The IV Corps () 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-aircraf ...

during the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet-Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944, as part of World War II.; sv, fortsättningskriget; german: Fortsetzungskrieg. A ...

. During the 1941

Finnish invasion of the Karelian Isthmus The Finnish invasion of the Karelian Isthmus refers to a military campaign carried out by Finland in 1941. It was part of what is commonly referred to as the Continuation War. Early in the war Finnish forces liberated the Karelian Isthmus. It ha ...

, it encircled three

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

divisions in the area south of

Vyborg Vyborg (; rus, Вы́борг, links=1, r=Výborg, p=ˈvɨbərk; fi, Viipuri ; sv, Viborg ; german: Wiborg ) is a town in, and the administrative center of, Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus ne ...

before being disbanded. Reconstituted in 1944, the corps was the target of the spearhead of the Soviet Vyborg–Petrozavodsk offensive. Elements of the corps fought in the decisive

Battle of Tali-Ihantala A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

at the end of the war.

1941 invasion of the Karelian Isthmus

Commanded by

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Karl Lennart Oesch Karl Lennart Oesch (8 August 1892 – 28 March 1978) was one of Finland's leading generals during World War II. He held a string of high staff assignments and front commands, and at the end of the Continuation War commanded three Finnish army cor ...

, IV Corps was formed around the headquarters of the peace-time II Corps. Consisting of the 4th,

8th 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

, 10th and

12th 12 (twelve) is the natural number following 11 and preceding 13. Twelve is a superior highly composite number, divisible by 2, 3, 4, and 6. It is the number of years required for an orbital period of Jupiter. It is central to many systems ...

divisions, IV Corps took part in the

. It was initially tasked with the defense of the southernmost sector of the Finno-

border on the shore of the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and E ...

. In this role, the corps was subordinated directly to the Finnish General HQ. Following the Soviet 23rd Army's withdrawal from

, parts of IV Corps started to pursue them towards the pre-

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 ...

border. Concurrently, the 8th Division conducted an amphibious landing to

Lokhaniemi Lokhaniemi (Lihaniemi before 1948, russian: полуостров Лоханиеми, fi, Lihaniemi) is a peninsula along the eastern shore of Vyborg Bay (in the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean t ...

, south of Vyborg. This, together with a by-land envelopment conducted by the 4th and 12th divisions, resulted in the pocketing of the Soviet 43rd, 115th and 123rd divisions following the

Battle of Porlampi The Battle of Porlampi, also known as the Battle of Porlammi, was a military engagement fought between the Finnish Army and Red Army from 30 August to 1 September 1941 on the Karelian Isthmus. The battle was fought near the town of Porlampi duri ...

. This was the largest pocket created by the Finns in either the Winter War or the Continuation War, resulting in the capture of some 3000

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

, including the commander of the Soviet 43rd Division,

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Kirpichnikov. On 25 February 1942, the General HQ ordered the corps to be renamed as Isthmus Group (Finnish: ''Kannaksen Ryhmä'').

1944 Soviet offensive

The corps was reformed on 16 February 1944 under the command of

Taavetti Laatikainen on the western

Karelian isthmus The Karelian Isthmus (russian: Карельский перешеек, Karelsky peresheyek; fi, Karjalankannas; sv, Karelska näset) is the approximately stretch of land, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern ...

. Consisting initially of only two divisions, the reconstituted IV Corps was hit by the spearhead of the Soviet Vyborg–Petrozavodsk offensive on 10 June 1944. The attack immediately broke the Finnish line, and forced IV Corps to fall back to the

VT-line The Vammelsuu–Taipale line ( fi, VT-linja; sv, VT-linjen; russian: Карельский вал) was a Finnish defensive line on the Karelian Isthmus built in 1942–1944 during the Continuation War and running from Vammelsuu on the northern ...

, which the Soviets reached on 11 June 1944. On June 17, the Finnish forces were ordered to fall back to the

VKT-line The VKT-line or Viipuri–Kuparsaari–Taipale line ( fi, VKT-linja, sv, VKT-linjen) was a Finnish defensive line on Karelian Isthmus during the Continuation War, spanning from Viipuri (Vyborg) through Tali and Kuparsaari along the northern sh ...

while fighting a delaying action. There, IV Corps took part in the decisive

Battle of Tali–Ihantala The Battle of Tali–Ihantala (June 25 to July 9, 1944) was part of the Finnish-Soviet Continuation War (1941–1944), which occurred during World War II. The battle was fought between Finnish forces—using war materiel provided by Germany—and ...

. By this point, the corps had been reinforced with more divisions, including the Armoured Division. At the start of the ceasefire that would lead to the

Moscow Armistice The Moscow Armistice was signed between Finland on one side and the Soviet Union and United Kingdom on the other side on 19 September 1944, ending the Continuation War. The Armistice restored the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940, with a number of mo ...

, the corps consisted of the

3rd Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

, 4th, 6th, 11th and

18th 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. In mathematics * Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect number. ...

divisions.

Notes

References

* * * * * {{Finnish formations WW2 Continuation War Military units and formations of Finland in World War II

1941 invasion of the Karelian Isthmus

1944 Soviet offensive

See also

Notes

References