Hiihtäjien suksia. SA-kuva

Vetko battle site

Several Red Army ski battalions and detached ski units operated in the Kuhmo area during the Winter War. The most notable of these was the Dolin Ski Brigade, whose spearhead battalion was destroyed in the Vetko area between 13 and 14 February 1940.

The troops of the Dolin Ski Brigade were assembled near the Finnish border on 8 February 1940. The brigade’s attack forced the Finnish troops to retreat from Kiekinkoski on 12 December. The next day, the brigade cut off the Finnish 9th Division’s supply lines on the north side of Kesseli. The spearhead of the Dolin Ski Brigade, the 34th Ski Battalion, arrived at the Vetko Isthmus on the evening of 13 February.

The 1st Battalion of the Finnish Infantry Regiment 65 (1st/Inf Regt 65), which had been fighting on the western side of Alasjärvi, received orders on the evening of 13 February to defeat the enemy forces that had advanced to Vetko. Two short-handed companies led by Major Yrjö Hakanen started the attack on the Vetko Isthmus at midnight on 13 February. Company Tammisalo attacked on the northern edge of the narrow isthmus and Company Saikku on the southern edge. The units took the first ridges, but the advance was then halted by gunfire from the direction of the Vetko farm.

The Finns continued the attack on 14 February and made some progress on the flanks. It took until the evening before the situation was resolved with the support of one artillery piece. Its shells set the Vetko farm on fire and the enemy’s resistance was crushed. A small part of the enemy forces managed to break away into the direction of Kesseli.

On the morning of 15 February, the Finns estimated that about 400 enemy bodies remained on the battlefield. The losses of Hakanen’s battalion in the battle of Vetko were 6 killed and 22 wounded.

Vetkon kapeikko. Kuva Lassi Piirainen
The site is easily accessible. There are some stopping areas on the road at the Vetko Isthmus, and they fit a bus as well. The Vetko farm is privately owned.
Address: Vetkontie 902, 88900 Kuhmo, Finland.