The Sausage War ETO (id:#57092)

Critical Hit (Critical Hit # 6.3 ID: CH138)   [next]   [previous]

Tolvajari Village, Finland 1939-12-11 (3 others)

Overview:

General Mannerheim himself placed Colonel Paavo Talvela in command of all Finnish troops in the threatened Tolvajarvi/Ilomantsi sector north of Lake Lagoda. Talvela planned a strong counterattack to halt the Russian drives in the area. However, before the counterattack was launched, he suffered a nasty surprise on his left flank. A Russian battalion had marched undetected through the wilderness and fell upon his flank. Without warning the Russians burst from the woods upon Talvela's supply line northwest of Tolvajarvi Village. By all rights the Finnish HQ staff and the support personnel should have been routed but something strange happened. The first target overrun by the Russians was a field kitchen where large vats of sausage soup were simmering. After the attackers caught a whiff of the soup, the majority of them paused and began to eat. The startled Finns received a priceless interval of time in which to recover. What followed was an engagement dubbed the "Sausage War" that was close, brutal and without mercy.

Defender: Russian (Elements of the 155th Division)  

Errata (source)