- Battle of Kollaa
Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Kollaa
caption=
partof=theWinter War
date=December 7 1939 toMarch 13 ,1940
place=Kollaa river , Finland
result= Finnish victory
combatant1=flag|Finland
combatant2=flag|Soviet Union|1923
commander1=Woldemar Hägglund
Antero Svensson
commander2=
strength1= 1 division and some small unitsFact|date=February 2007
strength2= 4 divisions, 1 tank brigadeFact|date=February 2007
casualties
casualties2=The Battle of Kollaa was fought from
December 7 ,1939 -March 13 ,1940 in the Ladoga's Karelia,Finland as a part of theWinter War .Despite having far fewer
troops than the Soviets, the Finnish forces (12th division) repelled the Red Army because the Soviets were only prepared to proceed alongroad s. The Kollaa area had very few roads, all of them guarded by Finnish troops, and the Soviets were not able to proceed cross-country withoutski s.Although they stopped the Red Army, the 12th Division suffered heavy losses, with the Battle of Kollaa continuing until the end of
Winter War . The Finnish defence came close to collapse at the very end - in fact, the Finnish troops left the main positions on the River Kollaa on March 12, but counter-attacked on March 13.A memorable quote from the Battle of Kollaa is
Major General Hägglund's question, "Will Kollaa hold? (Kestääkö Kollaa)", to whichLieutenant Aarne Juutilainen replied, "Kollaa holds (Kollaa kestää), unless we are told to run."Legendary sniper
Simo Häyhä served in the Kollaa front.References
* [http://www.cc.jyu.fi/~anmama/kannas2002/LKtst.htm Antti Maunuksela: Laatokan Karjalan taistelut talvisodassa] (in Finnish)
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