Karelian shaft

The defensive line of VT was built by the Finns through the entire Karelian Isthmus for three years, in 1942-1944. The name VT comes from the names of the final settlements: Wamelsuu - Taipale (now Serovo and Solovievo , respectively). From Wammelsuu, the line ran through Kuuterselkä (now Lebyazhye ) and Kivennapa (now Pervomayskoe ) along the Burnaya River and to Taipale. Crossed the railway St. Petersburg - Vyborg near Sakhakul (now Mukhino , platform 63rd kilometer ), and the railway St. Petersburg - Hiitola in the area of ​​the current platform 69th kilometer . However, the Finns failed to complete the defensive construction on the Karelian Isthmus by June 1944 ^{[1] [2]} .

The line was equipped with trenches, pillboxes and anti-tank gouges.

In June 1944, the BT line was in the second line of Finnish defense, the first line of defense passed along the front line, established in the fall of 1941 at a distance of 20-30 kilometers ^{[1] [2]} .

To carry out the operation on the Karelian Isthmus, the Supreme Command Headquarters significantly strengthened the Leningrad Front (the commander is the army general, from June 18, 1944, Marshal L. A. Govorov ). Taking into account the power of defense of the Finnish forces, two breakthrough artillery divisions, a cannon artillery brigade, 5 artillery divisions of special power ( 280 and 305 mm caliber), two tank brigades, 7 self-propelled artillery regiments, a rifle corps and 2 rifle divisions were transferred to the front. In addition, the 21st Army (Colonel General D.N. Gusev ) was redeployed to the Karelian Isthmus. In addition to the 21st army, which was assigned the main role, the 23rd army was also to take part in the offensive (commander Lieutenant General A.I. Cherepanov , from 03.07.1944 - Lieutenant General V.I. Shvetsov ). In addition, to develop possible success, significant forces were concentrated in the reserve front. The forces of the Baltic Fleet (commander - Admiral V.F. Tributs ) and the Ladoga Naval Flotilla (commander - Rear Admiral V.S. Cherokov ) were supposed to assist the offensive, and air support was provided by the 13th Air Army (commander - Lieutenant General aviation S. D. Rybalchenko ) ^{[3] [4]} .

A total of 260,000 soldiers and officers were concentrated on the Karelian Isthmus (according to other sources, 188,800 people), about 7,500 guns and 630 tanks ^[5] . Soviet troops had significant superiority over the enemy: in infantry - 1.5−2 times, and in military equipment 3–7 times.

The Soviet forces on the Karelian Isthmus were opposed by the main forces of the Finnish army, which occupied the defense in depth and well-prepared Karelsky Val defense system, which consisted of several fortification lines from the Gulf of Finland to and along the Vuoksinskaya water system .

On the Karelian Isthmus there were units of the 3rd (commander - Lieutenant General J. Siilasvuo ) and 4th (commander - General T. Laatikainen ) army corps, as well as a reserve of direct subordination to Supreme Commander Marshal K. G. Mannerheim - only about 70,000 man, about 1000 guns and mortars, as well as about 100 tanks and self-propelled guns. The BT line was occupied by the 3rd, 18th divisions and the cavalry brigade. In the operational reserve in the Vyborg area was the tank division of General R. Lagus ^[6] .

During June 9-11, 1944, Soviet troops broke through the first line of defense and reached the Karelian shaft by June 12. On the morning of June 14, units of the 21st Army, after massive artillery bombardment and an air strike, began an operation to break through the enemy’s second line of defense. As a result of a fierce many-hour battle with the support of the 1st Red Banner Tank Brigade, the formations of the 109th Rifle Corps advancing along the Vyborg Railway captured the powerful defense center of Kuuterselkä, and then the Mustamyaki stronghold. However, it was not possible to completely break through the second line of defense of the enemy. The Finnish troops fiercely resisted and repeatedly turned into counterattacks ^[7] . So, in the Kuumerselkä area, Finnish troops, with the help of several StuG III self-propelled guns, launched a counterattack at night and, taking by surprise, managed to destroy a significant number of Soviet tanks. Parts of the 72nd Infantry Division managed to delay the advance of the enemy, and soon, under the pressure of the Soviet troops, the Finns were forced to retreat to their original positions, losing about 100 people killed and 5 self-propelled guns ^[8] . According to Finnish data, 13 Soviet tanks were destroyed or damaged by the forces of the assault gun battalion (see the Counterattack near Kuuterselka for more details).

All day, parts of the 108th Rifle Corps fought a fierce battle, operating along the Primorsky highway and the railway leading to Vyborg. By the end of the day, parts of the corps, with the support of tank and self-propelled artillery regiments, managed to take possession of the Mytskyul village, a powerful resistance unit, and thereby break through the enemy’s second defense line. The army command introduced the 110th rifle corps from the second echelon into the breakthrough. This maneuver threatened the encirclement of Finnish troops, which continued to resist in the area southwest of Vanhasah. Finnish troops, having lost hope of holding the second line of defense, began to retreat to the third line ^[7] .

At the same time, the offensive of the 23rd Army developed, units of which completely overcame the enemy’s first defense line on June 14-15, reached the second zone and broke through it in some areas. Particularly fierce battles took place with varying degrees of success in the Siyranmäki area, where the 4th Finnish Infantry Division opposed units of the 98th and 115th Rifle Corps.

During June 15-18, the infantry corps of the 21st Army, pursuing the retreating enemy, advanced 40-45 kilometers and reached the enemy’s third line of defense. Thus, the Finnish line of defense Karelian shaft was broken through for three days. As a result of the entire Vyborg operation, Finnish troops were finally driven back from Leningrad . Finnish troops suffered a heavy defeat.

All the structures of the defensive line were severely destroyed during the battles of June 1944, therefore they were not preserved. In the postwar years, the area was overgrown with forest, and then partially was built up with summer cottages and horticultural enterprises. In some parts of the former defense line, the preserved system of trenches, hollows and spherical concrete shelters is still visible, as well as numerous traces of battles: rifle, machine gun and artillery shells, machine-gun belts.

On June 12, 2014, in the vicinity of the village of Lebyazhye (the former Finnish village of Kuuterselkä), the grand opening of the historical district “Kuuterselkä 1944”, which is an open-air museum, took place. Representatives of the Ozerny search squad worked with the volunteers of the memorial-historical district and the administration of the Roshchinsky settlement ^{on the} project to create a memorial zone ^[9] . In the memorial zone, trenches were dug and strengthened that mimic the fortifications of the Finnish defensive line, information stands were installed describing the battles that took place here (all information is presented in Russian and Finnish), tracks were poured. On the territory of the memorial zone is the place of the death of the T-60 tank crew of the 1st Red Banner Tank Brigade of Lieutenant N. A. Fateev and Senior Sergeant Yu. L. Kharitonsky, next to which a memorial sign is installed on the highway. Relatives of Yu. L. Kharitonsky attended the opening ceremony of the memorial sign. Also in the memorial zone there is a stand with the history of Finnish nurse Setti Hermanni Manninen, who died in these places in June 1944, and in the 2010s his body was found and identified ^[10] .

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  The remains of trenches on the former defensive line VT (Karelian shaft) in the vicinity of the village of Lebyazhye

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  Destroyed spherical shelter for 9 people

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  The historical district “Kuuterselkä 1944” on the Finnish defensive line VT (Karelian rampart)

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  Fragments of barbed wire, historical district “Kuuterselkä 1944”

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  Memorial sign near the place of death of the crew of N. A. Fateev and Yu. L. Kharitonsky

• VKT line
• Mannerheim Line

• History of the Order of Lenin of the Leningrad Military District / Ed. A.I. Gribkova . - M .: Military Publishing , 1974.
• Evgeny Balashov , Ilya Sheremetyev. BT line. Finnish defensive position on the Karelian Isthmus 1942-1944. - SPb. : Kareliko, 2014 .-- 208 p. - 300 copies. - ISBN 978-5-904261-14-6 .
• Mannerheim K.G. Memoirs / Transl. From Fin. P. Kuyiala (Part 1), B. Zlobin (Part 2). - M .: Vagrius , 1999 .-- ISBN 5-264-00049-2 .
• Moshchansky I. B. Storm of the "Karelian shaft". Vyborg-Petrozavodsk strategic offensive operation June 10 - August 9, 1944. - M .: Military Chronicle, 2005 .-- 64 p.
• Shigin G. A. The Battle of Leningrad: Major Operations, White Spots, Losses / Ed. N. L. Volkovsky . - SPb. : Polygon, 2004 .-- ISBN 5-17-024092-9 .

• Karelian shaft
• Fights on the Karelian Isthmus in June - July 1944 (unopened) (inaccessible link) . Tank front. Date of treatment June 14, 2014. Archived on April 13, 2014.

1. ↑ PICNIC CLUB. Weekend hike. KAREL SHAFT / VT-line. Vammelsuu. 2018 (unopened) (August 19, 2018). Date of treatment March 2, 2019.