Story 0098 February 19 1940
February 19, 1940 Karelia
1,500,0000 shells, 60,000 men wounded, 26,232 men dead, 400 tanks not recoverable, 175 bombers destroyed. The Red Army had bled hard.
They won.
The Mannerheim line was broken.
Over the past ten days, the defenders never had a chance to rest. They never had a chance to recover. They never had a chance.
The II Corps pulled back ten miles to a secondary defensive position. The corps was a fractured remnant. It’s heavy artillery battalions had been plastered by Soviet airstrikes. Finnish Fiat fighters tried to protect the heavy guns, but they were swarmed by I-16 fighters. Mines, snipers and engineers with plentiful explosives delayed the Soviet pursuit, buying the exhausted corps time to re-entrench.
Diplomats were already in discussions in Stockholm to end the war. The Finnish Army was still willing but increasing unable to fight.
1,500,0000 shells, 60,000 men wounded, 26,232 men dead, 400 tanks not recoverable, 175 bombers destroyed. The Red Army had bled hard.
They won.
The Mannerheim line was broken.
Over the past ten days, the defenders never had a chance to rest. They never had a chance to recover. They never had a chance.
The II Corps pulled back ten miles to a secondary defensive position. The corps was a fractured remnant. It’s heavy artillery battalions had been plastered by Soviet airstrikes. Finnish Fiat fighters tried to protect the heavy guns, but they were swarmed by I-16 fighters. Mines, snipers and engineers with plentiful explosives delayed the Soviet pursuit, buying the exhausted corps time to re-entrench.
Diplomats were already in discussions in Stockholm to end the war. The Finnish Army was still willing but increasing unable to fight.