On the Kuhmo front, the troops of the Finnish 9th Division’s Detached Battalion 14 (Er.P 14) fought, initially composed mainly of men from Kuhmo and Sotkamo. Later, reinforcements arrived from places such as Suomussalmi and Ostrobothnia. Er.P 14 was first under the North Karelia Group and, from December 1, 1939, under the Northern Finland Group.
Hostilities began in Kuhmo on November 30, 1939, at 9:45 a.m. at Laamasenvaara in Saunajärvi. One of the border guards delivering the evacuation order to the residents of Ala-Laamanen was killed. The youngest son of the household also died, and the family members present were taken as prisoners of war, returning only after the war ended. Laamasenvaara served as a Soviet base throughout the Winter War, and they even built a winter road there.
The Soviet forces advanced along two fronts, using the roads from Saunajärvi and Hukkajärvi. In 1939, there was no Vetko road between Lammasperä and Saunajärvi. On the Lammasperä side, the troops advancing via Hukkajärvi and Kiekinkoski to Vääräjoki and further to Tyrävaara were stopped on December 17, 1939. The Finns drove the retreating Soviet forces back across the eastern border.
The closest the Soviets came to the parish village was about 10 km away, at Tyrävaara in Lammasperä and Jyrkänkoski in Rasti.
On the Saunajärvi front, Finnish Er.P 14 troops engaged in combat at Loso on December 1, 1939, and at Alasenjärvi on December 2, 1939. Advancing north of Alasenjärvi, the Soviets broke through Finnish defenses at Louhenjoki on December 5, 1939, then moved to the Rasti crossroads on December 6, 1939. The furthest they advanced was in the Jyrkänkoski area, where Finnish troops fighting delaying actions withdrew on December 11–12, 1939. No major battles occurred at Jyrkänkoski itself, but fierce fighting took place for control of nearby Hotakanvaara. A combat group of about 200 men managed to flank to Särkijärvi, where the first artillery battery to arrive on the Kuhmo front drove the enemy back.
After reorganizing the troops, the Finnish 9th Division launched a counterattack on January 29, 1940. The Finns succeeded in cutting Soviet supply routes and encircling units into mottis. From then on, the war continued as motti battles.
The Soviets supplied the mottis by air. The Rasti motti maintained its defensive capability until the end of the war. The Reuhkavaara motti was destroyed on February 25, 1940, with satchel charges and machine guns. The Kenraalimotti at Luelahden and its eastern section were captured. The Kannas and Loso mottis and the western Luelahti motti remained uncaptured.
The Saunajärvi road ended at Riihivaara, where the Soviets had strong positions and controlled the road with artillery. The Soviets also had air superiority. Several ski detachments arrived to assist the encircled troops, the most famous being Dolin’s Ski Brigade, nearly 2,000 men strong. The brigade was almost completely annihilated in the Kesseli–Kälkänen area in February 1940.
The heaviest fighting for the Finns in the Kuhmo sector took place at Kilpelänkangas in Saunajärvi and in the Löytövaara area. The Kuusijoki line broke on March 3, 1940, forcing Finnish troops to retreat to Löytövaara, where they held their positions until the end of the war.
The guns fell silent on March 13, 1940, at 11:00 a.m.
Units stationed in Kuhmo during the Winter War
| 8.10.1939 | The commander of the training troops who arrived in Kuhmo from Kajaani was Lieutenant Colonel Frans Ilomäki, district chief of the Kainuu Civil Guard District. He served as the commander of Er.P 14 until November 30, 1939. |  |
| From 30.11.1939 | Captain Matti Murole commanded Er.P 14. Captain Matti Murole (right) and his brother Paavo. Before the counterattack, the brothers made an oral will at the Jämäs barracks, witnessed by their cousin V.O. Kanninen. Photo of this occasion. Photographer: Veikko O. Kanninen |
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| 1.12.1939 | Kuhmo’s troops were separated from Colonel Erkki Raappana’s North Karelia Group to form their own unit, Group Ilomäki. | |
| 22.1.1940 | Colonel Hjalmar Siilasvuo arrived in Kuhmo from Suomussalmi. Starting in January 1940, Siilasvuo directed the Kuhmo battles from the Jämäks barracks. Most of Siilasvuo’s troops from Suomussalmi were transferred in January 1940 to the Kuhmo front and to Ladoga Karelia. Colonel Hjalmar Fridolf Siilasvuo (1892–1947), commander of the 9th Division. Photographed in Hyrynsalmi (SA). |
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| 23.1.1940 | Lieutenant Colonel Frans Ilomäki’s troops were placed under the command of Colonel Siilasvuo. | |
| 28.1.1940 | Brigade Vuokko was placed under the command of Colonel Siilasvuo. |
Kuhmo mottis in the Winter War
A motti is an enemy unit or area completely encircled on all sides.
Captured mottis
- Luelahti eastern motti
- Luelahti headquarters motti
- Reuhkavaara
- Löytövaara (Paloaho)
Uncaptured mottis
- Rasti great motti (including areas from Hotakka to Sivakka, among others Kankivaara, Maunuvaara, Sivakka, Hyvölä (Ossippa), Lapinvaara/Pirttivaara)
- Luelahti western motti
- Kannas
- Loso
