February 17, 1940 · Karelian Isthmus Theater
February 17, 1940
Following the breakthrough at Summa, Finnish forces conducting a fighting withdrawal were ordered by Marshal Mannerheim to fall back from the Mannerheim Line to an intermediate defensive line, the VT-line. The abandonment of the Mannerheim Line — the defensive barrier that had held for nearly three months — marked a turning point. Finnish forces fought for every kilometer, conducting skillful rear-guard actions, but the combination of Soviet numerical superiority, artillery dominance, and Finnish exhaustion made a sustained defense impossible without reinforcement.
Commanders