Hardest of the Hardest Days - Winter War

11 FEBRUARY 1940, SUMMA, MANNERHEIM LINE Both sides spent the January for refitting and recovering from the losses of the bloody December. Soviet Army, now commanded by General Timoshenko, prepared for the assault operations dated for February. Timoshenko's plan was to drag the Finnish Army into a war of attrition that they cannot win. Therefore he concentrated nearly his entire hitting power into the narrow Karelian Isthmus to strike Mannerheim Line. The plan was attacking the Mannerheim Line in all sectors and applying overwhelming pressure over Finnish defenses and forcing Finnish High Command to commit their reserves into the attrition of trench warfare. The critical sector where Timoshenko was expecting the breakthrough was Summa and Lahde, the gateway to Viipuri. The Soviet 7th Army had concentrated 2/3 of it's forces on a 40 km wide front from Summa to Muolaa. This gave 3 infantry battalions and over 50 artillery pieces for each km. First ten days of the February passed with probing attacks into individual strong points and almost constant heavy artillery and air bombardment, wasn't seen since Verdun. The Soviet artillery fired 300.000 shells daily in the Summa area alone, turning the ground into a moonscape desert. Finnish artillery didn't react since they had strict orders to preserve ammunition for the major enemy offensives. On Sunday, February 11th, the morning was clear and the temperature was -20 Celsius. At 0840 hrs, a heavy artillery barrage started along the whole sector of the Finnish 3rd Division. Just before noon, the Soviet 100th division, supported with dozens of tanks, started the attack on the Summa sector. Veterans of the 7th Infantry Regiment was going to remember the day as the hardest of the hardest days.