Battle of Raate Road

E29740

The Battle of Raate Road was a major Finnish victory during the Winter War in which Finnish forces encircled and destroyed a large Soviet division in harsh winter conditions along a narrow forest road.

Aliases (1)

Statements (48)
Predicate Object
instanceOf battle
military engagement
belligerent Finland
Soviet Union
combatant Finnish Army
Red Army
commander Hjalmar Siilasvuo
conflict Winter War
country Finland
date January 1940
endDate 1940-01-07
environment deep snow
extreme cold
harsh winter conditions
feature narrow forest road
FinnishCasualties hundreds killed and wounded
FinnishCommander Hjalmar Siilasvuo
FinnishStrength several thousand troops
front Karelian front
location Kainuu
eastern Finland
near Suomussalmi
memorial Raate Road memorial in Suomussalmi
notableFor destruction of Soviet motorized column
use of camouflage in snow
use of skis by Finnish troops
objective cut Soviet supply and retreat route
opponent Soviet 163rd Rifle Division
Soviet 44th Rifle Division
outcome capture of large quantities of Soviet equipment
destruction of Soviet 44th Rifle Division
heavy Soviet casualties
partOf Winter War
place Raate Road
relatedTo Battle of Suomussalmi
result Finnish victory
significance crippled Soviet offensive in Suomussalmi sector
demonstrated effectiveness of Finnish small-unit tactics
major Finnish defensive success in Winter War
SovietCasualties several thousand killed
thousands captured
SovietCommander Aleksei Vinogradov
Alexei Vinogradov
SovietStrength approximately 17,000 troops
startDate 1940-01-01
tactic ambush along forest road
encirclement
motti tactics

Referenced by (3)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
9th Division (Finland) ("Raate Road battles")
engagement
Hjalmar Siilasvuo
notableBattle
Battle of Suomussalmi
relatedEvent

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