Lake Taivallampi

Taivallampi memorial.

Winter War battle site where enemy battalion that had penetrated defenders’ front line was annihilated.

A decisive battle was fought on December 13 and 14 near Lake Taivallampi ten kilometers from Ilomantsi parish village. Meanwhile, six kilometers to the north of the village, the enemy had reached Kallioniemi but was also being held in check by the defenders.

The situation began to change when Russian troops crossed frozen Lake Karpanjärvi to penetrate into the defenders’ rear. This was confirmed when a well-trodden footpath leading in the direction of Taivallampi was discovered on nearby Karpansuo bog in the morning of December 14.

The 11th Independent Battalion, which had recently been involved in heavy fighting, was bivouacking near Taivallampi. Its commander, Captain Viljo Kivikko, was ordered to seek out and destroy the infiltrators.

The Soviets’ position was revealed when they opened fire at a supply train heading toward Oinassalmi at 1400 hours on December 14 near Taivallampi. All telephone lines rigged in the area were simultaneously cut off.

The situation was becoming critical. The predicament was aggravated by intense fighting around Lake Mölkälampi in the immediate vicinity of Oinassalmi.

The 11th Battalion received support from Colonel Per Ole Ekholm, who immediately began to build up a task force to counter the enemy attack. He quickly assembled from the men of his staff, from an artillery unit and quartermaster troops, and from elements of the 11th Battalion a force of 200 men and threw it against the Russians in the evening of December 14.

A significant contribution to the battle came from Kivikko’s two companies from the 11th Battalion that had advanced toward the north, skirting Lake Kortelampi located to the east of Taivallampi, and succeeded in encircling the enemy’s main body.

These companies put up fierce fighting that lasted through the night. Next morning at 0600 hours, Kivikko reported that two enemy battalions had been practically annihilated and the road connection from Oinassalmi to the parish village was restored.

Enemy forces that held the terrain in nearby Muokonniemi were also defeated. Therefore, on December 15, Ekholm decided to send patrols to scour the forests and engage any remaining straggler groups.

An event that occurred near Lake Ravajärvi a few kilometers from Taivallampi on December 16 is considered to mark the end of the battle of Taivallampi. A patrol led by Sergeant Pynnönen, who had already been in many tight spots, stumbled on an enemy force slogging in deep snow. A murderous volley from submachine guns cut down the Russians to the last man.

The casualties included one captain, one sub-lieutenant and 15 non-commissioned officers and men. The highest-ranking officer was identified as Captain Koslov, the commander of the battalion that had been formed for the attack in Taivallampi area. Koslov and his staff had abandoned their men and were attempting to escape through the tree-choked wilderness.

It is commonly estimated that 600 Red Army troops were involved in the battle of Taivallampi. Less than 40 of them became prisoners-of-war. The attacking force was decimated almost to the last man. Only a few stragglers are believed to have made contact with other Russian forces.

The Finns held Oinassalmi–Kallioniemi line until the end of the Winter War on March 13, 1940.

The Red Army was generally ill-equipped with camp gear such as cardboard or canvas tents and field stoves. 

The Finns’ successes at Taivallampi and on the other fronts of the Winter War were a sum of multiple factors. The Red Army was generally ill-equipped with camp gear such as cardboard or canvas tents and field stoves. Many troops were unaccustomed to winter conditions with snow and sub-zero temperatures, at least to an extent that would have been needed for survival in forested terrain in wintertime.

With the exception of a small number of special units, the Russians also lacked skis and skiing skills. Submachine guns, except for a limited number of prototypes, were not issued to the Red Army during the Winter War.

The supply of hand grenades included type m/14 munitions that had a tendency to detonate at the moment they left the soldier's hand and were therefore not used. Large numbers of unused m/14s were found in the vicinity of Taivallampi well into the 1980s, the biggest stockpile including over 40 grenades.

A memorial stone engraved with the date of the battle, i.e., December 14 to 16, stands on the shore of Taivallampi. A wooden Orthodox cross has been erected beside the memorial to honor the fallen members of the denomination, almost all of whom were Red Army soldiers. They are buried in unmarked graves in nearby forests.

An information board in the car park depicts the battle of lake Taivallampi.