The 3rd Division was a unit of the Finnish Army

Finnish Army

The Finnish Army is the land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces.Today's Army is divided into six branches: the infantry , field artillery, anti-aircraft artillery, engineers, signals, and materiel troops.-History of the Finnish Army:Between 1809 and 1917 Finland was an autonomous part of...

 during the Continuation War

Continuation War

The Continuation War was the second of two wars fought between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II.At the time of the war, the Finnish side used the name to make clear its perceived relationship to the preceding Winter War...

.

History

The 3rd division was the main component of the Finnish III Corps

Finnish III Corps

There have been two Finnish formations called III Corps :* III Corps during the Winter War* III Corps during the Continuation War...

. During the war, the division fought mostly in the Uhtua and Kiestinki area, when it participated in Operation Arctic Fox

Operation Arctic Fox

Operation Arctic Fox was the codename given to a campaign by German and Finnish forces during World War II against Soviet Northern Front defences at Salla, Finland in July 1941. The Operation was part of a larger Operation called Operation Silver Fox which aimed in capturing the vital port of...

. When the Soviet main attack began in 1944 the division was transferred to the Karelian Isthmus

Karelian Isthmus

The Karelian Isthmus is the approximately 45–110 km wide stretch of land, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia, to the north of the River Neva . Its northwestern boundary is the relatively narrow area between the Bay of Vyborg and Lake Ladoga...

.

During the Lapland War

Lapland War

The Lapland War were the hostilities between Finland and Nazi Germany between September 1944 and April 1945, fought in Finland's northernmost Lapland Province. While the Finns saw this as a separate conflict much like the Continuation War, German forces considered their actions to be part of the...

 against Germany in 1944, the division made a landing in Tornio

Tornio

Tornio is a town and municipality in Lapland, Finland. The municipality covers an area of of which is water. The population density is , with a total population of . It borders to the Swedish municipality of Haparanda...

. The division advanced to Rovaniemi

Rovaniemi

Rovaniemi is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland. It is situated close to the Arctic Circle and is between the hills of Ounasvaara and Korkalovaara, at the confluence of the Kemijoki River and its...

 and from there northwards to Muonio

Muonio

Muonio is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Lapland. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is...

 where it was disbanded.

Organisation

• Infantry Regiment 11
• Infantry Regiment 32
• Infantry Regiment 53
• Field Artillery Regiment 16
• Heavy Artillery Battalion 16
• Light Battalion 5
• Engineer Battalion 34
• Signal Battalion 31

See also: List of Finnish divisions in the Continuation War, Finnish 3rd Division (Winter War)