A FLAME THAT FOR A SHORT WHILE LOOKS LIKE A POPLAR DRAWN BY FIRE, PART II

(Hanko Besieged, Edited by Pelle Lindholm) 

July 1941 - August 1941

- Once again we hear the same metallic noise, this time a much closer to the Russians and then its quiet again. There is a small white pavilion within 60 meters from us. A long wooden pier sticks from it to the water. When the patrol has passed this structure, it still needs to advance about 200 meters in order to reach its objective, the leafy fence.

- Time goes slowly. We whisper to each others, move from one place to another and try in vain to spot some movement or noise. Few artillery men join us, happy Finnish speaking boys, whose Second Lieutenant can only barely keep his voice down. Well, some of us also now and then forgets themselves and use a loud voice. I think like in the days before, how hard it is to be careful in a situation, to which you have already gotten use to.

- Thirty five minutes has passed. "They should be already there", Second Lieutenant whispers. Our eyes are so fixed to the spot, where we assume, that the fence will flame up, that now and then we assume, that we have noticed a flame or a spark. But then our eyes tell the truth, that we have just seen what we were hoping to see. "What are they doing there", a Danish Sergeant mutters.

- An hour has now passed. Perhaps the patrol has been surprised by the Russians? No, it would have not happened without a fight.

TK - Laurin Zilliacus

- The road which leads to the Blomsterholm and out from it. This picture is facing away from Blomsterholm and towards the Finnish positions, which area located in the tree line.

- Just before the trench line, there's an old ruins from a house or something like that. It is impossible to say, if the house stood here in 1940's. Perhaps, as the logs are decayed quite badly. The structure 242 is drawn to the map, to this exact spot.

- Picture taken from the Blomsterholm and facing to the western part of the defensive line. The tree line which is seen in the distance, contains one dugout remains which is the structure 241. It has had a good field of fire to the sound between Blomsterholm and the island of Lackisår.

- Firing position in the trench line.

- Trench line facing the Blomsterholm.

- The trench line which is facing Blomsterholm is in good shape and very visible from the nearby road.

- Långstrand peninsula seen on the left side covered in the fog.

- Moss now gently covers the old battle lines.

- Intersection area in the trench line, with a firing position in the foreground of the picture.

- A rather wide trench.

- Autumn leaves camouflaging the trench line.

- Intersection area of the trench line, near of the construction 43, a & b.

- Trench line near of the structure 43, a & b.

- Remains from a machine gun position or from a anti-tank gun position? It would seem to bee too shallow for a dugout remains.

- Island of Storön in the distance.

- The island of Låckisör on the left. That island also contains defensive structures and was part of the Finnish advance positions. It also received quite heavy artillery fire from the Russian side during the war.

- A shallow trench line twisting and turning in the forest.

- Trench line in the western part of the Pargas peninsula. This is located right next to the shoreline.

- Trench line near of the structure 240, a.

- This one would look like a firing position. It's located a bit on the background from the place, where the trench line most likely went. The main road in the peninsula is located on the foreground and the mansion a bit further from the road. There are few dugouts behind this place and another one on the right side. The right side dugout is the structure 241, a.

- Single man firing position in 1941. (Picture: The Finnish Defence Forces. Published 1942 in a book Hangö Belägras) 

- The island of Lackisår seen from the western most tip of the peninsula and from the place, where the trench line finally ends. The Russian held island of Bengtsår Prästön cannot be really seen, as the fog covers it so well, but during a day when the weather would be good, one could observe that island from here.