February 25 in Military History — On This Day

Battle of Viipuri

The Battle of Viipuri was fought for Finland's second-largest city and the gateway to the Karelian Isthmus. Soviet forces pushed toward Viipuri from multiple directions while also crossing the frozen Gulf of Finland to threaten the city from the west. Finnish forces conducted a desperate defense, with some of the war's most intense urban and suburban fighting. The city was still in Finnish hands when the armistice took effect on March 13, though Soviet forces had penetrated its outer defenses. Under the terms of the Moscow Peace Treaty, Viipuri was ceded to the Soviet Union regardless.

Viipuri, known as Vyborg in Russian, was Finland's most historically significant city outside Helsinki and the heart of Finnish Karelia. Its loss to the Soviet Union in the peace treaty was a devastating blow to Finnish national identity.

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⚔️📍 Iwo Jima, Pacific Ocean1945

Marines Push to Iwo Jima's Northern Shore

U.S. Marines fighting through the Japanese tunnel network reached the northern shore of Iwo Jima, cutting the island in two after six days of some of the most intense combat in Marine history. Japanese resistance in the north would continue for three more weeks.

Splitting the island doomed the Japanese garrison but the cost in Marine lives showed the horrific price of assaulting fortified underground positions.

Outcome

Island split; battle continues 3 more weeks