Battle of Suomussalmi

The Battle of Suomussalmi was a battle fought between Finnish and Soviet forces in the Winter War. The action took place from around December 7, 1939 to January 8, 1940. 

The outcome was a Finnish victory against superior forces. Suomussalmi is considered the clearest, most important, and most significant Finnish victory in the northern half of Finland. In Finland, the battle is still seen today as a symbol of the entire Winter War itself.

Diagram of the Battle of Suomussalmi from November 30 to December 8, 1939. The Soviet 163rd Division advanced to the town of Suomussalmi.

On November 30, 1939, the Soviet 163rd Rifle Division crossed the border between Finland and the Soviet Union and advanced from the north-east towards the village of Suomussalmi. The Soviet objective was to advance to the city of Oulu, effectively cutting Finland in half. This sector had only one Finnish battalion (Er.P 15), which was placed near Raate, outside Suomussalmi.

                   

Forest land is frozen 50-70 cm deep, 200 kg air bomb makes 3 meters deep and 15 meters wide hole in the ground.

Metsämaa on jäätynyt 50-70 cm, 200 kg lentopommi tekee 3 metriä syvä ja 15 metriä leveä kuoppa maahan
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Suomussalmi was taken with little resistance on December 7 (only two incomplete companies of covering forces led a holding action between the border and Suomussalmi), but the Finns destroyed the village before this, to deny the Soviets shelter, and withdrew to the opposite shore of lakes Niskanselkä and Haukiperä.

The first extensive fight started on December 8, when Soviet forces began to attack across the frozen lakes to the west. Their attempt failed completely. The second part of Soviet forces led the attack to the northwest on Puolanka, that was defended by the Er.P 16 (lit. 16th detached battalion), that had just arrived. This attempt also failed.

Battle of Suomussalmi
Part of the Winter War
Date December 7, 1939 to January 8, 1940 Location Suomussalmi, Finland Result Finnish victory
Belligerents
Finland	Soviet Union
Commanders and leaders
Hjalmar Siilasvuo	Ivan Dashitsev
Strength
Three regiments and separate battalions (11,000 men)	Elements of 9th Army: Two divisions, one tank brigade (45,000–55,000 men)
Casualties and losses
1,000 dead or missing 1,000 wounded	13,000–27,500 dead or missing 2,100 taken prisoner 43 tanks captured

On December 24, Soviet units counterattacked, but failed to break through the surrounding Finnish forces.
Reinforced with two new regiments (JR 64 and JR 65), the Finns again attacked on December 27. This time, they took the village, and the Soviets retreated in panic over the surrounding frozen lakes. A large part of them managed to reach the Russian border along the Kiantajärvi lake.

During this time, the Soviet 44th Rifle Division had advanced from the east towards Suomussalmi. It was entrenched on the road between Suomussalmi and Raate and got caught up in the retreat of the other Soviet forces.

Between January 4 and January 8, 1940, the 44th Rifle Division was divided into isolated groups and destroyed by the Finnish troops (in a tactic known as motti), leaving much heavy equipment for the Finnish troops.
                   
                    
Reinforced with two new regiments (JR 64 and JR 65), the Finns again attacked on December 27. This time, they took the village, and the Soviets retreated in panic over the surrounding frozen lakes. A large part of them managed to reach the Russian border along the Kiantajärvi lake.

During this time, the Soviet 44th Rifle Division had advanced from the east towards Suomussalmi. It was entrenched on the road between Suomussalmi and Raate and got caught up in the retreat of the other Soviet forces.

Between January 4 and January 8, 1940, the 44th Rifle Division was divided into isolated groups and destroyed by the Finnish troops (in a tactic known as motti), leaving much heavy equipment for the Finnish troops.
                    
The battle resulted in a major victory for the Finns. If the Soviet Union had captured the city of Oulu, the Finns would have had to defend the country on two fronts and an important rail link to Sweden would have been severed. The battle also gave a decisive boost to the morale of the Finnish army.
                    
Captured inter alia:          
- 625 rifles
- 33 automatic rifle
- 19 machine guns
- 12 anti-tank guns
- 25 field or anti-aircraft guns
- 15 assault tanks
- 2 armored cars
- 2 anti-aircraft machine guns
- 151 trucks

The battle of Suomussalmi is often cited as an example of how a small force, properly led and fighting in familiar terrain, can defeat a vastly numerically superior enemy. Factors which contributed to the Finnish victory included:

Finnish troops having higher mobility due to skis and sleds; in contrast, Soviet heavy equipment confined them to roads.
Finnish strategy was flexible and often unorthodox, for example, targeting Soviet field kitchens, which demoralized Soviet soldiers fighting in a sub-Arctic winter.
Soviet army being poorly equipped, especially with regard to winter camouflage 
clothing.
Finnish army had very high morale: they were defending their homes. Soviet troops had only political reasons for their attack, and consequently lost their will to fight soon despite continual efforts by Soviet propagandists.
Soviet counter-intelligence failures: Finnish troops often intercepted the Soviet communications, which relied heavily on standard phone lines.
Finnish troops' equipment being well suited for warfare in deep snow and freezing temperatures.

                     
                                The cold and hungry dead a Russian horse

                    
Soviet objective to cut Finland in half across the Oulu region – while appearing reasonable on a map, this was inherently unrealistic, as the region was mostly forested marshland, with its road network consisting mainly of logging trails. Mechanized divisions had to rely on these, becoming easy targets for the mobile Finnish ski troops.
                          
Simplicity where needed, as the final assault was a simple head-on charge, decreasing the chances of tactical errors. Rough weather also favoured comparatively simple plans.
The Soviet Red Army was still suffering from the aftermaths of Stalin's army purges in the 1930s, with many replacement officers being incompetent and inexperienced.