The Last Agony - Winter War

30 DECEMBER 1939, LAKE KIANTAJARVI, NORTH OF SUOMUSSALMI Finnish raids, freezing weather and starvation destroyed most of the 163rd Rifle Division trapped in and around Suomussalmi village. Disorganized remnants of the division tried to escape to safety on the frozen Lake Kiantajarvi to the North of Suomussalmi. Finnish command reacted to the situation by organizing a raiding party under the command of Captain H. Kuistio. Kuistio's detachment was consisting of the elements from the III Battalion (JR64) which acted as the reserve of the JR27 during the battle of Suomussalmi. Captain Kuistio gathered a small group with comparatively high firepower. The detachment had sub-machine guns, heavy machine guns, one anti-tank gun and an AA machine gun. Finnish troops were loaded on the trucks and started the chase over the frozen surface of the lake Kiantajarvi. The detachment set out on the 30th and moved along the eastern shore. At noon they encountered a long Soviet column near the NorthEastern shores of the Lake Kiantajarvi. Finns drove towards the column. This move surprised the Russians since they probably never had seen Finnish troops mounted on trucks. Moving close to the column, Finns opened a murderous fire from close range. The Russian soldiers, already suffered heavily during the siege, had to endure a last agony before reaching to safety near the woods of the Kiantajarvi.