5th Division (Continuation War)

5th Division was a Finnish Army division in the Continuation War. The division was formed by Etelä-Häme military province from the men in Kanta-Häme and Lounais-Häme 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 prior to the start of the war. As part of the Army of Karelia, the division advanced towards lake Onega and the river Svir during the 1941 Finnish offensive phase.
At the onset of the Soviet Vyborg–Petrozavodsk offensive, 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.

Formation

After formation the division consisted of the following sub-units:

Infantry Regiment 2
Infantry Regiment 23
Infantry Regiment 44
Field Artillery Regiment 3
Heavy Artillery Battalion 24
Light Detachment 4
Engineer Battalion 21
Signals Battalion 23

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

[Image:Tapola Kustaa.jpg|thumb|200px|5. Division commander major general K. A. Tapola]
Source:

Jäger colonel Eino Koskimies 18 June 1941 – 11 July 1941
Jäger colonel Ruben Lagus 11 July 1941 – 25 July 1941
Colonel Ilmari Karhu 25 July 1941 – 16 June 1942
Major general Kustaa Tapola 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.