Battle of Raate Road

Battle of Raate Road
Part of the Winter War
Fragment of the destroyed Soviet column on the road
Date January 1–7, 1940 Location Eastern Finland Result Finnish victory
Belligerents
Finland	Soviet Union
Commanders and leaders
Hjalmar Siilasvuo	Alexei Vinogradov
Strength
About 10,000 in total	Officially 13,962–25 000
Casualties and losses
402 killed according to Finnish estimates	Est. at least 7,000–9,000 killed according to Finnish estimates 1,300 captured

The Battle of Raate Road was a battle fought during the Winter War between the Soviet Union and Finland in January 1940, as a part of the Battle of Suomussalmi.

On December 7, 1939, the Soviet 163rd Rifle Division captured Suomussalmi, but found itself trapped deep inside Finnish territory, and the Soviet 44th Rifle (Ukrainian) Division was sent to aid the 163rd. Over the next week, Colonel Hjalmar Siilasvuo's outnumbered 9th Division stopped and decisively defeated the Soviet forces on the Raate-Suomussalmi road. Finnish motti tactics proved to be very effective in this battle.

During the battle of Suomussalmi, the Finns cut the Raate road on December 11, 1939. The action blocked the second, southern supply route to the Soviet 163rd Rifle Division in the town of Suomussalmi. The Finns also cut the first, northern supply route on 13 December, and the Soviets were forced to open a new supply route through Lake Kiantajärvi. The 163rd Division was nearly surrounded and suffered major casualties in Suomussalmi. The situation was getting worse, and on 20 December the commander of the 163rd Division, Andrei Zelentsov, asked permission to retreat from Suomussalmi. In response, part of the 44th Division, the 1st Battalion of the 305th Rifle Regiment, and the 3rd Battalion of the 662nd Rifle Regiment, were sent to reinforce the 163rd Division troops near Suomussalmi. Zelentsov's concerns were not understood at Red Army headquarters, as the entire 44th Division was about to move along the Raate road. The well trained Soviet 81st Mountain Rifles Regiment played a major role in the battle for Suomussalmi.

Most military historians date the battle of the Raate road from 1 January to 7 January 1940. The Raate road was a battlefield during the entire Winter War. Before the main battle against the 44th Division, the Finns fought defensive battles against a part of 163rd Division on the Raate road. Furthermore, some battles were fought on the east side, near the border, on the road during the rest of the Winter War.

At the start of the battle of Raate road, Siilasvuo's 9th Division had already destroyed the Soviet 163rd Division. After that, it received orders to destroy the Soviet 44th Division, which was stopped on the road near Haukila, 12 kilometers from Suomussalmi. The Finnish 9th Division was split in four squadrons, each named after their commanders. The decisive battle was ordered to begin on January 5, 1940, 08:30.

...
Wikipedia