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[PRÄSTKULLA]  [LÅNGSTRAND]  [VIMONBÖLE]  [STORHOLMEN]  [SKOGBYTRÄSKET]  [HARPARSKOG]  [SPJUTBÖLE]

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THE BATTLES IN THE ISLAND GROUP OF HORSÖN, PART VI

(Hanko Cape in the Second World War, Niilo Lappalainen) 

10th of July to 3rd of September 1941 

- After the Russians evacuated Tallinn as the German troops were approaching, it raised suspicion that the Russians were also evacuating Hanko. That's why the Hanko Group ordered that reconnaissance attacks were to be made in the most important areas. One of these important sections was the island of Gunnarsholmen. The mission was to destroy the fortifications there, capture prisoners and mine the whole island. 2nd Shock Company from the 4th Coastal Battalion under the command of Lieutenant Rammström was assigned to the mission. The attack was supported by the 15th Light Artillery Battalion and by the medics. Captain H. Karas led the whole attack. 

- Just shortly before the attack started, the mission was widened and now the troops were suppose to continue the attack to the island of Stackörn and Horsön and occupy these if possible. 

- The attack began in the evening of 2nd of September 1941. Artillery fired to the objective islands and also to the nearby islands as well as to the Russian positions in the Hanko Cape. Also the Finnish armoured ship Väinämöinen participated to the preliminary bombardment. The attack was lead by two platoons from the 11th Frontier Jaeger Company. The troops managed to land into Gunnarsholmen without casualties, despite of heavy machine gun fire. Around midnight Captain Karas moved into the island and shortly after that, two platoons arrived as reinforcements. The Finnish troops started to advance in the heavily wooded island and managed to get half way to the island. Here they were stopped by a machine gun position. The commander of Hanko Group gave permission to pull back.

- The dugout remains which are shown in this page, are located quite far away from the places to where structure 604 and 605 have been marked to the fortification map. Neither of those structures can be found from the area to which those have been marked in the map. Because of that, I would assume that this huge concentration of dugouts has replaced those two structures. The amount of remains have contained accommodation areas for at least sixty men, which is the amount that structures 604 and 605 were planned to accommodate. The dugout remains can be found north of the swamp, which is located on the north side of the structures 604 and 605.

- One of the biggest and best preserved dugout remains.

- The same remains seen from the entrance.

- Vegetation has taken over some of the dugout remains. In the above picture, the entrance is visible, which leads to a pit which is located next to a rock.

- The stones, which were used in the structure remain at the bottom of the remains.

- The area contains numerous smaller remains.

- Vegetation has covered a rather large dugout remains.