Suojoki River

The decisive engagements during the initial phase of the battles of late July and early August 1944 took place in a 40 kilometers wide and 30 kilometers deep area around and behind the bridge that spanned the small Suojoki River and formed the central sector of Ilomantsi front when measured along the present-day border.

A car park is built next to the Suojoki bridge. Driving toward Ruukinpohja (road to the right) is not recommended. 

Central sector of battlefront in Ilomantsi in 1944.

On the last day of July, the 1st Jaeger Battalion began to advance from the vicinity of the bridge toward Ruukinpohja, flanked by the 6th Jaeger Battalion a short distance away to the south.

The Finnish air force supported the combat in several ways. The nearest fighter airfield was in Värtsilä, which was ceded to the Soviet Union in the fall of 1944. The the main wartime bomber base was at Onttola near Joensuu.

Distance from Suojoki to Värtsilä and Onttola is 75 and 90 kilometers respectively. This meant that transit times to the front line were short, which enabled a quick and effective response during the crucial moments of the battle.

An air combat was fought on August 9 east of Lake Ilajanjärvi. Five Messerschmitt fighters from Värtsilä engaged Ilyushin Il-2 ground attack aircraft that were strafing Finnish troops. The Ilyushins were escorted by Kittyhawk fighters.

Messerschmitts shot down two of the Ilyushins. One of the pilots, Captain Veikko Ala-Panula, described the encounter:

“We engaged a gaggle of five KHs and five Il-2s east of Ilajanjärvi. The fighters went to a climb, and I got an opportunity to dive straight on one of the Il-2s. I fired three bursts, and the plane entered a steep dive. When I pulled up in a right-hand turn, I saw a huge fireball erupt on my left. Ownship MT-232.”

The Ilyushin crashed at Longonvaara near Ilaja five kilometers northwest of the Suojoki bridge within the present-day Finnish border zone. Another enemy aircraft was shot down on the Russian side of the border.

These victories were of historical significance because they were the last kills claimed by Finnish fighter pilots in the Continuation War.

An explorer of the Ilomantsi battlegrounds trail will find the car park built next to the Suojoki bridge in the middle of wilderness an excellent spot for a short break.

Driving toward Ruukinpohja is not recommended. No signs of battlefields or traces of the war are visible from the road, which ends on the border zone.

Entry into the border zone is strictly forbidden without a special permit from the Finnish Border Guard.