5th Company/7th Infantry Regiment 5.7.42.
K.D.No 402/I/20
About: Russian reconnaissance patrol 5.7.42.
Combat report from 5.7.42.
On 5.7.42 at approximately 2:30 the Russians started an attempted reconnaissance mission to base Kärki supported by strong artillery fire (see attached drawing), apparently with the intention of capturing a prisoner. The attempt was made with about three platoons, using charges to break through the barbed-wire entanglement, with one platoon in point (a) and two platoons in point (b). From point (a) about 10-15 Russians made it to the trench, all the way to the dugout at (c). In the dugout was half of the 3rd Platoon, Second Lieutenant O. Aaltonen as the oldest. In point (b), however, blowing up the charge failed, so only 3 Russians got to the trench while others were repelled with hand-grenades and fierce submachine gun fire from positions at (d), where operating were Sergeant Niilo Leppänen and Privates Kalle Rantanen and Emil Vartiainen.
The Russians who had penetrated into the positions at (e) engaged in close combat with the guards on duty Corporal Uuno Lipsanen and Privates Viljo Matikainen, Gunnar Nikkanen and Otto Hämäläinen, who all got wounded, nevertheless disrupting the Russians’ plans significantly. Then the NCO-on-call Under-Sergeant Väinö Leinonen was making rounds in the trenches and got surprised by the Russians, who captured him for taking to their own lines. Simultaneously Second Lieutenant Aaltonen’s men came out of their dugout and started hurrying to their positions, but barged into Russians immediately outside the dugout. The Russians, having already captured a prisoner and noticing the strength of the men coming out of the dugout started to retreat towards their own positions through point (a).
All this time the Russian artillery was firing barrage behind base Kärki and partially also on Kärki, despite the fact that their own men were in the base. Our artillery and mortars fired barrage in front of Kärki and on the Russian positions. This fire killed Under-Sergeant Leinonen, whose corpse the Russians then abandoned near point (a).
Our losses: 1 dead, 9 wounded.
Material losses: 1 submachine gun, bagful of clips and a compass.
Russian losses: 4 dead in our trenches. The Russians took their wounded with them as well as those fallen or wounded from our barrage while retreating.
We got as booty 2 rifles with bayonets, 4 hand-grenades and 1 satchel charge.
The situation ended at 3:45 and everything was calm by the time the reserves arrived. A part of the reserve platoon made it to Kärki in time to help chase out the enemy.
5th Company Chief
Lieutenant A. NISKA