The Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union broke out in November 1939. When the Moscow Peace Treaty was signed in March 1940, Viipuri was lost and only a stub of the district's region and four clubs, Simpeleen Urheilijat (SiU) from Simpele, YVPS, Etelä-Saimaan Kisa (ESK) from Lauritsala and Lappeenrannan Urheilu-Miehet (LUM) from Lappeenranta, were left. Because of this the district moved its headquarters to Lappeenranta, where the first general assembly was held in September 1940. In 1942 the assembly was held in Imatra, and in 1943 the Finnish advances in the Continuation War permitted the district to briefly return to Viipuri. Ultimately, when the war ended in September 1944, the borders drawn in 1940 were retained and the district relocated back to Lappeenranta.