The Battle of Taipale was a series of battles fought during the Winter War between Finland and Soviet Union from 6 to 27 December 1939. The battles were part of a Soviet campaign to penetrate the Finnish Mannerheim Line in the Karelian Isthmus region to open a route into southern Finland. Despite their numerical superiority, the Soviet forces were unable to break through the Finnish defences.
On 30 November, Soviet forces crossed the Finnish border and bombarded civilian targets from the air. The Karelian Isthmus was split into two military sectors by both belligerents: one on the side of Lake Ladoga and the other on the side of the Gulf of Finland. In the Ladoga sector, the Soviet commanding officer was Vladimir Grendahl and on the Finnish side, Erik Heinrichs. On 3 December, Grendahl received orders to make a breakthrough in his sector, as the defenders in the other sector were more numerous and offered fiercer resistance. The former objective of reaching Viipuri on the Gulf side of the Karelian Isthmus became a secondary priority. The attack began on 6 December, when the Finns had retreated to the Mannerheim Line.
The battle: 6–27 December
The Battle of Taipale began on 6 December, started when the Soviet 49th and 150th Rifle Divisions of the 7th Army tried to cross the Taipale River at three locations. The terrain was flat farmland, so the Soviets had no cover, and the Finnish 10th Division's accurate artillery inflicted heavy losses. However, due to the sheer size of the Soviet forces, the attackers managed to establish a bridgehead over the river. The Finns inflicted such severe casualties that some units (even as large as a regiment) had to be withdrawn. In the following days, the Finns repelled more assaults and inflicted even more casualties, causing the collapse of many Soviet units. Despite this, however, they were not strong enough to stop the Soviet advance, and soon the bridgehead was gradually enlarged, securing ground for the reinforcements that were on the way (the 39th Armoured Brigade). By 12 December, the bridgehead was large enough to support an advance into the Taipale sector.
Notes
^Grendal was at the beginning of the Battles of Taipale the commander of 7th Army Right Wing Group, then from late December 1939 the commander of the newly formed 13th Army.[1]
Sorko, Kimmo (1998). Keskisuomalaisten Taipale 1939-1940. ISBN952-91-0231-3.
In Russian
Иринчеев, Баир (2016). Оболганная победа Сталина. Штурм Линии Маннергейма. (The stunned victory of Stalin. The assault on the Mannerheim Line.). Эксмо. ISBN978-5-699-86363-1.
Якимович, Кирилл (2010). На фланге линии Маннергейма. Битва за Тайпале. (On the flank of the Mannerheim line. Battle of Taipale.). Вече. ISBN978-5-4444-5645-3.
Online sources
Аптекарь, Павел (2017). "Первый месяц войны (The first month of the war)". rkka.ru. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
Килин, Юрий Михайлович (2008). "Боевые действия на Карельском перешейке (The fighting on the Karelian Isthmus)". Petrozavodsk State University. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
Further reading
Tuuri, Antti (2003) [1984]. The Winter War. Aspasia Books, Inc. ISBN978-0973105339.
External links
Военный альбом (photographs of the Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940)
JR28 War diaries (The digitized contemporary war diaries of the Finnish regiment that fought in the Taipale front 1939–1940. In Finnish.)
January 07, 2023
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This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations September 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Battle of Taipale was a series of battles fought during the Winter War between Finland and Soviet Union from 6 to 27 December 1939 The battles were part of a Soviet campaign to penetrate the Finnish Mannerheim Line in the Karelian Isthmus region to open a route into southern Finland Despite their numerical superiority the Soviet forces were unable to break through the Finnish defences Battle of TaipalePart of the Winter WarDate6 December 1939 1939 12 06 27 December 1939 1939 12 27 LocationMetsapirtti Karelian Isthmus60 30 26 43 N 29 0 44 60 E 60 5073417 N 29 0123889 E 60 5073417 29 0123889 Coordinates 60 30 26 43 N 29 0 44 60 E 60 5073417 N 29 0123889 E 60 5073417 29 0123889ResultFinnish victoryBelligerents Finland Soviet UnionCommanders and leadersViljo KauppilaVladimir Grendal a Units involved10th Division4th Rifle Division 49th Rifle Division 142nd Rifle Division 150th Rifle Division 39th Armored Brigade 2 Casualties and losses2 250 killed and wounded10 000 killedclass notpageimage Location within Leningrad OblastShow map of Leningrad OblastBattle of Taipale Finland Show map of Finland Position of Taipale at eastern end of Mannerheim Line Memorial near Solovyovo Taipale Contents 1 Prelude 30 November 6 December 2 The battle 6 27 December 3 Notes 4 References 4 1 Citations 4 2 Sources 5 Further reading 6 External linksPrelude 30 November 6 December EditOn 30 November Soviet forces crossed the Finnish border and bombarded civilian targets from the air The Karelian Isthmus was split into two military sectors by both belligerents one on the side of Lake Ladoga and the other on the side of the Gulf of Finland In the Ladoga sector the Soviet commanding officer was Vladimir Grendahl and on the Finnish side Erik Heinrichs On 3 December Grendahl received orders to make a breakthrough in his sector as the defenders in the other sector were more numerous and offered fiercer resistance The former objective of reaching Viipuri on the Gulf side of the Karelian Isthmus became a secondary priority The attack began on 6 December when the Finns had retreated to the Mannerheim Line The battle 6 27 December EditThe Battle of Taipale began on 6 December started when the Soviet 49th and 150th Rifle Divisions of the 7th Army tried to cross the Taipale River at three locations The terrain was flat farmland so the Soviets had no cover and the Finnish 10th Division s accurate artillery inflicted heavy losses However due to the sheer size of the Soviet forces the attackers managed to establish a bridgehead over the river The Finns inflicted such severe casualties that some units even as large as a regiment had to be withdrawn In the following days the Finns repelled more assaults and inflicted even more casualties causing the collapse of many Soviet units Despite this however they were not strong enough to stop the Soviet advance and soon the bridgehead was gradually enlarged securing ground for the reinforcements that were on the way the 39th Armoured Brigade By 12 December the bridgehead was large enough to support an advance into the Taipale sector Notes Edit Grendal was at the beginning of the Battles of Taipale the commander of 7th Army Right Wing Group then from late December 1939 the commander of the newly formed 13th Army 1 References EditCitations Edit Raunio amp Kilin 2010 pp 29 Raunio amp Kilin 2010 pp 56 Sources Edit In EnglishEngle Eloise Paananen Lauri 1985 1973 The Winter War The Russo Finnish Conflict 1939 40 Westview Press ISBN 0 8133 0149 1 Nenye Vesa Munter Peter Wirtanen Toni Birks Chris 2015 Finland at War The Winter War 1939 40 Osprey Publishing ISBN 978 147 280 631 4 Trotter William R 2002 1991 The Winter War The Russo Finnish War of 1939 40 5th ed Aurum Press ISBN 1 85410 881 6 Online sources Raunio Ari 2017 Defensive battles in December 1939 Talvisotayhdistys Retrieved 13 August 2019 In FinnishRaunio Ari Kilin Juri 2010 Talvisodan taisteluja 3rd revised ed Karttakeskus ISBN 978 951 593 415 4 Sotatieteen Laitos 1978 Talvisodan historia 2 Sotatoimet Karjalan kannaksella WSOY ISBN 951 0 08147 7 Sorko Kimmo Strang Mikko 2010 Taipaleen paivia Talvisota Ita Kannaksella 1939 1940 Historiatyoryhma ISBN 978 952 92 6803 0 Sorko Kimmo 1998 Keskisuomalaisten Taipale 1939 1940 ISBN 952 91 0231 3 In RussianIrincheev Bair 2016 Obolgannaya pobeda Stalina Shturm Linii Mannergejma The stunned victory of Stalin The assault on the Mannerheim Line Eksmo ISBN 978 5 699 86363 1 Yakimovich Kirill 2010 Na flange linii Mannergejma Bitva za Tajpale On the flank of the Mannerheim line Battle of Taipale Veche ISBN 978 5 4444 5645 3 Online sources Aptekar Pavel 2017 Pervyj mesyac vojny The first month of the war rkka ru Retrieved 13 August 2019 Kilin Yurij Mihajlovich 2008 Boevye dejstviya na Karelskom pereshejke The fighting on the Karelian Isthmus Petrozavodsk State University Retrieved 13 August 2019 Further reading EditTuuri Antti 2003 1984 The Winter War Aspasia Books Inc ISBN 978 0973105339 External links EditVoennyj albom photographs of the Soviet Finnish War 1939 1940 JR28 War diaries The digitized contemporary war diaries of the Finnish regiment that fought in the Taipale front 1939 1940 In Finnish Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Battle of Taipale amp oldid 1088444849, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
