The 3rd Division () was a unit 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-aircraf ...

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 from 1941 to 1944, as part of World War II.; sv, fortsättningskriget; german: Fortsetzungskrieg. A ...

. It initially fought in the northern

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 B ...

, participating in the Finno-

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Operation Arctic Fox Operation Arctic Fox (German: ''Unternehmen Polarfuchs''; fi, operaatio Napakettu; Russian: ''Кандалакшская операция'') was the codename given to a World War II campaign by German and Finnish forces against Soviet Northern ...

. In 1944, it was transferred to the

Karelian Isthmus The Karelian Isthmus (russian: Карельский перешеек, Karelsky peresheyek; fi, Karjalankannas; sv, Karelska näset) is the approximately stretch of land, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern ...

to defend against the Soviet Vyborg–Petrozavodsk offensive. Following the

Moscow Armistice The Moscow Armistice was signed between Finland on one side and the Soviet Union and United Kingdom on the other side on 19 September 1944, ending the Continuation War. The Armistice restored the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940, with a number of mo ...

in 1944, the division was moved to

Oulu Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after: ...

and participated in the

Lapland War During World War II, the Lapland War ( fi , Lapin sota; sv, Lapplandskriget; german: Lapplandkrieg) saw fighting between Finland and Nazi Germany – effectively from September to November 1944 – in Finland's northernmost region, Lapland. ...

History

The 3rd Division was the main component of the Finnish III Corps. During the war, the division fought mostly in the

Ukhta Ukhta (russian: Ухта́; kv, Уква, ''Ukva'') is an important industrial town in the Komi Republic of Russia. Population: It was previously known as ''Chibyu'' (until 1939). History Oil springs along the Ukhta River were already known i ...

and

Kestenga Kestenga (russian: Кестеньга; krl, Kiestinki; fi, Kiestinki), is a rural village in the Loukhsky District of the Republic of Karelia in Russia on the northern shore of Lake Topozero. It is the administrative centre of the ''Kestenga r ...

area, where it participated in

, the Finno-

drive towards the Murmansk railway. During this operation, the division was split into two groups, Group J () and Group F (). Observing the speed of advance of the III Corps, the Germans reinforced Group J with a regiment-sized element of SS-troops. The division's advance was eventually halted after the Soviet

88th Rifle Division The 88th Rifle Division was twice formed as an infantry division of the Red Army, first as part of the prewar buildup of forces. In its first formation in the far north it had an unusual ''shtat'' (table of organization and equipment) probably to ...

entered the area. In 1944 the division was transferred to the

, where it participated in the Finnish defense against the Soviet Vyborg–Petrozavodsk offensive. During this time, the division was temporarily reinforced with the 6th Separate Battalion (). Formed originally by the Germans as Ost-Bataillon 664, the battalion consisted of volunteering, non-

prisoner-of-war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

Ingrian Finns The Ingrians ( fi, inkeriläiset, ; russian: Ингерманландцы, translit=Ingermanlandts'i), sometimes called Ingrian Finns, are the Finnish population of Ingria (now the central part of Leningrad Oblast in Russia), descending from Lu ...

. Following the

in 1944, the division was moved to

. As part of the

against Germany, the division's Infantry Regiment 11 conducted a landing in Tornio in the morning of October 1st, 1944. Following a successful landing, the regiment was reinforced the next day by Infantry Regiment 53, also from the 3rd Division. From Tornio, the division advanced to

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; sme, Roavvenjárga ; smn, Ruávinjargâ; sms, Ruäʹvnjargg) is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland, and its southern part Per� ...

and onward to

Muonio Muonio (previously called ''Muonionniska'', se, Muoná) is a municipality of Finland. The town is located in far northern Finland above the Arctic Circle on the country's western border, within the area of the former Lappi (Lapland) province. ...

where it was disbanded.

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History

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See also