History 25/01/20 the Battle of Hogland: the way the Russians and the Finns destroyed the troops of Hitler
15 September 1944 there was a battle for the island of Hogland. This was the first joint military action of the Soviet Union and Finland against Germany, which a week ago was an ally of the Finns against the Soviet Union. The role of the red army in the battle ambiguous, as does the Union of Moscow and Helsinki.
Finland – from enemy to allies
27 March 1942 Finnish troops, having the advantage in manpower and with full artillery superiority, stormed the Soviet fortifications on the island of Hogland. In the result, the Red Army left the position, retreating to the island Powerful. In the summer of 1944 the balance of forces has changed. The red Army successfully attacked and the Finns inflicted several major defeats on the Karelian isthmus. Finnish troops were pushed back beyond the state border of the USSR, and in Helsinki realized that the Russian victory was a matter of time.
2 Sep 1944 Finnish government warned Berlin that terminates its participation in the war and concludes with the Soviet Union truce. Two days later, Helsinki and Moscow signed an agreement on a cease-fire. 19 September, the Soviet Union, Finland and the UK concluded a truce by results of which the Soviet Union has moved 10% of the territories of Suomi. The Finns also made a commitment to launch military action against Germany. Hitler understood the seriousness of the situation and ordered the headquarters of the Wehrmacht to think about our response.
as a result, the Germans prepared a plan for “Eastern spruce” (Tanne Ost), involves the occupation of a strategically important Finnish territory. Special attention was paid to the capture of the island of Hogland, which you can use to control the situation in the Gulf and block the action of the Baltic fleet of the USSR. 14 Sep 1944, in port of Tallinn on minesweepers and landing ships sank 2700 German soldiers and sailors. The ships headed towards the strategically importantwow the island, which was defended by Finnish troops 1611.
German troops
At midnight on 15 September, the German minesweepers arrived in the docks on the Eastern shore of the island. The commander of Wehrmacht captain Karl-Conrad Mecca demanded from the Finnish command to transfer the management of Googledom. The commander of the garrison Colonel Miettinen refused, and the Germans proceeded to the landing. At 00:55 on 15 September, the Finnish garrison began firing. Continuous artillery fire prevented the Germans to go ashore, and a third of the troops remained on the ships.
Despite the loss, the Wehrmacht troops were able to land on the beach South of the docks on the Eastern side of the island. But the Finns managed to organize the defense and not allow the enemy to expand the bridgehead. As soon as the information about the battle between the former allies became known to the Soviet command, it is immediately sent to help the Finns aviation, which decided the outcome of the battle. The Soviet Union could not allow the appearance of the Germans on the island had strategic importance.
Soviet Il attacked the German barges and prevent the landing of all the troops. On the morning of 15 September the captain of the Wehrmacht Karl-Conrad Makkah requested on the radio for a backup, aviation and artillery units, but there was no answer. At daybreak the remnants of the German troops returned to the ships and retreated to Tallinn. This was the first joint military action of the Soviet Union and Finland, which just a week ago, fought on the German side. During the assault on Hogland killed 153 German soldier, and 1231 soldier was captured. Finnish garrison lost 150 soldiers.
the debate about the main role in the victory
the Finns disagreed with the statement that the Soviet air force was the main factor in the successful reflection of German troops. From their point of view, the bombers attacked the already departing from the island of enemy ships, so the real winner was the Finnish garrison under the command of Colonel Miettinen, who did not let the Germans into Hogland. Navy of Finlandruled in support of garrison motor torpedo boats, which at 03:30 attacked the German ships and managed to sink the torpedo motor minesweeper R-29.
According to Soviet sources, for the whole day, our bombers made 500 missions and sank six amphibious ships and several tugs, and the German air force has shot down three Soviet ground attack, while they themselves lost a dozen aircraft. The Finns also believe that red 36 attack aircraft were able to sink only one German barge, and the other destroyed ships landing – the merit of their coastal artillery. Thus, there were two different opinions regarding the major battles in Northern Europe. The Finns see it as almost the sole defeat former ally, and the Russians don’t want to diminish its contribution to this operation.
Alexander Brazhnik
Source:
© Russian Seven
see also: editor’s choice, “Russian Seven”thieves in law on the eve of the Olympics-80 struggled with prestupnostiu Rommel: what was the best commander Galeriara Black devil in Khakassia: the most mysterious place in Sibirica special in men who are born only sinovialnaya article also Listen to the podcast “the Russian Seven”. Share: Comments Comments on the article “the Battle of Hogland: the way the Russians and the Finns destroyed the troops of Hitler” Please log in to leave a comment! br>
Share on Tumblr
