a tight defense, and the Headquarters gave the order to go over to the defense of already captured positions.
The result of the operation was the defeat of the enemy units that held the Karelian-Finnish SSR, and the liberation of the republic. These events led to the fact that Finland received another reason to withdraw from the war.
From October 7 to November 1, 1944, the Red Army, with the support of the fleet, carried out the successful Petsamo-Kirkenes operation. On October 7, a powerful artillery preparation was carried out, after which the offensive began. During the successful offensive and breaking through the enemy defenses, the city of Pestamo was completely surrounded.
After Pestamo was successfully taken, the cities of Nikel and Tarnet were taken, and at the final stage, the Norwegian city of Kirkenes. During its capture, the Soviet units suffered significant losses. In the battle for the city, Norwegian patriots provided significant support to the Soviet troops.
As a result of the above operations, the border with Norway and Finland was restored again. The enemy was completely driven out, and battles were already being fought in enemy territory. On November 15, 1944, Finland announced its surrender and withdrew from World War II. After these events, the Karelian Front was disbanded. After that, his main forces became part of the 1st Far Eastern Front, which was entrusted with the task of conducting the Manchurian offensive operation in 1945 to defeat the Japanese army and the Chinese province of the same name.
It is interesting that only in the sector of the Karelian Front (1941 - 1945) did the fascist army fail to cross the border of the USSR - the Nazis did not manage to break the defense of Murmansk. Dog teams were also used in this sector of the front, and the fighters themselves fought in the harsh northern climate. During the Great Patriotic War, the Karelian Front was the largest in length, because its total length reached 1600 kilometers. He also did not have one solid line.
The Karelian Front was the only one of all the fronts of the Great Patriotic War that did not send to the rear of the country for repairs military equipment and weapons. This repair was done in special parts at the enterprises of Karelia and the Murmansk region.
Planned operations of Germany and Finland in the Kola Arctic at the beginning of the war
By the beginning of the attack on the Soviet Union, in accordance with the Barbarossa plan, a grouping of German and Finnish troops was deployed on the territory of Norway and Northern Finland: from Varanger Fjord to Suomussalmi - a separate German army "Norway" (Colonel General N. Falkenhorst), subordinate to directly to the High Command of the Wehrmacht; from Kuhmo to Varkaus - the Finnish Karelian and to the south of it - the South-Eastern Army, subordinate to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Field Marshal K. Mannerheim. In total, this grouping consisted of more than 530 thousand people, 206 tanks, over 4300 guns and mortars. The German 5th Air Fleet and the Finnish Air Force (a total of 547 aircraft) were allocated to support it. The German naval forces (5 destroyers, 6 submarines and other ships) were concentrated in the ports of Norway, and the Finnish Navy (up to 60 ships) was concentrated in the Gulf of Finland.
The army "Norway" (33rd, 36th and 70th army corps, the mountain corps "Norway", 160 separate coastal batteries) was entrusted with the operation "Blaufuchs" ("Blue Fox"). In accordance with its plan, the mountain corps "Norway" (2nd and 3rd mountain divisions) was to strike in the Murmansk direction in order to capture the naval base within two weeks Northern Fleet Polyarny and block the Kola Bay, and subsequently, in cooperation with the 36th Army Corps, capture Murmansk. This corps (169th infantry division, SS mountain division "North", two tank battalions), advancing in the Kandalaksha direction, was supposed to go to the White Sea in the Kandalaksha area, cut the Kirov railway here, and later, moving north along this roads, in cooperation with the mountain corps "Norway" to destroy the Soviet troops on the Kola Peninsula and capture Murmansk. The Finnish 3rd Army Corps (3rd and 6th Infantry Divisions), which was operationally subordinate to the commander of the army "Norway", had to strike in the Kestenga and Ukhta directions, capture Ukhta, Kestenga, the village of Loukhi and cut the Kirov railway to the north city of Kem. The task of the 5th Air Fleet was to support ground troops, strike at the port facilities of Murmansk, block exits to the Arctic Ocean and the actions of the Soviet Northern Fleet. The German naval forces were entrusted with the defense of the coast of Northern Norway and Petsamo.
The Finnish 14th Infantry Division was to advance in the Rebolsk direction. The troops of the Karelian army were to strike in the Petrozavodsk and Olonets directions, to seize southern regions Karelia, go to the river. Svir and join in the area with the troops of the German Army Group North. The South-Eastern Army (2nd and 4th Army Corps, 17th Infantry Division) was tasked with capturing the Karelian Isthmus, connecting with the troops of Army Group North in the Leningrad region, occupying the peninsula and the naval base of Khanko.
In the subsequent plan of Operation Blaufuchs, it was planned to capture Arkhangelsk and, before the onset of cold weather, interrupt the northern sea and land communications that connected the Soviet Union with the outside world, as well as cut off the northern regions of the USSR from its central regions. The transition to the offensive was envisaged at different times and depended on the timing of the withdrawal of the troops of Army Group North to the line of the river. Western Dvina.
Covering the Soviet-Finnish state border by Directive No. 3 of the USSR People's Commissar of Defense of June 22, 1941 was assigned to the troops of the Northern Front, created on the basis of the Leningrad Military District under the command of Lieutenant General M.M. Popov. The front included the 14th, 7th and 23rd armies, numbering 402 thousand people, 1543 tanks, 7750 guns and mortars, 1678 aircraft. The border detachments of the Murmansk, Karelian-Finnish and Leningrad border districts were transferred to the operational subordination of the front commander.
On the northern coast of the Kola Peninsula (up to 300 km) and in the strip from the Barents Sea to the river. Pisto (about 550 km), the 14th Army (42nd Rifle Corps, 14th, 52nd Rifle and 1st Mixed Aviation Divisions, 23rd Murmansk Fortified Area) was deployed with the task of preventing the enemy’s navy from breaking into Kola and Motovsky bays, firmly cover Murmansk and the Kirov railway in the Kandalaksha and Loukhsky directions. In operational terms, the commander of the army, Lieutenant General V.A. Frolov was subordinate to the Northern Fleet (32 surface ships, 15 submarines, 116 aircraft; Rear Admiral, from September 16, 1941 Vice Admiral A.G. Golovko), 72, 82, 100 and 101st border detachments, 35 - I separate border commandant's office of the Murmansk border district. The troops of the 7th Army (54th, 71st, 168th, 237th rifle, 55th mixed aviation divisions, 26th Sortavala fortified area) were to, in cooperation with the Ladoga military flotilla, defend the state border from the river. Pisto to Ristalahti (480 km), prevent the enemy from reaching Lake Ladoga and ensure smooth operation Kirovskaya railway. In the operational subordination of the army commander, Lieutenant General F.D. Gorelenko were the 1st, 3rd, 73rd and 80th border detachments of the Karelian-Finnish border district. Formations of the 23rd Army (19th, 50th Rifle and 10th Mechanized Corps, 27th and 28th Fortified Areas) covered the border along the Karelian Isthmus from the Gulf of Finland to Lake Ladoga with the task of preventing the enemy from attacking Leningrad from northwest.
By June 27, 1941, the troops of the Northern Front and the forces of the Northern Fleet were put on full alert, and rifle formations and units took up defensive positions near the state border. At dawn on June 29, the mountain corps "Norway", having a fourfold superiority in forces and means, after an hour and a half of artillery preparation and a raid of 120 bombers by forces of two divisions, went on the offensive in the Murmansk direction. It marked the beginning of a strategic defensive operation in the Arctic and Karelia (June 29? October 10, 1941), within which defensive battles and operations were carried out in the Murmansk, Kandalaksha, Kestenga, Ukhta, Rebolsk, Petrozavodsk, Olonets directions and the Vyborg-Keksholm defensive operation.
Defensive operation in the Murmansk direction.
In the Murmansk direction, the troops of the 14th Army, supported by the fire of the naval artillery of the Northern Fleet, put up stubborn resistance to the formations of the mountain corps "Norway". Despite the superiority in forces, by the end of June 29, he managed to wedge into the defense of the army troops by only 3-12 km, reach the isthmus of the Sredny Peninsula and the line of the river. Titovka, capturing a small foothold on its eastern shore. By decision of the commander, Lieutenant General V.A. Frolov from Murmansk to the area of the river. Zapadnaya Litsa was transferred to the 52nd Rifle Division. Its 112th Rifle Regiment stopped the enemy on July 2 at the turn of this river. In order to weaken his onslaught, on the orders of the army commander, on July 6, the ships of the Northern Fleet landed behind enemy lines in the Nerpichya Bay (2nd Battalion, 205th Infantry Regiment).
After the regrouping of forces, the enemy, resuming the offensive on July 7 with the support of aviation, crossed the river. Zapadnaya Litsa and wedged into the defense of the 52nd Infantry Division. The next day, a new landing force (a battalion of border guards) was landed in the Bolshaya Zapadnaya Litsa Bay. The actions of the landing forces forced the commander of the mountain corps "Norway" to withdraw part of the forces operating against the 52nd Infantry Division, which, taking advantage of this, launched a counteroffensive, liquidated the bridgeheads captured by the enemy, and by the end of July 8, threw it back to the western bank of the river. Western Face. By the end of July 11, parts of the corps were forced to go on the defensive in this direction.
The enemy, trying to break through to Murmansk, in mid-July transferred the 2nd battalion of the 136th mountain rifle regiment, the 67th scooter battalion and the 55th anti-tank division from the isthmus of the Sredny Peninsula to the area of \u200b\u200bthe village of Bolshaya Zapadnaya Litsa. In turn, the commander of the 14th Army sent the 95th Infantry Regiment of the 14th Infantry Division to the area. On July 14, ships of the Northern Fleet landed the third assault force (325th Infantry Regiment of the 14th Infantry Division) and a volunteer detachment of sailors on the northwestern coast of Bolshaya Zapadnaya Litsa Bay and on Cape Pikshuev, and on July 16? another volunteer detachment of sailors of the Northern Fleet. The total number of amphibious assaults amounted to about 2.2 thousand people. Their strikes from the rear diverted the enemy's reserves, intended to reinforce the troops operating against the 14th Army. By July 20, units of the 52nd and 14th Rifle Divisions, supported by artillery fire and air strikes from the 14th Army and the Northern Fleet, forced the enemy to retreat to the line of the village of Bolshaya Zapadnaya Litsa, a waterfall, then the western bank of the river. Western Face and go on the defensive. On August 3, the paratroopers, lacking food and ammunition and having difficulty evacuating the wounded, were evacuated by ships of the Northern Fleet to the eastern shore of Bolshaya Zapadnaya Litsa Bay.
The stubborn resistance of the troops of the 14th Army forced the Wehrmacht Supreme High Command to make adjustments to its plans. According to Directive No. 34 of July 30, it was planned: in the strip of the mountain corps "Norway" to eliminate the threat to its flank from the Motovsky Bay; "to make attempts to cut the Murmansk road in the zone of the 3rd (Finnish) army corps, and above all in the direction of Loukhi"; stop the advance on Kandalaksha. In August, the mountain corps "Norway" was reinforced by the 6th mountain division, transferred from Greece, the 9th SS motorized regiment, the 388th infantry regiment of the 214th infantry division, the 4th separate battalion of the 199th infantry division, redeployed from Norway , the Finnish 14th Infantry Regiment and received replenishment (6500 people).
The Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, taking into account the significant length of the defense zone of the troops of the Northern Front, which were fighting in separate operational areas, in order to improve their management, its directive of August 23 divided it into two fronts: Karelian (14th, 7th armies) and Leningrad (23rd, 8th and 48th Armies; Lieutenant General MM Popov). The Karelian Front was headed by Lieutenant General V.A. Frolov, to whom the Northern Fleet was subordinated. On September 3, the Headquarters demanded that the front commander prevent further withdrawal of troops, create heavily fortified defensive lines, organize a powerful fire system, and allocate part of the forces to the reserve. To reinforce the troops of the front, the 313th Rifle Division was transferred.
On September 8, the mountain corps "Norway", with the support of the main forces of the 5th Air Fleet (up to 300 aircraft), launched a new offensive in the Murmansk direction. However, the enemy failed to break through to the city of Polyarny due to the stubborn resistance of units of the 52nd Infantry Division. At the same time, he managed to push the left flank of the 14th Infantry Division to a depth of 8 km, capture a number of dominant heights and, in the region of 42 km, cut the only road Murmansk? the village of Bolshaya Zapadnaya Litsa, creating a threat of access to the Murmansk region. In this regard, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command on September 16 demanded that General Frolov, with the support of naval artillery fire and air strikes from the Northern Fleet, restore the situation in the Murmansk direction and push the enemy back to their original position. On September 10, the reserve of the 14th Army was transferred to the area of \u200b\u200bhis breakthrough? Volunteer Polar Division. She, in cooperation with the 14th Infantry Division, stopped the advance of the enemy, and then both divisions launched a counteroffensive and threw back parts of the 2nd Mountain Division to the western bank of the river. Western Face. This forced the Supreme High Command of the Wehrmacht by Directive No. 36 of September 22 to temporarily suspend the offensive against Murmansk.
Defensive operation in the Kandalaksha direction.
The offensive in the Kandalaksha direction began on July 1 with the forces of the German 36th Army Corps and the Finnish 6th Infantry Division, supported by 100 tanks. In the course of fierce battles, they managed to break through to the Barracks area, north of Kuolajärvi and create a threat of an exit from the north to the rear of the 122nd Infantry Division of the 42nd Infantry Corps. In order to prevent her encirclement, the corps commander, Major General R.I. Panin, with the permission of the commander of the 14th Army, by the end of July 8, withdrew the division to the line of lakes Kuolajärvi and Alajärvi, where the second line of defense was prepared and the 104th rifle division was located (without the 242nd rifle regiment). The enemy, developing the offensive, on July 10 reached the area 10 km east of Kailara. The commander of the 42nd Rifle Corps brought his reserve and divisional reserves into battle, which on the night of July 11 surrounded and completely destroyed large enemy forces that had broken through into this area. This forced him to temporarily suspend the offensive in the Kandalaksha direction.
On August 19, the German 36th Army Corps, significantly replenished with people and military equipment, again launched an offensive against Kandalaksha. He struck at the flanks of the 42nd Rifle Corps, creating a threat of encirclement of its units. To parry the blows of the enemy, the corps commander no longer had reserves. Therefore, the commander of the 14th Army ordered his units to retreat to a previously prepared defensive line east of Alakurtti. The attempt of the 36th Army Corps, reinforced by the SS division "North", subsequently to continue the offensive was not successful. Having suffered losses, the enemy went on the defensive in mid-September, not reaching the Kirov railway.
Defensive battles in the Kestenga direction.
Since July 1, the enemy has been advancing in the Kestenga direction by separate units (Finnish detachment "Salvinen", divisional group "J", the 2nd battalion of the 12th infantry regiment of the 6th infantry division and the border company of scooters). However, as a result of the stubborn resistance of the 242nd Infantry Regiment of the 104th Infantry Division and the 72nd Border Detachment, by the end of July 10, they were stopped on the river. Sofyanga, having failed to force it in the twentieth of July. After the transfer of the main forces of the SS division "North" to the combat area from the Kandalaksha direction, the enemy, with the support of the bomber aircraft of the 5th Air Fleet, on July 31 again went on the offensive. Having superior forces, he broke through the defenses of the 212th Infantry Regiment, forced the Sofyanga and captured a small bridgehead on its opposite bank. At the same time on motor boats a battalion of the 53rd infantry regiment was transported through Topozero (8-10 km southwest of Kestenga), which, as a result of a counterattack by a specially created detachment (rifle, transport companies, three fighter detachments, a platoon of the 80th regiment of the NKVD railway troops) was driven back to Topozero in the forest.
On August 4, by order of the commander of the 14th Army, the Soviet units withdrew with battles to Kestenga. After three days of stubborn fighting, the 242nd Infantry Regiment left the city on the night of August 8 and retreated to the line of the river. Taka (5–6 km northeast of Kestenga). The Murmansk Rifle Regiment and a tank company were transferred to this area by order of the army commander. From the scattered units operating in the Kestenga direction, the Murmansk rifle brigade was formed under the command of Colonel M.G. Grivnina. A significant role in organizing the rebuff to the enemy in this direction was played by the auxiliary command post of the army, headed by the chief of staff of the army, Colonel L.S. Skvirsky. At the request of the commander of the 14th Army, the Headquarters sent the 88th Infantry Division from Arkhangelsk to the Kestenga area. On September 3, she went on the offensive and, in cooperation with the Murmansk rifle brigade, advancing 15 km, on September 12, she reached the line of Lake Yanisyarvi, Loukh-Guba, where she took up defense.
Defensive battles in the Ukhta direction.
In the Ukhta direction, the Finnish 3rd Infantry Division of the 3rd Army Corps has been advancing since July 1. However, as a result of the heroic efforts of the forward detachment of the 54th Infantry Division of the 7th Army and the 1st Border Detachment, after 10 days of fighting, it was stopped at leading edge the main line of defense created on the eastern bank of the river. Voynitsa. The commander of the 3rd Army Corps, having regrouped, on July 14, after artillery and aviation preparation, launched a new offensive. The enemy succeeded in striking at the flanks of the 54th Infantry Division. This forced the commander of the 7th Army, Lieutenant General F.D. Gorelenko to withdraw parts of the division to a more favorable line for defense between the lakes Bolshoi Kis-Kis, Chirkiyarvi, 10 km west of Ukhta. On this line, on July 31 and early September, they repelled all enemy attempts to resume the offensive.
Defensive battles in the Rebolsk direction.
On the morning of July 4, the Finnish 14th Infantry Division went on the offensive in this direction. Despite more than threefold superiority in forces and means, the 337th Infantry Regiment of the 54th Infantry Division and the 73rd Border Detachment, skillfully using engineering and mine-explosive obstacles, held back the enemy’s advance for three days. And only after he covered the flanks of the 337th Infantry Regiment, the commander of the 7th Army on July 8 decided to leave Rebola. The divisions of the regiment withdrew to the Emelyanovka, Virda sector, which they held for 13 days. To reinforce the regiment, a rifle battalion was sent, formed from the guards of the White Sea-Baltic Canal and the airfield, police officers and the local population. The battalion, having made a 150-kilometer march, on the morning of July 27, immediately entered into battle with the enemy in the area southwest of Lake Mui. To help him, by the morning of July 28, another battalion was created from the retreating rear units and two rifle companies of the 54th rifle division. Both battalions were merged into the consolidated 345th Rifle Regiment. To improve the control of units operating in the Rebolsk direction, in accordance with the order of the commander of the Northern Front dated July 29, the Rebolsk task force was formed under the command of the head of the operational department of the army headquarters, Colonel G.K. Kozlov. It included the consolidated 345th and 337th rifle regiments, a mountain rifle battalion, an artillery battalion, a mortar, sapper and partisan companies, and the 73rd border detachment. The troops of the Rebolsk group, with the active help of the local population, created a new defensive line in the Andronov Gora area. Relying on him, they put up stubborn resistance to the enemy, who was trying to cut the Kirov railway near the Kochkoma station.
On August 10, the Rebolskaya task force, by order of the commander of the 7th Army, was transformed into the 27th Infantry Division under the command of Colonel G.K. Kozlov. On September 11, the Finnish command, having reinforced the 14th Infantry Division with units from the Ukhta direction, resumed the offensive in the Rebolsky direction. Units of the 27th Rifle Division until September 27 steadfastly repelled repeated enemy attacks, and then, by order of the commander of the Karelian Front, withdrew to the main defensive line east of Rugozero. All subsequent attempts by the 14th Infantry Division to break through the defenses here were unsuccessful.
Defensive operation in the Petrozavodsk and Olonetsk directions.
On the Petrozavodsk and Olonets directions, the troops of the Finnish Karelian army, which had a 4-fold superiority in forces, on July 2 struck at the junction of the 7th and 23rd armies in the Ristalahti region, managing to penetrate their defenses. However, a counterattack by the 260th Infantry Regiment (without a battalion) of the 168th Infantry Division, the 187th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion and units of the 142nd Infantry Division on the morning of July 7 restored the situation in this direction. Units of the 71st Rifle Division also offered stubborn resistance to the enemy. The commander of the Karelian army, having introduced the main forces into the battle, after a powerful, lengthy artillery and aviation preparation, on July 10 resumed the offensive. Despite the heroism of the Soviet soldiers, the Finnish troops managed to reach the line of the river by July 15. Janis-Yoki, where they were stopped by the forces of the 168th Infantry Division and the 367th Infantry Regiment of the 71st Infantry Division that retreated here. The commander of the Northern Front, in an effort to prevent the enemy from breaking through to the Kirov railway, reinforced the 7th Army with several separate rifle regiments, subunits and a tank regiment. In order to more effectively manage the troops, by July 21, Petrozavodsk was created (24th and 9th motorized rifle, 10th reserve rifle and 2nd tank regiments, a fighter detachment, 2nd division of the 102nd howitzer artillery regiment; lieutenant M.A. Antonyuk) and South (3rd brigade marines, 452nd, 719th and 7th separate rifle regiments, a battalion of Leningrad volunteers, an armored division, artillery and mortar divisions; Lieutenant General V.D. Tsvetaev) operational groups. On July 23, the Petrozavodsk Operational Group launched a counterattack on Loimola, and the South on Pitkyaranta, stopping the advance of the enemy.
On July 31, the offensive of the Finnish South-Eastern Army began on the Karelian Isthmus. The Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, trying to disrupt its offensive, in early August ordered the commander of the Northern Front to intensify the actions of the troops of the 7th Army in the Petrozavodsk and Olonets directions. The army received the 272nd rifle division and the 3rd division of the people's militia for reinforcement. The limited forces and means, their dispersion on a wide front, as well as weak artillery support, did not allow the task to be fully completed. But in order to repel the counterattacks of the troops of the 7th Army, the enemy was forced to use the 4th and 17th Infantry Divisions, which were intended for an offensive on the Karelian Isthmus.
The troops of the Karelian army, having received four infantry divisions and two infantry brigades for reinforcement, on September 4, with the support of aviation, again went on the offensive. In the Petrozavodsk direction, units of the 7th and 6th Army Corps broke through the defenses of the troops of the Petrozavodsk Operational Group and on September 20 divided them into two parts, which retreated to the line of the river. Svir. In the Olonets direction, the 6th Army Corps, breaking through the defenses of the Southern Operational Group, also dismembered it into two parts and captured Olonets on September 5. Developing the offensive, on September 7 he reached the northern bank of the river. Svir in the area Lodeynoye Pole, Svirstroy, cut the Kirov railway and crossed the river, capturing a small foothold on its southern bank.
In order to improve command and control of troops, the 7th Army, with all its troops, institutions and the Onega military flotilla, was separated from the Karelian Front by the directive of the Headquarters of the Supreme Command on September 24 and renamed the 7th separate army with direct subordination to the Headquarters. Instead of Lieutenant General F.D. Gorelenko, General of the Army K.A. was appointed commander of the army. Meretskov. On the south bank of the river The 314th Rifle Division, transferred from the Headquarters reserve, as well as the 67th Rifle Division and the 3rd Marine Brigade, were deployed to Svir.
On September 30, the enemy, having introduced two infantry divisions and several tank battalions from his reserve, managed to break through the defenses of the Petrozavodsk operational group and reach Petrozavodsk. In order to avoid her encirclement, on October 2, Army General Meretskov allowed parts of the group to leave Petrozavodsk and retreat to the northern bank of the river. Shuya. After the capture of Petrozavodsk, Finnish troops continued to develop the offensive in the Medvezhyegorsk direction, for the defense of which the Medvezhyegorsk task force was created on October 11 (37th, 71st and 313th rifle divisions, 2nd light rifle brigade; Major General M.S. Knyazev) with direct subordination to the commander of the Karelian Front.
Vyborg-Kexholm defensive operation.
The offensive on the Karelian Isthmus began on July 31 with the forces of the Finnish South-Eastern Army. The troops of the 23rd Army (Lieutenant General P.S. Pshennikov, from August 6, Lieutenant General M.N. Gerasimov, from September 9, Major General A.I. Cherepanov), despite stubborn resistance, were forced to leave on August 11 Hiitolu, and on August 16 - Sortavala. On August 25, units of the 2nd Army Corps cut the Vyborg-Leningrad railway, and one of the divisions of the 4th Army Corps, having crossed the Vyborg Bay, occupied Vyborg on August 29, abandoned by the Soviet troops. By September 4, Finnish troops pushed back the formations of the 23rd Army to the line of the state border of 1939, where they entrenched themselves at the turn of the Karelian fortified area. This allowed the enemy to release part of the forces and transfer them to the Petrozavodsk direction in order to capture the Kirov railway.
As a result of the active defensive actions of the troops of the Northern (from August 23, 1941 Karelian) Front and the 7th separate army the enemy failed to fully implement the plan of Operation Blue Fox to capture the Arctic and Karelia and unite Finnish troops with Army Group North in the Leningrad region. Soviet troops tied down 8 German and 12 Finnish divisions, which prevented the Wehrmacht High Command from using them in other sectors of the Soviet-German front. The troops of the Northern (Karelian) Front have gained significant experience in organizing and conducting defensive battles and operations in difficult conditions of wooded-lake terrain on a wide front and in disparate directions, organizing and maintaining interaction with aviation, the forces of the Northern Fleet, the Ladoga and Onega military flotillas. For courage, heroism and military skill, the 52nd Rifle Division on December 26, 1941 was transformed into the 10th Guards Rifle Division. The losses of the Soviet troops amounted to: irretrievable - 67,265, sanitary - 68,448 people, 546 tanks, 540 guns and mortars, 64 aircraft. German troops lost about 20.7 thousand people (of which 4.4 thousand were killed), and Finnish troops lost about 46.4 thousand, including 9.9 thousand people killed.
Subsequently, active hostilities were conducted mainly in three operational directions. On October 17, 1941, the troops of the 14th Army, with the support of aviation and artillery of the Northern Fleet, launched a counterattack in the Murmansk direction, forcing parts of the German 3rd Mountain Division to retreat beyond the river. Western Face. In the Kestenga direction, the Kem operational group, created on September 14 under the command of Major General N.N. Nikishin, during November, they stopped the offensive of the Finnish 3rd Army Corps, throwing it back to its original positions. In the Medvezhyegorsk direction, the troops of the Karelian army managed to break the resistance of units of the 71st and 313th rifle divisions, which on December 6 left Medvezhyegorsk and retreated across the ice to the eastern shore of the Povenets Bay. By mid-December 1941, the enemy was completely stopped at the turn of the river. Zapadnaya Litsa (60 km west of Murmansk), a system of rivers and lakes (90 km west of Kandalaksha), 40 km west of Loukhi, 10 km west of Ukhta, Rugozero, Maselgskaya station, Povenets, Lake Onega, r. Svir. At this turn, the front line remained stable until June 1944.
Combat operations of the troops of the Northern (since August 23, 1941, Karelian) Front, the 7th Separate Army, the 23rd Army of the Leningrad Front, the Northern and Baltic Fleets, the Ladoga, Onega and White Sea Flotillas in order to defend Karelia.
By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Finland had fully mobilized its troops and deployed them on the border with the USSR. The most powerful groupings of Finnish troops were preparing to attack on the Karelian Isthmus and in Ladoga Karelia. In total, Finland provided 340,600 men, 2,047 guns and mortars, 86 tanks, and 307 aircraft for the upcoming hostilities. In addition, the German army "Norway" was concentrated in Northern Finland. Thus, the enemy group consisted of 21.5 divisions (of which 17.5 were Finnish) and consisted of 407.5 thousand people, 3084 guns, 192 tanks and 424 aircraft. The Soviet 14th, 7th and 23rd armies of the Leningrad military district were deployed in the Murmansk region and Karelia, which in total had 426 thousand people, 9589 guns and mortars, 1857 tanks and 2104 aircraft, but part of these forces was in Estonia and south of Leningrad, including more than half of the tanks and most of the aircraft. On the day the aggression against the Soviet Union began, June 22, 1941, the German air force based in Finland began laying mines near the Soviet naval bases. On the morning of June 25, Soviet aviation launched a preventive strike on Finnish airfields where German aircraft were located. Using this pretext, Finland declared war on the USSR (see Finland in the war against the USSR). The day before, the Leningrad Military District was renamed the Northern Front (commanded by Lieutenant General M. M. Popov). On June 29, the German army "Norway" went on the offensive against Murmansk. Fierce fighting in this direction continued until November 1941. In 1942-1943. the Germans continued to try to break through to Murmansk, but the Soviet troops repelled all enemy attacks (see Arctic Defense). In October 1944, during the Petsamo-Kirkenes operation fascist troops were expelled from the territory Soviet Arctic. On July 1, 1941, Finnish and German units went on the offensive in North Karelia. The offensive was carried out in the Kandalaksha, Ukhta and Rebol directions. The aim of the enemy was to cut the Kirov railway connecting Murmansk with Petrozavodsk. With battles, the Finns and Germans were able to advance 75-150 km, occupying the settlements of Rebola, Alakurti, Kuolajärvi and a number of others, but in August-September 1941 they were stopped in all directions and could not advance further. The Finnish army dealt the main blow in the direction of Petrozavodsk. The Karelia army deployed here numbered over 100 thousand people. She was opposed by three divisions of the 7th Army of Lieutenant General F. D. Gorelenko, two of which covered the Petrozavodsk direction, and the third - Rebol and Ukhta. On July 10, the Finnish offensive began in Eastern Karelia. Soviet troops put up stubborn resistance, but retreated under pressure from superior enemy forces. On August 23, the Northern Front was divided into the Karelian and Leningrad fronts. By the beginning of September, the Finns were already 40 km from Petrozavodsk and reached the Svir River in the area of Lodeynoye Pole. On September 24, the 7th Army was withdrawn from the control of the Karelian Front and subordinated directly to the Headquarters. Army General K. A. Meretskov was appointed commander of the army. By this time, Finnish troops had reached Lake Onega and captured Petrozavodsk from the north and west. The fighting for the city continued until the beginning of October, but on October 3, the Finns nevertheless occupied the city. Continuing to advance, the Finnish troops crossed the Svir, but the counterattack of the 7th Army made it possible to stabilize the situation. By the end of October, the Finnish troops on the Svir and the German 163rd division operating here went on the defensive. Thus, the plan to create a second encirclement ring around Leningrad was thwarted. North of Petrozavodsk, the Finns continued to advance until December 1941, but after the capture of Medvezhyegorsk, they were stopped to the west of the line of the White Sea-Baltic Canal. The Finnish offensive on the Karelian Isthmus began on July 31, 1941. During the fierce battles, the Soviet 23rd Army of General Pshennikov, despite superiority in tanks and artillery, as well as the support of the Baltic Fleet, suffered a serious defeat and retreated. On August 12-22, Soviet units pressed against the northwestern shore of Ladoga were evacuated by ships of the Ladoga military flotilla, and the rest of the divisions retreated to the southeast. Due to poor organization, Soviet counterattacks did not reach their goal; on August 29, the Finns managed to take Vyborg. On September 1, the battered units of the 23rd Army occupied the fortifications on the old state border of 1939. In early September, the Finns entered the village of Beloostrov, but were soon driven out by Soviet units. After that, the intensity of hostilities on this sector of the front dropped sharply, and this situation remained until the summer of 1944. During the defensive battles in Karelia, Soviet troops suffered significant losses and were forced to retreat. But by the fall of 1941, the enemy was stopped in almost all directions. In 1942-1943. and in the 1st floor. In 1944, the situation in the zone of the 23rd Army of the Leningrad Front remained unchanged and its units suffered minimal losses. After some intensification of hostilities on the Karelian front in the spring of 1942, the fighting in this sector took on a mainly positional character. The parties improved their defensive positions and carried out reconnaissance sorties. In the occupied part of Eastern Karelia, partisan units formed on Soviet territory and carried out raids behind enemy lines were actively operating. It should be noted that the opportunities for the organization partisan movement in the part of Soviet Karelia occupied by the Finns were very difficult. Most of the civilian population was evacuated, and the occupying authorities used brutal repression against the remaining civilians. Only in Petrozavodsk concentration camps more than 8 thousand Soviet citizens died during the war. The Finnish authorities actively exploited the economy of Soviet Karelia, pursued a policy of settling its territory with subjects of Finland. Unenviable was the fate of tens of thousands of soldiers of the Red Army who fell into Finnish captivity. For 1941-1944 more than 18 thousand Soviet prisoners of war died in Finnish camps. By the summer of 1944, in addition to the already existing 23rd Army (General A.I. Cherepanov), the 21st Army (General D.N. Gusev) was concentrated on the Karelian Isthmus. The Soviet group consisted of approx. 260 thousand people, 5.5 thousand guns and mortars, 881 rocket artillery launchers, 628 tanks and self-propelled guns and over 700 aircraft. On June 9, these forces began, with the support of the artillery of the RGC and the fleet, the Vyborg offensive operation. During June 10-16, the Finnish troops suffered a crushing defeat. The first and second lanes of the "Mannerheim Line" were broken through, to overcome which in the winter of 1939/1940. it took 2.5 months. An attempt by Finnish troops to gain a foothold on the Vyborg-Taipale line failed, and on June 19 units of the 21st Army captured Vyborg. The Finns were pulling divisions from East Karelia to the isthmus, German units also arrived here. Enemy resistance intensified, however, the Soviet offensive continued. Only on July 12 did the command of the Leningrad Front give the order to go over to the defensive on the lines reached. Total losses of Soviet troops in Karelia in 1941-1944. were quite significant, but not as great as in other sectors of the front. From June 29 to October 10, 1941, the troops of the Northern and Karelian fronts, the 7th separate army (from 09/25/1941) of the Northern Fleet and the White Sea military flotilla (taking into account the hostilities not only in Karelia, but also in the Arctic against German troops) lost more than 67 thousand people killed and missing. They still demand clarification of the loss of the 23rd Army of the Leningrad Front at the end summer-early autumn 1941. Irretrievable losses of the Karelian Front (in Karelia and the Arctic) and the 7th separate army for 1942-1943. amounted to 55.1 thousand people. During the summer offensive of 1944, the irretrievable losses of the Soviet troops (the left wing of the Karelian Front, the right wing of the Leningrad Front, the Baltic Fleet, the Ladoga and Onega Flotillas) amounted to more than 23.6 thousand people. The losses of Finland during the war are commensurate with the losses of the Soviet troops. In 1941 alone, the Finns irrevocably lost approx. 25 thousand people. Total irretrievable losses of Finland for 1941-1944. number more than 82 thousand people. In addition, next to the Finns against the troops of the Karelian and Leningrad fronts, German formations fought and suffered significant losses. Their data also needs to be clarified. Having suffered a crushing defeat in the summer of 1944, on September 19, 1944, Finland withdrew from the war, pledging to expel all German troops from its territory.
historical sources:
Karelia during the Great Patriotic War. 1941-1945: Documents and materials. Petrozavodsk, 1975.
In the early morning of June 22, 1941, the troops Nazi Germany and its allies suddenly invaded the territory of the USSR. Thus began the Great Patriotic War... At 12 o'clock on the same day, Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the country V. M. Molotov made a government announcement on the radio. The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued decrees: "On the mobilization of those liable for military service", "On the declaration of martial law in certain areas of the USSR" (including on the territory of Karelia).
On June 26, 1941, formations of the German Army Group North crossed the river. Western Dvina and aimed their strike from the south directly at Leningrad. On the same day, Finnish President R. Ryti, in a radio speech, officially announced the state of war between Finland and the USSR, blaming the Soviet Union for this, which allegedly had already begun hostilities in Finland. He, in particular, stated: “Now, when the Soviet Union, in connection with the war between Germany and the USSR, has extended its military operations to the territory of Finland, attacking civilians, it is our duty to defend ourselves, and we will do this resolutely and unanimously with all available moral and military means. Our chances of getting out of this second defensive war successfully this time are completely different from the last time we were under the onslaught of the eastern giant. The armed forces of great Germany, under the leadership of the brilliant leader Chancellor Hitler, are successfully fighting with us against the Armed Forces of the USSR known to us. In addition, some other peoples began an armed struggle with the Soviet Union, thus forming a united front from the Northern Arctic Ocean to the Black Sea. The Soviet Union will no longer be able to bring against our armed forces that crushing superior force that made our defensive struggle hopeless last time. Now the Soviet Union finds itself in an equal struggle in terms of numbers, and the success of our defensive struggle is assured.
For the Soviet Union, this official statement by R. Ryti meant the opening of another battle front - in the European North, including Karelia. On June 27, the command of the Northern Front issued a directive stating that "the opening of hostilities by the Finns and Germans against our front should be expected from hour to hour." Therefore, all troops withdrawn to the state border were put in constant readiness to repel an enemy offensive. The necessary orders were immediately given in all armies, formations and units.
In Finland, as a result of the mobilization carried out, the active army by the beginning of the war consisted of about 470 thousand people. Directly at the Soviet-Finnish border, 21 infantry divisions and 3 brigades of German and Finnish troops were stationed. In the north of Finland, a separate German army "Norway" was deployed (from mid-January 1942 renamed the army "Lapland", and from mid-June 1942 - into the 20th mountain army), it included 4 German and 2 Finnish divisions . To the south, from the Oulujärvi lake system to the Gulf of Finland, 2 Finnish armies were stationed - the Karelian and the South-Eastern, which consisted of 15 infantry divisions (including one German), two jaeger and one cavalry brigades. The ground forces of the enemy were supported by the 5th German air fleet and Finnish aviation, which together numbered 900 combat aircraft, and warships of the German and Finnish navies in the Gulf of Finland and the Barents Sea. The enemy outnumbered the Soviet troops in manpower and military equipment by 1.5–2.5 times.
In the North, the enemy planned to capture the entire Kola Peninsula and Karelia, with access to the Arkhangelsk-Kirov line. His immediate goals were as follows: in the Far North, German troops intended to cut the Kirov railway and capture Murmansk, an ice-free port, and Polyarny, the naval base of the Northern Fleet; Between the Ladoga and Onega lakes, the Finnish troops intended to join the German army grouping "North", which was advancing on Leningrad, and thus assist it in the operation to encircle and capture the city.
Military operations in the North began on June 29, 1941, with the transition to the offensive of the German army "Norway", parts of which tried to deliver the main blow to Murmansk. The subsequent attacks by the enemy, who had a fourfold superiority in forces and means in this sector, were not successful.
On the night of June 30 to July 1, 1941, Finnish troops also crossed the USSR state border in a number of sectors. On July 10, 1941, Marshal Mannerheim, Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Armed Forces, issued an order calling on Finnish soldiers to "liberate the lands of the Karelians." In particular, it said: “During the liberation war of 1918, I promised the Karelians of Finland and the White Sea region that I would not sheathe my sword until Finland and East Karelia were free. I swore this on behalf of the Finnish peasant army, hoping for the courage of its soldiers and the selflessness of the women of Finland. For 23 years Belomorie and Olonia have been waiting for the fulfillment of this promise. Finnish Karelia, deserted after the valiant Winter War, has been waiting for a new dawn for a year and a half. Fighters of the liberation war, glorious participants in the Winter War, my brave soldiers! A new day has come. Karelia is rising, and its battalions are marching in your ranks. Free Karelia and great Finland shimmer before us in a huge whirlpool of world-historical events…”.
Fierce bloody battles unfolded in all directions of the front. The first to repulse the enemy forces that invaded the territory of Karelia (in the area of Kuolismaa, Korpiselkya, Vyartsilya, Yakkim, Kumuri, Kangasyarvi, etc.) were Soviet border guards, who more than once demonstrated examples of stamina and heroism. One of the first Heroes of the Soviet Union entered the history of the Great Patriotic War, border guard officer N.F. Kaimanov (1907-1972), originally from Tatarstan. He served in the border troops from 1929. After completing the Moscow Shot courses in 1940, he was sent to Karelia, where he became the head of the headquarters of the 80th border detachment. In the first days of the war, N.F. Kaimanov led a combined detachment of border guards of three outposts with a total number of 150 fighters, who on July 1 took upon themselves the enemy’s attack in the Porosozersk direction. Despite the significant numerical superiority of the Finns, who acted with the forces of two battalions, intensive artillery and mortar shelling, as well as air bombardments, the detachment of N.F. Kaimanov held positions for 20 days. With fire from rifles and machine guns, bayonets and grenades, the border guards repelled dozens of enemy attacks, and having received an order to withdraw, they made their way from the encirclement to their own, carrying out all the wounded. The enemy lost up to 400 soldiers and officers in these battles. The losses of Soviet soldiers amounted to 19 killed and 14 wounded. 46 border guards received orders and medals, and senior lieutenant N.F. Kaimanov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for his skillful leadership of the heroic defense of the outpost. Later, N.F. Kaimanov participated in the battle on the Volga, commanded a regiment in the battles near Kursk and Belgorod.
The enemy command attached great importance to the offensive in the Kestenga direction with the aim of reaching the Kirov railway in the area of the Loukhi station. In July-August, reinforced by reinforcements, enemy troops launched numerous attacks here and were able to capture the regional center of Kestenga, creating a direct threat to the Loukhi station. To help the defending units from the Arkhangelsk region, the 88th rifle division arrived along the Sorokskaya-Obozerskaya railway line. Her warriors managed to stop the enemy and frustrate his plans to capture the Louhi station and enter the railway! showed courage and heroism. So, machine gunner Mikhail Rodionov with a small group of fighters, defending the height, repelled 9 enemy attacks, was wounded, but did not leave the battlefield, and blew himself up and the enemies surrounding him with the last grenade. M. E. Rodionov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The commander of the division, Major General A. I. Zelentsov, who was posthumously awarded the Order of Lenin, and the military commissar of the division, A. I. Martynov, died here. For the steadfastness and courage shown in battles with the enemy, the 88th Rifle Division was transformed into the 23rd Guards Division. In the Kestenga direction, destruction battalions formed from the inhabitants of Karelia took part in the battles. At the village of Kokkosalmi, 80 fighters of the Kestenga and Loukhsky destruction battalions for 4 hours before the approach of the Red Army units held back the onslaught of about 400 Finnish soldiers and, according to the military command, "showed exceptional stamina and heroism in this battle."
On July 1, two Finnish divisions went on the offensive in the Ukhta direction. Two regiments of the 54th division and a group of border guards for 10 days steadfastly held the defense near the state border on the river. Voynitsa, and only at the cost of huge losses did the Finns break through the defenses of the Soviet units, which retreated to a new line 10 kilometers west of Ukhta
The organized resistance of one regiment of the 54th division and the 73rd border detachment was met by Finnish troops in the direction of Rebol. According to G. N. Kupriyanov, “20 thousand enemy soldiers, many of whom were armed with machine guns, against 4 thousand of ours! From July 3 to July 24, they repulsed all attacks and did not retreat from the state border anywhere in this sector. Here, in the Rebolsk direction, for a month "covered one of the most vulnerable sectors of the front" Rugozersky fighter battalion. Near the village of Padany, the advance of the enemy until the approach of our military units was delayed by the partisan detachment "Forward", formed from the inhabitants of the Rugozersky district.
During fierce fighting, a few Soviet units retreated to the line of the river. Tansy. Here, in August, the 27th Rifle Division was formed from separate units under the command of Colonel G.K. Kozlov, who later wrote: “In heavy battles, the soldiers of the division showed exceptional stamina. During tense more than two months of fighting in the initial period of the war, despite the multiple superiority of the enemy, the division completed its task, covering the Kirov railway.
On July 10, the main forces of the Finnish Karelian army launched an offensive on the Onega-Ladoga Isthmus, where especially protracted and fierce battles unfolded. The enemy managed to capture the Loimola station, thereby cutting off the railway communications in the 7th Army zone, and on July 16 captured Pitkyaranta. Having reached the coast of Lake Ladoga, the Finnish army launched an offensive simultaneously in three directions: Petrozavodsk, Olonets and Sortaval. Our troops retreated, waging stubborn battles with superior enemy forces. In a difficult situation, the command of the 7th Army on July 21 created two operational groups - Petrozavodsk and South, which launched a counteroffensive on July 23. Fierce fighting lasted for several days, the enemy brought into action two fresh divisions. Our troops, bearing big losses, at the end of July they stopped the attacks. But the enemy was also forced to go on the defensive, which made it possible to temporarily stabilize the situation.
On July 19, Commander-in-Chief of the troops of the North-Western direction K. E. Voroshilov and a member of the Military Council of the Front, Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks A. A. Zhdanov arrived in Petrozavodsk to resolve a number of issues related to the defense of the northern approaches to Leningrad by the troops of the 7th Army. For two days, K. E. Voroshilov and A. A. Zhdanov studied the situation related to the military operations of the Petrozavodsk and Southern operational groups, got acquainted with the work on creating defensive lines around Petrozavodsk. Soon, at the direction of the commander-in-chief, the 272nd rifle division and the 3rd division of the people's militia of Leningrad arrived at the disposal of the 7th army. Several fighter battalions and reserve rifle regiments, newly formed from the inhabitants of the republic, also arrived at the front. On August 7, 1941, the main command of the North-Western direction, in anticipation of the battles on Lake Onega, decided to form the Onega military flotilla.
In the defensive battles for Karelia in the summer of 1941, the soldiers of the 168th and 71st rifle divisions showed exceptional stamina and courage. For a long time, these divisions held the line of defense, opposing the large forces of the Karelian army of the Finns. The former head of the operations department of the 168th division, S. N. Borshchev, notes in his memoirs: “For twenty-five days we fought to the death, defending our state border, and for twenty-five days we held the line of defense”57. The 126th rifle regiment of the 71st division, formed on the territory of Karelia, was commanded by Major Walter Valli. The regiment held its lines for a long time and offered stubborn resistance to superior enemy forces. Only after the enemy command committed fresh forces to the battle did the 126th regiment begin a forced withdrawal. High stamina and courage were shown by the personnel of the regiment during the defense of the city of Medvezhyegorsk. He was awarded the Red Banner of the Supreme Soviet of the Karelian-Finnish SSR.
The 52nd regiment of the same division, after stubborn defensive battles near the village of Korpiselkya, retreated to the southeast by order of the command and by mid-July created a stable defense on the eastern shore of Lake Tolvajärvi. The first offensive of the enemy was repulsed. But at the end of July, the newly arrived German 163rd division entered the battle. Here, in the Ristisalmi area, on July 28, 1941, in a battle against the Nazis, P. Tikilyainen and the soldiers of his squad accomplished their military feat. They received an order to prevent the enemy from entering the road that led through Vokhtozero and Spasskaya Guba to Petrozavodsk. Having dug in on the eastern bank of the Tolvajärvi, the detachment of P. Tikilyainen met the enemy company with rifle and machine-gun fire. Throughout the day, Soviet soldiers heroically fought off the onslaught of the enemy. By evening, the cartridges ran out, only four survived, including the commander. They went up to their last, hand-to-hand fight and did not let the enemy pass to the road at this line, having fulfilled their military duty to the end. For this feat, P. A. Tikilyainen was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
The fighters of the Karelia fighter battalions, armed only with rifles and machine guns, fought steadfastly with the regular units of the Finnish army. In the battles near Pitkyaranta, for several hours, the Olonetsky (commander A. V. Anokhin) and Pitkyarantsky (commander S. G. Yakhno) fighter battalions held back the onslaught of the enemy until the Red Army units approached. The Suojärvi fighter battalion (commander P.K. Zhukov) and a detachment of border guards at the end of July 1941 fought a stubborn battle near Novye Peski station with an enemy battalion for three days and won. The actions of the Suoyärvi battalion earned high praise from the command. The Vyborg fighter battalion, participating in the defense of the city, was surrounded, but with a fight got out of it. The Sortavala fighter battalion took part in the defensive battles for the city of Sortavala. Fighter battalions of Petrozavodsk, Pryazhinsky and Vedlozersky districts held back the onslaught of the enemy in the Kolatselga area for several days. Other fighter battalions of Karelia also took an active part in the hostilities. Many fighters of the destruction battalions gave their lives for their Motherland.
On August 23, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command of the Armed Forces of the USSR decided to divide the Northern Front into two independent fronts - Karelian and Leningrad. The main task of the Karelian Front (KF) was the defense of areas of great economic and strategic importance - Karelia and the Arctic. The composition of the KF (commander until February 1944, Lieutenant General V. A. Frolov, then General of the Army K. A. Meretskov) included the 7th, 14th, 19th, 26th, 32nd combined arms armies , 7th Air Army and others separate connections and parts of the Soviet troops; the Northern Navy, the Ladoga and Onega military flotillas were operationally subordinate to him.
Of all the Soviet fronts of the Great Patriotic War, the KF operated for the longest time (3.5 years) at the longest distance (about 1500 km - from Lake Ladoga to the Barents Sea) and in especially difficult northern climatic conditions. The difficult terrain and undeveloped transport network made it possible to conduct combat operations only in separate, isolated from each other, directions (along the roads in the 20-50 km strip), the most important of which were determined in 1941: Olonets, Petrozavodsk, Medvezhyegorsk, Rebolsk, Ukhta, Loukhsky , Kandalaksha, Murmansk.
At the very end of July, the Finns launched a new offensive on the Karelian Isthmus. As a result of fierce fighting, the enemy broke through the defenses of the 23rd Army and on August 9 reached the coast of Lake Ladoga. Parts of the 23rd Army were divided into three isolated groups. Soon the Finns captured Sortavala, Vyborg, Lakhdenpokhya, Kexholm and a number of other settlements. Only at the beginning of September did the Soviet units manage to stop the advance of the enemy at the turn of the 1939 state border and prevent the Finnish and German troops from joining.
In early September, having regrouped its forces, the Finnish Karelian Army launched a general offensive in the Petrozavodsk and Olonets directions. Its 6th Army Corps delivered the main blow in the direction of Olonets-Lodeynoye Pole. The offensive of the Finnish troops was supported by large groups of bombers, which continuously bombed and fired at the Red Army units defending here. Using superiority in forces and means, the enemy broke through the defenses of the Soviet troops and, by the end of September 4, reached the Vidlitsa-Olonets road. On September 5, he captured Olonets, and two days later he reached the northern bank of the Svir at the Lodeynoye Pole-Svirstroy section, cut the Kirov railway. He managed to cross the Svir and seize a small bridgehead on its southern bank60.
Finnish operational reports reported these events: “6th Army Corps. Olonets was captured on September 5, at 20:00 they reached the northwestern part of Megrega. The promotion continues. Invaded Nurmolitsa. There are fights. About half of the city of Olonets is on fire. As trophies in Olonets, in particular, 9 heavy long-range guns, heavy and light mortars, cars, tractors, 6 tanks were destroyed. The Finnish information service officer M. Haavio made the following entry in his diary about the celebrations in Olonets on the occasion of its capture: “September 10. This day became a holiday. In the morning, a parade took place on Kuttuev Square. Nikolsky Cathedral. The columns stood in even rows. All the buttons on the uniforms of the soldiers were buttoned, although the uniforms themselves were somewhat shabby. The general had a cap on his head. We stood stretched out like pillars. The orchestra played the march. The general delivered a speech. General Paavo Talvela said: " Soldiers, our brave troops occupied Olonets two days ago and turned the front towards the Svir... So the dream came true, about which only the rare dared to dream and only the brave did deeds for it...”.
In early September, the Finnish 7th Army Corps struck in the Petrozavodsk direction, where the Petrozavodsk Operational Group (POG) was defending in the first line on a front of 100 km. The 71st Rifle Division, operating to the right of the Petrozavodsk Operational Group, fought stubborn battles on a front of 140 km. As a result of repeated attacks, the Finns managed to break through the defenses of the Soviet units. After a short break, on September 20, the Finnish troops again launched an offensive, throwing more than half of their Karelian army into the Petrozavodsk direction. Troops of the Petrozavodsk Operational Group and the civilian population staunchly defended the capital of Karelia. At the end of September, the Finns sent two more infantry divisions and several tank battalions here from the reserve. On September 30, they broke through our defenses and rushed to Petrozavodsk. In connection with the threat to the city and the danger of being cut off, the POG command was ordered to leave Petrozavodsk and retreat to the northern bank of the river. Shui.
For the period from September 1 to September 30, the losses of the 7th Army in battles amounted to 1991 people killed, 5775 wounded and 8934 missing. According to the report of the political department of the army to the Main Political Directorate of the Red Army, one of the most important reasons for leaving Petrozavodsk were the following: lack of necessary reserves; in the Petrozavodsk direction, the enemy concentrated a lot of artillery, mortars and automatic weapons, while our units had insufficient weapons; the interaction of infantry with artillery and aviation in a number of areas turned out to be insufficient - aviation and artillery weakly destroyed enemy firing points; unsatisfactory reconnaissance was carried out, as a result, our units and subunits knew little about the location and forces of the enemy. The concentration of enemy artillery and mortars made it possible for the enemy to keep Petrozavodsk under continuous shelling from September 28 to 30, 1941, as a result of which large fires and destruction arose in the city.
According to Finnish operational reports, units of the Finnish Karelian army broke into Petrozavodsk on October 1 at 4:30 am and on the same day hoisted the state flag of Finland over the former building of the government of Soviet Karelia. Marshal Mannerheim issued a special order in which he assessed the importance of the event as follows: “To its already brilliant victories, the Karelian army added the biggest success - the capture of the city of Petrozavodsk. Thus, through extensive and successful action, a decisive result has been achieved ... "
According to a Finnish information service officer, Petrozavodsk looked like this after the capture: “The retreating enemy caused terrible damage to the large buildings of the city. The first impression is that the buildings of neoclassical architecture on the government square are islands in a sea of destruction… After 18:00 the streets are empty, since from now on you can only walk around the city with special permits. Under the moon, peeking out from behind the gray clouds foreshadowing snow, the city looks gloomy dark and deserted. Only the boots of patrols or individual officers knock on the wooden sidewalks. Because of the telephone and telegraph wires that have fallen to the ground, walking through the streets resembles walking through a field among traps or anti-personnel barriers. Disappeared groups of soldiers who during the day went from house to house. A fight breaks out in front of the theater building, which stops after a drunken sergeant-major throws a hand grenade onto a dark square... Everyone talks about the lack of wine. This is one of the reasons why there is no feeling of victory anywhere ... "
Having captured Petrozavodsk, the Finnish troops continued to develop the offensive against Medvezhyegorsk. After heavy stubborn battles with superior enemy forces, the Soviet troops left the city of Medvezhyegorsk. The defense here was held by the Medvezhyegorsk Operational Group (commanded by Major General M.S. Knyazev), created from parts of the 7th Army on October 10, 1941 by order of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. Throughout November, stubborn battles were going on near Medvezhyegorsk. The soldiers of the 71st and 313th divisions fought off 5-8 attacks a day, often going over to counterattacks themselves. The city changed hands. However, our troops had to leave Medvezhyegorsk and retreat across the ice to the eastern shore of the Povenets Bay and take up defense in new positions.
In one of the air battles on the outskirts of Medvezhyegorsk, the squadron commander N. F. Repnikov performed a heroic deed. He was born in 1914 into a lumberjack family, which in 1930 moved from Pudozh to Petrozavodsk. After graduating from the FZU school, N.F. Repnikov worked as a toolmaker at the Onega plant, completed a course of study at the flying club and the parachute school on the job. Drafted into the army in 1936 - in the fighter aviation of the Leningrad Military District, participated in the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940. Senior Lieutenant N. Repnikov met the beginning of the Great Patriotic War on the Karelian front, where he commanded an air unit, and then a squadron of the 152nd Fighter Aviation Regiment. In air battles, he shot down 5 enemy aircraft and in November 1941 was awarded the Order of Lenin. Captain Repnikov fought his last battle on December 4, 1941. Seven enemy planes with bombs went to the area of the White Sea-Baltic Canal. They were intercepted by a link Soviet fighters led by N. Repnikov, returning to his airfield after completing a combat mission. An unequal battle ensued. When Repnikov ran out of ammunition, he rammed the enemy’s lead vehicle, making one of the first air rams on the Karelian front. By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of February 22, 1943, N. F. Repnikov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
By mid-December 1941, the troops of the Karelian Front finally stopped the advance of enemy armies in all directions. The front line stabilized at the turn: the southern section of the White Sea-Baltic Canal - the Maselgskaya-Rugozero-Ukhta-Kestenga-Alakurtti station. The plans of the enemy, designed to quickly capture the northern regions of the USSR, failed. The Soviet troops managed to keep the main base of the Northern Fleet - Polyarny, the ice-free port of Murmansk, the northern section of the Kirov railway (with the Sorokskaya-Obozerskaya railway line), through which goods from Murmansk passed, and the troops of the Karelian Front were also supplied; in the south of Karelia and on the Karelian Isthmus, the Finnish and German armies failed to unite and create a second blockade ring.
