Page 412 - Le Operazioni Interforze e Multinazionali nella Storia Militare - ACTA Tomo I

412 XXXIX Congresso della CommIssIone InternazIonale dI storIa mIlItare • CIHm

important subordinate of the Su-
preme commander was assigned
to command on the Bay of Vyborg
Front underlines just how desper-
ate the situation was.
A great number of new staffs
were created in the final two
weeks of the war and all of them
were not capable of functioning
efficiently. The chain of com-
mand became heavy and contro-
versial. The foremost units were
not always aware of their attached
troops. On some places on the
islands and the mainland, iso-
lated campaigns were conducted,
where the units were unaware of
the locations of the neighbouring
units or the overall development
8
of the front.
The fundamental causes as to why the defender failed in the organisation of his de-
fensive and the conduct of battle on the Bay of Vyborg, both in the archipelago and on
the coast, include especially inadequately organised command structures and communi-
cations, which are firmly interrelated as explanatory factors. 9
The Russians managed to create a strong bridgehead on the mainland in the last week
of the war and to cut off Helsinki-Vyborg main highway. The Russians were unable to
breach the Finnish resistance decisively at the Bay of Vyborg front before peace came
th
into effect on March 13 . However, the defender was at the very limits of his endurance
and no reserves with high combat efficiency could be transferred to the area. 10

8 Esim. Liite (numeroimaton) JR 11:n kirj. n:o 270/III/62. National Archives. P 4158:6; Liite n:o 5 I/JR 11:n
rannikkotaistelukertomukseen. SArk. P 4158:6; Lentolaivue 12:n sotapäiväkirja (war diary) 12.3.1940.
Lentolaivue 12:n sotapäiväkirja (war diary) 16. 1. - 7.4.1940. National Archives. Spk 2319.
9 Liiteet n:o 1 ja 6 JR 11:n kirj. n:o 270/III/63. National Archives. P 4158:6; Liite n:o 5 I/JR 11:n
rannikkotaistelukertomukseen (war diary). National Archives. P 4158:6; Os. Jussilan taistelukertomus
(war diary)18. 2.-13.3.1940. National Archives. P 4158:6; Todellisuus ja Harhat - Kannaksen taistelut
ja suomalaisten joukkojen tila talvisodan lopussa 1940 (Reality and Illusions: The Battles in the Karelian
Isthmus and the Condition of the Finnish Troops at the End of the Winter War in 1940) See also English
summary. Helsinki 1999, passim.; Olisiko taisteluja pystytty jatkamaan? Suomalaisten tilanne Kannaksella
talvisodan lopussa 1940 (Could the fight have been continued? The Finn’s situation on the Karelian Isthmus
at the End of the Winter War in 1940) See also English summary. Journal of Military History 19 (Jyväskylä
2000), 128-174
10 Todellisuus ja Harhat - Kannaksen taistelut ja suomalaisten joukkojen tila talvisodan lopussa 1940 (Reality
and Illusions: The Battles in the Karelian Isthmus and the Condition of the Finnish Troops at the End of the
Winter War in 1940) See also English summary (Helsinki 1999), passim.