Battles at Kiekinkoski
The Kiekinkoski sector formed a second attack direction for the 54th Mountain Division (54th Mount Div), which was attacking in the direction of the Saunajärventie Road. The enemy battlegroup attacking in this direction protected the northern flank of the division and advanced as far as Tyrävaara, where it was stopped by Detachment Kekkonen (Det Kekkonen). The enemy was forced to retreat after a counterattack that was launched on Christmas Eve, and it was destroyed in the Kiekinniemi area on 28 December. The Kiekinkoski area came under attack again on 12 February when Dolin’s Ski Brigade advanced through the area towards Kesseli.
First battle on 3–4 December 1939
Detached Company Kaasila (Det Coy Kaasila) was responsible for guarding the border during the additional reserve exercises. Guards were established at Jonkeri, Kuusijärvi, Saunajärvi, Hukkajärvi and Kiekinkoski. The border in northern Kuhmo was guarded by the 2nd Company of Detached Battalion 14 (2nd Coy/Det Bn 14), which had sentries at Viiksimo, Kannas, Korkana, Vartius, Kinnula and Lentiira.
The enemy had formed a battlegroup for the attack in the direction of Kiekinkoski. According to prisoner of war records, the battlegroup consisted of an engineer platoon, a cavalry detacment, an anti-tank platoon and the 4th Company of the 118th Mountain Infantry Regiment (4th Coy/118th Mount Inf Regt). The battlegroup was commanded by Captain Alekseyenko. When the war started, the battlegroup advanced through the wilderness to Hukkajärvi, where it arrived on 1 December.
In the early stages, only Lieutenant Yrjö Rainio’s platoon was located in the Kiekinkoski sector, and only one section of the platoon was in Hukkajärvi. On 2 December, the section in front broke away to join the rest of the platoon. The company commander, Lieutenant Kyösti Kaasila, came to Kiekinkoski on the same day with one platoon and half of a machine gun platoon (2 machine guns). Contact with the enemy was made on the same day. On 4 December, the enemy made a flanking manoeuvre around Lake Pirttijärvi into the Finnish rear, forcing the Finns to retreat to Polvela. After the enemy repeated the flanking manoeuvre there as well, the Finns retreated to the Vääräjoki River on 5 December.
On 5 December, Detachment Kekkonen was formed in the Kiekinkoski sector by moving the 2nd Company of Detached Battalion 14 from North Kuhmo to Vääräjoki. Detachment Kekkonen still had to retreat to Tyrävaara, from where it launched a counterattack on 24 December. The enemy troops were forced to retreat to Kiekinkoski, where they settled at the Kiekinniemi farm.
Second battle on 28 December 1939
The Finns followed the retreating enemy to Mäntyvaara, where they started reconnaissance of Kiekinniemi. The attack was conducted by four infantry platoons, a mortar platoon and a machine gun half-platoon.
In the attack 2nd Lieutenant Osmo Rasilo’s reconnaissance detachment and 2nd Lieutenant Viljo Haataja’s platoon formed the actual assault group. They made a flanking manoeuvre through the south to the Kiekinniemi area. The troops skied about seven kilometres (4.3 miles) in total. Frontier Guard Sergeant Hannikainen’s platoon had been sent north behind the river to prevent the enemy from retreating by road. Lieutenant Kekkonen was in position with one of the platoons behind the lake at Kiekinniemi. The detachment also included a mortar platoon and a machine gun half-platoon (2 machine guns).
The assault group was ready in time, and the attack started with mortar and machine gun fire from behind the lake. The advance was slowed down by one enemy machine gun, but it was eventually destroyed. The situation calmed down quickly, and Kekkonen came across the lake with his troops. A few enemies had barricaded themselves in the buildings, and one armoured artillery tractor (T-20 Komsomolets) and many horses had been left in the yard. The next morning, 2nd Lieutenant Rasilo’s patrol went to the national border at Hukkajärvi and found that only five tracks led back across the border. The enemy had been completely destroyed.
Kekkonen’s troops moved to the Mäntyvaara farm, from where they went to pick up an old civilian man who had stayed in the Kusionvaara farm. He had been there since the beginning of the war but was evacuated from the farm in fairly good health.
Third battle on 12 February 1940
The Red Army ski troops began conducting reconnaissance in early February 1940. The first battles with the ski troops were fought at the Hukkajoki River on 10 February. The small Finnish force was unable to repel the enemy, so the troops retreated to Kiekinkoski.
The main force of the Dolin Ski Brigade advanced to Kiekinkoski on 12 February and attacked through the area via several routes with air support. Detachment Kekkonen had no possibility to stop the attackers. However, the brigade commander, Colonel Dolin, fell and the leadership of the brigade collapsed as a result. There are several stories about Dolin’s death that have not been confirmed. However, his death is a fact, as it was also reported in a radio message intercepted from the enemy. According to a plausible story, Colonel Dolin fell under Finnish fire on the northern shore of Lake Pirttijärvi. His ski brigade was destroyed in the Vetko–Kesseli area between 13 and 16 February 1940.