THE END, PART II

(Hanko Cape in the Second World War, Niilo Lappalainen & Telegraph communiqué of the land forces, T-15693/22-24 & History of the Hanko Group, T-22005, Military Archives of Finland)

October 1941 to December 1941

- It wasn't until the morning of 4th of December 1941 when the first Finnish troops entered the city of Hanko. These were the Swedish volunteers under the command of Captain A. Grafström. The whole Hanko Cape was heavily mined and booby-trapped. Many men lost their lives to these traps and mines. There was a strict order not to touch anything, but many could not resist the temptation and lost their life in the end. Thirteen Finnish died to these booby traps and 15 were wounded. Additionally at least eight prisoner of war were killed and six wounded. Even when the actual booby traps and mines were cleared, the grenades in the ground resulted a lot of casualties long after the actual clearing task had ended. Even today, it's not advisable to start digging up any metal objects from the ground. 

- On 15th of December 1941 Field Marshall Mannerheim visited the troops, which had fought in Hanko Cape. In the morning he inspected the Swedish Volunteer Battalion in the area of Skogby sawmill. Mannerheim wanted especially thank the Swedish and other foreign volunteers. In the afternoon the parade of the Finnish troops started. The troops that participated to the parade included the 55th Infantry Regiment and representatives from other units. A company from each of the coastal battalions was present. The day was marked by a heavy snowstorm and Mannerheim had instructed that the decorations must be placed to the overcoat. It was an order, which was difficult to perform in such a conditions. The troops also had lined up to the field an hour before the actual parade. As a result the men looked like snowmen and were half frozen. During the previous day it had been minus 35 degrees Celsius, but the temperature had risen a bit. The situation however was something that the men never forgot. For some of the men, the war was over, but many units were moved to the Eastern Front. The Swedish Volunteer Battalion was disbanded. 

- In total, the Finnish troops in the area of Hanko Cape lost during the time of 22nd of June 1941 to 31st of January 1942, 297 KIA, 78 MIA and 604 WIA. At the end of the January 1942, most of the troops from Hanko Group, were either sent to elsewhere or were disbanded. The Russian losses are estimated of being 5 000, with most of them happening during the evacuation. There is 453 Soviet soldiers buried at the Täktom monument. From these 267 are unknown.

- Most likely many of the soldiers missing from both sides got their last resting place in the sea and in the many islands in the area of Hanko Cape.

- A short section of a communication trench and a position dug into the ground, can be found from the area to where structure 310 has been marked in the map.

- The position for a machine gun or for a light machine gun is located in the foreground of the picture. The structure has lost some of its shape in the past years, but it is still easy to recognize the structure in the area. The firing direction is the same, as shown in the fortification map.

- There is also some old house ruins nearby.