Battle of Honkaniemi
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Honkaniemi was fought between Finnish
and Soviet
forces on 26 February 1940. This extreme battle was fought only by tanks, the only kind fought in the Winter War
.
The commander of the Finnish II Corps
General Harald Öhquist
had attached Jaeger Battalion 3 and the 4th company of the Armoured Battalion to the 23rd Division.
The 23rd was responsible for the area around the lake Näykkijärvi, just to the southeast of Viipuri, the second largest town in Finland. Also, the 3rd Battalion of the 67th Infantry Regiment that was on loan to the 5th division arrived as well, giving the reinforcement that the commander of the 23rd Division, Col. Voldemar Oinonen to launch an attack against the Soviets. At 10:15 pm, the commander of the Jaeger Battalion 3, Captain I. Kunnas and Lieutenant
O. Heinonen of the 4th Armoured Company received orders to attack.
mostly due to engine failures.
Seeing this as a major blow to their offensive capabilities, Captain Kunnas split his remaining tanks between the 2nd and 3rd Jaegers Companies and the 1st Jaegers Company. Six tanks will support the Jaegers while two will help the 1st secure the left flank. It was chosen that the attack would commence at 5:00 am, but the communication with the artillery battalions failed so it was decided that they would try again at 6:15 am.
When communications with the artillery battalions were up and running, the time had come to attack. However another setback had occurred. During the preliminary artillery barrage, some of the shells landed at the starting point, resulting in the 30 Finns being killed or injured. The attack had to be postponed by another hour.
. The 1st Jaegers Company which was covering the left flank, advanced foreword towards the railroad only to be unable to cross it. The 2nd and 3rd Jaegers Companies, which were the main attack forces, had advanced to 200 meters SW from the rail road, but had to be stopped.
The 4th Armoured Company had one of the worst days ever. One of its Vickers tanks got stuck in a ditch; the turret was damaged in the process and it had to retreat back to the starting point. The remaining five tanks were lost in a more honourable way, "being targeted by T-26s, T-28
s and the 45 mm AT guns".
The platoon commander's tank, Lt.V. Mikkola's, advanced the farthest, almost 500 meters, almost into Soviet areas. Only two Finnish tanks were able to destroy other Soviet tanks, the tank of Corporal E. Seppälä, which had kept on fighting after being immobilized, had taken out two Soviet tanks before the crew had to abandon their vehicle. The other tank was commanded by 2nd Lt. J. Virniö, which had destroyed one tank before being damaged.
On February 27, 1940, the remaining eight tanks of 4th Tank Company were ordered to move to the Rautalampi
area for AT-duties.
According to the Russian sources during the day of 26 February 6 Finnish tanks were destroyed in 2 separate engagements. No losses in own tanks were recorded. The journal of 35-th Armored Brigade states: "Two Vickers tanks with infantry back up advanced to the right flank of 245-th Infantry Regiment. Both enemy tanks were destroyed in the following battle. Four Vickers tanks moved to their help, but were destroyed by 3 T-26 tanks of companies commanders on recon mission."
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
forces on 26 February 1940. This extreme battle was fought only by tanks, the only kind fought in the Winter War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
.
The commander of the Finnish II Corps
Finnish II Corps (Winter War)
The II Corps was a unit of the Finnish Army during the Winter War.The II Corps with the III Corps formed the Army of the Isthmus...
General Harald Öhquist
Harald Öhquist
Harald Öhquist was a Finnish Lieutenant General during the World War II.Öhquist joined the Jaeger Movement in 1915 and trained and fought in the Royal Prussian 27th Jäger Battalion. During the Finnish Civil War he was promoted as Major, and Öhquist lead the White Guard battalion in the battle of...
had attached Jaeger Battalion 3 and the 4th company of the Armoured Battalion to the 23rd Division.
The 23rd was responsible for the area around the lake Näykkijärvi, just to the southeast of Viipuri, the second largest town in Finland. Also, the 3rd Battalion of the 67th Infantry Regiment that was on loan to the 5th division arrived as well, giving the reinforcement that the commander of the 23rd Division, Col. Voldemar Oinonen to launch an attack against the Soviets. At 10:15 pm, the commander of the Jaeger Battalion 3, Captain I. Kunnas and Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
O. Heinonen of the 4th Armoured Company received orders to attack.
The plan
The original plan had involved 6 Infantry Battalions, four artillery battalions and the 4th Armoured Company. However, due to the haste to get the plan up and running, the planners missed important aspects of the battle, therefore reducing the overall amount of units to four Infantry Battalions, two artillery battalions and the all important 4th Tank Company.The assault
On the nights of February 25 and 26, members of the Jaeger Battalion 3 were carried by trucks to Heponotko, which was about 3 km away from a depot in Honkaniemi (now Lebedevka) then they skied to the starting point at 4:00 am. The tank company arrived around 30 minutes later from a 50 km march. That march, however, cost them more than they would have liked. Since the conditions of the weather and road were extremely bad, the tank company lost 5 of their 13 Vickers 6-Ton tanksVickers 6-Ton
The Vickers 6-Ton Tank or Vickers Mark E was a British light tank designed as a private project at Vickers. It was not purchased by the British Army, but was picked up by a large number of foreign armed forces and was copied almost exactly by the Soviets as the T-26. It was also the direct...
mostly due to engine failures.
Seeing this as a major blow to their offensive capabilities, Captain Kunnas split his remaining tanks between the 2nd and 3rd Jaegers Companies and the 1st Jaegers Company. Six tanks will support the Jaegers while two will help the 1st secure the left flank. It was chosen that the attack would commence at 5:00 am, but the communication with the artillery battalions failed so it was decided that they would try again at 6:15 am.
When communications with the artillery battalions were up and running, the time had come to attack. However another setback had occurred. During the preliminary artillery barrage, some of the shells landed at the starting point, resulting in the 30 Finns being killed or injured. The attack had to be postponed by another hour.
The beginning
After the initial artillery bombardment by the two artillery battalions (the 1st Battalions of the 21st and 5th Artillery Regiments) the attack commenced. However, the Finns had had another set-back, another two tanks had been lost to technical failures thereby reducing the total Finnish Tanks to only six for the entire battle. Even after all those set-backs, there was more to come. The 1st Jaegers Battalion had advanced some 200 meters before having to halt under the tremendous firing powers of the Red ArmyRed Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
. The 1st Jaegers Company which was covering the left flank, advanced foreword towards the railroad only to be unable to cross it. The 2nd and 3rd Jaegers Companies, which were the main attack forces, had advanced to 200 meters SW from the rail road, but had to be stopped.
Tank Backup
T-28
The Soviet T-28 was among the world's first medium tanks. The prototype was completed in 1931 and production began in late 1932. It was an infantry-support tank intended to break through fortified defences...
s and the 45 mm AT guns".
The platoon commander's tank, Lt.V. Mikkola's, advanced the farthest, almost 500 meters, almost into Soviet areas. Only two Finnish tanks were able to destroy other Soviet tanks, the tank of Corporal E. Seppälä, which had kept on fighting after being immobilized, had taken out two Soviet tanks before the crew had to abandon their vehicle. The other tank was commanded by 2nd Lt. J. Virniö, which had destroyed one tank before being damaged.
Finnish retreat
Captain Kunnas received orders at 10:00 pm that he was to abort the attack and retreat. The Finns' first tank battle met with an unsuccessful end. The entire tank battle had been fought with inexperienced crews and almost no radio communication, since the tanks had been bought from the UK without guns, optics and radios, and some even without the driver's seat, in order to save money. Due to the lack of vital equipment, communication between tanks was impossible and the tanks would act upon their own judgement.Aftermath
The entire battle brought the deaths of one NCO while injuring two officers and two NCOs, and three privates were reported missing in action. Even though the Soviets had a huge advantage over the Finns such as numbers and weapons, the Finnish troopers still mounted their tanks and went on with the attack.On February 27, 1940, the remaining eight tanks of 4th Tank Company were ordered to move to the Rautalampi
Rautalampi
Rautalampi is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Northern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of ofwhich is water. The population density is....
area for AT-duties.
According to the Russian sources during the day of 26 February 6 Finnish tanks were destroyed in 2 separate engagements. No losses in own tanks were recorded. The journal of 35-th Armored Brigade states: "Two Vickers tanks with infantry back up advanced to the right flank of 245-th Infantry Regiment. Both enemy tanks were destroyed in the following battle. Four Vickers tanks moved to their help, but were destroyed by 3 T-26 tanks of companies commanders on recon mission."
External links
- Battle of Honkaniemi (The Battles of the Winter War)
- World War II Tributes
- Aviarmor.net