THE DRIVE ON VIBORG.

Wairarapa Times-Age, 26 February 1940, Page 4

THE DRIVE ON VIBORG.

■REPORTS at the end of last week showed that the Soviet armies had failed definitely in a tremendous effort to capture Viborg on the 22nd anniversary of the establishment of the Red Army. On the other hand it is clear that the Russians, at a cost'it is stated of losses six times as great as those suffered by their opponents, have deeply penetrated the Finnish defensive zone. The seaport of Viborg', at the north-easter n extremity of the Gulf of Finland and at the western end of the Mannerheim Line, which extends from the gulf to Lake Ladoga, is a vita] element in the defences covering Southern Finland —the low-lying territory in which are located the principal Finnish ports and areas of industrial development. With Viborg in their hands, the invaders would have broken through the comparatively narrow belt of territory between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga, and Southern Finland would more or less be laid open to their attack. If this southern territory is occupied by the enemy, the main resistance of the Finns will be over and done with and they will be reduced at best to guerilla warfare in some parts of the interior country.

Viborg in a definite sense is a corner-post of the gateway into Southern Finland. It has been said that even if Viborg is lost the Finnish defence will not necessarily be broken. It will most certainly be endangered in that event, however. II the Russians succeed in forcing their way round the end of the Gulf of Finland, they will be able to einploy their superior numbers and weight of material with ever-increasing effect.

According to one of the latest reports in hand, the. Russians are still at least six miles distant from Viborg, which is now beiong battered, by their heavy artillery. This implies that the Finnish defences have been penetrated deeply on a vital line of advance. The Mannerheim Line is a defensive zone twenty miles deep. It has been described as consisting of “blockhouses, defended, natural obstacles, and linking trenches and road ambushes.’’ One writer observed recently that :—

•If the Finns can continue to fight, they can contest every jagged stage of their intricately serrated defences for a distance of twenty miles in depth, right to the gateway of Viborg. If the line falls for two, or five, or ten miles, the Russians have still not broken it; and, assuming that the Finns can make the most of their natural advantages, the invaders will have to suffer huge losses before they complete their advance.

11 Ims an important bearing on the outlook that the thaw to he expected in a few weeks’ time will convert into a quagmire much of the ground the Finns are now defending so resolutely. What has to be determined in the immediate future is whether it is humanly possible to lengthen, out the defence of vital positions until the invaders find themselves struggling in that quagmire.

The Finns are handicapped terribly by their limited numbers. In nearly three months of warfare the defending armies have been subjected .pvithont relief to an almost continuous strain and one that tltreatens Io pass the bounds of endurance. The small reserve available has been moved from one section of the front Io another and il is unlikely that any appreciable relief can now be given in the areas in which the fate of the nation is at stake. It seems clear that the Finns have either reached or have approached very closely the stage at which their ability to continue their resistance to the Soviet must depend upon their receiving external help immediately and on a verv considerable scale,