RECONNAISSANCE MISSION TO RÅGHOLM, PART I

(Teasing the encirclement of Hanko, Adolf Molnár & History of the Hanko Group, T-22005, Military Archives of Finland) 

4th of September 1941 

- At around 10 o'clock in the evening the mission starts. We push two rowing boats into the waters and head out to Rågholmen. I can see the dark island growing in front of me. Kalvholmen island is left behind and we are in the open waters. Rågholmen is getting closer and closer. 

- Finally the boat touches the shore and we jump out from the boats and pull the boats to the inland. We are finally in Rågholmen. Ingman is left to guard the boats and rest of us run quickly into the island. We climb on top of a tall rock and I lie down along with Hallman and Gandhi. No one can hear a thing. 2nd Lieutenant seems to have disappeared to the other side of the island. 

- At around five o'clock in the morning, we start to occupy the island. Only weapons are taken with us, everything else is left behind. We advance step by step in Rågholmen, trying to see the Russians before they see us. The island is searched thoroughly, but in the end there is no Russians at all, not even dead ones, the island is unoccupied. At least we cannot complete the second part from our mission, to take prisoners. But the first part of our mission is to find out whether or not the island is occupied and as far as we can see, it is not.

- Like the map symbol indicates, the structure 207 was a machine gun nest. Clear positions for a machine gun can be still found from the area, although most of the positions  have lost their shape.

- Positions have been mined to the rock or shapes shaped by the nature have been taken into a use.

- Stones have been used to build some shelter.

- The task for the nest has been to defend or delay the enemy near of the anti-tank obstacle line, which goes near the road. The stones in the obstacle line can be seen on the left side of the picture. The positions are located on the right side of the road.

- Stones in the anti-tank obstacle line.

- The stones to the obstacle line have been mined from the nearby rock.

- The anti-tank obstacle line descents from the rock towards the road. The road can be seen in the upper part of the picture as a pale line.

- The stones used here are much smaller than in the main defensive line, which is located about one to two kilometers from here.