Karl Lennart Oesch - Continuation War

Continuation War

At the start of the Continuation War in June 1941 Oesch's army corps became the IV Army Corps. Its mission was to advance into southern Karelian Isthmus. But Mannerheim gave priority to Lieutenant General Erik Heinrichs’s Army of Karelia, which advanced into northern Karelia north of Lake Ladoga. Oesch didn’t get the permission to go into offensive until 20 August 1941, almost two months after the start of the war. Oesch and his chief of staff Colonel Valo Nihtilä decided to start the attack two days later.

Once the IV Army Corps's offensive started, it made rapid progress. But Oesch became overstressed with work, and was forced to take a fortnight’s sick leave on 25 August 1941. However, on Nihtilä’s request Oesch returned already on 30 August 1941, as Oesch’s deputy Major General Taavetti Laatikainen neglected his new duties. On the previous day IV Army Corps's forces had entered Viipuri, the second largest city of pre-1939 Finland. But Oesch’s greatest triumph was still to come.

In the last days of August 1941 Oesch’s forces closed elements of three Soviet divisions (43rd, 115th and 123rd Rifle Divisions) in a pocket in Porlampi, south of Viipuri. Although part of the Red Army troops were able to escape (leaving all their heavy equipment behind), on 1 September 1941 the remaining troops began to surrender. Finns took 9,325 POWs, among them commander of 43rd Rifle Division Major General Vladimir Kirpichnikov. Some 7,500 fallen Red Army soldiers were buried in the battlefield, and great booty taken. At the cost of less than 3,000 casualties, Oesch had won the greatest victory in Finland’s military history. However, around this time Oesch gave a controversial order that resulted in him being tried and condemned as a war criminal after the war (see below).

In March 1942 Finnish forces were reorganized into three groups. Oesch was given the command of Olonets Group in the Olonets Isthmus between lakes Onega and Ladoga. Almost immediately in April 1942 he had to face a strong Soviet attack which was decisively beaten in ten days of battle. As the war progressed, it became increasingly clear Germany will lose the war, and Finns have to find a way out. Oesch was preoccupied with planning the fortification and defense of his front, but kept a worried eye on the developments elsewhere.

The Red Army offensive in Karelian Isthmus started on 9 June 1944, and broke through the Finnish main defense position on the next day. There was no unified command at place, and this was soon recognized as a serious flaw in the Finnish organisation. On the morning of 14 June 1944 Oesch received a call from Lieutenant General Aksel Airo: "In the Isthmus everything is going to hell. Go get there on orders by the Commander-in-Chief, the army corps are yours. Laatikainen is somewhere around Viipuri." Oesch was given the title Commander of the Isthmus Forces, and a staff was gathered to serve under him. For the second time Oesch was sent to take over a critical part of front, and this time it was the most critical ever. A decisive Soviet breakthrough in the Karelian Isthmus would probably have meant occupation and Finland becoming a Soviet satellite after the war.

Despite the loss of Viipuri on 20 June 1944, Oesch was able to pull the Finnish forces together. New divisions and brigades were sent to reinforce the Isthmus and Bay of Viipuri, and finally Oesch had under his command three army corps (III, IV and V), fully two thirds of the whole Finnish Army manpower. The triple defensive victories of Tali-Ihantala, Bay of Viipuri and Vuosalmi followed. Already during the Tali-Ihantala Oesch had been awarded the coveted Mannerheim Cross on 26 June 1944. He remained Commander of the Isthmus Forces until October 1944, a month after the end of the Continuation War.

Oesch had a very impressive record during the war, but he felt that his achievements weren't fully recognized. Mannerheim never promoted him a full general. Mannerheim recognized Oesch’s abilities, but Oesch never was one of his favorites. Mannerheim trusted most the men he himself had made, and Oesch, who had held very high posts already in peace-time, was not one of them.