Evening star., 1940-01-01
Firms Track Down F|eeinq Reds,
Survivors of Division of 5000
Shattered on Woist|ine' ront
Bottle Fought for
Two Days in Lake
Kionto Region
BY LYNN HEINZERLING,
Associated Press Foreisn Correspondent.

Associated Press Forelsn correspondent.
HELSINKI. Jan. 1-Finnish mop
up patrols were reported hunting
down fleeing remnants of shattered
Soviet Russian infantry division of
$4,000 men today and trying for its
complete destruction
Like huntsmen, the Firms trailed
their panicky quarry through snow
and forests of the Lake Kianta
country in the region of Suomus-
salmi, ready to fight it out or take
prisoners in surrender.
The Finnish high command re-
ported the great victory last night
after the two-day battle in which
'the enemy's 163d Division was
definitely cut up and for the most
part destroyed"
Remnants of the division were
partly scattered in the forest and
partly fleeing, pursued by our
troops, toward Juntusranta.
The enemy's losses can be counted
in the thousands"
Juntusranta lies about q miles
northeast Of Suomussalmi on the
middle eastern front and is less
than five miles from the Russian
border. Conceivably. Finnish pa
trolls might cross the frontier there
in pursuit of the 163d's survivors.
Wide Raid Destruction.
Finland rejoiced over the outcome
Of the battle which ragged through
Friday and Saturday-perhaps the
greatest upset of the 32-day-old war.
However, the grim JOY in this tri-
umph over part Of the vast army Of
invaders on or within FinlandS
frontiers was tempered by reports
from southern and western cities
caught in the sweep of Russian
bombing planes.
Apparently hardest hit in the air
attacks was the western coastal town
of Vaasa, on the Gulf of Bothnia,
where "a to 80 planes dropped more
than 100 bombs in four raids within
an hour yesterday.
Smoke and flames from many
buildings in Vaasa streaked the twi-
light sky OF the Arctic afternoon.
Many Firms had taken refuge in
Vaasa from southern Finnish towns,
believing that its proximity to Swed-
en-, across the Gulf of Bothnia, would
make it safer from air raids.
Is Planes Over Helsinki.
Fifteen planes we're sighted over
Helsinki, but, despite three air-raid
alarms during Sunday, no bombs
were dropped on the capital proper.
In all, hundreds of planes were
said to have participated in yester-
days far-flung raids. Tampere,
Ekenas, Lovisa, Turku, Borga and
Hyvinka were among the other cities
and towns struck by the Red raid,
ers. The number of civilian casual
ties was not known.
Firms saw in the intensity of the
aerial operations an indication of
retaliation for virtual destruction OF
the infantry division in the Suo-
mussalmi sector.
The Finnish high command re-
porting on air raids of Saturday,
charged that Russian airmen ma
chine-gunned hospital train and
"a clearly Red Cross am
bulance"
The high command also asserted
Russian planes had bombed hospitals
marked with the internationally
recognized red cross"
War Material Seized.
The Lake Kianta battle was cited
in two communiques yesterday. The
first said "a whole division of Rus
sian troops was annihilated," but the
second tempered this to: For the
most part destroyed"
Both communicates listed war ma
terials seized by the Firms. The
second cited 27 field guns, II tanks,
armored cars, anti-aircraft ma
chine guns, $50 motor trucks, trans
port column of from 400 to 500
vehicles, $50 horses, II field kitch-
ems land an abundance OF other
arms and munitions
The later communiQue reported
Russian attacks were repulsed in two
other sectors of the eastern 'front.'
in the Salla sector north of Lake
Kianta, and northeast of Lake La
doga, near the southern end of that
front.
On frozen Lake Ladoga itself and
on the Karelian Isthmus, between
the lake and the Gulf of Finland,
there was heated artillery activity.
Finnish batteries were said to have
repulsed with rapid fire a Russian
attempt to advance across Ladogas
ice.