Dozens of explosive objects were found in the battlefields of the Soviet-Finnish war
Many people know about the complex of Finnish defensive structures on the Karelian Isthmus, called the “Mannerheim line”, the history of its creation and breakthrough. This place became the site of fierce fighting in the “Winter War” of 1939-1940. Fans of military archeology still show an increased interest in it. Ordinary tourists are also not averse to coming to look at the destroyed pillboxes, and at the same time to take a rusted cartridge case as a souvenir, which can be found in abundance in the district.
The idea of creating a museum in one of the defensive structures made us again puzzled about the issue of security. which is to be solved by the specialists of the International Mine Action Center of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. As part of the expedition, the servicemen of the engineering troops will have to clear about three kilometers of future tourist trails and territories adjacent to fortifications from explosive objects.
“Unknown” war
– The history of this war is undeservedly forgotten. And very much in vain. After all, during the short period of the Soviet-Finnish war, 32 Red Army servicemen were awarded the Golden Hero Star – ” Bair Irincheev, director of the Military Museum of the Karelian Isthmus, told me over the phone. – Our goal is to preserve this memory for posterity. And it’s not just about the architecture of the Mannerheim line, it’s about human destinies.
The Mannerheim Line (Mannerheim-linja) is a complex of defensive structures with a length of 132-135 km, created in the 1920-1930 years on the Finnish part The Karelian Isthmus to deter a possible offensive strike from the USSR. This line became the site of the most significant battles in the “Winter War” of 1940 and became very famous in the international press. Between Three lines of defense were planned for Vyborg and the border with the USSR. The one closest to the border was called “main”, then there was”intermediate”, near Vyborg “back”. The most powerful node of the main line was located in the area of Summakul, the place of the greatest threat of a breakthrough. During the Winter War, the Finnish and Western press called the complex of the main defensive line after the commander-in-chief Marshal Karl Mannerheim, on whose orders defense plans were developed The Karelian Isthmus back in 1918. On his own initiative, the largest structures of the defense complex were created.
If you leave the capital on a six-hour Peregrine Falcon, then at 10 am you can admire the memorable inscription on the Oktyabrskaya hotel – “The Hero City of Leningrad”. And then to Vyborg-just around the corner. A high-speed train will take you to the “Holy Fortress” in a little over an hour. After dropping my suitcase at the hotel, I called Bairu and informed him that I was already there.
– If you have any strength left after traveling in such a heat, come to the museum. Take a look at what we have here – ” Director Irincheev kindly offered.
I have long noted for myself that the beauty of small towns is that if you live a little bit close to the center, then you have almost everything nearby. And about seven minutes after the phone conversation, I was standing in front of the entrance to the museum. Wooden door, painted in maroon-brown color and flutteringthe red flag reminded me of a picture from my childhood. Although, perhaps, it’s not just them. This whole business trip was perceived as one fascinating journey. And the mysterious Buunupu (the so-called Vyborg under the Finns), and the legendary defensive line itself-the Mannerheim line – is the immediate goal of my journalistic trip…
The lock in the door clicked, and Bair invited me to go to the museum territory. Inside, in the midst of the reigning semi-darkness, the plots of the same “unknown”, as Alexander Tvardovsky once called it, the Soviet-Finnish war unfolded before his eyes.
The casings are covered with a thick layer of rust, which have lain in the ground for more than 80 years. Empty glass bottles for incendiary mixture, the progenitors of the famous “Molotov cocktail”. The mangled remnants of shells and all sorts of household trifles. All this is carefully stored in the museum.
The director said that in the future they want to expand the room and recreate even more installations. And he also shared his plans for the very pillbox No. 2 on the Mannerheim line, where the sappers of the International Mine Action Center under the Ministry of Defense have been conducting humanitarian demining for several days. And where we had to go in the morning.
DOT is actually an abbreviation of wartime. It stands for “Long-Term Firing Point”. This is a machine-gun or artillery defensive structure. There is also a bunker-this is a wood-earth firing point. The difference is clear. PILLBOX-usually made of concrete.
– The pillbox is an object of cultural heritage and is under state protection. This is a truly legendary place – “the director said –” Feats were performed here, fierce battles were fought and blood was shed. We want to improve this territory, put up memorial plaques. So that anyone can safely come, see, walk everywhere. But the first priority is to make it safe. Just for this, the sappers are working there now.
Dot #2
In the morning, armed with an eggplant with water and a spray from bloodsuckers, and according to Bair, there were a huge number of them in the forest, we went to the mine clearance line. According to what landmarks the director ordered the taxi driver to stop, I still did not understand. There was just a forest on both sides.
– This is an anti-tank ditch, we will soon go deeper, ” my guide said, pointing to a hole to the left of the road as we walked along the roadway.
It was about five hundred meters from the entrance to the forest to the pillbox. The road was fenced in advance with a red and white stop tape. The deeper we went into the forest belt, the more actively the insects began to show interest in us. And, to my chagrin, the advertised repellent was not a deterrent for them. Dancing and waving away, in an attempt to drive away mosquitoes, we reached the defensive structure.
– This place of the Karelian Isthmus is the most vulnerable, – Bair began his story. – This particular pillbox is unique in that both the underground part and the aboveground part have been preserved, although not completely. It was built approximately in 1936-1937. It is designed for 4 machine guns and, based on the number of beds, it could accommodate 26 people. From February 1 to February 4, 1939, heavy fighting took place here, the pillbox was continuously shelled. For fourduring the day, it changed hands several times from the Finns to the Red Army and back again. The fateful moment was the demolition of the roof. The Soviet sappers had their own tactics, they dragged 40 boxes of explosives on the roof of 40 kilograms each. After the main explosion, there were several more. It became obvious that the Finns did not need a defeated position. They threw Molotov cocktails into the dungeon and left.
While Bair conducted a small excursion into history, we slowly descended down into the ground. The temperature was decreasing, which was rather a plus in the current abnormal heat. A pleasant chill came out of the dungeon, and clouds of steam became noticeable in the gap of the passage.
– It’s only +5 degrees inside – – the director noted.
The room of the pillbox hardly seemed suitable for life. At least, by my standards. It is dark, quite cool and damp. Water was constantly dripping from the ceiling, and if you lifted your head up and shone a flashlight, you could see a lot of small stalactites.
– Here we found unidentified remains, – Bair’s voice distracted me from looking at the bizarre growths.
He pointed in the direction of the metal frame that once served as a frame for a bunk.
– They began to clear it, and there was a skeleton. We have been looking for at least some identification marks for a long time: badge, buttons… But, alas, nothing. According to archival data, two Finnish machine gunners went missing here. We think it’s the remains of one of them.
As an experienced archaeologist, my guide prudently took a couple of lanterns. For which we thank him very much, otherwise we would not have been able to inspect the entire pillbox from the inside. When I say “all”, of course, I mean those parts where it was possible to go.
– The guys are already on the way – – the director said when we got out of the dungeon.
And indeed, within a few minutes, the sappers of the mine action center appeared on the very path that we had recently followed.
The work of a minesweeper is always a risk
The military laid out backpacks of various sizes on the ground, near the entrance to the pillbox. No one gave any sign, but it was obvious that traveling in the sun with equipment was quite a tedious task. While the guys were taking a breath, I had the opportunity to ask them about the difficult work of the sapper.
– We are on the Mannerheim Line with a humanitarian mission. The task is to clear the area of explosive objects left over from the Soviet-Finnish war, ” said Ilya Staroverov, a junior sergeant at the International Mine Action Center. – There are a lot of fragments here, shell casings are all around. And you’ve probably seen them yourself. No explosive objects have been found yet, but there is still work ahead to explore the territory of the approach to other pillboxes. Our task is to minimize the risks.
Ilya said that only contract servicemen are involved in the tasks, there are no conscripts. It is understandable: the work of a sapper is always fraught with risk. Before starting work “in the fields”, the theory course is 200 hours. After all, if you do not know how this or that explosive mechanism works, do not understand the principle of operation of the ammunition, you will not be able to neutralize it. After classes in the classroom, the practical part begins with instructors at the training grounds.
-A set of OVR-2-02, or a combined-arms mine clearance kit. It includes equipment with increased class protection. A bulletproof vest with a helmet, a vest and trousers with Kevlar inserts. Plus various attachments. You can, for example, connect a video camera for video communication. There is a flashlight, a multifunctional sapper shovel – this is both a shovel and a knife, two in one. To cut through something, to dig, to file. On the reverse side, there is a probe in the handle. If it is inconvenient to take a large regular one with you in some situation, then you can use this one.
Ilya took out a large probe from the case, similar to a long retractable pointer with a pointed end, and clearly demonstrated how a specialist should work with it.
We have enough devices that can conduct reconnaissance of the area, ” he continued his story. – The minesweeper comes initially with a PPO-2I mine detector and a probe. If the situation requires it, as in Syria, for example, then you still have weapons and ammunition with you. Usually the calculation consists of two people, but the situations are different.
– For metal. He gives a signal, then the sapper uses a probe to determine the approximate dimensions of the object located underground. And then, by the decision of the commander, he carefully begins to dig out. The very principle of mine clearance depends on the type of tasks. In our center, specialists are trained to work not only with standard devices, but also with foreign ammunition, and even handicraft production.
The IAD kit, laid out on a stone at the entrance to the pillbox, could not but arouse my increased interest. All its elements looked quite heavy, and the question is “How convenient is it to work for hours in all this, even in the heat?” – I was born by myself.
– Convenient, not convenient – such a question is not worth it – – the sapper, private Egor Borzenkov, answered me. – This is the guarantee of your safety.
It makes sense. I hadn’t thought of that.
Fully IAD weighs 28 kilograms, plus more devices and weapons. The suit has a cooling system. Tubes run through the entire area of the jacket and pants. A container is hung separately, where dry ice is poured. It melts and the cooled water begins to flow through the tubes. The thermostat is enough for forty minutes. In winter, as the sappers told me, it is very comfortable in it, the suit is not blown. There is a special thermal underwear for it. There are also pads to protect the hands.
– To run… – the private smiled. – Try it.
The process of dressing the IAD, I will now say with knowledge of the matter, is not at all simple. Experts probably won’t agree with me, but that’s what they are specialists for. Of all the elements of the costume, without outside help, I could probably only put on pants. And that’s only because zippers are prudently made on the outside of the pants there. But, fortunately, eventhey helped me here. Next – the jacket. Then a bulletproof vest with a collar to protect the neck. As soon as the Velcro on the collar was fixed, it became clear that you can’t turn your head now. Then-a helmet. And the final touch: a mine detector in the right hand, a probe in the left. There were no mirrors, as you can imagine, in the forest, but I guessed that I looked funny.
– Try to climb a hillock and walk a little there – – one of the sappers suggested to me.
To my surprise, I managed to overcome this peak, albeit a small one, on my own. After a couple of minutes of my “hike” with a mine detector in my hand, my shoulder began to ache unpleasantly. I really wanted to return it to its rightful owner, which, in general,I hurried to do before starting to go down.
15 minutes spent in the IAD was enough to understand that the work of a sapper not only requires concentration of attention, but also good physical training.
– Attentiveness. The main thing is your vision. Devices are devices, but they may not show. Or vice versa, if a lot of any metal is scattered, it will constantly give a signal. And then you yourself should notice the danger.
– You gain more experience, let’s say. The first business trip to Palmyra, to Syria, showed that we have not seen and do not know many improvised explosive devices (sappers call them for short: IEDs). For example, garlands. An explosive device in the form of a wire with circuit breakers located at a certain distance-every 2-3 meters. Any place where you step on this circuit breaker, it will work. Either when pressed or when opened.
– Very quickly. Immediately, the cooled dummies were transferred to the Ministry of Defense, an analysis was carried out. And then the procedure for working with these devices was developed.
– We never say “last time”, always only “extreme”. We do not take photos before going out to complete the task. Before taking off on a business trip, by the way, you can also not take pictures against the background of the plane on which you will fly.
– The desire to help people. In the same Syria, the locals are very happy about our military. At the sight of the column, they smile, wave their hands, thank you. After all, for them we are a kind of guarantor of a safe life. People want to lead a familiar life, calmly go to the shops, without fear, let their children go out on the street.
***
While walking through the forest with Bair in the direction of the roadway, I remembered the words about the courage of the sappers, uttered by an officer of the 45th engineering camouflage regiment:
– The work of the sappers is less covered, but this does not detract from its significance at all. No matter how strong and brave a fighter of any other unit is, the sapper will be the first to go through the minefield…
Riddles of the “Mannerheim line”: footage of artifacts and a unique mine clearance operation
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