Battle of Honkaniemi

1940 CE.

Shown on the map at 60.650°, 28.783°.

The Battle of Honkaniemi was fought between Finnish and Soviet forces on 26 February 1940. This battle was notable for being fought by tanks, the only time they were used en masse in combat by Finnish forces in the Winter War. The commander of the Finnish II Corps, General Harald Öhquist, had attached the Jaeger Battalion 3 and the 4th company of the Armoured Battalion to the 23rd Division. The 23rd was responsible for the area around Lake Näykkijärvi, just to the southeast of Viipuri, the second largest town in Finland. Also, the 3rd Battalion of the 67th Infantry Regiment that was on loan to the 5th division arrived as well, giving the reinforcement that the commander of the 23rd Division, Colonel Voldemar Oinonen, needed to launch an attack against the Soviets. At 10:15 pm, the commander of the Jaeger Battalion 3, Captain I. Kunnas and Lieutenant O. Heinonen of the 4th Armoured Company received orders to attack. According to Chew, "It was here, near the small station of Honkaniemi, that the Finns launched their first and only armored attack.

Text from the Wikipedia article Battle of Honkaniemi, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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