Battle of Salle

From November 30, 1939 to mid-December, when the Lapland group of troops was formed by the Finns, the Soviet 9th Army on the 400-kilometer front was opposed by only 5 Finnish battalions using tactics of maneuvering defense .

The 122nd Infantry Division, which was part of the 9th Army, was redeployed to the Kandalaksha region just before the war from Belarus. Its right flank defended the units of the 14th Army for almost 250 km, the left flank defended for almost 250 km from the units of the Ukhta group of the 9th Army.

The 122nd Infantry Division was assigned to attack in the Alakurtti, Sulla band, later it was ordered to advance along the railroad to Kemi, Tornio, where it was to join the troops of the 14th Army ^[1] .

Fighting near the village of Alakurtti

On November 30, 1939, at 15 o'clock, the 596th Infantry Regiment and the 273rd Mountain Infantry Regiment attached to the division occupied the village of Alakurtti with almost no resistance, which the Finns burned during the withdrawal. The next day passed without fights - the Finns retreated, mining the roads behind them.

On December 2, the 1st battalion of the 596th regiment and the cavalry squadron of the 153rd reconnaissance battalion, which was approaching heights of 26 km west of Alakurtti, were met with machine-gun and mortar fire from well-disguised positions of the Finnish 22nd border battalion. Despite the minor losses, the cavalry dismounted, leaving the horses under fire; units turned around and lay down. After some time, two battalions of the 596th regiment and the 273rd regiment, as well as regimental artillery, approached. The second attack at 4 pm on December 3 forced the enemy to leave the heights. In the Finnish trenches, 10 corpses were found, another 3 Finns were captured. The losses of the division of the division amounted to 24 people killed and 89 wounded.

Battle of Märkäjärvi Village

On December 11, the Finns tried to resist at the village of Märkäjärvi . However, they managed only to open the cells for firing while lying down, and the Sallian battalion and the battalion “A”, who had arrived from the reserve battalion, could not change the battalion who suffered great losses, and for some reason did not destroy the bridge. As a result, two tanks of the Soviet 100th Separate Tank Battalion managed to slip across the bridge, broke through to the rear of the enemy and defeated his wagon train. The Finns rushed to retreat, not having time to burn the village In as trophies Soviet troops got 8 machine guns.

December 14th Fights

On December 14, the forward battalion of the 420th rifle regiment with the company of the tank battalion occupied the village of Kursu. At 20 o'clock on the same day, the Finnish skiing units, bypassing the flanks of the forward battalion, attacked the regimental artillery and a battery of the 285th artillery regiment. The artillerymen were forced to fire with grapeshot and even with personal weapons; many horses were killed, but the guns themselves were almost not injured. The 20th battalion of the 420th regiment arrived to help the artillerymen, after which the Finns retreated.

On the same day, the 596th Infantry Regiment, supported by the 9th Separate Tank Battalion, attempted to capture heights on the road 69 km west of Kuoloyarvi . The attack fell, and the Finns from the anti-tank guns destroyed three Soviet tanks.

Fighting December 16-19

By the evening of December 16, the 420th Infantry Regiment entered the eastern outskirts of the village of Ioutsiairvi. December 17, he attacked the position of the Finns, but failed. On the same day, the 175th Infantry Regiment and the sapper battalion of the 122nd division approached the front. Meanwhile, the 273rd Mountain Rifle Regiment together with the 153rd reconnaissance battalion and the company of the 596th Infantry Regiment captured the crossing of the Kemijoki River near the village of Pelkosniemi, losing 20 people killed and 46 wounded, and three T-28 tanks.

On December 18, the 420th Infantry Regiment with a battalion of the 715th Infantry Regiment again unsuccessfully attacked enemy positions. The battalion of the 715th regiment lost contact with the main forces, underwent a counterattack of the enemy and suffered heavy losses, the commander and commissar of the battalion were wounded. As a result of the failure of the neighbor, the 420th regiment had to be led 2 km to the rear.

On December 19, the Finns counterattacked units of the 122nd Infantry Division, having crossed the Kemijoki, and the Soviet troops retreated 14 km to the north; their losses were 27 people killed and 73 wounded.

On the same day, two battalions of the 596th Infantry Regiment and the 715th Infantry Regiment again attacked four Finnish battalions, which took up positions under Joutsiärvi. 715th regiment unsuccessfully attacked from the front; at this time, one battalion of the 596th regiment advanced to the northern outskirts of the village, and the second flanking maneuver - to the second lane of the enemy defense, but instead of hitting the enemy in the rear, his commander waited for a favorable moment to strike the departing cavalry. As a result, the Finns, having beaten off the offensive from the front, counterattacked and surrounded the battalion; breaking through to his own, the battalion suffered heavy losses in manpower and threw all his heavy machine guns. After that, the command of the 9th Army issued an order to concentrate units of the division north-west and south-west of Quallayarvi.

On January 3, 1940, Finnish units attempted to seize Soviet artillery positions, but were repulsed. On January 4, the Finns tried again, but the result was the same.

On January 13, the 122nd division received an order to withdraw to the Märkäjärvi region. After this, the active actions on this sector of the front stopped.

• A.Shirokorad “Northern Wars of Russia” - Moscow: “AST”, 2001. ISBN 5-17-009849-9