RED ARMY DIVISION’S FATE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 9 January 1940, Page 5

RED ARMY DIVISION’S FATE

BIG BATTLE NEAR SUOMUSSALMI BITTERLY COLD WEATHER TAKES TOLL OF RUSSIANS TUnited Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright] (Received 9th January, 9.45 p.m.) HELSINKI, Bth January. A special communique states that the Finnish Army wiped out the 44th Division of the Red Army near Suomussalmi. Thousands of Russians were killed and over 1000 prisoners taken. The booty includes 1180 horses, 102 guns and 43 tanks. According to a Finnish communique 300 Russians were killed and 14 machine-guns captured on the Salla front as a result of an attempt to outflank the Finns. Three additional Russian planes were shot down. The Finns beat off night attacks and dispersed an infantry column and a supply column near Summa, where the Russians are digging in. The Finns improved their positions at Lake Ladoga and also threw back a Russian attack at Petsamo. Russian air raids along the Gulf of Finland killed one person and wounded two. Bombers twice raided Turku. Bitterly cold weather is still restricting activities. The temperature on the Karelian Isthmus is 30 degrees below zero. A Helsinki message states icy cold checked all Russian attacks on Sunday morning, but Soviet artillery set up a heavy bombardment of the Mannerheim Line in the afternoon. Russians who started digging themselves in on Saturday were so affected by the cold that many were almost unconscious, and the Finns took many prisoners. Military circles in Helsinki claim that 200 Soviet planes have been brought down since the beginning of the war—about 10 times greater than the Finnish losses. Agency messages now state that as many as 16 Russian planes were shot down during the course of fighting on Saturday. Eight of these were claimed in the Finnish communique. It seems that Finnish chaser planes operating over the battle areas have been responsible for these successes. Saturday night’s Russian communique mentioned patrol activity on some fronts and claims successful air raids on Finnish reserves.