When we left off: The Soviet unit has declared war on Finland. The invasion has begun! At the borders, the Finns can muster only weak resistance, attempting to stall the Soviet advance long enough for reinforcements to arrive. Some 11,500 volunteers from other nations will enter the war to side with the Finns, but the net effect will be too little, too late. Below: Three hundred Finnish-American volunteers leave New York harbor on December 12, 1939, shipping out for Finland. Bottom: Finns on skis. All Finnish infantry units were equipped with skis during this battle. Created by Mark Mokszycki (designer), updated 10-17-10 Part 2 December 3rd through 7th, 1939
December 3, 1939 Resistance is beginning to seem futile for the outnumbered Finns. Given half a day to organize, the Soviets can bring vast numbers of artillery to bear on the Finnish strong points. Worse still are the Soviet tanks, which have now overrun the Finns numerous times. The Finns have not been trained to take on these steel behemoths, and their own armor and anti-tank weaponry is almost non-existent. The Finns flee in disarray each time upon encountering the Soviet tanks. After being overrun several times in several days, the Finns' nerves are frayed. Soon, even the rumor of approaching tanks is enough to send many Finnish soldiers into a frenzied state of panic.
Below: Another view of a Soviet T-26 tank, courtesy artist Michael Evans.
The Finns fall back to Ägläjärvi. Note that the name Ägläjärvi refers to both the town and lake. December 4 On the evening of December 4, 1939, the Soviet 139th Rifle Division routs the Finns at Ägläjärvi. The Finns cling to the town for a time, but they are forced to fall back before being completely surrounded by the Soviets, who successfully exercise flanking maneuvers time after time. The Soviets halt momentarily to catch their breaths at Ägläjärvi.
Making better progress than the other Russian divisions along the 600 mile front north of Lake Ladoga, the 139th Division is prepared to achieve a breakthrough. If it can manage to advance another dozen or so miles westward, then swing south, it can help unhinge Finland's key defense- the heavily defended Mannerheim Line. Commanding the Soviet 139th Rifle Division, Belaev realizes that the Finns will likely assemble a defense at Tolvajärvi, a lake and village some 20 kilometers to the west. It is here that the main road and axis of advance crosses a very narrow spit of land between frozen lakes. The Soviet forces are limited to the main road network (to a large extent) due to their extensive "comet's tail" of motorized supply units. Belaev knows that the region around Tolvajärvi will provide excellent defensible terrain for the Finns. He begins formulating plans to unhinge the Finns' defenses there. Belaev dispatches the Soviet 718th Rifle Regiment (one third of the total division) to the north, in order to sweep back south and outflank the Finns holding the village of Tolvajärvi. These men will spend the next five days marching through a snowy wilderness of woods and frozen suo (wetlands). The map at top illustrates the proposed flank march of the Soviet 718th Rifle Regiment. This regiment, shown on the following page, was only one of three regiments comprising the 139th Rifle Division.
The other two regiments (the 364th and 609th, not shown) were to continue up the main road towards Tolvajärvi, pressing the Finns as closely as possible so as to not allow them time to mount a strong prepared defense. The 364th Rifle Regiment was to take the lead in this drive. Belaev is correct about the Finns making a stand at Tolvajärvi. Why do the Finns choose Tolvajärvi? Tolvajärvi (the name given to both lake and village) lies some 20 kilometers to the west of Ägläjärvi. It is here that the main road and axis of advance crosses a very narrow spit of land between three frozen lakeshirvasjärvi, Myllyjärvi, and Tolvajärvi (see left half of survey map, next page). As an aside: "jarvi" means "lake" in Finnish, as you might guess. Along this narrow spit of land is situated a tourist hotel. This hotel will become highly contested during the days of December 8-12. The Soviet forces are fairly limited to the main road network due to their extensive "comet's tail" of motorized supply units. This does not, however, mean that all Soviet forces are completely tethered to the roads. Leg units such as rifle infantry have already demonstrated sound tactics in flanking maneuvers and off-road marches through the snowy woods and wetlands. They will do so again at Tolvajärvi.
A portion of a 1939 survey map:
Playtest map art by Michael Evans, showing roughly the same area:
The newer version of the playtest map by Mark Mahaffey:
December 6 This day sees the first organized counterattacks by the Finns, but as the Finns do not yet realize they faced an entire Soviet division, these attacks are destined to failure. Note: December 6 is beyond the scope of the game Red Winter, which begins on Dec. 8, but it probably wouldn t offer a very satisfying gaming experience anyway; the Soviets are a steamroller at this point in the war. The Finnish units involved in these early encounters, including ErP9 and PPP7, do appear in Red Winter. Paavo Pajari arrives near Tolvajärvi this evening, and orders Bicycle Battalion PPP7 to hold the Ristisalmi passage until the morning of the 8th. Below: Lt. Col. Paavo Pajari, real and cardboard versions.
On the survey map at bottom, the narrow Ristisalmi passage is indicated by the red arrow. The Ristisalmi settlement, from which it takes its name, is indicated by the red 'X'. additional +1). Red Winter notes: The Finnish player will have to make difficult decisions regarding the use of Pajari. Should he be used upfront, supporting the troops? Or should he stay in the rear area to help the reduced units quickly recover and get back into the action? Often times he will find himself in a desperate juggling act, running back and forth and doing a bit of both (just as he did historically). Pajari can be used to provide one column shift on the Combat Results Table (CRT) in favor of the Finns, whether they are attacking or defending. He also provides a bonus to recovery die rolls when reduced units are attempting to recover (units must take no other action during their turn and roll a 6 on a 6-sided die; if Pajari is present in their hex they receive a +1, and if they are 4 or more hexes distant from all enemy units they receive an Finally, Pajari grants a sizable bonus to Finnish Night Raids (described in detail a later installment of BFL).
As a side note and tangent: It is a common misconception that the Soviets did not successfully use flanking tactics during the Winter War. The most vivid images of the Winter War seem to involve hoards of Soviet troops employing ill-conceived human wave assaults against well defended Finnish positions. While such massacres did take place (especially to the south, near the Mannerheim Line) the Soviet doctrine did in fact encourage the outflanking of Finnish defensive positions. The Soviets did so time and time again, with a high degree of success, during the first weeks of the war. During the advance of the 139th Rifle Division, the Soviets utilizde every foot, horse and goat trail available in the region, and they consistently put the Finns in danger of being surrounded. Thus they managed to unhinge their adversary's defenses repeatedly, causing the Finns to fall back just as they managed to dig in, time and again. Eventually, the Soviets will even take their tanks off road and into the woods, finding them much more useful when used in this fashion rather than tethered to the limited road network. But during the first weeks of December, 1939, the Soviet commanders are not yet so creative with their tanks. The tank battalion attached to the 139th Rifle Division is kept mainly in reserve, probably to guard the unlimbered artillery and supply vehicles from marauding Finnish raiders. Below: Soviet ski troops during the Winter War. This photo was probably taken after the Battle of Tolvajärvi. Following that battle, Belaev himself helped to outfit and train Soviet troops in the use of skis.
Red Winter notes: Pictured: The general types of roads as displayed in the Red Winter playtest artwork. The dark gray road represents the main highway. The brown roads are secondary roads and horse trails. The white roads are crude foot trails. These differences are mostly for graphical flair, as infantry units may use all road types interchangeably in Red Winter. However, vehicle units (Soviet tanks and armored cars) pay differing movement costs to enter secondary roads and trails.
Above: The poor quality of roads is evident in this photograph. Also on this day (December 6, 1939) Finnish independent battalion ErP9 is transferred to the front using motorized transports, bringing Taskforce Räsänen s total manpower to almost 5000. Red Winter notes: These units are out of the action by the time the game Red Winter starts. But they return on day five of the battle (Dec. 12th), just in time to participate in the Finns' big counterattack. Exception: The machine guns attached to ErP9 begin the game near the town of Tolvajärvi.
December 7 Two regiments of the Soviet 139th Rifle Division continue their advance up the main road to Tolvajärvi (you will recall that the other regiment was sent on a long march to the north, in an effort to outflank Tolvajärvi from the north). Note: The photo below is not actually PPP7, but a unit of Finnish jaegers. I've included it here because it nicely illustrates the point that the Finns commonly used bicycles for transportation during the Winter War- or at least until the snow got so deep that they traded their bikes for skis. Red Winter notes: Finnish bicycle battalion PPP7 gives the defense their best effort, managing a prolonged fighting retreat. But by evening their retreat has become more panicked. The men are now spread out and disorganized, and some have even abandoned their weapons. Pajari allows the men of PPP7 to continue to retreat and tire themselves out. He knows that this battalion will be of no further use unless they are allowed to rest away from the action. This is one demonstration of Pajari's considerable skills in psychology; he understands the minds of his men. The PPP7 bike battalion begins Red Winter a ways from the action, in the town of Tolvajärvi. PPP7 is represented by three company sized units (see pic above). These units begin the game on their reduced sides. One of the critical decisions the Finnish player must make on game turn one is whether to begin rallying these units in place at the town, or send them to the front where a stronger defense is desperately needed. As another alternative, they might immediately begin digging in (or relocate, then do so).
Also on this day (Dec 7, 1939) Pajari arrives near the front with a mortar company and two machine gun companies, taking control of Task Force R, which is renamed to Task Force P. Pajari's force attempts to hold the Kuikkajärvi narrows just east of Tolvajärvi. Although he is pushed back on to Kivisalmi straits by the ferocity of the Soviet advance, he is able to delay the Soviets just long enough for units of the Finnish Army (JR16) to arrive behind the front.
Above: The narrows appear on the Red Winter map at the lower right hand corner. Playtest map art by Michael Evans. To Be Continued...