Английская Википедия:Finnish II Corps (Continuation War)
The II Corps (Шаблон:Lang-fi) was a unit of the Finnish Army during the Continuation War. During the war the corps participated in combat first northwest of Lake Ladoga and on the Karelian Isthmus before moving to the Povenets–Lake Segozero region by late 1941. During the Soviet offensive of 1944, the corps conducted a fighting retreat to the region of Ilomantsi, with parts of its forces participating in the subsequent Battle of Ilomantsi.
1941 Finnish invasion of Karelia
The corps headquarters was formed from the peace-time III Corps.Шаблон:Sfn Consisting of the 2nd, 15th and 18th Divisions, II Corps was part of the Finnish General HQ's reserve during the Finnish invasion of East Karelia of the Continuation War.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn Before the invasion, II Corps was responsible for the defense of the important industrial area of Upper-Vuoksi, which was deemed vulnerable to a Soviet attack.Шаблон:Sfn After the forces of the Army of Karelia had reached Lake Ladoga, the corps joined the invasion with the objective of capturing the Khiytola–Elisenvaara area under the command of Taavetti Laatikainen.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn By taking control of the region, the corps severed the Soviet land connection north of Lake Ladoga.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn
Having achieved its initial objectives, the Corps continued in the direction of the eastern Karelian Isthmus.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn This resulted in several Soviet divisions being cut off along the shore of the lake, which in turn enabled the II Corps to reach the river Vuoksi.Шаблон:Sfn By creating a bridgehead over the river in the region of Baryshevo, the Corps put pressure on the Soviet forces engaged in the area of Vyborg.Шаблон:Sfn
Following the capture of Petrozavodsk later in 1941, the Corps was reconstituted in that area from forces both already in the region and from those moved from the Karelian Isthmus.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn Consisting of the 4th, 8th and 14th Divisions,Шаблон:Sfn as part of the Army of Karelia, the corps was to advance north from Petrozavodsk towards Kondopoga, and from there towards the isthmus between Medvezhyegorsk and Lake Segozero.Шаблон:Sfn The advance halted in Povenets–Lake Segozero region by December 8th, 1941, and the corps would stay in the region until 1944.Шаблон:Sfn
1942–44 trench warfare phase
From the March 1st 1942 to March 1st 1944, during the trench warfare phase, the corps was renamed as Maaselkä Group (Finnish: Maaselän Ryhmä).Шаблон:Sfn At this point, it consisted of the 1st, 4th and 8th Divisions.[1] In early 1942, it repulsed several attacks from the Soviet Karelian Front,Шаблон:Sfn after which the sector quieted down except for limited reconnaissance-in-force, long-range reconnaissance and partisan activities.Шаблон:Sfn During this time, various units of the Corps also saw several attempted mutinies, after it became increasingly clear that the war would not be as short as had been originally promised by some officers.Шаблон:Sfn On 4 March 1944, the corps command was transferred from Laatikainen to Paavo Talvela, who had just returned from Germany.Шаблон:Sfn
1944 Soviet offensive phase
In the summer of 1944, Soviet forces began the Vyborg–Petrozavodsk offensive.Шаблон:Sfn This offensive required increasing amounts of forces to be moved from the II Corps to the isthmuses, and by June 1944 II Corps consisted of only the 1st Division and one brigade under the command of Einar Mäkinen.Шаблон:Sfn The corps came under attack by four divisions of the Soviet 32nd Army on the night of June 19th–20th 1944, and subsequently conducted a fighting retreat to Suoyarvi–Porosozero area.Шаблон:Sfn From there, the corps was pushed further back to the region south of Ilomantsi.Шаблон:Sfn There, parts of II Corps were temporarily subordinated to the ad-hoc formation known as Group Raappana, which was tasked with the defence of Ilomantsi.Шаблон:Sfn The following Battle of Ilomantsi resulted in the routing and partial destruction of two Soviet divisions through encirclement.Шаблон:Sfn
See also
Notes
References
- ↑ Päämaja, operatiivinen osasto. Attachment 420 to war diary 20880, Maavoimien sotajaotus, 1.3.1942, pp. 7-8. The National Archive of Finland. Accessed 9.10.2021.
_in_1941.jpg){kind=link}
_in_1944.jpg){kind=link}