11 FEBRUARY 1940, MUOLAA CHURCH, MANNERHEIM LINE
When Timoshenko's February Offensive started there was no quiet sector at the Mannerheim Line from the Gulf of Finland to Taipale River. However the heaviest blow fell on the Summa Sector. On the left flank near Muolaa Lake the Soviet pressure was not cataclysmic as Summa or Lahde but it was bad enough for the defenders. The strongest position in Muolaa was a Lutherian Churchyard near the banks of the Lake Kirkkojarvi. Finnish trenches scattered along the forests surrounding the church and the graveyard behind a stonewall.
Russian artillery had been pounding the area for several days. However the pressure grew severe on the morning of February 11. After a brief bombardment, Russian tanks, supported by infantry and sappers started their advance. Finns had no antitank gun in the area and men defending the Muolaa position had only grenade clusters and Molotov cocktails to throw against the steel monsters.
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