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A Finnish writer Antti Tuuri has compiled stories or more like accounts of events of a soldiers of Finnish 14th Division in a Rukajärvi trilogy. I have translated some of those and you can read them here. If language does not "flow" like it should, blame me.
We are not here to shoot capercaillies
First time we had to have forward recon we took matches and we cut one half and who ever got the short one had to go forward recon. It was Otto Räsänen. I said to him that he must go 20-30 meters ahead of us. I watched as he walked, he was looking always to the top of trees. I yelled at him that why is he looking at tree tops, Russians aren't at tree tops, they are on the ground. Räsänen answered that he's not looking for Russians, he's trying to find capercaillie to shoot at. I had to say to him that we are not here to shoot capercaillies.
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Neighbor didn't saw our recon. We went to study western side of the hill, there we had to go over swamp. At the other end of swamp was barbed wire obstacle and at the end of it was MG nest. It looked as it was abandoned. We decided to go through and take a look at the bunkerline from the back. We went in 2 groups through barbed wire obstacle, men were lifting the wires for each other. I was with the first group. Just as we were between the barbed wires, MG opened fire from the nest, but fired over us. We went back, nothing happened to anyone of us and we went around the hill to the south side, where it seemed to be no obstacles to go to the hill. MG nest was the end of bunkerline on the west side. We saw they were waiting for us.
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We went together with Kokkila to talk to Commander of our Regiment. Commander of Regiment Ilomäki was in a tent, together with his adjutant, Captain Hirvonen. There was also Commander of Battery Major Hartikainen, who was known by his cover name Tonni. Kokkila explained, that i had been on a recon mission on the hill we were about to attack and that i wanted to tell what i had seen. I told that we couldn't attack the hill from the north, because that direction was heavily fortified and we would lose men. Lieutenent Colonel Ilomäki wasn't interested about what i said. He said that we will attack from the north and artillery will support us. We didn't have a say. I put my hat on and went out of tent. There i was joined by Chief of first battery, Lieutenant Kuusela, who was to be FO of battery. I explained the situation for him and we started to walk towards my Company.
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We started our attack from bunkerline to the hill, but the enemy above us didn't let us there. We asked artillery fire 50 meters ahead of us, i was with FO at front. Fire was accurate, even though we had to lie quite flat on the East-Karelian soil. Assault begun again and continued all the way to the top of the hill, to the observation tower. Enemy had couple of dug in lines, where we had to fight quite hard before we were through. As we were on top of the hill, we saw that attack from south would have propably succeeded without casualties; now our casualties were high.
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We asked medics and bearers from battalion, but we didn't get confirmation. Warrant Officer Niemi went to the battalion HQ, where Commander walked apatheticly in front of his tent and said again and again "No one can go there, everyone is falling in there". Niemi commanded himself some men and started to carry wounded and dead away from battlearea. All were at groupbandagingarea and hospital on the same day exept one man. He was found next day under thick fir tree, his foot was cut by bullets.
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I asked a fresh Company to help us. Battalion Commander told, that there were whole Battalion just standing only one kilometer away. It was 2nd Battalion of Infantry Regiment 31. I asked them to help us. In a short moment after that Kokkila told me about decision Lieutenant Colonel Ilomäki had made: Lieutenant is exaggerating the situation. Jaeger team will do, they will go. I told him that it's not enough, but they hung up on me and i couldn't make contact to the Battalion anymore. I tried through artillery to change their mind, but nothing helped, also lines to the artillery were cut.
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Time went by and we hadn't seen any help. They haven't promised it either. Enemy manned the bunkerline again going around the hill from ast and begun to advance towards the Company on the hill from north and south, we didn't have a single medic with us and no ammo. Late evening 6th July we made decision together with Lieutenant Kuusela to leave the hill before whole Company was destroyed. We left to the west and did manage to leave before enemy noticed our retreat. Enemy didn't defeat us, it was Commander of Infantry Regiment 31, Jaeger Lieutenant Colonel Frans Ilomäki who did that.
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Our Mortar team was supporting attack, which was made by Battalion Läikkö, 3rd Battalion of Infantry Regiment 52, 7th July 12.00 hours to the hill 255.8 between Maasjärvi and Nimetönlampi. In the beginning artillery and mortars fired very heavy barrage and then infantry attacked over the trees Russians had cut on the front of the hill. Russians used every weapon they had, noise was so dreadful, that you couldn't hear men yelling at you on the phone, you could hear some swearing, but couldn't here orders. On the Battalion Läikkö 16 were dead and 85 wounded, it was also raining heavily and track which was used to carry dead and wounded back was one bloodstream.
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My guard duty was at the evening at the north side of Tappokukkula (Killing hill), few hundred meters from the shore of lake Maasjärvi. Tent was about hundred meters from my guard post and my orders were that i shouldn't shoot because it would compromise the tent and our position. I was alone in guard. I had Suomi SMG with one extra clip and also my own guns: Parabellum pistol and in my one boot i had Browning pistol and on the other i had knife. Around 11pm i begun to hear some voices from ahead and right from me, it sounded like a big group of men. I throwed myself behind a bush and loaded my SMG. Soon i saw the group, it was a platoon size of group. I had my orders, not to shoot. And then i had the other order which is clear to every man in guard, can't leave my post. Neighbour was within 100 meters and closing, and didn't have anyone to send to the tent to make an alarm. I decided to fire with all i got, because i wasn't going to let them walk over me. I thought i let them come to 30-40 meters from me and then i let the bullets fly. I counted about 40-50 men. I aimed at the first one and felt my body shivering. When they were 50-60 meters from me, they changed their path to the right just a bit and they went past me. I was laying there and watching those Russians walking past me. I didn't shoot. They all were gone and soon i begun to hear firing from the direction they went. I heard at the morning that they had walked right into 2 man guard of infantry. Over 10 Russians died there.
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Battalion Kumlin made encircling from north of Kolvasjärvi to north of Repola through wilderness. We had precise orders what we at groupbandagingarea can take with us and it was not much, darbies and bandages in backpack and some medicines. We didn't take anything what would have to have be transported by horse. We crossed rivers which horses couldn't go over, two days and one night we walked in wilderness and then we were at north of Repola. But when we were supposed to go to the main road and encircle Repola, orders came from Division that Battalion has to move 4 kilometers back. Orders were coming directly from Raappana, Kumlin should come back and help Battalion Långhjelm, which was in trouble. When orders of retreat came, whole Battalion was confused and begun to retreat in no order what so ever, men threw MGs away to the woods and walked like a cattle. After 4 kilometers they managed to regroup Battalion again.
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Our FO were borrowed to the front line, we went together with Second Lieutenant Gräsbeck and reported to Captain Selinheimo. We were 100 meters from frontline, sitting on the hummocks and suddenly all infantry men were disappeared. Then someone from the dug-in showed us that we should lay down. Infantrymen had heard the sound of mortars in all that noise. We didn't recognice them yet. About 10 80mm granades came, sand and mud was flying but that was all. Russian guys had 3 inch cannon battery near village of Kolvasjärvi, and they were shooting us too with shrapnells mixed with the ones which exploded on trees. One top of the tree fell right in front of me and some older infantry man was under it. He pushed that tree top away and said calmly: "What the heck, we don't cut trees like that, we always start from the bottom"
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When we were on our way to Repola from Kolvasjärvi, days were cold and rainy, even though it was early July. Hot weather begun in few days. Boys from the Battery made fire to the side of the road and were drying their clothes. Also Second Lieutenant Ijäs was there when i came. Men were on the road going towards Repola, men and guns and vehicles. Then some Captain on one of the trucks begun to yell to Ijäs about the fire, said that enemy planes will see it. Captain said he would make sure Ijäs gets command which Ijäs would remember for a long time.
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I was Priest in Battalion, but because there were no Priest in Regiment, i had to do that job too. I talked with Commander of Regiment, Colonel Ilomäki, about these matters. He had very positive attitude to work of Priests and understood the meaning of religion to the men. He said that because we are at war and peoples lives can end at any moment, that is a subject we shouldn't repeat too much in our preaches. It could be too hard to listen. Also too much talk about law and God should be avoided and we should try to get close to men, many of them had responsibility of a family and then worries about own fate.
We are not here to shoot capercaillies
First time we had to have forward recon we took matches and we cut one half and who ever got the short one had to go forward recon. It was Otto Räsänen. I said to him that he must go 20-30 meters ahead of us. I watched as he walked, he was looking always to the top of trees. I yelled at him that why is he looking at tree tops, Russians aren't at tree tops, they are on the ground. Räsänen answered that he's not looking for Russians, he's trying to find capercaillie to shoot at. I had to say to him that we are not here to shoot capercaillies.
----------
Neighbor didn't saw our recon. We went to study western side of the hill, there we had to go over swamp. At the other end of swamp was barbed wire obstacle and at the end of it was MG nest. It looked as it was abandoned. We decided to go through and take a look at the bunkerline from the back. We went in 2 groups through barbed wire obstacle, men were lifting the wires for each other. I was with the first group. Just as we were between the barbed wires, MG opened fire from the nest, but fired over us. We went back, nothing happened to anyone of us and we went around the hill to the south side, where it seemed to be no obstacles to go to the hill. MG nest was the end of bunkerline on the west side. We saw they were waiting for us.
----------
We went together with Kokkila to talk to Commander of our Regiment. Commander of Regiment Ilomäki was in a tent, together with his adjutant, Captain Hirvonen. There was also Commander of Battery Major Hartikainen, who was known by his cover name Tonni. Kokkila explained, that i had been on a recon mission on the hill we were about to attack and that i wanted to tell what i had seen. I told that we couldn't attack the hill from the north, because that direction was heavily fortified and we would lose men. Lieutenent Colonel Ilomäki wasn't interested about what i said. He said that we will attack from the north and artillery will support us. We didn't have a say. I put my hat on and went out of tent. There i was joined by Chief of first battery, Lieutenant Kuusela, who was to be FO of battery. I explained the situation for him and we started to walk towards my Company.
----------
We started our attack from bunkerline to the hill, but the enemy above us didn't let us there. We asked artillery fire 50 meters ahead of us, i was with FO at front. Fire was accurate, even though we had to lie quite flat on the East-Karelian soil. Assault begun again and continued all the way to the top of the hill, to the observation tower. Enemy had couple of dug in lines, where we had to fight quite hard before we were through. As we were on top of the hill, we saw that attack from south would have propably succeeded without casualties; now our casualties were high.
----------
We asked medics and bearers from battalion, but we didn't get confirmation. Warrant Officer Niemi went to the battalion HQ, where Commander walked apatheticly in front of his tent and said again and again "No one can go there, everyone is falling in there". Niemi commanded himself some men and started to carry wounded and dead away from battlearea. All were at groupbandagingarea and hospital on the same day exept one man. He was found next day under thick fir tree, his foot was cut by bullets.
----------
I asked a fresh Company to help us. Battalion Commander told, that there were whole Battalion just standing only one kilometer away. It was 2nd Battalion of Infantry Regiment 31. I asked them to help us. In a short moment after that Kokkila told me about decision Lieutenant Colonel Ilomäki had made: Lieutenant is exaggerating the situation. Jaeger team will do, they will go. I told him that it's not enough, but they hung up on me and i couldn't make contact to the Battalion anymore. I tried through artillery to change their mind, but nothing helped, also lines to the artillery were cut.
----------
Time went by and we hadn't seen any help. They haven't promised it either. Enemy manned the bunkerline again going around the hill from ast and begun to advance towards the Company on the hill from north and south, we didn't have a single medic with us and no ammo. Late evening 6th July we made decision together with Lieutenant Kuusela to leave the hill before whole Company was destroyed. We left to the west and did manage to leave before enemy noticed our retreat. Enemy didn't defeat us, it was Commander of Infantry Regiment 31, Jaeger Lieutenant Colonel Frans Ilomäki who did that.
----------
Our Mortar team was supporting attack, which was made by Battalion Läikkö, 3rd Battalion of Infantry Regiment 52, 7th July 12.00 hours to the hill 255.8 between Maasjärvi and Nimetönlampi. In the beginning artillery and mortars fired very heavy barrage and then infantry attacked over the trees Russians had cut on the front of the hill. Russians used every weapon they had, noise was so dreadful, that you couldn't hear men yelling at you on the phone, you could hear some swearing, but couldn't here orders. On the Battalion Läikkö 16 were dead and 85 wounded, it was also raining heavily and track which was used to carry dead and wounded back was one bloodstream.
----------
My guard duty was at the evening at the north side of Tappokukkula (Killing hill), few hundred meters from the shore of lake Maasjärvi. Tent was about hundred meters from my guard post and my orders were that i shouldn't shoot because it would compromise the tent and our position. I was alone in guard. I had Suomi SMG with one extra clip and also my own guns: Parabellum pistol and in my one boot i had Browning pistol and on the other i had knife. Around 11pm i begun to hear some voices from ahead and right from me, it sounded like a big group of men. I throwed myself behind a bush and loaded my SMG. Soon i saw the group, it was a platoon size of group. I had my orders, not to shoot. And then i had the other order which is clear to every man in guard, can't leave my post. Neighbour was within 100 meters and closing, and didn't have anyone to send to the tent to make an alarm. I decided to fire with all i got, because i wasn't going to let them walk over me. I thought i let them come to 30-40 meters from me and then i let the bullets fly. I counted about 40-50 men. I aimed at the first one and felt my body shivering. When they were 50-60 meters from me, they changed their path to the right just a bit and they went past me. I was laying there and watching those Russians walking past me. I didn't shoot. They all were gone and soon i begun to hear firing from the direction they went. I heard at the morning that they had walked right into 2 man guard of infantry. Over 10 Russians died there.
----------
Battalion Kumlin made encircling from north of Kolvasjärvi to north of Repola through wilderness. We had precise orders what we at groupbandagingarea can take with us and it was not much, darbies and bandages in backpack and some medicines. We didn't take anything what would have to have be transported by horse. We crossed rivers which horses couldn't go over, two days and one night we walked in wilderness and then we were at north of Repola. But when we were supposed to go to the main road and encircle Repola, orders came from Division that Battalion has to move 4 kilometers back. Orders were coming directly from Raappana, Kumlin should come back and help Battalion Långhjelm, which was in trouble. When orders of retreat came, whole Battalion was confused and begun to retreat in no order what so ever, men threw MGs away to the woods and walked like a cattle. After 4 kilometers they managed to regroup Battalion again.
----------
Our FO were borrowed to the front line, we went together with Second Lieutenant Gräsbeck and reported to Captain Selinheimo. We were 100 meters from frontline, sitting on the hummocks and suddenly all infantry men were disappeared. Then someone from the dug-in showed us that we should lay down. Infantrymen had heard the sound of mortars in all that noise. We didn't recognice them yet. About 10 80mm granades came, sand and mud was flying but that was all. Russian guys had 3 inch cannon battery near village of Kolvasjärvi, and they were shooting us too with shrapnells mixed with the ones which exploded on trees. One top of the tree fell right in front of me and some older infantry man was under it. He pushed that tree top away and said calmly: "What the heck, we don't cut trees like that, we always start from the bottom"
----------
When we were on our way to Repola from Kolvasjärvi, days were cold and rainy, even though it was early July. Hot weather begun in few days. Boys from the Battery made fire to the side of the road and were drying their clothes. Also Second Lieutenant Ijäs was there when i came. Men were on the road going towards Repola, men and guns and vehicles. Then some Captain on one of the trucks begun to yell to Ijäs about the fire, said that enemy planes will see it. Captain said he would make sure Ijäs gets command which Ijäs would remember for a long time.
-----------
I was Priest in Battalion, but because there were no Priest in Regiment, i had to do that job too. I talked with Commander of Regiment, Colonel Ilomäki, about these matters. He had very positive attitude to work of Priests and understood the meaning of religion to the men. He said that because we are at war and peoples lives can end at any moment, that is a subject we shouldn't repeat too much in our preaches. It could be too hard to listen. Also too much talk about law and God should be avoided and we should try to get close to men, many of them had responsibility of a family and then worries about own fate.
