Evening star., 1939-12-31
War on Land

war on Land
Fighting in the eerie half-lght of the
Far North, in subzero coldness which
froze the faces and feet of the unwary
and brought icy death to many who fell
asleep from fatigue, Firms and Russians
battled stubbornly at halfdozen points
between Helsinki and the Arctic shore of
Finland. Surprising many who thought
that the Red Army would sweep over
Finland as easily as the German mill
tary machine did over Poland, Stalin's
troops failed to make any permanent
dent in the Finnish wall. Indeed, at one
point, near Leiksa, Firms strategically
Invaded the invader.
AS the week opened, Firms claimed a
major victory at Aglajarvi on the south
eastern front. Official Finnish COM
muniques said Russia's advance had
been stopped there, the invaders vir-
tually wiped out before they could re-
treat. simultaneously Firms began an
advance south of Lake Ladoga on the
Karelian Isthmus, claiming capture of
five tanks, many machine guns, some
prisoners.
Russia, too, claimed victories. On
Christmas Day Moscow announced two
battalions of Firms had been surrounded
and routed at Jolomantsi. that the
Firms had been seriously defeated" at
Suomussalimi in Middle Finland, about
IS miles from the frontier.
After a week of spasmodic fighting,
the military situation on the Russian
Finnish front could be briefly sum-
married thus:
In the Far North, near Salmijaervi,
Firms were throwing themselves furi-
ousy on the Rus
Firms Make sian invaders who
v.E. e.I were attempting
0"' to block Finland's
corridor to the Arctic. Firms had
stopped, but not dislodged, the intruders.
Hundred and fifty miles farther south,
around Salla, Stalins Red troops. heav-
lily reinforced, drove forward in an ef-
fort to cut the little republic in half and
sever communications between armies in
the north and south
Still another hundred miles to the
south, heavy but indecisive fighting was
Suomussalmi.
Firms, meanwhile reported progress
in their drive into Russia from their
base around Lieksa. Repola, important
Soviet military base, was reported to be
their objective
In Karelia, along the Southern Russo
Finnish border, Soviet troops succeeded,
after many efforts, in crossing the frozen
waters of Lake Suvanto, previous bar to
their progress into the richest and most
populous part of Finland. Helsinki Off
cials, however, claimed that later they
were hurled back, their advance made
futile. The lake, Firms said, was strewn
with the bodies of Russian dead two
companies having been wiped out"
Most interesting, dramatic reports of
the week, f1ltering out of Scandinavian
capitals, told of desperate Finnish push
into Russia, below the Arctic port Of
Murmansk, cutting off the Murmansk-
Leningrad Railroad, sole artery of supply
for Red troops in the Far North. Hell
sinki spokesmen would not confirm the
reports; indicated that, while welcome,
they we're not factual.
Seemingly authentic, though, were re-
ports that daring Finnish patrols on
skates and skis-clad in white, hooded
parkas to camoufage
Skis and Skotes them against the
II..I:.W.. snow-covered land
scape - had pene-
trated far into Russia, attacked Red
Army outposts, cleaned military informa-
ton, and sped, wraithlike and unseen,
back to their bases.
Ghostly and weird were the border
battlefelds where Russians and Firms
fought last week in what one corre-
spondent called the coolest war in
world history" Only for two or three
hours each day did wan sun, skirting
the southern horizon, provide enough
light for accurate firing. In some cases
the ice of lakes was the battle-ground"
Finnish reports told of scores of Russians
being drowned when artillery blasted
great holes in the ice One reporter,
visiting the Arctic hell" of a recent bat
tlefield found hundreds of dead soldiers,
frozen in grotesque attitudes.
While the official Russian press
whistled CHEEKY propaganda tune and
carried communicates of victory, there
were behind the scenes indications that
the men in the Kremlin were angry and
anxious over the vaunted Red Army's
failure to conquer tiny Finland.
Gen. K A. Meretskoff, high COM
mander of the invading Red forces and
chief of staff of the Leningrad military
district, was called upon by Moscow to
explain his failure. Although not