5th Division (, also known as Tavastian Division or Lynx Division) was a Finnish Army division in the Continuation War. The division was formed by Etelä-Häme (South Tavastia) military province from the men in Kanta-Häme (Tavastia proper) and Lounais-Häme (South-western Tavastia)

civil guard Civil Guard refers to various policing organisations: Current * Civil Guard (Spain), Spanish gendarmerie * Civil Guard (Israel), Israeli volunteer police reserve * Civil Guard (Brazil), Municipal law enforcement corporations in Brazil Histori ...

districts.

History

The division was intended to be used as the reserve of the Finnish High Command, but was subordinated to the

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 ...

prior to the start of the war. As part of the

Army of Karelia 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 se ...

, the division advanced towards lake Onega and the river

Svir The Svir (, Veps: , Karelian/Finnish: ) is a river in Podporozhsky, Lodeynopolsky, and Volkhovsky districts in the north-east of Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It flows westwards from Lake Onega to Lake Ladoga, thus connecting the two largest ...

during the 1941 Finnish offensive phase. At the onset of the Soviet Vyborg–Petrozavodsk offensive, the division was stationed on the river Svir, from where it conducted a fighting retreat during the offensive. As the situation stabilized, the division had established a defensive position in the region of

Sortavala Sortavala (russian: Сортавала; Finnish and krl, Sortavala; sv, Sordavala); till 1918 Serdobol (russian: Сердоболь) is a town in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located at the northern tip of Lake Ladoga near the Finnish bord ...

Formation

After formation the division consisted of the following sub-units: *Infantry Regiment 2 (JR2) *Infantry Regiment 23 (JR23) *Infantry Regiment 44 (JR44) *Field Artillery Regiment 3 (KTR3) *Heavy Artillery Battalion 24 (RaskPsto 24) *Light Detachment 4 (KevOs 4) *Engineer Battalion 21 (PionP 21) *Signals Battalion 23 (VP23) The 5th Division was mostly equipped according to division generic organization, but because of material shortage it lacked the anti-aircraft machine gun company and some material quantities did not reach the intended amounts.

Commanders

* Jäger colonel

Eino Koskimies Eino is a Finnish and Estonian masculine given name. The name is thought to be the Finnic form of the given name Henri. Both Finnish and Estonian languages belong to the Finno-Ugric language group through their being Uralic languages.Langua ...

18 June 1941 – 11 July 1941 * Jäger colonel Ruben Lagus 11 July 1941 – 25 July 1941 * Colonel

Ilmari Karhu Ilmari is a Finnish male given name. It is a short form of Ilmarinen, a mythological smith in the Kalevala. Notable people with the name include: *Ilmari Aalto (1891–1934), Finnish painter *Ilmari Auer (1879–1965), Finnish politician * Ilmari ...

25 July 1941 – 16 June 1942 * Major general

Kustaa Tapola Kustaa Anders Tapola (29 March 1895 – 2 April 1971) was a Finnish General of Infantry and Knight of the Mannerheim Cross. He participated in the Finnish Civil War, the Winter War and the Continuation War. In addition to commanding formations ...

16 June 1942 –

Losses

Based on the periodic reports made by units to Finnish General Headquarters the total losses suffered by the 5th Division in killed, wounded and missing during the Continuation War were 10 608 men.Sotatieteen laitos:"Jatkosodan historia" Part 6 p. 494

Sources

* * * * * *

History

Formation

Commanders

Losses

Sources

References

See also