The Assault
On the nights of February 25 and 26, members of the Jaeger Battalion were carried by truck to Heponotko, which was about three km away from a depot in Honkaniemi (now Lebedevka). They then skied to the start point at 4:00 am. The tank company arrived around 30 minutes later after a 50 km march. That journey, however, cost them more than they would have liked. Since the conditions of the weather and roads were equally bad, the tank company lost five of their 13 Vickers 6-Ton tanks, mostly due to engine failure.
Seeing this as a major blow to their offensive capabilities, Captain Kunnas split his remaining tanks between the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Jaeger Companies. Six tanks were to support the Jaegers while two were to help the 1st secure the left flank. It was decided that the attack would commence at 5:00 am, but communication with the artillery battalions failed; so it was decided that they would try again at 6:15 am.
When communications with the artillery battalions were restored, the time had come to attack. However another setback had occurred. During the preliminary artillery barrage, some of the shells landed at the start point, resulting in 30 Finns being killed or wounded. The attack had to be postponed by another hour.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Honkaniemi
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