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Tortfeasor -> (4/26/2001 3:45:00 PM)
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The Battle of Suomussalmi
December 8th - 30th would be a great chalenge for SPWAW 5.0 players, skitroops against overwhelmingly odds.
Read more of it here. http://www.winterwar.com/Battles/Suomussalmi.htm
Read this from Winterwar.com
"Finnish side
During the YH (the mobilization), a total of 1 621 men gathered to the training centre in Suomussalmi. From this personnel, the 15th Separate Battalion, Er.P 15, was formed under the command of Lt.Col. L.Kyander. The battalion had an order (only the commander was aware of this order) to attack across the border and advance to Vuokkiniemi (some 30 km from the border) in case the war breaks out. The Er.P 15 was attached to the P-SR (North Finland Group), commanded by Maj.General W.E.Tuompo.
On November 30th, when the war started, the Er.P. 15 had one company in Likoharju (some 10 km west of Raatevaara). This company had manned all border stations from Puras to Kuivajärvi. All other elements and units of the battalion were in or around Suomussalmi and Ämmänsaari. In the Suomussalmi church-area, was also one separate company led by Capt. E.Kontula (hence the name, Er.K. Kontula) under the direct command of the Commander of the North Finland Group (from now on P-SR in the text). The only Finnish unit in the Juntusranta area was a border guard detachment (from now on RO II, Rajavartio-osasto II, in Finnish), which had manned the border stations on a 50 km front. The total strength of RO II was 58 men, and in the border station in Hossa (some 20 km north of Juntusranta) were 10 men (with one Bergmann-smg) and in the border station in Toravaara 10 men (with one Bergmann-smg), so in Juntusranta, the detachment had 38 men (the detachment in Juntusranta had only one Lahti-Saloranta lmg and 2 smg's, one Bergmann and one Suomi-smg). The detachment had no radio, so all communications to the HQ were made by phone.
Soviet side
The opposing force was the 47th Corps, commanded by Corps Commander Dashitsev, which was a part of the 9th Army, commanded by Army Commander Chuikov. The first objective of the 163rd (from now on the 163.D) division, commanded by Division Commander Selendsov, was to destroy the Finnish forces at the border and advance to the Suomussalmi village. As the second objective, the division was to advance to Puolanka via Hyrynsalmi and Ylinäljänkä. After reaching Puolanka, the 44th motorized division (hereafter 44.D) was to advance rapidly from Puolanka towards Oulu, the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia and the Swedish border (the division had received before the war strict orders not to cross the Finnish-Swedish border).
The HQ of the 163.D decided to execute the attack by advancing along the Raate-road (the road from Raatevaara towards Suomussalmi) with a single regiment strengthened by one recon battalion and one Engineer company, while the main elements of the division would advance through Juntusranta to the Palovaara-crossroad (and advance partly through nearly roadless terrain) from where some elements of the division would continue to the Suomussalmi village and some to Peranka."
one finn :p against :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:
[ April 26, 2001: Message edited by: Tortfeasor ]
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