FINNS' STRATEGY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23545, 4 January 1940, Page 7

FINNS' STRATEGY

DESTRUCTION OF RED DIVISION / i ' COLONEL PROMOTED GENERAL SOVIET ONSLAUGHTS FAIL IN SOUTH

By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright

(Received January 3, G. 20 p.m.) LONDON, Jan. 3 ' For military reasons the extent of the crushing Finnish victory at Lake Kianta has been carefully screened in communiques, says a correspondent of the Daily Telegraph with the Finnish Army. If surpassed the Finns' terrific blow a day or two previously between Suomussalmi and Lake Kerni, in Finland's "bottle-neck." It involved the destruction of a crack Russian division of 18,000 jnen and the capture of much war material and 700 prisoners. Three Russian divisions took part in the twin battles at Lake Kianta and Lake Alga. The Russians were not ill-clad, badly- *" trained proletarian "cannon fodder," but were well-clothed and fully-equipped shock troops. The Finnish strategy made monkeys of the Soviet High Command, making the eastern front secure for two months. The officer who directed this tactical masterpiece has been promoted from colonel to general. The Finns are now tying the Russians into knots east of Lake Alga. Relieve Pressure on Railway The Finnish triumph at Lake Kianta, coupled with successful thrusts into Russian territory elsewhere, has relieved the pressure against the Joensuu-Nurmes-Uleaborg railway, which is most important for the transport of Finnish reserves. In the Suomussalmi area the Finns are pursuing the retiring Russians and carrying out "mopping-up" operations. The defenders are moving swiftly on the Kuolajarvi front farther north, and' threaten to encircle and annihilate 16,000 Russians. A report from Copenhagen states that a large Russian division on the Suojarvi front is surrounded and is making a desperate effort to break through. A fierce battle raged last night, but the Soviet troops were unable to make progress. An unconfirmed report from Copenhagen says the Finns cut off 10,000 Russians from their bases at Petsamo and Murmansk after defeating the invaders at Nikkelby, a mining centre in the /Petsamo area. Attacks on Finnish Line Beaten Off In the south, a reorganised Russian Army, under General Stern, numbering 200,000 men, launched a great frontal attack on the Mannerheim Line in a blinding blizzard on Monday, but the assault failed. The Finns, 100,000 strong, one-third of the total army, held their assailants at bay, in spite of the tactics of the Russians of pressing in simultaneously against both wings and the centre in the hope of preventing the Finns transferring reinforcements to threatened points. The Russians renewed the fierce attacks against the Mannerheim Line yesterday, trying to rush vital positions with masses of men and material. Russian artillery pounded the Finnish lines for 36 hours, the increased intensity being audible at Viipuri. All reports agree that the Finns so far have not yielded an inch. A fierce blizzard has set in and brought the battle almost to a standstill. A large number of Russian wounded have been frozen to death in no man's land.