Tervaruukki

The world was in a political turmoil in the summer of 1941. Germany had long prepared an invasion of the Soviet Union and cajoled Finland to join the war as an ally. On June 16, President Risto Ryti issued an order for general mobilization under the guise of "additional refresher training.” Men from the municipality of Ilomantsi were assigned to the 24th Border Jaeger Company.

An anti-tank rock stands at Tervaruukki as a war memorial.

Mustering grounds of 24th Border Jaeger Company in 1941 and field training area.

The unit was mustered-in at Tervaruukki, an area that the military had used for field exercises for a long time before the war. The varying terrain served by a good communication network and characterized with multiple lakes and rivers was an ideal training environment for the Defense Forces, Frontier Guard and Civil Guard.

The company was deployed from Tervaruukki to the village of Möhkö to shore up border defenses. The area had seen fighting during the Winter War over a year previously, and the company commander, Major Viljo Kivikko, knew the terrain intimately.

When the Continuation War began on June 25, an order was issued for the immediate evacuation of Möhkö. This was the second time the villagers had to leave their homes – the first had been in the winter of 1939.

The company pushed toward the east and on July 7 crossed the Koitajoki River, which marked the post-Winter War border. An advance in the direction of Ontronvaara did not go as planned and cost the company 14 men killed in action.

No-one could at that time expect that a decisive battle in Ilomantsi would be fought on the same terrain three years later.