The 3rd Division () was a unit of the

Finnish Army The Finnish Army ( , ) is the army, land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: infantry (which includes armoured units), field artillery, anti-aircraft artillery, Combat engineering, engineer ...

during the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

. It initially fought in the northern

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, participating in the Finno-

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Operation Arctic Fox. In 1944, it was transferred to the

Karelian Isthmus The Karelian Isthmus (; ; ) is the approximately stretch of land situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia, to the north of the River Neva. Its northwestern boundary is a line from the Bay of Vyborg to the we ...

to defend against the Soviet Vyborg–Petrozavodsk offensive. Following the

Moscow Armistice The Moscow Armistice was signed between Finland on one side and the Soviet Union and United Kingdom on the other side on 19 September 1944, ending the Continuation War. The Armistice restored the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940, with a number of modi ...

in 1944, the division was moved to

Oulu Oulu ( , ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Ostrobothnia. It is located on the northwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Oulujoki, River Oulu. The population of Oulu is approximately , while the Oulu sub-regio ...

and participated in the

Lapland War During World War II, the Lapland War (; ; ) saw fighting between Finland and Nazi Germany – effectively from September to November 1944 – in Finland's northernmost region, Lapland. Though the Finns and the Germans had been fighting together ...

History

The 3rd Division was the main component of the Finnish III Corps. During the war, the division fought mostly in the Ukhta and Kestenga area, where it participated in Operation Arctic Fox, the Finno-

drive towards the Murmansk railway. During this operation, the division was split into two groups, Group J () and Group F (). Observing the speed of advance of the III Corps, the Germans reinforced Group J with a regiment-sized element of SS-troops. The division's advance was eventually halted after the Soviet 88th Rifle Division entered the area. In 1944 the division was transferred to the

, where it participated in the Finnish defense against the Soviet Vyborg–Petrozavodsk offensive. During this time, the division was temporarily reinforced with the 6th Separate Battalion (). Formed originally by the Germans as 664th Eastern Battalion, the battalion consisted of volunteering, non- prisoner-of-war,

Ingrian Finns Ingrian Finns (, ; ) are the Finnish people, Finnish population of Ingria (now the central part of Leningrad Oblast in Russia), descending from Lutheranism, Lutheran Finnish immigrants introduced into the area in the 17th century, when Finland ...

. Following the

in 1944, the division was moved to

. As part of the

against Germany, the division's Infantry Regiment 11 conducted a landing in Tornio in the morning of October 1st, 1944. Following a successful landing, the regiment was reinforced the next day by Infantry Regiment 53, also from the 3rd Division. From Tornio, the division advanced to

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; ; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Lapland (Finland), Lapland. It is located near the Arctic Circle in the northern interior of the country. The population of Rovaniemi is approximately , while the Rovaniemi su ...

and onward to

Muonio Muonio (previously called ''Muonionniska''; ) is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. The town is located in fell-region of far northern Finland above the Arctic Circle on the country's western border with Sweden, the Muonio ( ...

where it was disbanded.

Notes

References

* *

History

Notes

References

See also