Battle of Taipale

Battle of Taipale
	Part of the Winter War
Date	6 December 1939 – 27 December 1939
Location	Metsäpirtti, Karelian Isthmus
Result	Finnish victory
Belligerents
Finland	Soviet Union
Commanders and leaders
Viljo Kauppila	Vladimir Grendal[lower-alpha 1]
Units involved
10th Division	4th Rifle Division 49th Rifle Division 142nd Rifle Division 150th Rifle Division 39th Armored Brigade[2]
Casualties and losses
2,250 killed & wounded	10,000+ killed

The Battle of Taipale was a series of battles fought during the Winter War between Finland and Soviet Union from December 6 to 27 1939. The battles were part of a Soviet campaign to overtake the Finnish Mannerheim Line of defence in the Karelian Isthmus region to open a route to Southern Finland. Despite their superiority in numbers the Soviet forces were unable to break through the Finnish defences.

Memorial near Solovyovo (Taipale)

Position of Taipale at eastern end of Mannerheim Line

The Battle

November 30 - December 6 (Prelude)

On November 30, Soviet forces cross the Finnish border and in the following hours conduct aerial bombardment on civilian targets. The front of the Karelian Isthmus was split into two sectors by both belligerents: one sector on the side of Lake Ladoga and the other on the side of the Gulf Of Finland. On the Soviet Ladoga sector the commanding officer is Vladimir Grendahl and on the Finnish side, Erik Heinrichs. On December 3, Grendahl receives the order to make a much desired breakthrough on the Ladoga sector, as the soldiers on the opposite sector were more numerous and offered fiercer resistance. The former objective of reaching Viipuri trough by a breakthrough on the gulf side of the Karelian Isthmus became of secondary priority. The attack began on the 6th of December, when the Finns had retreated to the Mannerheim line.

December 6-12

Battle of Taipale began on 6 December, started by the 49th and 150th rifle divisions of the 7th army, who tried to cross the river Taipale at three locations. The attempt was met with Finnish 10th divisions accurate artillery shelling dealing heavy losses to the invading troops. The battle terrain was a flat farmland, so the approaching Soviet divisions could not conceal themselves. However, due to the sheer size of the Soviet forces, the attackers managed to establish a bridgehead over the river. The Finns however, had inflicted severe casualties, and because so many officers and soldiers had perished in the attacks, some military units (even in the size of a regiment) had to be withdrawn from the front. In the following days, the Finns would repel more assaults and inflict even larger amounts of casualties causing the collapse of many units (see above). However the efforts of the Finnish defensive force were not enough to stop the Soviet advance and soon the bridgehead was gradually enlarged, securing ground for continued invasions and for reinforcements that were on the way to the battle (39th armoured brigade).

December 12-24

By December 12, the bridgehead was large enough to support an invasion into 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]

References

Citations

Raunio & Kilin 2010, pp. 29.
Raunio & Kilin 2010, pp. 56.

Sources

In English

Engle, Eloise; Paananen, Lauri (1985) [1973]. The Winter War: The Russo-Finnish Conflict, 1939–40. Westview Press. ISBN 0-8133-0149-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
Trotter, William R. (2002) [1991]. The Winter War: The Russo–Finnish War of 1939–40 (5th ed.). Aurum Press. ISBN 1-85410-881-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Online sources

Raunio, Ari (2017). "Defensive battles in December 1939". Talvisotayhdistys. Retrieved 13 August 2019.

In Finnish

Raunio, Ari; Kilin, Juri (2010). Talvisodan taisteluja (3rd revised ed.). Karttakeskus. ISBN 978-951-593-415-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
Sotatieteen Laitos. (1978). Talvisodan historia 2 : Sotatoimet Karjalan kannaksella. WSOY. ISBN 951-0-08147-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
Sorko, Kimmo; Strang, Mikko (2010). Taipaleen päiviä. Talvisota Itä-Kannaksella 1939-1940. Historiatyöryhmä. ISBN 978-952-92-6803-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
Sorko, Kimmo (1998). Keskisuomalaisten Taipale 1939-1940. ISBN 952-91-0231-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

In Russian

Иринчеев, Баир (2016). Оболганная победа Сталина. Штурм Линии Маннергейма. (The stunned victory of Stalin. The assault on the Mannerheim Line.). Эксмо. ISBN 978-5-699-86363-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
Якимович, Кирилл (2010). На фланге линии Маннергейма. Битва за Тайпале. (On the flank of the Mannerheim line. Battle of Taipale.). Вече. ISBN 978-5-4444-5645-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)