THE SALPA-DEFENSE- LINE
From The Nemesis book, author Victor Leinonen.
“The construction of the Salpa Line began at the end of the Winter War in 1940. At first, volunteers worked there—then people ineligible for the war service were mobilized. The maximum number of workers, on-site was near 35 000 in the spring of 1941. The Salpa-Line stretches northwards from the Gulf of Finland to the Barents sea, 1200 kilometer distance. “
“They built 728 various concrete installations along the defensive line, 315 km of wire obstacles, 225 km of anti-tank obstacles, 130 km of anti-tank ditches, more than 3000 entrenchments, 254 concrete infantry shelters, trenches, rifleman’s cells and dugouts composed the power and strength of this defensive line.”
“Numerous lakes, marshes, and small rocks were also incorporated in the defensive line. For example, the Lake Saimaa area is a labyrinth of lakes of varying sizes, islands, straits and rivers, making the area very easy to defend. 90% of all the concrete installations of the Salpa-Line were on the line between the Gulf of Finland and the Lake Saimaa waterway system.”
SALPA, 1940.
Karelian Isthmus Picture from Wikipedia.
VKT DEFENSE LINE
The VKT-line or Viipuri–Kuparsaari–Taipale line was a Finnish defensive line on Karelian Isthmus during the Continuation War, spanning from Viipuri (Vyborg) through Tali and Kuparsaari along the northern shore of Vuoksi River, Suvanto and Taipaleenjoki to Taipale on the western shore of Lake Ladoga, using natural benefits of the eastern part of the destroyed Mannerheim Line.
(Defense, VKT DEFENSE LINE, 1944)
VT-DEFENSE LINE
“The VT-line or Vammelsuu–Taipale line was a Finnish defensive line on the Karelian Isthmus built in 1942–1944 during the Continuation War and running from Vammelsuu on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland through Kuuterselkä and Kivennapa and along Taipaleenjoki to Taipale on the western shore of Lake Ladoga.”
(Defense, V-T-DEFENSE-LINE, 1944)
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SALPA-LINE DEFENSE
“The construction of the Salpa Defense Line was an enormous effort for war-torn Finland in the 1940s, which Edvard Hanell, head of the fortification itself, described as a show of strength from the entire Finnish engineering team.”
“In the fortification work, a number of different mining and concrete construction techniques were developed, which have since become useful in peace-building work. In the construction of the Salpalline, the latest technologies in the field were combined with the experiences gained during the Winter War, creating a united effort for the defense of Finland by optimizing the natural terrain for defense against the Soviet aggression.”
“The combined effort uniting the workforce for the fortification line over 1200 kilometers is impressive: a total of 728 different types of reinforced concrete bunkers, gun bill boxes, and gun pits, and underground wood reinforced tunnels were built in Salpalinja; more than 3,000 underground accommodation facilities, about 315 kilometers of tank blocking obstacles cut out of grey granite, 315 kilometers of barbed wire obstacles, 130 kilometers of anti-tank trenches and 350 kilometers of connecting trenches for fighting.
In the battles of the summer of 1944, among Finnish soldiers, the Salpa-line was seen as a last resort, against the worse scenario of the Soviet breaking through the other three defense lines across the Karelian Isthmus.”
“Salpa defense line was the Last defense line, which was said to have formed the military backbone of the Army in the fight against the summer of 1944. The soldiers knew that Salpalinja was far behind their backs there was the most substantial ground defense line ever built in Finland by the defense engineers, which would allow the troops to delay fighting and draw back further while concentrating on the changing situations of the defensive, even when the front was broken.”
“During the Second World War, the Finnish army proved highly capable of defending its country for a time, even with limited preparation for a major war that nobody believed would come against none threatening Finland. Undoubtedly, the Salpa-line would also have been a tough obstacle for the Soviet to defeat, which would have created even a greater military concentration by the Soviets, and increased their own casualties many times over.
This was also known in the Soviet Union. It was not possible to circumvent the Salpa-line, and after the massive battles of the 1944 early summer months, there was less willingness to try, in the high probability of significant casualties, to attempt to break the Salpalinja.”
“The Soviet leadership had noticed that the Finns’ defense was not easily broken with even overwhelming numbers of foot soldiers and armory. The Soviet troops along the Finnish front were decided to conserve and send to more priority missions, to strike Germany in Central Europe. That decision indeed saved a large number of lives on both sides.”
The major Soviet offensive on Finland, 9 June 1944.
“On 9 June 1944, the Soviet Leningrad Front launched an offensive against Finnish positions on the Karelian Isthmus and in the area of Lake Ladoga, timed to coincide with Operation Overlord in Normandy as agreed during the Tehran Conference.”
“The Red Army penetrated the second line of defense, the Vammelsuu–Taipale line (VT line), by the sixth day and recaptured Vyborg almost without resistance on 20 June.”
“On 25 June, the Red Army reached the third line of defense, the Viipuri–Kuparsaari–Taipale line (VKT line), and the decisive Battle of Tali-Ihantala began, which has been described as the largest battle in Nordic military history.”
TAIPALE.
“The VKT line, the Vyborg-Kuparsaaren-Taipalee line, was the third and last defensive position of Finns in the Karelian Isthmus during the Continuation War (25 June 1941-19 September 1944). When the second Defensive line Vammelsuun-Taipalee VT line was broken by the Red Army on June 9, 1944.”
“A major offensive with the Red army 450,000 men, 10,000 cannon and mortars and 800 tanks and assault guns combined in the Karelian Isthmus offensive. To the defense, came 75,000 Finnish troops ready to absorb the invasion by the Red Army, at the minimal fortified VKT line, which fortifications had started in early 1944.
The VKT line broke in June-July 1944, at the besieged Vyborg, then moved to the Battle of Ihantala and Tienhaara in the Battle of Talin-Ihantala and in the Bay of Vyborg. And later at the beginning of July in Vuosalmi. However, the major Soveit offensive was successfully absorbed and stopped on all fronts of VKT, except around the city of Vyborg.”
“The VKT line did not break along the Lake Ladoga side, but the troops were forced to retreat as the terms of the cease-fire agreement dictated, in September 1944.
The Taipale corner of Lake Ladoga held strong, during the 1939 -1940 war, and also during the 1944 Red Army Major Offensive attempt to invade Finland. ”
“Fortunately the Soveit Red army never broke through the third defense line, therefore the SALPA- Defense-Line was not required to use. It was built to be the last line of defense in the face of the Soviet Red Army invaders.”
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