Battlefield 67 years later. Merkki Sector

Merkki sector is located between Munasuo swamp and railway St Petersburg - Vyborg. The terrain is quite difficult due to absence of roads and large number of swamps. Finnish defenses in the sector consisted of only field fortifications. The sector was defended by the 13th Infantry Regiment. The attacking units were the 90th and the 80th Rifle Divisions.

The 24th Rifle Division attacked in the sector with no result in December 1939. The 90th Rifle Division was transferred to the sector and attacked in late December 1939 but also failed.

During extremely dry summer of 2006 the nameless swamp that separates former Finnish and Soviet positions burnt away, revealing the battlefield and giving a rare opportunity to trace course of combat without metal detector. All artifacts of that period were on the surface. Although during summer of 2007 the swamp is again covered with some vegetation, there was still possibility for a small photo report with commentaries.

View at the swamp from the Soviet positions. About 250 meters divide the opposing forces. Soviet trenches and dugouts are still visible in the terrain on the southern tip of the swamp. Apparently, the assault of the 90th Rifle Division was supported by 3 inch guns firing over open sight: there are empty 3 inch cartridges lying in the Soviet trenches.

Gas masks, left in the shell crater by Red Army infantrymen in the beginning of the assault, are still lying in the crater.

Soviet artillery made passages in Finnish barbed wire fence. Under cover of armored shields installed on skis, a Soviet assault party made its way to the passage in the fence, took cover in shell craters, set the shields on the edge of craters and started a firefight with Finnish infantry. There were only 50 meters and the second row of barbed wire to the Finnish trenches. The Red Army men occupied four craters. In all craters there are corroded armored shields and fragments of standard Red Army issue skis.

Pile of empty cartridges at the edge of the crater in which the Red Army assault party dug in

Red Army men took alcohol into battle. Vodka bottles of different size, cracked from fire, can be found along the Finnish barbed wire fence in several places.

The last barbed wire obstacle. Sandy hillock in the background is the breastwork of Finnish trenches.

The Soviet assault parties were equipped with improvised bangalore torpedoes - fragments of plumbing pipes stuffed with explosives. Pipes can still be found in the swamp. There were traces of digging and fragments of Red Army issue woolen uniforms in the crater next to this armored shield. Apparently, a search party has found remains of a fallen Red Army man in that crater.

There are empty rifle cartridges, RGD-33 hand grenades, a Soviet issue bayonet in the last line of Finnish barbed wire. This means that individual Red Army men made it very close to the Finnish trenches and were ready to engage Finns with hand grenades. Did they storm their way into the Finnish trenches or Finns managed to stop the assault by fire? What was the outcome of the engagement? We would search for answer in Finnish and Russian archive sources.