Mannerheim Line

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Mannerheim Line was a defensive fortification line on the Karelian Isthmus built by Finland against the Soviet Union. During the Winter War it became known as the Mannerheim Line, after Field Marshal C.G.E. Mannerheim. Some of the most fierce fighting of the Winter War took place on the line.

The Mannerheim Line streches from the Gulf of Finland to Lake Ladoga.

1 History
2 Trivia
3 See also
4 Further reading
5 External links

[edit] History

The first plans for a defensive line on the Karelian Isthmus were made after the Finnish Civil War by Carl Gustaf Mannerheim, but they were ignored when Mannerheim resigned after the war.

The line was constructed during the 1920s and 1930s. It ran from the coast of the Gulf of Finland through Summa to the Vuoksi River and ended at Taipale. It consisted of about two hundred machine gun positions made from concrete. The area around Summa was the most heavily fortified because it was thought to be the most vulnerable position. The first bunkers were built between 1921 and 1924. A second phase began in 1932, but was interrupted by the Winter War. On the coast of the Gulf of Finland the line was guarded by Fort Saarenpää and on the coast of Lake Ladoga (Laatokka) by Fort Järisevä. These coastal artillery positions had 5', 6' and 10' cannons.

Unlike the Maginot Line and other similar forts made with huge bunkers and lines of dragon's teeth, the Mannerheim Line was mostly built by utilizing the natural terrain. Many natural things such as fallen trees and huge boulders were used as defensive positions. The Finns also mastered camouflage techniques, which they put to use when building this defensive line.

The name Mannerheim Line was spread by foreign journalists and it was supposedly coined by Jorma Gallen-Kallela.

In the Winter War the Line halted the Soviet advance for two months. Fort Saarenpää was attacked by the Soviet Navy with battleships Marat and Oktoberskaya Revolutsiya several times in December 1939 and January 1940 but managed to claim artillery hits which forced the battleships to return to homeport.

During the Winter War both Finnish and Soviet propaganda considerably exaggarated the extent of fortifications in Mannerheim Line: former to improve morale within home front, latter to explain their troops' slow progress against Finnish defences. Consequently, the myth about 'heavily fortified' Mannerheim Line entered official Soviet war history and also some Western sources. However in reality, the vast majority of the Mannerheim Line was comprised merely of trenches and other field fortifications. Bunkers along the line were mostly small and thinly spread out, and the Line had hardly any artillery.

After the Winter War Soviet combat engineers destroyed the remaining installations. In the Continuation War the Line was not re-fortified although both Soviets and Finns used its natural benefits in defence during the Finnish advance in 1941 and the Soviet offensive in 1944.

[edit] Trivia

The amount of concrete used in the Mannerheim Line (14 520 cubic meters) is only slightly less than the amount used in Helsinki Opera House (15 500 cubic meters).