An object that arouses genuine and constant interest among many generations of people is the Mannerheim complex of protective barriers. The Finnish defense line is located on the Karelian Isthmus. It is full of bunkers blown up and littered with shell marks, rows of stone gouges, dug trenches and anti-tank ditches - all of which are well preserved despite the fact that more than 70 years have passed.
Causes of war
The reason for the military conflict between the USSR and Finland was the need to ensure the security of the city of Leningrad, as it was located near the Finnish border. On the eve of World War II, the leadership of Finland was ready to provide its territory as a springboard for numerous enemies of the Soviet Union, and mainly for Nazi Germany.
The fact is that in 1931 Leningrad was transferred to the status of a city of republican significance, andpart of the territories subordinate to the Lensovet turned out to be at the same time the border with Finland. That is why the Soviet leadership began negotiations with this country, offering it to exchange lands. The Soviets offered twice as much territory as they wanted in return. The stumbling block in the agreements was the point with the request of the USSR to place its military bases on Finnish soil. But the parties did not agree, which led to the beginning of the Soviet-Finnish, or the so-called Winter War. Without her, Leningrad would have been captured by Hitler's troops at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War in just a few days.
Backstory
The concept of "Mannerheim Line" refers to a whole complex of historical defensive structures that played a major role in the Soviet-Finnish war. It lasted from November 30, 1939 to March 13, 1940.
As soon as Finland gained independence, it immediately began to think about strengthening its borders, and already in early 1918, the construction of barbed wire fences began on the site of the future Mannerheim's grandiose military shield. The line was finally approved in 1920 and was first named the "Enkel Line" in honor of Major General O. L. Enkel, who was then Chief of the General Staff, who was in charge of its construction. The developer of the fortifications was the French officer J. J. Grosse-Caussi, sent to Finland to assist in strengthening the borders of this country. But, following the traditions already established by that time, the complexesdefensive structures were most often named after the "big bosses", for example, the Stalin Line or the Maginot. Therefore, in order to avoid confusion, these barriers were renamed and named after the Commander-in-Chief of the Republic of Finland, Carl Gustav Mannerheim, a former officer in the Russian army.
Fortification shield of Finland
The Mannerheim Line is a defensive line 135 km long, which completely crossed the entire Karelian Isthmus - from the Gulf of Finland to Lake Ladoga. From the west, defense communications passed partly through flat, and partly through hilly terrain, covering the passages between numerous swamps and small lakes. In the east, the line relied on the Vuoksa water system, which in itself was a serious obstacle. Thus, in the period from 1920 to 1924, the Finns built more than one and a half hundred long-term military structures.
By the end of 1927, it became clear that Enkel's engineering barriers were significantly inferior to Soviet defensive fortifications in terms of the quality of buildings and weapons, so their construction was temporarily suspended. In the 1930s, the construction of long-term structures was resumed again. Few were built, but they have become much more powerful and more complex.
In the early 1930s, Mannerheim was appointed chairman of the National Defense Council. The line has since been built under his leadership.
Defensive structures - pillboxes
The most importantThe defensive nodes served as a containment strip, which consisted of several concrete bunkers (long-term firing points), as well as bunkers (wooden-and-earth firing points), machine-gun nests, dugouts and rifle trenches. Strongpoints were placed extremely unevenly along the line of defense, and the distance between them sometimes reached even 6-8 km.
As you know, military construction lasted more than one year, therefore, according to the time of construction, bunkers are divided into two generations. The first includes firing points built in the period from 1920 to 1937, and the second - 1938-39. Pillboxes belonging to the first generation are small fortifications designed to install only 1-2 machine guns. They were not adequately equipped and did not have shelters for soldiers. The thickness of concrete walls and floors did not exceed 2 m. Later, most of them were modernized.
The so-called millionaires belong to the second generation, since their cost to the Finnish people was 1 million Finnish marks each. In total, the Mannerheim Line had 7 such powerful firing points. Million-strong pillboxes were the most modern reinforced concrete structures at that time, equipped with 4-6 embrasures, of which 1-2 were guns. The Sj-4 "Poppius" and Sj-5 "Millionaire" bunkers were considered the most formidable and most fortified.
All long-term firing points were carefully camouflaged with stones and snow, so it was very difficult to detect them, and it was almost impossible to break through their casemates.
Flood zones
Excepta number of long-term and field fortifications were provided and several zones of artificial flooding. The sudden outbreak of hostilities prevented them from being completely completed, but several dams were nevertheless erected. They were made of wood and earth on the Tyuppelyanjoki (now Aleksandrovka) and Rokkalanjoki (now Gorokhovka) rivers. A concrete dam stood on the Peronjoki River (Perovka River), as well as a small dam on Mayajoki and a dam on Saiyanjoki (now the Volchya River).
Anti-tank barriers
Since there were enough tanks in service with the USSR, the question arose of how to deal with them. The wire barriers previously installed on the Karelian Isthmus could not be considered a good obstacle for armored vehicles, so it was decided to cut gouges out of granite and dig anti-tank ditches 1 m deep and 2.5 m wide. But, as it turned out during the hostilities, stone ploys proved to be ineffective. They were moved or fired from artillery pieces. After repeated shelling, the granite was destroyed, resulting in wide passages.
Behind the gouges, Finnish sappers installed over 10 rows of anti-personnel and anti-tank mines, arranged in a checkerboard pattern.
Storm
The winter war is usually divided into two stages. The first lasted from November 30, 1939 to February 10, 1940. The assault on the Mannerheim Line became the most difficult and bloody for the Red Army at that time.
A powerful barrier turned out to be, despite all itsshortcomings, an almost insurmountable obstacle for the Soviet soldiers. In addition to the fierce resistance of the Finnish army, the strongest forty-degree frosts turned out to be a huge problem, which, according to most historians, became the main reason for the failures of the Soviet camp.
On February 11, the second stage of the winter military campaign begins - the general offensive of the Red Army troops. By this time, the maximum amount of military equipment and manpower had been drawn to the Karelian Isthmus. For several days there was artillery preparation, shells rained down on the positions of the Finns, who fought under the leadership of Mannerheim. The line and the entire surrounding area was heavily bombarded. Ships of the B altic Fleet and the newly formed Ladoga military flotilla took part in the battles along with the ground units of the North-Western Front.
Breakthrough
The assault on the first line of defense lasted three days, and on February 17, the troops of the 7th Army finally broke through it, and the Finns were forced to completely leave their first line and move to the second, and during February 21-28 they lost it. The breakthrough of the Mannerheim Line was led by Marshal S. K. Timoshenko, who, on the orders of I. V. Stalin, led the North-Western Front. Now the 7th and 13th armies, with the support of the coastal detachments of the sailors of the B altic Fleet, launched a joint offensive in the strip from the Vyborg Bay to Lake Vuoksa. Seeing such an onslaught of the enemy, the Finnish troops left their positions.
As a result, the second breakthrough of the Mannerheim Line ended with the fact that, despite the desperate resistance of the Finns, on March 13, the Red Army enteredVyborg. Thus ended the Soviet-Finnish war.
Results of the war
As a result of the Winter War, the USSR achieved everything it wanted: the country completely took over the waters of Lake Ladoga, and also part of the Finnish territory of 40 thousand square meters went to it. km.
Now many are asking the question: was this war necessary? If not for the victory in the Finnish campaign, Leningrad could have become the first in the list of cities subjected to the offensive of Nazi Germany.
Tours of battlefields
Today, most of the buildings have been destroyed, but despite this, excursions to the places of the battle of the Winter War are still held, and interest in them does not fade away. The surviving strongholds are still of great historical interest - both as military engineering structures and as sites for the most difficult battles of this half-forgotten war.
There are historical and cultural centers that develop special programs for following the places where the Mannerheim Line passes. The tour usually includes a story about the stages of its construction, as well as the course of the battles.
In order to feel and feel the life of the Finnish and Soviet armies at least a little, a field lunch is organized for tourists. Here you can also take pictures against the backdrop of grandiose structures with elements of equipment, see and hold mock-ups of weapons in your hands.
In the history of any military conflicts there are many blank spots, hidden events and facts. Notwas an exception and the war of the Soviet Union with Finland in 1939-40. It lay a heavy test on the shoulders of both sides. In just 105 days of hostilities, about 150,000 people were killed and about 20,000 went missing. Here are the results of this half-forgotten and, according to some historians, "unnecessary" war. As a monument to the fallen soldiers, the Mannerheim Line, unusual in its scale, remained on the battlefields. Photos of those times and stones on mass graves still remind us of the heroism of Soviet and Finnish soldiers.
