Those stationed in the area in front of Vyborg are actually not Finnish troops.
The reason for this situation was not that Field Marshal Mannerheim was unaware of the importance of Viborg.
However, even if he knew that the defense of Vyborg was the top priority, Mannerheim could not mobilize a single soldier there. After two months of hard fighting, although the Finnish army achieved a huge victory, defeating the Soviet army for more than ten
The troops of each division wiped out tens of thousands of enemies. However, the Finnish army's own strength was also reduced by more than 30% compared to the beginning of the war. The continuous losses had long exceeded Mannerheim's psychological bottom line.
If it hadn't been for the military support from the League of Nations countries, as well as some of the technical equipment shipped from Germany from non-League of Nations members, perhaps the Mannerheim Line of Defense named after him would have been unable to support it long ago.
Now, the Finnish troops who are familiar with the complex terrain areas of the Mannerheim Defense Line have filled in the areas according to their aptitude. However, the Vyborg area with monotonous terrain has to be defended by volunteers from various countries who have just arrived due to insufficient troops.
Besides, the defenders in Vyborg now seem to be quite capable.
First of all, in addition to Finland itself, volunteer troops from three other Nordic countries have gathered in the Viborg area. They are piled together and known as one army - the Nordic Army.
In total, this army only has a Swedish division with 8,000 men, a Danish regiment with 1,000 men, and a Norwegian reinforcement battalion with 700 men. Taken together, there is not even one reorganized division under Timoshenko.
There are many troops.
As for the weapons and equipment of this Nordic army, except for the Swedish division that accounts for the majority, they are pretty good. The weapons used by the volunteers sent by Denmark and Norway are basically at the same level as the weapons of the Soviet cannon fodder division.
The only thing worth mentioning is that the Nordic Army has a small independent Swedish Air Force volunteer force. Although they use old-fashioned fighter planes, for Finland, which lacks guns and artillery, it is better than nothing.
In addition, the volunteer division sent by Sweden also brought a small number of artillery, so that the Nordic army did not only have light weapons to use. The volunteer troops sent by Denmark and Norway really felt a bit like millet plus rifles.
"Let us hope that the Nordic Army can hold on!" In his combat headquarters, Mannerheim worriedly analyzed with several staff officers.
Just now, they received a battle report that the Soviet army launched a large-scale artillery bombardment in the direction of Vyborg and launched concentrated air strikes and bombings.
In fact, for this battle, Timoshenko dispatched more than 500 aircraft at one time, deployed more than 440 artillery pieces, and made fierce advance aviation and artillery fire preparations for the Danish regiment position of the Nordic Army in the front and its rear.
Shortly after Mannerheim received the battle report, the report of the Danish army's defeat came immediately.
"The Nordic Army has dispatched the entire Swedish division to launch a counterattack, and even the Swedish Volunteer Army's air force has also been dispatched." A young staff officer wearing glasses tried to cheer everyone up: "Swedish troops are known as the strongest among the four Nordic countries.
Strong troops. With them dispatched this time, the Soviet plan may have failed."
The young staff officer's morale-boosting words brought a bit of self-comfort to the headquarters. Before this time, the Swedish Volunteer Division, which was the main force of the Nordic Army, had never taken action. And Mannerheim, the Finnish Marshal, actually had no attack on the Nordic Army.
military command.
Although they have never seen Swedish troops fighting, everyone thinks that the Swedish Volunteer Army must be very good at fighting. Some people even rumored that the Swedish Volunteer Army has a large independent air force and countless artillery.
For the struggling Finnish army, having reinforcements from the most powerful country in Northern Europe behind them is a strong psychological support. Even if it is self-deception, even if the reinforcements are deliberately exaggerated, or even fictionalized.
It's so powerful that no one will object.
They need a hope so much, even if it is a fragile, misty, unreliable hope like a bubble, they are willing to believe it.
Since the German army, which had been highly anticipated and rumored to be miraculous, has not come, we can only brag about the volunteer force sent by Sweden as an ideal substitute for German reinforcements. How about "the number one in Northern Europe" and "an industrial power"?
Titles like "European Powers" can be added all at once.
If Vyborg had not been attacked by the Soviet army, Mannerheim would have even been willing to keep this support force there as a beautiful display to support the will of the Finnish army.
"The Swedish division launched a counterattack?" Mannerheim was not as optimistic as the young staff officer. On the contrary, he closed his eyes in pain and said with a wry smile: "Where do they get their confidence? Is it from their dozens of aircraft or from their
Dozens of artillery pieces?”
No one can answer Mannerheim's question, because everyone here knows that whether it is aircraft or artillery, what the Swedish division has is not enough to fill the Soviet army's teeth.
Even though the Finnish High Command has promoted the Swedish Volunteer Army to the sky for publicity purposes, their real strength is still just that.
Mannerheim now wants to yell at the commander of the Swedish Volunteer Army. Don't you know how much he weighs? He may not be able to hold on even if he holds the position, so why fight back!
This is a typical example of a man who has a long life and wants to die!
It is estimated that the troops on the front line will soon receive news of the strong counterattack by the Swedish division, the main force of the Nordic army.
This kind of news can never be concealed. Moreover, by the time the Nordic Army informed Mannerheim of the news, they had already set off. Even if Mannerheim wanted to hide it, he missed the best time.
He could even imagine the desperate mood of the struggling troops on the front lines who had received gossip and hoped that the Swedish volunteers would launch a beautiful counterattack to stabilize the war situation a little.
And then, when the Swedish Expeditionary Force suffered an unexpected defeat, Mannerheim could not even imagine the disappointment, despair, and pain on the frontline soldiers' expressions...
After a long time, Mannerheim realized that everything had become an established fact. He slowly opened his eyes, rubbed his forehead vigorously and asked: "Forget it, we can't call these Swedes back...
....By the way, what if they go to counterattack with the whole army and leave the task of defending Vyborg to the Nordic army?"
"They said in the telegram that the defense task was handed over to the volunteer troops sent from Norway to strengthen the battalion." The young staff officer who had just made blind boasts for the Swedes swallowed his saliva, holding the telegram in his hand and whispered in a low voice: "
The Nordic Army also said that as long as the front line fights smoothly, there is no need to worry about defense. They believe that the best defense is offense. Once the battle situation is favorable, they will continue to mobilize the Norwegian volunteer troops in the rear to expand the results...
..”
A bunch of idiots! Thinking of the Swedish volunteers who had good intentions and did bad things, Mannerheim pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "Let our nearby squad collect the defeated troops of the Danish volunteers and cooperate with the Norwegians to defend Vyborg."
"As for the Swedish division..." Mannerheim took a deep breath and said slowly and heavily: "Let's wait to collect their bodies."
