The North Finland Group ( fi, Pohjois-Suomen Ryhmä) was a formation 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-aircraft ...

during 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 ...

. It was responsible for an almost 800-kilometer-long border from the town of

Lieksa Lieksa () is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. ...

to the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

. The group was under the command of Major General

Wiljo Tuompo Viljo (Wiljo) Einar Tuompo (23 September 1893, in Pornainen – 27 February 1957 in Helsinki) was a Finnish lieutenant general during World War II. He commanded the Finnish Border Guard from 1935 to 1939, and from 1940 to 1941. During the W ...

, and its headquarters was located in

Kajaani Kajaani (; sv, Kajana) is the most populous town and the capital of the Kainuu Region of Finland. It is located southeast of Lake Oulu (Oulujärvi), which drains into the Gulf of Bothnia through the Oulu River (Oulujoki). As of , it had a pop ...

. Kilin and Raunio 2007, pp. 120–121 The formation was charged with defending Northern Finland. It had two subgroups, the

Lapland Group The Lapland Group (''Lapin Ryhmä'') was a formation of the Finnish Army during the Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union. The group was formed on 13 December 1939 from troops of the North Finland Group. The group was placed under the com ...

in the north and the

North Karelian Group The North Karelian Group (''Pohjois-Karjalan Ryhmä'', ''P-KR'') was a formation of the Finnish Army (1939) during the Winter War. It defended the wide stretch of border between the Finnish IV Corps and the troops around Suomussalmi. The North Kar ...

in the south. During the

Battle of Suomussalmi The Battle of Suomussalmi was a battle fought between Finnish and Soviet forces in the Winter War. The action took place from 30 November 1939 to 8 January 1940. The outcome was a Finnish victory against superior forces. This battle is considered ...

on 11 December 1939, the main headquarters took under control the Lapland Group, and appointed

Kurt Martti Wallenius Kurt Martti Wallenius (25 July 1893 in Kuopio – 3 May 1984 in Helsinki) was a Finnish Major General. Jäger Movement Wallenius was a member of the Finnish Jäger troops trained in Germany prior to Finnish independence. In 1915, Wallenius trave ...

as its commander. The North Finland Group remained in areas of the North Karelian Group, Suomussalmi and

Kuhmo Kuhmo (known as ''Kuhmoniemi'' until 1937) is a town and a municipality in Finland and is located at the south-eastern corner of the Kainuu region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * Military units and formations of Finland in the Winter War Military units and formations of Finland in World War II {{World-War-II-stub