The battle at Suomousalmi was one of the most important of the so-called Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union in 1939-40. Its result did not prove that quality can neutralize quantity.
On 30 November 1939 the Soviet 163rd Rifle Division (MT) crossed the border and invaded Finnish territory towards the village of Suomousalmi. The goal of the Soviets was to advance to the city of Oulu, cutting Finland, literally, in two.
In this sector there was only one Finnish battalion in the area of Raate, near Suomousalmi. On the 7th of December Suomusalmi was captured almost without resistance. However, the retreating Finns destroyed the village so that their opponents could not find shelter from the weather.
Then they retreated. The Soviets attacked from December 8 against the new Finnish positions but failed miserably. Another attempt further north was repulsed by a Finnish battalion that had just arrived .
On December 9, the 27th Infantry Regiment (SP) under Colonel Silasvuo took over for the Finns. . The 27th SP included all the Finnish forces on the ground and the reinforcements sent.
The Finns attempted a counterattack to recapture Suomousalmi but failed due to existing losses. On December 24, it was the turn of the Soviets to try attacking again, but they too failed, suffering even heavier losses than their opponents.
In the meantime the Finnish 64th and 65th SP arrived in the area. With these forces an ad hoc Finnish division was formed under Silasvoos who was promoted to lieutenant general. A total of 11,500 Finnish soldiers were gathered.
In the meantime, however, the Soviet 44th MT was advancing towards Suomousalmi. The Finns attacked on December 27 against the Soviet 163rd MT and forced it to leave Suomousalmi. The Soviets retreated in panic. Many of their men perished in the panic. The Finns, however, did not stop, but continued the attack against the Soviet 44th MT.
The men of this division had already lost morale due to their contact with deserters from the 163rd MT and when it was attacked by the Finns on January 4, 1940, it was broken up into small sections unable to support each other, and was destroyed piece by piece by January 8.
Along with the two Soviet MTs, a Soviet armored brigade was also destroyed. The Finns had prevailed against 55,000 Soviets. The Finns had 750 dead and missing around 1,000 wounded.
Soviet losses were overwhelming. The dead and missing reached at least 21,000 men – other sources say 27,500. Also 2,100 Soviets were captured, while the Finns captured 43 tanks, 71 guns, 29 anti-tank guns, 260 trucks and 1,170.
This was an amazing victory for a force outnumbered by about 1:5 with no tanks and powerful artillery. But what the Finns possessed was particularly high morale, knowledge of the field and tactical flexibility at every level of command, from the commanding officer to the last team leader.
The Finns fought flexibly and intelligently. It is worth noting that small groups of skiers carried out surprise raids on the field kitchens of Soviet units, resulting in the Soviet soldiers being deprived of hot meals in the frozen wilderness that Stalin's shamelessness sent them to and their morale is crushed.
The epilogue of the battle was written on January 11, 1940 when Brigadier General Alexei Vinogradov, commander of the 44th MT was executed for cowardice...
The destruction of the Soviet 44th MT.
Finnish soldiers raise their flag.
Soviet Brigadier General Vinogradov paid with his life for the crash of the 44th MT.