The Battle of Kuhmo was a series of skirmishes, mainly between January 28 and March 13, 1940, near the town of Kuhmo during the Soviet-Finnish Winter War. The 54th Soviet Rifle Division was encircled, but was able to hold out until the end of the war.
By conquering Northern Finland, the Soviet leadership wanted to occupy the entire Finnish state and cut off the traffic routes to its neighbors during the war.[1] In order to support the advance of the 163rd Rifle Division and 44th Motorized Rifle Division on Oulu, the 54th Rifle Division was to advance south to cut off any routes for reinforcements from the Finnish heartland.[2]
Battle
After crossing the border, the 54th Division advanced towards Kuhmo. The Finnish army had only small border units stationed in this area, as an attack in northern Finland was not expected. On December 3, 1939, the Finnish High Command under Mannerheim was forced to send a regiment from the reserve, to slow down the advance of the Soviet division. By New Year 1940, the Soviet units had moved within 15 kilometers of the village. There, the division was largely spared of attacks by the outnumbered enemy. The commander of the division, General Nikolai Gusevsky, used this pause to fortify his positions and even had a makeshift airfield built on a frozen lake. The division was in the form of an elongated column along the approach road to Kuhmo.[3]
After the 163rd and 44th Soviet divisions had been defeated at the Battle of Suomussalmi further north, Mannerheim sent the units from Suomussalmi towards Kuhmo. The 9th Division under Hjalmar Siilasvuo reached Kuhmo but was outnumbered by the Soviet division and it was now lacking ammunition and artillery. Anyhow, on January 28, 1940, the Finnish troops launched a counterattack. The Finns, who operated on skis from the forest like they did at Suomussalmi, succeeded in cutting off the Soviet division and dividing it into three parts, so-called mottis. The Finns used captured Soviet anti-tank guns in Suomussalmi to repel enemy counter-attacks with tanks. A stalemate loomed.[citation needed]
The Soviets tried to relieve the surrounded units with a newly formed 1,800-man ski brigade and the deployment of the 23rd Rifle Division, but these attempts failed. The 54th Division was adequately supplied with supplies by the Soviet Air Force so that it was able to maintain its resistance until the armistice on March 13, 1940. [4]
Consequences
Finnish casualties were 1,340 dead, 3,123 wounded and 132 missing. The Soviet casualties were 2,118 dead, 3,732 wounded and 573 missing. The bodies of 720 Soviet soldiers were found in the area where Colonel Dolin's ski brigade had fought.[5]
The assessment of the result of the battle is double: the Finns managed to block the Soviet advance, but their hope of being able to quickly repeat the success of the Battle of Suomussalmi and that of the Raate road, in order to then be able to transfer the 9th division to the crucial sector of the Isthmus of Karelia, was thwarted by the strenuous Soviet resistance.[6]
^Anthony Upton: Finland 1939–1940, Newark, 1974 pp. 51 ff., pp. 63 ff.
^William Trotter: A Frozen Hell, Chapel Hill, 1991 pp. 174 ff.
^William Trotter: A Frozen Hell, Chapel Hill, 1991 pp. 174 ff.
^William Trotter: A Frozen Hell, Chapel Hill, 1991 S. 174ff; Anthony Upton: Finland 1939–1940, Newark, 1974 pp. 66, pp. 88 ff.
^Bair Irincheev, War of the White Death: Finland Against the Soviet Union 1939-40, Mechanicsburg, PA, Stackpole Books, 2012, ISBN978-0-8117-1088-6. p.118.
^William Trotter, A Frozen Hell, Chapel Hill, 1991, p. 174; Anthony Upton, Finland 1939–1940, Newark, 1974, p. 88
January 14, 2023
battle, kuhmo, series, skirmishes, mainly, between, january, march, 1940, near, town, kuhmo, during, soviet, finnish, winter, 54th, soviet, rifle, division, encircled, able, hold, until, part, winter, warpositions, army, unitsdatejanuary, 1940, march, 1940loca. The Battle of Kuhmo was a series of skirmishes mainly between January 28 and March 13 1940 near the town of Kuhmo during the Soviet Finnish Winter War The 54th Soviet Rifle Division was encircled but was able to hold out until the end of the war Battle of KuhmoPart of the Winter WarPositions of the Army unitsDateJanuary 28 1940 March 13 1940LocationKuhmo Finland64 50 53 02 N 29 19 35 00 E 64 8480611 N 29 3263889 E 64 8480611 29 3263889 Coordinates 64 50 53 02 N 29 19 35 00 E 64 8480611 N 29 3263889 E 64 8480611 29 3263889ResultStalemateBelligerents Finland Soviet UnionCommanders and leaders54th Soviet Rifle Divisionclass notpageimage Location within FinlandShow map of FinlandBattle of Kuhmo Karelia Show map of Karelia Contents 1 Prelude 2 Battle 3 Consequences 4 See also 5 ReferencesPrelude EditBy conquering Northern Finland the Soviet leadership wanted to occupy the entire Finnish state and cut off the traffic routes to its neighbors during the war 1 In order to support the advance of the 163rd Rifle Division and 44th Motorized Rifle Division on Oulu the 54th Rifle Division was to advance south to cut off any routes for reinforcements from the Finnish heartland 2 Battle EditAfter crossing the border the 54th Division advanced towards Kuhmo The Finnish army had only small border units stationed in this area as an attack in northern Finland was not expected On December 3 1939 the Finnish High Command under Mannerheim was forced to send a regiment from the reserve to slow down the advance of the Soviet division By New Year 1940 the Soviet units had moved within 15 kilometers of the village There the division was largely spared of attacks by the outnumbered enemy The commander of the division General Nikolai Gusevsky used this pause to fortify his positions and even had a makeshift airfield built on a frozen lake The division was in the form of an elongated column along the approach road to Kuhmo 3 After the 163rd and 44th Soviet divisions had been defeated at the Battle of Suomussalmi further north Mannerheim sent the units from Suomussalmi towards Kuhmo The 9th Division under Hjalmar Siilasvuo reached Kuhmo but was outnumbered by the Soviet division and it was now lacking ammunition and artillery Anyhow on January 28 1940 the Finnish troops launched a counterattack The Finns who operated on skis from the forest like they did at Suomussalmi succeeded in cutting off the Soviet division and dividing it into three parts so called mottis The Finns used captured Soviet anti tank guns in Suomussalmi to repel enemy counter attacks with tanks A stalemate loomed citation needed The Soviets tried to relieve the surrounded units with a newly formed 1 800 man ski brigade and the deployment of the 23rd Rifle Division but these attempts failed The 54th Division was adequately supplied with supplies by the Soviet Air Force so that it was able to maintain its resistance until the armistice on March 13 1940 4 Consequences EditFinnish casualties were 1 340 dead 3 123 wounded and 132 missing The Soviet casualties were 2 118 dead 3 732 wounded and 573 missing The bodies of 720 Soviet soldiers were found in the area where Colonel Dolin s ski brigade had fought 5 The assessment of the result of the battle is double the Finns managed to block the Soviet advance but their hope of being able to quickly repeat the success of the Battle of Suomussalmi and that of the Raate road in order to then be able to transfer the 9th division to the crucial sector of the Isthmus of Karelia was thwarted by the strenuous Soviet resistance 6 See also EditList of Finnish military equipment of World War II List of Soviet Union military equipment of World War IIReferences Edit Anthony Upton Finland 1939 1940 Newark 1974 pp 51 ff pp 63 ff William Trotter A Frozen Hell Chapel Hill 1991 pp 174 ff William Trotter A Frozen Hell Chapel Hill 1991 pp 174 ff William Trotter A Frozen Hell Chapel Hill 1991 S 174ff Anthony Upton Finland 1939 1940 Newark 1974 pp 66 pp 88 ff Bair Irincheev War of the White Death Finland Against the Soviet Union 1939 40 Mechanicsburg PA Stackpole Books 2012 ISBN 978 0 8117 1088 6 p 118 William Trotter A Frozen Hell Chapel Hill 1991 p 174 Anthony Upton Finland 1939 1940 Newark 1974 p 88 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Battle of Kuhmo amp oldid 1112243273, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
