STRONG ARTILLERY FIRE, PART I

(History of the Hanko Group, T-22005, Military Archives of Finland)

8th of October 1941

- On 8th of October 1941 at 2:45 strong Russian artillery fired started from Brännskär, Långskär and Koö. The artillery was firing mainly to the area of Stoskär. At the same time a strong machine gun fire was opened from the enemy islands. I immediately informed the artillery commander and requested a fire support to Brännskär and to Långskär. We received support from the 5th Light Battery, which started to fire to Brännskär along with 19th Battery, which had started to fire already earlier. However no gun in our section batteries could reach Långskär, which now could fire without any worries.

Captain T. Louhivuori

- Entrance into the bunker has been nicely sunken into the ground and edged with stones.

- Time is starting to take a toll on the metal parts.

- Sad sight.

- Even these memories from the Finnish history, have been smudged with graffiti's.

- The frontline was located straight ahead, so in that sense this entrance was protected very well from enemy fire. The embrasures are pointing towards right where the Leksvall road went in the 1940's.

- Barbed wire remains covers the observation cupola.

- Rusted chimney flue.

- Metal box attached to the wooden door, before the actual entrance door. Meaning of these metal boxes is a bit unknown to me, but my own guess would be that keys were placed to these.

- Metal hook, used for camouflaging.

- Joy of colours.

- Embrasure for the 45mm anti-tank gun, with the armor plate being partly open.

- 306, we're in the right place.

- The technical equipment of the bunker, essential for the survival of the men who manned this bunker. The well that can be seen next to the sink still contains water and is a very deep one.

- Manually operated air pump, imagine how hard work it has been to use this for a long period of time. These were manufactured from old milk pumps.

- Accommodation area, with the old stove still remaining next to the half rotten fire wood.

- The same view, just from an opposite direction.

- Circle of death...