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The first plans for a defensive line on the Karelian Isthmus were made after the Finnish Civil War by Carl Gustaf Mannerheim, but they were ignored when Mannerheim resigned after the war.
The line was constructed during the 1920s and 1930s. It ran from the coast of the Gulf of Finland through Summa to the Vuoksi river and ended at Taipale. It consisted of about two hundred machine gun positions made from concrete. The area around Summa was the most heavily fortified because it was thought to be the most vulnerable position. The first bunkers were built between 1921 and 1924. A second phase began in 1932, but was interrupted by the Winter War.
Unlike the Maginot Line and other similar forts made with huge bunkers and lines of dragon's teeth, the Mannerheim Line was mostly built by utilizing the natural terrain. Many natural things such as fallen trees and huge bolders were used as defensive positions. The Finns also mastered camouflageAnolis caroliensis well camouflaged. Camouflage is the method which allows an otherwise visible object to remain indiscernable from the surrounding environment. Examples include a tiger's stripes and the fatigues of a modern soldier. Camouflage is a form techniques, which they put to use when building this defensive line.
The name Mannerheim Line was spread by foreign journalists and it was supposedly coined by Jorma Gallen-KallelaJorma Gallen-Kallela ( 1898 1 December 1939) was a Finnish artist. He followed in the footsteps of his father, the famed artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela. After the destruction of his fathers frescoes in the Juselius Mausoleum in Pori after the death of his f.
In the Winter War the Line halted the Soviet advance for two months.
In the Continuation WarThe Continuation War was fought between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II; from the Soviet bombing attacks on June 25, 1941, to cease-fire September 4, 1944 (on the Finnish side) and September 5 (on the Soviet side). The United Kingdom decl the Line saw very little action during the Finnish advance in 19411941 is also the title of a Steven Spielberg movie made in 1979 see 1941 (film). Events January January 6 Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivers his Four Freedoms Speech in the State of the Union Address. January 10 Lend-Lease is introduced into the United St or the Soviet offensive in 1944Events World War II January January 4 The Battle of Monte Cassino begins. January 5 Murder of Danish playwright Kaj Munck January 17 British forces, in Italy, cross the Garigliano River. January 20 The Royal Air Force drops 2,300 tons of bombs on Berlin;.
See also: SalpalinjaSalpalinja (literally Bolt-line or Salpa-line is a bunker line on the eastern border of Finland. It was built during the Interim Peace between the Winter War and the Continuation War. Salpalinja is 1200 km long from Gulf of Finland to Salla in Northern Fi