Combat Unit Kiiskinen’s reconnaissance mission on Karelian Isthmus on December 15, 1943

 

Article by Kalervo Talvitie, published in “Kansa Taisteli”, 12/1975

 

Translated from the Finnish language

 

 

In January 1943, by capturing Shlisselburg from the Germans, the Russians opened a land connection to their besieged metropolis. The breaking of the siege of Leningrad portended a change in the situation also on Karelian Isthmus. It gave the previously besieged troops a new shot of self-confidence and esteem, at the same time improving their support and supply conditions.

 

During the trench war period combat activity on the Isthmus had been relatively low. Both sides did however run reconnaissance missions, during which they attempted to capture prisoners, from whom they hoped to find out about the enemy’s groupings and intentions. So the Russians attempted to capture a prisoner on December 14, 1943 in Inkerinmaa, central Isthmus in the so-called Tonteri sector, which was defended by the 2nd Battalion of the 58th Infantry Regiment, led by Major Heikki Kuistio. The Russian strike squad consisted of around 200 men. After suffering losses of 60 men the enemy had to give up and withdraw to their own lines.

 

To the left of the Tonteri sector, in the direction of the Ohta road, was the so-called Ohta sector, defended by the 7th Infantry Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Adolf Ehrnrooth. The terrain at the front in this regiment’s sector was flat and open. In the south of the sector was the wide Harvasuo swamp. North of that was the Kuvajanmetsä forest. The Finnish forward base called Sevastopoli was located to the south of Suuri Harvasuo.

Eino Kuvaja.

 

The 2nd Division commander had ordered Ehrnrooth to organize a reconnaissance mission and to capture a prisoner, using his own regiment’s forces. After discussing the task with Major Eino Kuvaja, commander of the 1st Battalion manning the south sub-sector, he assigned the mission to the commander of the 3rd Company, Captain Jouko Kiiskinen. The task was to take over and destroy the field-fortified enemy base located on the east side of the so-called Inkiläinen forest, north-east of Sevastopoli, to capture a prisoner and to gather intelligence information. The preparations for this had started already in November 1943, by continuous observation of the target, and by practicing advancing, breaking into and destroying enemy field-fortified positions in the rear. The strike squad, ‘Combat Unit Kiiskinen’ was formed of the battalion’s Jaeger Platoon, led by Second Lieutenant O. Nyberg, and two other platoons consisting of elite fighters from the 3rd Company, led by Lieutenant Kunto Talvisto and Second Lieutenant Veikko Vainio. In addition to this the Combat Unit had a command squad, signals squad, sapper squad, 2 flame thrower squads, an artillery fire-control group led by Lieutenant Jan Hannelius, a fire-control group for the mortars, and a medic squad. All in all, its strength was way over a hundred men.

Jouko Kiiskinen.

Everything had been well practiced and the mission and tasks explained to the platoons and squads. All that was needed now was the right weather, when wind blowing from the north-west or west would allow the creation of a smokescreen - a cover from enemy observation. And the enemy didn’t have to wait long to get a response to the abovementioned “challenge” given in the Tonteri sector, as just the night following the battle the winds were found to be favorable. The sky was cloudy; there was a weak wind from the north-west, temperature -5° C.

 

In the early hours of the morning on December 15, 1943 the men were collecting their equipment, wearing snow camouflage and ski boots. The helmets were left in the dugouts. A moment earlier everyone had been given two hand-grenades and one-and-a-half daily quotas of ammunition for their weapons. They had four satchel charges per platoon; the sapper squad had 15 satchel charges and two pipe charges. On top of this each platoon was given four Molotov cocktails and three pairs of barbed-wire cutters. The medic squad brought three sleighs and the Jaeger Platoon had two sleighs for carrying away the possible catch.

 

At 10 seconds to eight o’clock Combat Unit Kiiskinen left their attack positions. Eight smoke throwers had created a safe cover to advance under. The frosty morning dawned over the enemy defense line, where large and small parcels danced their devilish dance in the positions, brought on by three artillery battalions, a mortar company and a mortar platoon, and direct-fire artillery.

Advancing into enemy positions under a smokescreen.

 

The sudden thunderstorm had apparently messed up the enemy’s whole defense system. The men advanced rather easily until the barbed-wire entanglements. In about a minute the sappers cleared an opening in the trap field and the Jaeger Platoon dove into enemy positions. Sergeant Reino Kostiainen, from Vuoksenlaakso, was the first to jump over the trap wires and with Private Pohjalainen fell an enemy who had climbed out of the trench. Under-Sergeant Arvo Ikonen, from Vainio’s platoon, blew up the dugout nearest to the clearing, making the logs fly. After this Kostiainen took the lead as the front man in Nyberg’s Jaeger Platoon, which started to advance north from the break-in point. Other roughnecks going with him were Sergeant Vilho Yli-Kovanen, Under-Sergeant Sulo Hänninen and Privates Väinö Kiuru and Urho Pekkinen. Vainio’s platoon took to the south, running foremost were Under-Sergeant Heikki Koski, Under-Sergeant Antti Lantta and Private Esko Hämäläinen from the regiment’s Sapper Platoon. He destroyed five dugouts. Lieutenant Kunto Talvisto, an old hand in the regiment, advanced with his platoon to the road bend to the east of the target, securing the Jaeger Platoon’s backs. Talvisto’s platoon did not have to open fire on the way.

Vilho Yli-Kovanen.

 

Everything had gone according to plan without significant losses and artillery, mortars and our direct-fire artillery were giving constant support. Resistance had been weak. Some individual enemy soldiers tried to shoot at us or throw hand-grenades, but most of us were experienced fighters and clearing the trenches had progressed rapidly. About ten enemies had fallen in the trenches – most sat in their dugouts and weapon emplacements, which we had hastily blown up with satchel charges, finishing the job with hand-grenades and submachine guns and in the end flame-throwers or Molotov cocktails. When the commander of the unit, Captain Kiiskinen reported to the battalion commander the situation: “base destroyed, no prisoners, no booty”, Major Kuvaja ordered him to continue the offensive to the north with two platoons, leaving Vainio’s platoon in defense where they were. He wanted a prisoner.

 

Upon receiving the order Captain Kiiskinen left a small reserve under Lieutenant V. Teijonmaa behind, for surprises, and started off to the north. After the Jaeger Platoon had advanced about 100 meters to the north five enemy soldiers appeared in front of them. One of them surrendered while the others escaped. At the same time Vainio reported to Kiiskinen that Under-Sergeant Heikki Koski had taken a prisoner, at which point Kiiskinen interrupted the Jaeger Platoon’s advance and ordered them to detach.

Throwing hand-grenades.

 

First to withdraw was the Jaeger Platoon, 50 minutes after taking off from the attack positions. Talvisto’s platoon followed, firing red signal flares, telling artillery to start firing barrage. At the same time the artillery increased fire to the flanks and smoke throwers created a screen. The last to detach was Vainio’s platoon. When their rear end was in the middle of a clearing, the smokescreen disappeared for a moment before a new screen was created. The enemy started shooting with direct-fire artillery, killing three and wounding seven men. Captain Kiiskinen and Lieutenant Teijonmaa arrived in the scene, having been the last to leave the enemy base. Teijonmaa used the radio to order more smoke and grenades to silence the enemy direct-fire artillery. The he ran to catch the rear of the previous platoon and ordered them to return to fetch the wounded, all of whom were recovered. Nevertheless the enemy caused further losses of nine men as wounded by shooting barrage to their return route.

 

The Combat Unit’s mission had been accomplished. All in all the Combat Unit cleared trenches in an area 500 meters wide and 400 meters deep. 11 dugouts, 12 covered weapon emplacements and two storage huts were destroyed. The enemy lost an estimated 35 men dead and two taken prisoner. More than 10 enemy artillery batteries had been in operation. The enemy artillery fired a total of 1,000 grenades, half of them of heavy caliber, into the no-man’s-land, the Finnish lines and the rear, all the way to the battalion command post. Their mortars fired 300 and anti-tank guns 250 grenades.

 

The prisoners, 43-year old Fedor Nikitits Shtsukin and 33-year old Konstantin Trofimovits Prohorov, turned out to be very knowledgeable when they were interviewed. Based on information obtained from them the Finns found out that they were still opposed by troops from Colonel Romantsov’s 10th Division. But the offensive east of Leningrad started by the Russians in January 1944 predicted changes, as after a week of fighting they managed to widen the corridor to Leningrad. These and later events were prognostic of the massive offensive that started in our fronts on June 9, 1944.

Read original Combat Report in Finnish (translation to appear some day).

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