Jämäs Barracks
The Finnish troops’ supply center was the Jämäks barracks area, completed between 1934 and 1938, which during the Winter War housed the headquarters for the Kuhmo sector forces. The troops were initially commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Frans Ilomäki and, from late January onward, by Colonel Hjalmar Siilasvuo. The Jämäs barracks included facilities such as a kitchen, troop quarters, a clothing depot, a laundry, and a sauna.
Transport and logistics
Troop supply transports were carried out by horse. During the Winter War, the most common means of transport was the horse with a sleigh. During the additional refresher exercises, horses were requisitioned from private owners in addition to those belonging to the armed forces. The use of motor vehicles was hampered by a shortage of qualified drivers and maintenance personnel.
In addition to regular supply transports, the evacuation of civilians and livestock became a major effort.
Reinforcements could not be brought to Kuhmo by rail, as there was no railway. Additional troops were transported to the Kuhmo front by rail to Nurmes and Sotkamo, from where the journey continued mainly by truck.
Medical Services
During the Winter War, medical care operated at field dressing stations (JSP) and military hospitals. The locations of military hospitals in Kuhmo had to be changed frequently due to constant air raids. The chief physician was Captain Ilmari Nurminen (1902-1986).
The Kuhmo district hospital, with up to 50 beds, was converted into the 39th Military Hospital on October 9, 1939. The civilian-equipped hospital was operational by October 10, 1939. The operating room was the district hospital’s own surgical room; there were no X-ray devices, and instruments were those of the district hospital.
The military hospital was relocated in December 1939 from the parish village due to bombings to the Ontojoki elementary school in Sotkamo, where it operated until a fire on January 23, 1940. The surgical unit was moved from the district hospital on December 20, 1939, to a corner room in the Tervasalmi house in Katerma. The Tervasalmi military hospital had 12 patient beds.
The Kuhmoniemi School (also known as Kipinä or Kämärä School) had only been in use for a few months before the outbreak of the Winter War. During the war, it housed Main Dressing Station 2 (PSP 2) under the 9th Division. The building had 50 patient beds and temporary cots. The operating room was set up in the school’s student kitchen. Military physician Ilmari Nurminen served there, assisted by staff from the parish hospital. The first patients were admitted on January 29, 1940. Each day, about 60–150 patients arrived from 8–10 field dressing stations.
Wounded soldiers were brought in at night by ambulances due to air raid threats. The building was camouflaged to look abandoned, and heating during the day was prohibited to avoid smoke. Ambulances did not drive up to the building; instead, the wounded were pulled on sleds along a small forest path from a nearby road. PSP 2 operated at Kuhmoniemi School until the end of the Winter War.
The Jämäs elementary school served as a field hospital. Construction of the school was still unfinished in 1939. About 40 patients could be accommodated in two classrooms, but in emergencies up to 70, using every inch of floor space. Finnish and Soviet patients even slept in bunk beds.
At the Jämäks elementary school, a pharmacy operated under the supervision of Reserve Second Lieutenant and pharmacist Veikko Inkala. The chief physicians were Reserve Medical Captains Eino Elovainio, Niilo Apajalahti, Eino Sipilä, and Paavo Sallinen. The main operating site was a surgery room set up in the kitchen, where, in addition to operations, a few blood transfusions were performed. Work was carried out mainly at night due to air raid threats. Patients were transferred as quickly as possible to rear medical units, i.e., military hospitals. In the nearby forest, a dugout served as an air raid shelter. After the Winter War, the hospital was reorganized into the 9th and 11th Field Hospitals.
Weapons Maintenance
The most important weapons maintenance unit was the Ammunition Depot Company. It included separate infantry and artillery ammunition depot platoons, a gas protection equipment platoon, and a supply platoon.
To simplify and standardize calculations for ammunition consumption, replenishment, storage, and transport needs, the unit of measure used was the “fire unit.” Fire units per weapon were: rifle 60 rounds, submachine gun 350 rounds, light machine gun 1,200 rounds, and heavy machine gun 2,000 rounds.
Logistics and Supply
Logistics during the war included food supply, clothing, and local procurement. Wartime rations were based on War Ration II, which came into effect on October 17, 1939. For patrol and guerrilla operations, a special patrol ration was used, which could also serve as a packed meal.
Clothing and equipment were in poor condition at the start of the war. Only the covering troops had adequate clothing. Supply units and reinforcement and home troops were mostly without military clothing, tents, and field kitchens.
The shortage of tents was partly compensated by cardboard tents manufactured by Enso-Gutzeit, weighing 180 kg each. Difficult to transport and erect (assembly required nailing), they could only be used by units stationed far from the front and by headquarters.
During the Winter War, the Lottas established a workshop in Sotkamo, employing about 20 women. They produced, among other things, 658 snow camouflage suits for soldiers.
Logistics also included cash services for the troops. Daily allowances were: enlisted men 5 marks, NCOs 10–15 marks, and officers 20–50 marks.
Field Post
During the war, the field post handled mail between the troops and the civilian population. Operational units, formations, institutions, and various bodies were assigned cover numbers, which remained the same regardless of relocation.
Starting October 20, 1939, a field post office 10 operated in Kuhmo at Tuupala in Korpisalmi. Field mail arrived with civilian mail and was then handed over to military couriers. Postmaster Lahja Kainulainen was transferred to Sotkamo.
The field post continued its operations at the Jämäs barracks, managed by substitute clerks. It resumed service in the Tuupala premises on April 15, 1940. From mid-May onward, rural mail delivery routes were operated by women. The field post was officially discontinued on December 1, 1940.
Telephone Traffic
In late autumn 1939, the Kuhmo telephone exchange was moved from the parish village to the Jämäs barracks, and the network was expanded. The 51-line exchange was operated by border guards O. Kanerva and V. Männistö, assisted by Lottas. The exchange provided connections to, among others, the headquarters of operational units. Telegraph connections were also available from Jämäs.
Accommodation
Finnish soldiers followed the so-called scorched earth tactic: all buildings were burned to prevent the enemy from using ready-made shelters. Many men from Kuhmo had to burn down homes they had built with their own hands.
Finnish soldiers were quartered in houses and tents.
The Soviet Army’s equipment did not include tents or stoves. Stoves were improvised from rifle cartridge boxes and barrels. Soldiers’ morale declined when they were forced to sleep outdoors by campfires in freezing winter conditions. Soviet troops built dugouts for shelter in encirclement positions.
