Äyräpää Church ETO (id:#57234)

Critical Hit (Finland At War Vol I: Jatkosota ID: FAW7)   [next]   [previous]

Äyräpää, Finland 1944-07-07 (8 others)

Overview:

The Äyräpää battlefield, made famous during the Winter War, again became the scene of intense combat during the Soviet 1944 offensive on the Karelian Isthmus. The Finns set up their defenses on the southern side of the River Vuoksi, to take advantage of the hills that dominated the otherwise flat landscape. Their bridgehead held for some two weeks before the enemy managed to carve the defenders into two separate pockets. At 0200 hours on 7 July, ten Russian assault guns crept forward to attack the eastern side of the bridgehead. A general retreat was called and the Finns pulled back across the Vuoksi. All the Finns, that is, except those lead by Captain Talvitie, centered around the defense of the shattered Äyräpää church.

Defender: Finnish (Mixed elements of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment and the 25th Independent Battalion)  

Errata (source)