The story
Soviet 163rd Division, trapped in the Finnish village of Suomussalmi for the past 22 days, began evacuating on an ice road over Lake Kiantaj_rvi; troops of the Finnish 9th Division attacked the rearguard. Meanwhile, in Moscow, Russia, Stalin endorsed Chief of Staff Shaposhnikov's plan for a major attack on Finnish forces on the Karelian Isthmus; Semyon Timoshenko volunteered to lead the offensive as the disgraced Kirill Meretskov was demoted to the commander of the Soviet 7th Army.
There's more to discover
You have arrived at just one small part of Back to Normandy — a personal project dedicated to preserving stories, images, music and memories of the Second World War.
Every record is a doorway to a larger story. Explore Back to Normandy to discover more, or visit Fred Vogels' personal website to learn about the person and the projects behind it.