Finnish advance in Finnish and Russian Karelia

Knight of the Mannerheim Cross Lieutenant Olli Remes of Infantry Regiment 54 (JR54)

Finland-Swedes of Finnish Infantry Regiment 61 (JR61) in Eastern Karelia

German tankers of Panzer-Abteilung 40 in Northern Karelia

Although initially deployed for a static defence, the Finnish Army launch an attack to the south, on both sides of Lake Ladoga, putting pressure on Leningrad and thus supporting the advance of the German Heeresgruppe Nord. The Finns created a military administration in occupied East Karelia with the goal of preparing the region for eventual incorporation into Finland. Finland's participation in the war brought major benefits to Germany. First, the Soviet fleet was blockaded in the Gulf of Finland, so that the Baltic was freed for training German submarine crews as well as for German shipping activities, especially the shipping of vital iron ore from northern Sweden and nickel from the Petsamo area. Second, the sixteen Finnish divisions tied down Soviet troops, put pressure on Leningrad, and cut one branch of the Murmansk Railroad. Third, Sweden was further isolated. Despite Finland's contributions to the German cause, the Western Allies had ambivalent feelings, torn between their residual goodwill for Finland and the need to support their vital ally, the Soviet Union. As a sop to the Soviet Union, Britain declared war on Finland, but the United States did not. At first, the U.S. empathised with the Finnish cause; however, the situation became problematic after Finnish troops crossed the 1939 border. Finnish and German troops were a threat to the Murmansk Railway and northern communication supply line between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union. Source: U.S. Library of Congress. Top image: Finnish Lieutenant and company commander of Infantry Regiment 54 (JR54) Olli Remes on the northern front. He had won a bronze medal in the 50 kilometers of the 1934 World Ski Championships in Sweden and a silver medal for military patrol skiing in the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. For bravery and promptness, Remes was promoted to Captain on December 29 1942 but fell two days later in the Kriv forests. Credit: Jussi Luostarinen. Middle image: men of the Finnish Infantry Regiment 61 (JR61) in a trench near the village of Shemenski on April 28 1942. The regiment consisted almost exclusively of Swedish speaking Finns. It has been the subject of several books, as well as a feature film Framom främsta linjen. Photo by Lieutenant T. Räisänen. Bottom image: German Panzertruppen from Panzer-Abteilung z.b.V. 40 with two Finnish officers in northern Karelia on October 15 1941. Its 2.Panzer-Kompanie were subordinated to SS-Kampfgruppe Nord for the attack to Alakurtti-Kantalahti direction. It was later subordinated to the Finnish III Corps. In April and May 1942 the Panzer battalion faced one of its toughest challenges near Kiestinki. During a period of three weeks, the 14th Soviet Army attacked, trying to destroy the whole corps in northern Karelia. Photo by Press photographer Sergeant Major Osvald Hedenström. Credit: Julius Backman Jääskeläinen. All photos: The Finnish Wartime Photograph Archive.