Page 181 - The Chief Culprit

142 y e Chief Culprit

forest is a rare occurrence.” Under normal conditions, it is difficult to pick out enemy troops
in a thick forest. But here, there was nothing to pick out—the Finns were under the snow,
underground. In the daylight, the smoke from their stoves could be observed only where they
wanted it to be seen, in decoy locations. But where is this daylight anyway?
e advancing armies could not go underground, because in December in Finland
the frozen ground is little different from granite. And the wounded did not need to be
dragged to the hospital, because in such extreme cold the wounded froze to death even with
relatively light blood loss. In 1944 the German Colonel General L. Rendulic fought in the
same regions:

In this forested and rocky zone the trees grow on disorderly piles of rock, which often
reach as high as the average person, and even higher. During the first reconnaissance
ventures, I sometimes attempted to stray from the path and penetrate the forest, but was
rarely successful. Most often this was possible only in a crawling fashion, on all fours. . . .
Movement through the rocks and between them is an extremely exhausting occupation.
Only on rare occasions was it possible to go around the rocks. Any movement by car, even
after the forest had been cleared, was out of the question. Even pack animals cannot pass
through. . . . Movement of troops and conduction of warfare in formations, applied in the
usual settings, are completely inappropriate here. e region of marshlands and swampy
forests is equally covered with trees. Movement through those areas is even more difficult
than through the rocky-forested area. 8

is impenetrable region was further fortified by obstacles, and anti-infantry and anti-
tank devices. Manmade obstacles were worked into the natural surroundings with great skill.
Streams and small rivers crisscrossed the region and had high cliffs for shores. e shores
were scarped. All bridges were blown up. All paths leading to the bridges were mined and
under constant fire by the snipers. Behind all this was the main defense line, seven to twelve
kilometers in depth.
But we know all this only now. Back then, the Soviet command knew none of this.
Behind the main line they once again found fortifications and another security pale, and
again minefields, barricades, and another fortified line.
e walls of the defense structures were concrete, one and a half to two meters thick.
e above-ground walls were covered by armored plates, and all this was buried under multi-
ton granite boulders and covered with soil. All was camouflaged and hidden. Above these
casemates rose tall, thick pine forests, which in turn were covered with snow. Machine gun-
ners, riflemen, and artillerymen were sitting behind the steel and concrete fortifications.
Deep embrasures dimmed the flashes of fire and dulled the bangs. e Finns fired at point-
blank range, while the advancing troops thought they were under long-range fire.
e Finns used cement of the brand “600” in the construction of their fortifications.
For every cubic meter of concrete, they used 95 kilograms of steel armature. Here are the
results: Soviet 280-mm mortar guns and 203-mm howitzers fired directly on the Finnish
strongpoint named “pillbox #0031.” ey used specially designed ammunition for firing on
9
concrete. A 203-mm shell for the B-4 howitzer weighs 100 kg. e 280-mm shell for the B-5
mortar weighs 246 kg. ere were 1,043 of the 203-mm shells and 116 of the 280-mm ones
fired at the pillbox #0031. Only after this did the pillbox cease to resist attack. One hundred
and thirty-two tons of shells for one pillbox!