First battles of the Winter War at Laamasenvaara

At the start of the Winter War on 30 November 1939, the weather was fairly mild. After little snowfall, there was only about 10 cm of snow.

The distance from Laamasenvaara to the border was about three kilometres (1.9 miles). The Kuhmo Frontier Company’s guard post was in Hiilikko, four kilometres (2.5 miles) from the border. The guard had been reinforced with reservists to the strength of a platoon, and it was led by Frontier Guard Sergeant Eino Huttunen. The only way to Laamasenvaara from the Hiilikko guard post was a poor sledge route.

The Ala-Laamanen farmhouse, located further to the east, was the home of brothers Antti and Jussi Malinen and their families, which included nine people in addition to the men. Pekka Korhonen lived in the Ylä-Laamanen farmhouse with his wife and eight children.

Pekka Korhonen, the master of Ylä-Laamanen, had heard a couple of signal shots from the border and went to Hiilikko to investigate. Sergeant Huttunen had received an order by telephone in the morning to evacuate the border villages, and he had sent Frontier Guard Uuno Kimpimäki and Private Väinö Tauriainen to take word to Laamasenvaara.

A patrol of three soldiers from Hiilikko was at the border and, at eight o’clock in the morning on 30 November 1939, it reported that the Russians had crossed the border. Sergeant Huttunen sent a four-man patrol led by Frontier Guard Niinimäki to push the enemy back across the border. The patrol encountered the enemy about one kilometre (0.62 miles) from the border and opened fire. The patrol had one submachine gun, but it was used only for single-shot fire to keep it concealed. The enemy took cover but did not return fire. The patrol broke away and moved to a new ambush location.

Meanwhile, Kimpimäki and Tauriainen had arrived at Laamasenvaara to bring the order to evacuate. Antti Malinen’s wife Sofia had just made coffee, and they decided to drink it before leaving. The soldiers brought their weapons into the house nonetheless. During coffee, clattering sounds were heard from the hall and the family’s daughter Anna went to open the door. Red Army soldiers tried to enter, but Kimpimäki hit the one at the door with the butt of his rifle. Next, a hand grenade flew inside the room and exploded. Two children were wounded. Kimpimäki ordered the civilians to take cover by the oven. The next thing that flew into the room was a satchel charge, but Tauriainen managed to throw it into the hall, where it exploded.

At the same time, Jussi Malinen and Antti Malinen’s 13-year-old son Eino were returning from the mill to their yard. Eino was sitting on the load of the first horse and was fatally hit. Jussi managed to throw himself into cover and crawled away. There were Finnish-speakers among the enemies. They shouted that they would not shoot if no one tried to run away. Fortunately, Kimpimäki opened fire from the window of the house and Jussi managed to escape by running in zig-zags. At the same time, the residents of the Ylä-Laamanen farm fled on horseback and Jussi caught a glimpse of them fleeing.

Kimpimäki and Tauriainen decided to try to escape, as it seemed help from Hiilikko was not coming and they were running out of ammunition. They also thought that the civilians could cope better without the soldiers. Kimpimäki was the first to leave through the window of the house and reach the shelter of the forest. However, Tauriainen was fatally hit at the edge of the forest.

The first person taken from the house was Antti, who was also suspected of being a shooter. Antti learned that eight enemy soldiers had been killed in the firefight. The rest of the people in the house were placed in Jussi’s room, which was still intact. Attempts were made to give first aid to the wounded. For four days they were kept in the same room, then the family was taken by horse to Kolvasjärvi, where they spent the night by a campfire. From there they were taken further via Repola and Rukajärvi to Kontupohja. Jussi’s children died during the journey and had to be buried without a funeral service.

Niinimäki’s patrol fought against the advancing enemy after Laamasenvaara. Sergeant Huttunen’s platoon broke away from Hiilikko and met Niinimäki’s patrol at Kuusijoki. There the battle with the enemy began around midnight. Second Lieutenant Karhu, who had arrived from the command post, was wounded in the battle and captured by the enemy. The platoon disengaged and left Kuusijoki at dawn on 1 December 1939.

The bodies of Eino Malinen and Väinö Tauriainen were found at Laamasenvaara after the end of the war. The people of the Ala-Laamanen farm returned from captivity in midsummer 1940.