The Battle of Bengtskär was an amphibious landing action fought between Finnish and Soviet forces on 26 July 1941 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 during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

Background

As a result of the

Moscow Peace Treaty The Moscow Peace Treaty was signed by Finland and the Soviet Union on 12 March 1940, and the ratifications were exchanged on 21 March. It marked the end of the 105-day Winter War, upon which Finland ceded border areas to the Soviet Union. The ...

, Finland lost the city and port of Hanko to the Soviet Union. The port was used as a base by the Soviet

Baltic Fleet The Baltic Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea. Established 18 May 1703, under Tsar Peter the Great as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the Baltic Fleet is the oldest Russian fleet. In 1918, the fleet w ...

from which they could dominate the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland (; ; ; ) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and Estonia to the south, to Saint Petersburg—the second largest city of Russia—to the east, where the river Neva drains into it. ...

. When the Continuation War broke out in 1941, Finnish forces besieged Hanko. The port in Hanko was within range of the heavy guns at Örö fortress, but a forward observation post was needed to direct their fire. The first forward observation post was set up on islet Morgonland, east of Bengtskär. This post was attacked and overrun by a Soviet amphibious assault on 16 July. After this, a new observation post was set up at Bengtskär, which was reinforced by a platoon of Finnish marines under the command of Lieutenant Fred Luther.

Battle

Soviet landing troops made a surprise attack on the island of Bengtskär with the goal to blow up the

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

situated on the island so that it would not disturb Soviet military operations. Finnish troops present on the island managed to defend the lighthouse and eventually drove the Soviets back with the help of support troops. The landing was made with four MO-class patrol boats, while another 6 boats were later dispatched to retrieve the Soviet forces once it was clear the demolition attempt had failed. Finnish gunboats

Uusimaa Uusimaa (; , ; both lit. 'new land') is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme), and Kymenlaakso. Finland's capital and largest city, Helsinki, alo ...

and Hämeenmaa engaged the Soviets, with Uusimaa sinking the patrol boat PK-238 with gunfire.

Results

The battle resulted in a Finnish victory, due to the intervention of the gunboats. 16 Soviet sailors were saved and captured from the sinking PK-238, while another 13 were captured on the Island. Some Soviet soldiers committed suicide with hand-grenades. Finnish estimates puts Soviet losses at 60 killed (40 of them on land), while Finnish suffered a loss of 16 men in the garrison and 4 men on the ships, while the next day a Soviet aerial bombing killed another 11 men waiting to be evacuated. Soviet sources report that the landing party consisted of only 31 men: casualties were 31 killed (including 8 sailors) and 24 prisoners (including 16 sailors).

References

Battles and operations of the Continuation War Naval battles of World War II involving Finland Naval battles of World War II involving the Soviet Union 1941 in Finland July 1941 in Europe {{USSR-stub