The 6th Division () 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 ...

. Subordinated to the German XXXVI Corps, the division took part in the German-led Operation Arctic Fox in 1941. In 1943, the division was moved to

Eastern Karelia East Karelia ( fi, Itä-Karjala, Karelian: ''Idä-Karjala''), also rendered as Eastern Karelia or Russian Karelia, is a name for the part of Karelia that since the Treaty of Stolbova in 1617 has remained Eastern Orthodox under Russian supremacy ...

, from where it was moved to the

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 ...

following the start of the 1944 Soviet Vyborg–Petrozavodsk offensive. Following 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 division also took part in the

Lapland War During World War II, the Lapland War ( fi , Lapin sota; sv, Lapplandskriget; german: Lapplandkrieg) saw fighting between Finland and Nazi Germany – effectively from September to November 1944 – in Finland's northernmost region, Lapland. ...

against the German forces remaining in Finnish Lapland.

History

Originally a part of the Finnish V Corps, the 6th Division was attached to the German XXXVI Corps in Northern Finland in 1941. As part of Operation Arctic Fox, the division attacked alongside the

SS Division Nord The 6th SS Mountain Division "Nord" (german: 6. SS-Gebirgs-Division "Nord") was a German unit of the Waffen-SS during World War II, formed in February 1941 as ''SS Kampfgruppe Nord'' (SS Battle Group North). The division was the only Waffen-S ...

and German 169th Infantry Division against

Salla Salla (''Kuolajärvi'' until 1936) ( smn, Kyelijävri) is a municipality of Finland, located in Lapland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The nearby settlement of ...

with the goal of reaching

Kandalaksha Kandalaksha (russian: Кандала́кша; fi, Kantalahti, also ''Kandalax'' or ''Candalax'' in the old maps; krl, Kannanlakši; sms, Käddluhtt) is a town in Kandalakshsky District of Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located at the head of Kandala ...

on the

White Sea The White Sea (russian: Белое море, ''Béloye móre''; Karelian and fi, Vienanmeri, lit. Dvina Sea; yrk, Сэрако ямʼ, ''Serako yam'') is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is s ...

coast. The town of Salla was captured, but the division suffered 405 casualties in the process. Following the capture of Salla, the division continued towards river Verman, reaching it on October 18th 1941. By this point, both increasingly difficult logistics and the losses suffered forced Operation Arctic Fox to be halted. The 6th division was considered unfit for attack. During these actions, the division also fought alongside a small German tank unit, the Panzer-Abteilung 211, which consisted of captured French tanks. Following the failure of Operation Arctic Fox, the Finnish general headquarters wanted to reduce the division to a brigade-sized element to help both a labor shortage on the home front, as well as for foreign political reasons related to attacking beyond 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 ...

borders. The division was reorganized as the 12th Brigade in early 1942. In January 1943, the brigade was re-expanded to divisional size, again taking the name 6th Division, and assigned to the

Aunus Group Aunus may refer to: * Aunus, Finnish for Olonets, a town and district in Karelia * 1480 Aunus, an asteroid * Aunus expedition The Aunus expedition was an attempt by Finnish volunteers to occupy parts of East Karelia in 1919, during the Russia ...

. In July 1943, it was reassigned to the isthmus north of

Lake Onega Lake Onega (; also known as Onego, rus, Оне́жское о́зеро, r=Onezhskoe ozero, p=ɐˈnʲɛʂskəɪ ˈozʲɪrə; fi, Ääninen, Äänisjärvi; vep, Änine, Änižjärv) is a lake in northwestern Russia, on the territory of the Repu ...

as part of the

Maaselkä Group The II Corps () was a unit of the Finnish Army during the Continuation War. During the war the corps participated in combat first northwest of Lake Ladoga and on the Karelian Isthmus before moving to the Povenets–Lake Segozero region by late 1 ...

. After the Soviet Vyborg–Petrozavodsk offensive started in 1944, the 6th Division was moved to the

as a component of the Finnish IV Corps. There it took part 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 ...

, where its arrival prevented the breaking of the

Armored Division A division is a large military unit or formation, usually consisting of between 6,000 and 25,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades; in turn, several divisions typically make up a corps. Hist ...

and enabled the Armored Division and the 11th Division to be moved out of the line to act as a reserve. After the

, the division also took part in the

against the German forces still in Lapland. On September 30th, 1944, the division was subordinated to the Armored Division, with the resulting formation being named Group

Lagus Lagus of Eordaia ( Greek Λάγος, ''Lagos''; lived 4th century BC) was a Macedonian courtier and the father of Ptolemy, the founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty. He married Arsinoe of the Argead dynasty and a concubine of Philip II, king of ...

. As a part of this formation, the division participated in the capture of

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; sme, Roavvenjárga ; smn, Ruávinjargâ; sms, Ruäʹvnjargg) is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland, and its southern part Pe ...

, after which it was disbanded.

Commanders

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

Werner Viikla (1941) *

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 ...

Einar Vihma (1943–1944) *

A. Puromaa (1944)

Organization

The 6th Division was organised from men from the Far-North Military Province (''Perä-Pohjolan Sotilaslääni''). It lacked the Heavy Artillery Battalion. The division consisted of the following subordinate units: * Infantry Regiment 12 (

) * Infantry Regiment 33 (

Sodankylä Sodankylä (; sme, Soađegilli ; smn, Suáđigil; sms, Suäʹđjel) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the region of Lapland, and lies at the northern end of Highway 5 ( E63) and along Highway 4 ( E75). The Kitinen River flows nea ...

) * Infantry Regiment 54 (Western Lapland) * Field Artillery Regiment 14 (

Tornio Tornio (; sv, Torneå; sme, Duortnus ; smn, Tuárnus) is a city and municipality in Lapland, Finland. The city forms a cross-border twin city together with Haparanda on the Swedish side. The municipality covers an area of , of which is ...

) * Light Battalion 3 * Engineer Battalion 36 * Signal Battalion 36

Notes

References

* * * *

History

Commanders

Organization

Notes

References

See also