Battle of Suomussalmi
E4457
The Battle of Suomussalmi was a major Finnish victory during the Winter War, where outnumbered Finnish forces used superior tactics and knowledge of the terrain to decisively defeat Soviet troops in harsh winter conditions.
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
battle
ⓘ
military engagement ⓘ |
| belligerent |
Finland
ⓘ
Soviet Union ⓘ |
| combatantLanguage |
Finnish
ⓘ
Russian ⓘ |
| commander |
Aleksei Vinogradov
ⓘ
Andrei Zelentsov ⓘ Hjalmar Siilasvuo ⓘ |
| conflict | Winter War ⓘ |
| country | Finland ⓘ |
| datePeriod | December 1939 – January 1940 ⓘ |
| endDate | 1940-01-08 ⓘ |
| environment | harsh winter conditions ⓘ |
| FinnishCasualties | approximately 750 killed ⓘ |
| FinnishStrength | approximately 11,000 soldiers ⓘ |
| FinnishUnit | 9th Division (Finland) ⓘ |
| front | eastern front of the Winter War ⓘ |
| impact |
boosted Finnish morale
ⓘ
exposed weaknesses in Red Army leadership and logistics ⓘ |
| location | Suomussalmi ⓘ |
| notableFor |
effective use of terrain and mobility
ⓘ
high Soviet losses in men and materiel ⓘ outnumbered Finnish forces defeating larger Soviet formations ⓘ severe logistical problems for Soviet troops ⓘ |
| objective |
Soviet advance toward Oulu
ⓘ
Soviet attempt to cut Finland in two ⓘ |
| partOf |
Winter War
ⓘ
surface form:
Soviet–Finnish Winter War
|
| relatedEvent | Battle of Raate Road ⓘ |
| result | Finnish victory ⓘ |
| SovietCasualties | tens of thousands killed, wounded, or captured ⓘ |
| SovietEquipmentLosses |
dozens of tanks
ⓘ
hundreds of trucks ⓘ large quantities of artillery ⓘ |
| SovietStrength | approximately 45,000 soldiers ⓘ |
| SovietUnit |
163rd Rifle Division
ⓘ
44th Rifle Division ⓘ |
| startDate | 1939-12-07 ⓘ |
| tacticUsed |
encirclement of Soviet columns
ⓘ
guerrilla-style harassment ⓘ motti tactics ⓘ |
| temperature | approximately −40 °C ⓘ |
| terrain |
forested wilderness
ⓘ
frozen lakes ⓘ |
| theater | Kainuu front ⓘ |
| year |
1939
ⓘ
1940 ⓘ |
Referenced by (10)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.