5th Division (, also known as Tavastian Division or Lynx Division) was a

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 ...

division in 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 ...

. The division was formed by Etelä-Häme (South Tavastia) military province from the men in Kanta-Häme (Tavastia proper) and Lounais-Häme (South-western Tavastia) civil guard districts.

History

The division was intended to be used as the reserve of the Finnish High Command, but was subordinated to the

VI Corps 6 Corps, 6th Corps, Sixth Corps, or VI Corps may refer to: France * VI Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry formation of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VI Corps (Grande Armée), a formation of the Imperial French army dur ...

prior to the start of the war. As part of the Army of Karelia, the division advanced towards

lake Onega Lake Onega (; also known as Onego; , ; ; Livvi-Karelian language, Livvi: ''Oniegujärvi''; ) is a lake in northwestern Russia, on the territory of the Republic of Karelia, Leningrad Oblast and Vologda Oblast. It belongs to the basin of the Baltic ...

and the river

Svir The Svir (; ; Karelian language, Karelian and Finnish language, Finnish: ) is a river in Podporozhsky District, Podporozhsky, Lodeynopolsky District, Lodeynopolsky, and Volkhovsky District, Volkhovsky districts in the north-east of Leningrad O ...

during the 1941 Finnish offensive phase. At the onset of the Soviet

Vyborg–Petrozavodsk offensive The Vyborg–Petrozavodsk offensive or Karelian offensive was a strategic operation by the Soviet Leningrad and Karelian Fronts against Finland on the Karelian Isthmus and East Karelia fronts of the Continuation War, on the Eastern Front of Wor ...

, the division was stationed on the river Svir, from where it conducted a fighting retreat during the offensive. As the situation stabilized, the division had established a defensive position in the region of

Sortavala Sortavala (; Finnish language, Finnish and ; ), previously known as Serdobol () until 1918, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located at the northern tip of Lake Ladoga near the Finland, Finni ...

Formation

After formation the division consisted of the following sub-units: *Infantry Regiment 2 (JR2) *Infantry Regiment 23 (JR23) *Infantry Regiment 44 (JR44) *Field Artillery Regiment 3 (KTR3) *Heavy Artillery Battalion 24 (RaskPsto 24) *Light Detachment 4 (KevOs 4) *Engineer Battalion 21 (PionP 21) *Signals Battalion 23 (VP23) The 5th Division was mostly equipped according to division generic organization, but because of material shortage it lacked the anti-aircraft machine gun company and some material quantities did not reach the intended amounts.

Commanders

Source: * Jäger colonel Eino Koskimies 18 June 1941 – 11 July 1941 * Jäger colonel

Ruben Lagus Ernst Ruben Lagus (12 October 1896 – 15 July 1959), better known as Ruben Lagus, was a Finnish major general, a member of the Jäger Movement and the recipient of the first Mannerheim Cross. He participated in the Eastern Front of World War I ...

11 July 1941 – 25 July 1941 *

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Ilmari Karhu 25 July 1941 – 16 June 1942 * Major general

Kustaa Tapola Kustaa Anders Tapola (29 March 1895 – 2 April 1971) was a Finnish General of Infantry and Knight of the Mannerheim Cross. He participated in the Finnish Civil War, the Winter War and the Continuation War. In addition to commanding formations u ...

16 June 1942 –

Losses

Based on the periodic reports made by units to Finnish General Headquarters the total losses suffered by the 5th Division in killed, wounded and missing during the Continuation War were 10 608 men.Sotatieteen laitos:"Jatkosodan historia" Part 6 p. 494

Sources

* * * * * *

History

Formation

Commanders

Losses

Sources

References

See also