ABSTRACT
The village of Suomussalmi had a population of 4,000 or less before the Russians arrived. Siilasvuo's immediate task, on arrival, was to set up headquarters in the house of the district forester at Hyrynsalmi village to study the situation and plan Marshal Mannerheim's strategy. The Russians finally gave up their unsuccessful attempts to push the Finns further west and simply withdrew to the village to await the 44th's arrival. The paralyzed 44th Division was stopped, in bumper-to-bumper traffic, and there it stayed–locked in the Finnish pincers until such time as Siilasvuo's forces undertook the "final surgery." Finns attacked Suomussalmi and all along the road to Juntusranta, 50 miles away, closing the claws of the pincer and destroying the segments of the enemy columns. The Finns who began the defense of their country with practically nothing in the way of weaponry were overwhelmed at their new wealth.
