The Army of Karelia ( fi, Karjalan armeija) was a Finnish army during the Continuation War. The Army of Karelia was formed on 29 June 1941 soon after the start of the Continuation War.

Organisation

The army was organised in two corps and one separate group. *

VII Corps 7th Corps, Seventh Corps, or VII Corps may refer to: * VII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World War I * VII R ...

(VII armeijakunta) *

VI Corps 6 Corps, 6th Corps, Sixth Corps, or VI Corps may refer to: France * VI Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry formation of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VI Corps (Grande Armée), a formation of the Imperial French army dur ...

(VI armeijakunta) *

Group Oinonen A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

Group O Group O, headquartered in Milan, Illinois, is one of the largest Hispanic-minority business enterprise, owned companies in the U.S. and a provider of managed products and services. History Group O was founded in Milan, Illinois in 1974 by Rober ...

(Ryhmä Oinonen or Ryhmä O) The corps consisted of a total of 5 infantry divisions. The Cavalry Brigade and the 1st and

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit ...

Jäger Brigades were organised into Group O. Also, the German 163rd Infantry Division was later added to the army.

Offensive

On July 10 the Army started its offensive against

East 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 ...

, north of

Lake Ladoga Lake Ladoga (; rus, Ла́дожское о́зеро, r=Ladozhskoye ozero, p=ˈladəʂskəjə ˈozʲɪrə or rus, Ла́дога, r=Ladoga, p=ˈladəɡə, fi, Laatokka arlier in Finnish ''Nevajärvi'' ; vep, Ladog, Ladoganjärv) is a fresh ...

. The aim was to reclaim the areas lost to the Soviet Union in the Winter War, but also to advance deeper into Soviet territory to gain a more easily defensible front. On the north flank the army was supported by the independent 14th Division and to the south by forces on the Karelian Isthmus. The army's advance was rapid due to the use of light jäger troops. The capital of

Karelia Karelia ( Karelian and fi, Karjala, ; rus, Каре́лия, links=y, r=Karélija, p=kɐˈrʲelʲɪjə, historically ''Korjela''; sv, Karelen), the land of the Karelian people, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for ...

Petrozavodsk was taken in October and promptly renamed to the poetic ''Äänislinna''. By September 1941, the Army of Karelia participated in the

Siege of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad (russian: links=no, translit=Blokada Leningrada, Блокада Ленинграда; german: links=no, Leningrader Blockade; ) was a prolonged military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the Soviet city of L ...

, threatening the city from the east. During the autumn of 1941 the army took positions along the

river Svir A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

between lakes Ladoga and Onega.

Medvezhegorsk Medvezhyegorsk (russian: Медвежьего́рск; krl, Karhumägi; fi, Karhumäki) is a town and the administrative center of Medvezhyegorsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia. Population: 15,800 (1959). History A village in ...

was taken in December. After the offensive phase of the war ended, the Army of Karelia was disbanded and its HQ became HQ of

Aunus Group Aunus may refer to: * Aunus, Finnish for Olonets, a town and district in Karelia * 1480 Aunus, an asteroid * Aunus expedition, a military conflict in 1919 * Aunus Group, a Finnish military formation 1942-1944 * Aunus Radio Aunus Radio was a Fi ...

Commanders

* General of Infantry Erik Heinrichs 29 June 1941 - 29 January 1942 * Lieutenant General

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 ...

(temporary) 29 January 1942 - 1 March 1942

References

{{reflist * Ready, J. Lee. ''World War Two Nation by Nation.'' London: Arms and Armour Press, 1995. Continuation War Military history of Finland

Organisation

Offensive

Commanders

See also

References