The 6th Division (6.Divisioona) was a unit of the

Finnish Army The Finnish Army (Finnish: ''Maavoimat'', Swedish: ''Armén'') is the land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: the infantry (which includes armoured units), field artillery, anti-aircraft ...

during the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

History

During the

mobilization Mobilization is the act of assembling and readying military troops and supplies for war. The word ''mobilization'' was first used in a military context in the 1850s to describe the preparation of the Prussian Army. Mobilization theories and ...

prior to the Winter War, the 6th Division was placed in the reserve of the Commander-in-Chief

Gustaf Mannerheim Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (, ; 4 June 1867 – 27 January 1951) was a Finnish military leader and statesman. He served as the military leader of the Whites in the Finnish Civil War of 1918, as Regent of Finland (1918–1919), as comma ...

. The division consisted of

reservists A reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person is ...

mainly from

Satakunta Satakunta (in both Finnish and Swedish, ) is a region ( / ) of Finland, part of the former Western Finland Province. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia and Ostrobothnia. The capital city of the region is ...

. On 19 December it was attached to the II Corps. The 6th and 1st Divisions were to attack the advancing

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

forces near Summa. The attack began on 23 December but was a failure. In the beginning of January 1940, the division's name was changed to the 3rd Division. This was done in order to confuse the enemy, but it is uncertain if this had any effect. In January 1940 the division replaced the 5th Division at the Summa front. In February the Soviet forces began bombarding the front lines at Summa with artillery fire. On the morning of 11 February, the attack began along the whole front of the exhausted 3rd Division. The Soviets had concentrated nine divisions and five armoured brigades of the 7th Army at Summa. The Finnish lines broke on 13 February and the forces retreated to the Intermediate Line (''Väliasema'').

Commanders

* Colonel Paavo Paalu

Organisation in 1939

*Infantry Regiment 16 (JR 16), replaced by JR 22, from January 1940 JR 6 *Infantry Regiment 17 (JR 17), from January 1940 JR 7 *Infantry Regiment 18 (JR 18), from January 1940 JR 8 *Artillery Regiment 6 (KTR 6), from January 1940 KTR 3 *Light Detachment 6 (Kev.Os 6), from January 1940 Kev.Os 3

History

Commanders

Organisation in 1939

See also