Battle of Vuosalmi

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Vuosalmi
partof=Continuation War


caption=
date=July 4 – July 11 1944
place=coord|60|43|5|N|29|34|30|E|name=Battle of Vuosalmi|display=inline,title
Karelian Isthmus, Finland
casus=
territory=
result=Finnish victory
combatant1=flag|Finland
combatant2=flag|Soviet Union|1923
commander1= Hjalmar Siilasvuo
commander2= Army General Govorov
strength1=30,000, 35 assault gun, 200 artillery
strength2=60,000, 150 tank, 300 artillery
casualties1=795 killed in action
4,976 wounded
354 missing, 2 assault gun
casualties2=3,050 killed in action
11,750 wounded
250 missing, 60 tank

The Battle of Vuosalmi (also known as the Battle of Äyräpää-Vuosalmi) — the main bulk of it — lasted from July 4 to July 11, 1944. It was a battle during the World War II, a part of the Continuation War (1941–1944) between Finland and the Soviet Union.

Background

After the Soviets saw that they had failed in the Battle of Tali-Ihantala against the Finnish defenders in the late June and early July 1944, they tried to break the Finnish positions in Vuosalmi (now Druzhnoye) and encircle the southern part of the Finnish forces in the Karelian Isthmus.

The battle

The Finnish positions were very unfavourably located in the ridge of Äyräpää, with the wide River Vuoksi behind. The Red Army 115th Corps soon forced the Finns across the river, but despite of the fields on the other side, which were advantageous to the Soviet armor, the Finns were able to stop all further Soviet advances.

The depleted Finnish Armoured Division was sent to help the Finnish 2nd Division, as the situation in Ihantala had become more stable. In somewhat simultaneous battles the Soviet Red Army had suffered massive losses on the Karelian Isthmus, with more than 15,000 Soviet soldiers buried in the nearby ridge of Äyräpää alone.

The following Finnish counter attacks in Vuosalmi at this point amounted to not much success either, and thus both sides were on defensive here in mid-July, 1944.

The Finnish artillery fired altogether over 122,000 rounds of ordnance in Äyräpää and Vuosalmi, from June 20 to July 17, 1944 – same amount, as in the Battle of Tali-Ihantala, which was fought during the exact same time period in a near vicinity, on the relatively narrow Karelian Isthmus of Finland.