Hanko Naval Base was a

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, ...

naval base from 1940 to 1941 in the town of Hanko at the Hankoniemi peninsula which is located 100 kilometers (62 mi) from

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, the Finnish capital.

History

The Soviet Union had demanded from

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

a military base in the writing of regional exchange requirements just before outbreak of 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 ...

from Hankoniemi peninsula. In October 1939 Geoffrey Cox was told that the Finnish General Staff were prepared to cede even the Petsamo area, but not Hanko, which they knew in Russian hands would be ''a pistol pressed into Finland’s back'', and which was the ''real key to the Gulf of Finland''. The Russians were prepared to hand over in return ''some territory just north of the Finnish “waist-line”: - stretches of forest of no military value.'' After the Winter War, in the early Spring of 1940, the

Soviet Union 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 nationa ...

repeated its call for a naval base in the Hankoniemi area. Finland's negotiation delegation was forced to agree to the Soviet Union's peace terms, including the Hankoniemi base. On March 12, 1940, the Moscow Peace Treaty included a lease to the Soviet Union, for 30 years, of 115 square kilometers of territory which included the area of Hankoniemi and the City of Hanko surrounding maritime areas, as well as about 400 islands. The area was handed over to the Soviets at Midnight on 22 March 1940. The Finnish population had been evacuated from the area, causing about 8,000

Finns Finns or Finnish people ( fi, suomalaiset, ) are a Baltic Finnic ethnic group native to Finland. Finns are traditionally divided into smaller regional groups that span several countries adjacent to Finland, both those who are native to these ...

to lose their homes. Soviet Union forces built a strong military base. It oversaw maritime traffic in 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 ...

, and was also a potential south-west invasion front for war against Finland. The base was occupied by

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

airborne Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...

and armored forces. The Soviet Union fortified the border between Finland and the base, and the Finnish forces invested in troops and fortifications on their side.

Outbreak of the Continuation War

Battles of 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 ...

that took place at the borders of the leased area were quite limited. The Finns did not try to assault the Hanko Soviet forces. However, the Soviet Union withdrew its troops from the leased area on December 2, 1941. The troops left their leased area heavily mined, which hampered the return of the civilian population in the Hanko peninsula. After the Continuation War, the Soviet Union demanded instead of Hanko a lease area in

Porkkala Porkkalanniemi ( sv, Porkala udd) is a peninsula in the Gulf of Finland, located at Kirkkonummi (Kyrkslätt) in Southern Finland. The peninsula had great strategic value, as coastal artillery based there would be able to shoot more than half ...

. The final turnover of the Hanko leased area was included in the Paris Peace Agreement in 1947.

References

{{coord, 59.835608, 22.995666, display=title Military installations of Finland Installations of the Soviet Navy Winter War Military installations of the Soviet Union in other countries Military installations closed in 1941 Finland–Soviet Union relations