After discussing with the commander of the 27th Infantry Regiment, Colonel Michel Gebermeier led the Northern Combat Group to retreat, with the destination being the center of the Mannerheim Line of Defense built on the Karelian Isthmus. , Lake Ladoga is located on the flank of the Mannerheim Line of Defense. Due to terrain restrictions, the Soviet army cannot spread its arms.
The 27th Infantry Regiment escorted the Soviet prisoners. Colonel Michel Gebermeier also expressed his relief that in his opinion the Soviet soldiers had surrendered. The possibility of betrayal is almost zero, especially when the upper-level commanders have been controlled.
Following the annihilation of the Soviet 18th Motorized Infantry Division, the remaining Finnish troops in the Lake Ladoga area moved towards the Mannerheim Line of Defense. Both the Soviets and Finns knew that the Soviet-Finnish War was The result depends on the outcome of the contest between the two sides on the Mannerheim line of defense.
After the Finnish army retreated, the troops left by the Soviet army to monitor the Finnish army also came from the other direction to the garrison where the Soviet army was stationed outside the Mannerheim Line of Defense.
When the Soviet army avoided the Lake Ladoga area, although the terrain in the center of the Mannerheim Line of Defense was also very harsh, it was much better than the Lake Ladoga area. Ten Finnish infantry divisions were now concentrated on the Mannerheim Line, and Soviet troops were also gathered outside the line.
The commander-in-chief of the Soviet army was General Meretskov, commander of the Seventh Army. He commanded four armies to attack the Mannerheim Line. In addition to the Seventh Army, of which he considered himself the commander, there were also There are specially transferred troops from various regions, and the remaining troops are the 8th, 9th, and 14th Army.
The Seventh Army is the most powerful and consists of the 19th Army, the 50th Army, the 10th Tank Corps, the 136th, 138th, and 150th Infantry Divisions and the 20th Tank Brigade as reserves.
(1) The 24th Division, under the jurisdiction of the 7th, 168th, and 274th Regiments, the 160th Artillery Regiment, the 246th Howitzer Regiment, and the 315th Tank Battalion.
(2) The 43rd Division, under the jurisdiction of the 65th, 147th, and 181st Regiments, the 162nd Artillery Regiment, the 200th Howitzer Regiment, and the 369th Tank Battalion.
(3) The 70th Division has jurisdiction over the 68th, 252nd, and 329th Regiments, the 221st Artillery Regiment, the 227th Howitzer Regiment, and the 368th Tank Battalion.
(4) The 123rd Division, under the jurisdiction of the 245th, 255th, 272nd Regiments, and the 323rd Artillery Regiment.
(5) 40th Tank Brigade, under the jurisdiction of 155th, 157th, 160th and 161st Tank Battalions.
2. The 50th Army has the 49th Division, the 90th Division, the 142nd Division, and the 35th Tank Brigade.
(1) The 49th Division, under the jurisdiction of the 15th, 212th, and 222nd Regiments, the 31st Artillery Regiment, the 166th Howitzer Regiment, and the 391st Tank Battalion.
(2) The 90th Division has jurisdiction over the 173rd, 286th, and 588th Regiments, the 96th Artillery Regiment, the 149th Howitzer Regiment, and the 339th Tank Battalion.
(3) The 142nd Division has jurisdiction over the 19th, 461st, and 701st Infantry Regiments, the 334th Artillery Regiment, the 260th Howitzer Regiment, and the 445th Tank Battalion.
(4) The 35th Tank Brigade, which has the 105th, 108th, and 112th Tank Battalions.
3. The 10th Tank Corps, under the jurisdiction of the 1st and 13th Tank Brigades.
(1) The 1st Tank Brigade consists of the 1st, 4th, 8th, and 19th Tank Battalions.
(2) The 13th Tank Brigade, which has the 6th, 9th, and 15th Tank Battalions.
4. The reserve force consists of the 138th Division, the 150th Division, the 136th Division, and the 20th Tank Brigade.
(1) The 138th Division, under the jurisdiction of the 554th, 650th, and 768th Regiments, the 295th Artillery Regiment, and the 436th Tank Battalion.
(2) The 150th Division has the 469th, 674th, and 756th Regiments, the 328th Artillery Regiment, the 418th Howitzer Regiment, and the 442nd Tank Battalion.
(3) The 136th Division, under the jurisdiction of the 387th, 541st, 733rd Regiment, and the 291st Light Artillery Regiment.
(4) The 20th Tank Brigade, which consists of the 90th, 91st, 95th Tank Battalions, and the 291st Armored Vehicle Battalion. There are ten divisions and five tank brigades in total.
Eighth Army: Commander Khabarov, under the jurisdiction of the 1st Army, the 56th Army, the 75th Division and the 34th Tank Brigade as reserves.
1. The 1st Army consists of the 139th Division and the 155th Division.
(2) The 155th Division has the 436th, 659th, and 786th Regiments, the 306th Artillery Regiment, and the 421st Tank Battalion.
2. The 56th Army consists of the 18th Division, the 56th Division, and the 168th Division.
(2) The 56th Division has the 37th, 184th, and 213th Regiments, the 453rd Artillery Regiment, the 392nd Howitzer Regiment, and the 410th Tank Battalion.
3. Reserve troops, under the jurisdiction of the 75th Division and the 34th Tank Brigade.
The 34th Tank Brigade consists of the 76th, 82nd, and 83rd Tank Battalions. Among them, the 18th Motorized Infantry Division, the 168th Infantry Division, the 139th Division, and the 75th Infantry Division have been annihilated. In addition to the 18th Motorized Rifle Division being completely annihilated by the Northern Combat Group in the Lake Ladoga area, the 139th Division and the 75th Division were chased by the 7th and 8th Finnish Divisions to the Aito River and annihilated. The remaining troops There are three divisions and one tank brigade in total.
Chuikov, commander of the 9th Group Army, has resigned. The 54th Division and the 163rd Division have been completely wiped out. Only two divisions remain from the center offensive, the 122nd Division, which has the 420th, 596th, 715th Regiments, and the 273rd Regiment. Mountain Infantry Regiment, 285th Light Artillery Regiment, 100th Tank Battalion. There is also the 44th Division, which has the 25th, 146th, and 305th Regiments, the 122nd Light Artillery Regiment, the 179th Howitzer Regiment, and the 312th Tank Battalion.
The structure of the Fourteenth Army is the best preserved, mainly because it has not encountered a large-scale war of attrition so far. The commander of the Fourteenth Army, Florov, has jurisdiction over the 14th Division, the 52nd Division and the 104th Mountain Division.
1. 14th Division, under the jurisdiction of the 135th, 325th, 143rd Regiment, and 241st Howitzer Regiment.
2. 52nd Division, under the jurisdiction of the 58th, 112th, and 205th Regiments, the 158th Artillery Regiment, the 208th Howitzer Regiment, the 411th Tank Battalion, and the 349th Tank Battalion.
3. The 104th Mountain Division has the 95th Regiment, the 217th Mountain Infantry Regiment, the 242nd Mountain Infantry Regiment, the 290th Artillery Regiment, and the 86th Tank Battalion.
In addition, after the Soviet army suffered setbacks, several troops were urgently dispatched from the Soviet Union, including the 88th Division of the 9th Army, a tank brigade of the Seventh Army, and a division of the Eighth Army. There are at least 400,000 Soviet troops gathered outside the Mannerheim Line.
The only troops Finland faced were nine infantry divisions plus the severely overstaffed Northern Combat Group, with about 130,000 troops.
When he arrived at the legendary Mannerheim Line of Defense, Colonel Michel Gabermeier realized that he had been fooled. Before arriving here, Colonel Michel Gabermeier imagined that this would make the Soviet Union What does this legendary line of defense look like when the army is helpless? But after actually seeing it, huge disappointment suddenly swept through Colonel Michel Gabermeier's mind.
"Can this line of defense be able to stop the Soviet army?" This is the question that Colonel Michel Gebermeier is asking now.
Although the entire Mannerheim Defense Line includes a support zone, a main defense zone, and a secondary defense zone, a rear defense zone is also built in the direction of Vipuri (Vyborg). The security zone extends from the original Finnish-Soviet border to the front of the main defense zone, with a depth of 25 to 65 kilometers. It has field forward positions and a large number of obstacles (stone pile villages, tree trunk deer villages, anti-tank trenches, cliffs, barbed wire fences, and minefields). etc.), and arranged in echelons to form a large and deep obstacle area, thereby enhancing the flexibility of the Finnish army's defense. The main defense zone stretches from Murira to Taipalai, with a total length of 135 kilometers and a maximum depth of 95 kilometers. It consists of 25 resistance hubs and is divided into two sections: 14 resistance hubs cover the direction of Vipuri. , 11 resistance hubs cover the direction of Kekesholm, with the fortifications in the direction of Vipuri being the strongest.
Each resistance hub has a frontage of 3.5 to 4 kilometers and a depth of 1.5 to 2 kilometers. It is based on a small number of reinforced concrete permanent shooting fortifications and is combined with field shooting fortifications and obstacles to form a ring defense system. The strength of the permanent garrison ranges from 1 company to 1 battalion, and its task is to block the main roads and lake passes.
The strongest permanent shooting fortifications can withstand direct hits from 203mm artillery shells, and some field shooting fortifications can withstand 122-152mm artillery shells. A field intermediate position was built between the resistance hubs. The second defense zone is 3 to 5 kilometers away from the main defense zone and mainly constructs field defenses. Diagonal positions were constructed in some areas between the second defense zone and the main defense zone. Only some field fortifications were constructed in the rear defense zone. Before the Soviet-Finnish War began, the Finnish army also set up additional minefields and destroyed railways and bridges that might be used by the Soviet army.
However, these things are far from enough in the eyes of Colonel Michel Gabermeier. Not to mention the materials for building the resistance hub, it cannot withstand the bombing of aircraft at all. Also, because the Mannerheim Line of Defense only has 66 machine gun bunkers, And in fact, of the 66 machine gun bunkers on the defense line, 44 were built in the 1920s, and their construction locations were all wrong.
There are four main categories of fixed fortifications. Resisting frontal fire near the front lines were concrete machine gun bunkers, each manned by four to five soldiers, that could only withstand damage from rifles and grenade shrapnel. Later on, there is a "medium" bunker manned by a sergeant and six soldiers, armored to withstand light artillery fire, and equipped with two machine guns capable of frontal and flank fire. . The main part of the strong front line defense was the "mere" fortification, which was manned by an officer and thirty to thirty-five soldiers, had deep underground entrances and separated small rooms, and was equipped with a ventilation system and Observation tower, with covered sections capable of withstanding medium-sized artillery fire. This fortification is equipped with more than four machine guns, mortars, flat-fire cannons and flamethrowers? launcher.
Even in the defense line built in the Czech Republic, a small country in Eastern Europe, machine gun bunkers are only the most basic defenses, "can only withstand damage from rifles and grenade shrapnel". Above them, there are "medium" bunkers and "pure" defenses. Fortifications and "fortification groups" mainly built underground, Finland's Mannerheim Line of Defense only has 66 basic machine gun bunkers, and there are not even many concrete structure fortifications. This kind of defense line can resist the Soviet army. It's strange.