The Battle of Tali–Ihantala (June 25 to July 9, 1944) was part of the Finnish-Soviet Continuation War (1941–1944), which occurred during World War II. The battle was fought between Finnish forces—using war materiel provided by Germany—and Soviet forces. To date, it is the largest battle in the history of the Nordic countries.
The battle marked a point in the Soviet offensive when the Finnish forces first prevented the Soviets from making any significant gains. Earlier at Siiranmäki and Perkjärvi the Finns had halted advancing Soviet forces. The Finnish forces achieved a defensive victory against overwhelming odds.
After the Soviets had failed to create any breakthroughs at Tali–Ihantala, Vyborg Bay, or Vuosalmi, the Soviet Leningrad Front started the previously planned transfer of troops from the Karelian Isthmus to support the Narva offensive, where they were encountering particularly fierce resistance. Though the Leningrad Front failed to advance into Finland as ordered by the Stavka, some historians state that the offensive did eventually force Finland from the war.
After the initial Finnish advance of 1941, the Continuation War was stabilized to trench warfare with very little activity on either side. When the Siege of Leningrad was lifted in January 1944, the Stavka received orders to plan an offensive against Finland to push it out of the war.
The Soviet attack on the Finnish front commenced on the Karelian Isthmus on June 9, 1944, (coordinated with the Allied Invasion of Normandy). Three Soviet armies were pitted there against the Finns, among them several experienced Guard formations.
The attack soon breached the Finnish front line of defence in Valkeasaari on June 10, and the Finnish forces retreated to their secondary defence line, the VT-line (which ran between Vammelsuu and Taipale). The Soviet attack was supported by a massive artillery barrage, air bombardments, and armoured forces.
The VT-line was breached in Sahakylä and Kuuterselkä on June 14; and after a failed counterattack in Kuuterselkä by the Finnish armoured division, the Finnish defence had to be pulled back to the VKT-line (Viipuri – Kuparsaari – Taipale).
The abandonment of the VT-line was followed by a week of retreat and delaying battles. The Soviet offensive was crowned when the city of Viipuri (Russian: Vyborg) was captured by the Soviets on June 20 after only a short battle. Despite the Red Army's great success in smashing two Finnish defense lines and capturing a substantial piece of territory in just ten days, it had failed to destroy the Finnish army which was able to concentrate its depleted forces on the VKT-line, and had time to get reinforcements from the other main front north of Lake Ladoga.
Baron Mannerheim, Marshal of Finland,
Finnish commander in chief, had asked for German help on June 12, and on June 16 the Flight Detachment Kuhlmey (a composite ad hoc wing of about 70 dive bombers and ground attack fighters, with a fighter and an air transport component) arrived in Finland. A few days later the battalion-sized 303 Assault Gun Brigade and the 122nd Division Greif also arrived; but after that the Germans offered only supplies, the most important of which were Panzerfaust anti-tank weapons. During one engagement the Finns destroyed 25 Soviet tanks with the Panzerfaust weapons.
On June 21 the Stavka ordered the Leningrad Front to breach the defensive line and advance to Lake Saimaa.
On June 21 the Finnish government asked the Soviets about the possibility for peace and accompanying Soviet conditions. The Soviet response arrived on June 23; it demanded a signed statement to the effect that Finland was ready to surrender and was asking for peace, but the Finnish government rejected this.
German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop arrived on June 22 and demanded a guarantee that Finland would fight to the end as a precondition of continued German military support. President Ryti gave this guarantee as a personal undertaking.
On average the strength of the Finnish infantry division was 13,300 men, Armoured Division 9,300 and Brigade 6,700–7000 men. With other troops (at least 4 other battalions), Corps/HQ artillery battalions, AA batteries etc. Finnish ground forces during last days of battle were actually near around 100,000 and not 50,000.
Luftwaffe Detachment Kuhlmey (Oberstleutnant Kurt Kuhlmey) arrived in Finland on June 16 (x 23–43 Fw 190A-6/F-8 fighters and ground attack aircraft, x 24–30 Junkers Ju 87D Stukas and x 1–8 Bf 109G-8 reconnaissance fighters)
Sturmgeschütz Brigade 303 (Hauptmann Hans-Wilhelm Cardeneo) arrived in Finland on June 22 (x 22 Sturmgeschütz III Ausf. G assault guns, x 9 StuH 42 assault howitzers)
The Soviet forces that took part in the battle belonged to the Soviet Leningrad Front under Marshal Leonid Govorov's command.
Soviet 21st Army (Dmitry Gusev) (Tali–Ihantala region) attacked;