Evening star., 1939-12-02
Heavy Losses Reported Inflicted
On Russians; Arctic Port Retaken
Soviets Declared
RepuIsed Near
Norwoy's Border

BY the Associated Press.
KIRKENES, Norway, Dec. 2.-Ci-
william refugees arriving here from
Finland reported today Finnish
troops had retaken the Arctic port
of Petsamo.
Finnish authorities were said to
have confirmed the reports Earlier,
the ci y was reported in hands of
Russian forces which parachuted to
earth from airplanes.
Fighting in the Petsamo district
was almost entirely by infantry as
the roadless mountains and deep
SHOWS prevented either side from
bringing up artillery.
Finnish soldiers who recaptured
the seaport marched all night
through the snow to reach their
objective However, they had the
advantage over the Russians who,
after taking the town. found all the
food supplies either carried away or
destroyed in the fire which followed
the air raids.
The refugees also declared the
Firms had defeated the Russians in
a battles50 miles north of Salmijarvi,
site OF valuable British Canadian
owned nickel mines just inside the
Finnish h-NorWegian border.
$50 Reported Left Dead.
The Russians were said to have
left on the battlefield more than
$50 dead. whose equipment and
clothing indicated the Red troops
were poorly prepared for war in
the Far North. Many apparently
had suffered frozen feet.
Russian reinforcements were re-
ported en- route to Petsamo, and a
new battle was expected.
Soviet warplanes, meanwhile, con-
tinueG active in the narrow Fin
nish corridor leading to the Arctic.
Low flying planes were reported to
have attacked Finnish motorbuses
carrying refugees toward the Nor
wegian border.
Bed sheets were tied over some of
these trucks as camouflage in the
snow-covered terrain
Previously, British and Canadian
employees Of the Salmijarvi nickel
mines, owned by the international
Nickel Co., fleeing across the Nor
wegian border, reported that Rus
sian troops were only miles from
the frontier.
(Reuters, British news agency,
reported that Finnish troops,
after an all-night march over
snow-covered roads. had made
surprise attack on Russians at
Petsamo. Finish aircraft aided
the infantry. Russian losses were
believed heavy9
The refugees reported the Rus
slams had blown up the Salmijarvi
Bridge after trying vainly to de-
molish it with aerial bombs yester-
day.
At Salmijarvi, the Firms were said
to be pouring gasoline on rooftops
and firing the houses to impede the
Russian advance. Animals were
slaughtered to prevent them from
falling into the invaders hands.
Finnish soldiers we're reported to
have been ordered to blow up the
Salmijarvi nickel mines and burn
the buildings if they retreated.
Firms Fight Through Red Lines.
One small detachment of Finnish
infantry, surrounded by the Rus
slams near Petsamo Mountain, was
said to have fought its way through
the Soviet lines.
A steady stream of Finnish refu-
gees continued, meanwhile, to pour
over the border into Norway. Ap-
proximately 300 women and chill
dren, crowded into trucks driven by
boys II or IA years old, crossed, ice
and snow to reach the Norwegian
border town of Svanvik yesterday.
Most public buildings in Svanvik
and other frontier villages have been
converted into barracks for refu-
gees. Schools, in some instances,
have been converted into hospitals
in expectation of an influx OF wound
ed Finnish soldiers.