61st Infantry Regiment (Finland)

61st Infantry Regiment (Finland)
61st Infantry Regiment insignia
Active	17 June 1941 – 15 November 1944
Country	Republic of Finland
Branch	Finnish Army
Type	Regiment
Role	Infantry
Part of	Finnish 17th Division
Engagements	Continuation War
Commanders
Notable commanders	Col Martin Berg Lt Col Nils Roos Col Alpo K. Marttinen

The Finnish 61st Infantry Regiment (IR61) was a combat regiment of the 17th division of the Finnish Army during the Second World War, consisting almost exclusively of Swedish speaking Finns. Among others, the regiment participated in the battle of Tienhaara. The regiment has been the subject of several books, as well as a feature film Framom främsta linjen. In 1980, Lieutenant general A. E. Martola opined: "Honestly, this regiment saved Finland during the midsummer weekend 1944, even if only temporarily."

The Continuation War (Finnish: jatkosota, Swedish: fortsättningskriget, 25 June 1941 – 19 September 1944) was the second of two wars fought between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II. Acts of war between the Soviet Union and Finland started on 22 June 1941, the day Germany launched its invasion of the Soviet Union. Open warfare started with a Soviet air offensive on 25 June. Subsequent Finnish operations undid its post-Winter War cessations on the Karelian Isthmus and Ladoga Karelia, and captured East Karelia by September 1941. On the Karelian Isthmus, the Finns froze their offensive 30 km from Leningrad, where the pre-World War II border of the Soviet Union and Finland ran. Even though Hitler repeatedly asked the Finns to attack Leningrad the Finns did not attack the city, yet they passively participated in the siege by holding their pre-World War II land for two and a half years on the Karelian Isthmus.