Dozens of explosive objects were found in the battles of the Soviet-Finnish war
Many people know about the complex of Finnish defense structures on the Karelian Neck, called the “Mannerheim Line”, the history of its origin and a breakthrough … This place became a place of fierce battles during the “Winter War” in the years 1939-1940. Fans of military archeology are still showing increased interest in it. Ordinary tourists also do not resist looking at the destroyed bunkers, and at the same time grab the rusted charge, which is abundant in this area.
The idea of creating a museum in one of the defense structures has led people to rethink the issue of security. which will be handled by specialists of the International Mine Mining Center of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. As part of the expedition, members of the engineering units will have to clean up explosives from approximately three kilometers of future hiking trails and areas adjacent to the fortifications.
” Unknown “War
– The history of this war is undeservedly forgotten. And in vain. In the short period of the Soviet-Finnish war, 32 Red Army soldiers were actually awarded the Gold Star of the hero, – Bair Irincheev, director of the Karelian Neck Military Museum, told me on the phone. – Our goal is to preserve this memory for descendants. And it's not just about the architecture of the Mannerheim line, it's about human destinies.
The Mannerheim-linja line is a 132-135 km long fortification complex, created in the years 1920-1930 in the Finnish part of the Karelian Neck to contain a possible offensive attack by the USSR. This line became the site of the most important battles in the “Winter War” of 1940 and gained great publicity in the international press. Three lines of defense were planned between Vyborg and the border with the USSR. The closest to the border was called the “main”, then went “middle”, near Vyborg “back”. The most powerful node of the main line was located in the Summakul area, the site of the greatest threat of a breakthrough. During the Winter War, the Finnish and then the Western press named the main defense line complex after Commander-in-Chief Marshal Karel Mannerheim, on whose orders plans to defend the Karelian Neck were drawn up as early as 1918. The largest structures of the defense complex were created on his own initiative.
If you leave the capital at six o'clock in Sapsan, then at 10 o'clock you can admire the memorial inscription at the Oktyabrskaya Hotel – “Hero City of Leningrad”. And then to Vyborg – a stone's throw away. A high-speed train will take you to the “Holy Fortress” in an hour. I tossed my suitcase into the hotel, dialed Baira, and said I was already there.
– If you still have strength after traveling in such heat, come to the museum. Look what we have here, – kindly suggested by director Irincheev.
I myself have long noticed that the charm of small towns lies in the fact that if you live more or less close to the center, you have almost everything close. And seven minutes after the phone call, I was standing in front of the museum entrance. A burgundy wooden door and a waving red flag resembled a child's picture. Although it may not be just about them. This whole business trip was perceived as one fascinating trip. The immediate goal of my journalistic journey is the mysterious Buunup (as Vyborg was called the Finns) and the legendary line of defense itself – the Mannerheim line …
The lock on the door clicked and Bair invited me to enter the museum. Inside the ruling twilight, plots of the very “unknown” took place before my eyes, as Alexander Tvardovský once called it. Empty glass Molotov cocktails, ancestors of the famous Molotov cocktail. Twisted remnants of mussels and all kinds of household goods. All this is carefully stored in the museum.
The director said that in the future they want to expand the premises and re-create even more installations. He also shared his plans for the same bunker No. 2 on the Mannerheim Line, where humanitarian demining has been carried out for several days by engineers from the International Mine Mining Center under the Ministry of Defense. And where we were supposed to go in the morning.
DOT is actually an abbreviation of wartime. The abbreviation means “Long Term Fire Point”. It is a defensive structure of a machine gun or artillery. There is also a bunker – it is a firing point of wood-ground. The difference is clear. The pill is usually made of concrete.
– Dot is a cultural heritage site and is protected by the state. This is a truly legendary place, – said the director. – Performances were performed here, fierce battles were fought and blood was shed. We want to cultivate this territory, build memorial plaques. So that anyone can come safely, look, walk everywhere. But the first priority is to ensure security. That is why engineers now work there.
Dot # 2
In the morning we were armed with eggplant with water and blood spray, and according to Bair, there were a lot of them in the woods, so we went on the demining line. I still didn't understand what landmarks the director had ordered the taxi driver to stop. There was only a forest on both sides.
“This is an anti-tank trench, we'll go inland soon,” my guide said, pointing as we walked through the hole to the left of the road. along the road.
It was five hundred meters from the forest entrance to the bunker. The road was pre-fenced with a red and white stop. The deeper we went into the forest belt, the more actively the insects began to show interest in us. And to my annoyance, the advertised repellent was a little discouraging to them. By dancing and waving, we got into a defensive structure in an effort to ward off mosquitoes.
“This place on the Karelian neck is the most vulnerable,” Bair began his story. – It is this box that is unique in that both the underground part and the above-ground part have been preserved, although not completely. It was built approximately in the years 1936-1937. It is designed for 4 machine guns and based on the number of seats could accommodate 26 people. From February 1 to February 4, 1939, heavy battles took place here, which were fired continuously. For four days he changed owners several times from the Finns to the Red Army and back. The fateful moment was the destruction of the roof. Soviet engineers had their own tactics, pulling 40 boxes of explosives to the roof, each weighing 40 kilograms. There were several more after the main detonation. It turned out that the Finns do not need a losing position. They tossed Molotov cocktails into the dungeon and left.
While Bair took a small excursion into history, we slowly descended into the country. The temperature was falling, which was rather a plus in the current heat wave. A pleasant chill wafted from the dungeon, and clouds of steam could be seen in the hallway.
– It's only +5 degrees inside, – said the director.
The box room was hardly suitable for life. At least by my standards. Dark, cool and moist enough. Water was constantly dripping from the ceiling, and if you raise your head and light with a flashlight, you can see many small stalactites.
– We found unidentified remains here, – Bair's voice disturbed me as I looked at the bizarre growths.
He pointed to a metal frame that once served as a frame for bunk beds.
– They started cleaning it and there's a skeleton. For a long time they were looking for at least some identification marks: badge, buttons … But unfortunately nothing. According to archival data, two Finnish machine gunners are missing here. We think these are the remains of one of them.
As an experienced archaeologist, my guide had the foresight to grab a few lanterns. We are very grateful to him, otherwise we would not be able to check the whole box from the inside. When I say “everything”, of course I mean the parts that could be walked through.
– The guys are on their way, – said the headmaster when we came out of the dungeon.
In fact, within minutes, engineers from the action center appeared down the very path we had recently taken.
The task of sapper is always risk
The army spread backpacks of various sizes on the ground near the entrance to the box. No one gave a sign, but it was clear that a trip through the sun with the equipment was quite a tedious task. While the guys gasped, I had the opportunity to ask them about the hard work of the sapper.
– We're on the Mannerheim Line with a humanitarian mission. The task is to clean the area of explosive objects that remained after the Soviet-Finnish war, “said Ilya Staroverov, a junior sergeant at the International Center for Mining. – There are a lot of fragments, cartridges all around. You've probably seen them before. No explosive items have been found yet, but work is still needed to explore the area of access to additional boxes. Our task is to minimize risks.
Ilya said that only contract repairmen are involved in the tasks, there are no genders. This is understandable: the work of a sapper is always full of risk. The theoretical course is 200 hours before the start of work “in the fields”. After all, if you do not know how this or that explosive mechanism works, if you do not understand the principle of operation of ammunition, you will not be able to defuse it. After class, the practical part begins with instructors at the training ground.
– Set OVR-2-02 or set for demining of combined weapons. Includes equipment with improved protection. Bulletproof vest with helmet, vest and pants with Kevlar insoles. Plus various attachments. For example, you can connect a camcorder for video communication. There is a flashlight, a multifunctional women's shovel – it's a shovel and a knife, two in one. Cut through, bury, look at something. The gauge is located on the back of the handle. If a large employee is uncomfortable to take with them in a situation, you can use this one.
Ilya pulled a large probe from its holster, which looked like a long retractable pointer with a pointed end, and clearly showed how an expert should work with it.
We have enough tools to explore the area, – he continued his story. – The engineer is initially supplied with a PPO-2I mine detector and a probe. If the situation requires it, for example in Syria, you still have weapons and ammunition with you. The calculation usually consists of two people, but the situation is different.
– For metal. It emits a signal, then the engineer with the probe determines the approximate dimensions of the object located underground. And then, with the commander's decision, he begins to dig carefully. The very principle of demining depends on the type of tasks. In our center are trained experts to work not only with standard equipment, but also with foreign ammunition and even craft production.
The OVR set, laid on a stone at the entrance to the box, could only arouse my lively interest. All its elements seemed heavy enough, and the question, “How comfortable is it to work for hours, even in the heat?” – was born on his own.
– Comfortable, inappropriate – such a question is not worth it, – replied a private engineer Egor Borzenkov. – This is a guarantee of your safety.
It's logical. I didn't think of that.
The entire OVR weighs 28 kilograms, plus equipment and weapons. The suit has a cooling system. The tubes run over the entire surface of the jacket and trousers. A container is hung separately, into which dry ice is poured. It melts and chilled water begins to flow through the pipes. The thermostat is sufficient for forty minutes. In the winter, as the engineers told me, it is very comfortable, the suit is not ventilated. There is a special thermal underwear for this. Also hand protection pads.
– Run … – smiled private. – Try it.
The process of dressing an OVR, I will now say competently, is not at all simple. Specialists probably disagree with me, but that's why they are specialists. Of all the elements of the suit, I could only put on my pants without help. And only because there are zippers carefully made on the outside of the legs. But fortunately they helped me here too. Another is a jacket. Then bulletproof vests with a collar to protect the neck. Once the Velcro was fixed to the collar, it was clear that you could no longer shake your head. Pak – helmet. And one last touch: a mine detector in the right hand, a probe in the left. As you can see, there were no mirrors in the woods, but I guessed I looked funny.
– Try to climb the hill and take a walk, – one of the engineers suggested.
Surprisingly, I managed to overcome this peak, although small. After a few minutes of my “trip” with a mine detector in hand, my shoulder started to ache uncomfortably. I really wanted to return it to its rightful owner, which I was generally in a hurry before I started coming down.
15 minutes spent in OVR was enough to understand: the work of a sapper requires not only concentration, but also good physical fitness.
– Mindfulness. The main thing is your vision. Tools are tools, but they may not show up. Or conversely, if a lot of any metal is dispersed, it will constantly emit a signal. And there you have to notice the danger yourself.
– You'll gain more experience, say. The first trip to Palmyra, Syria, showed that we did not see and do not know many improvised explosive devices (engineers call them IEDs for short). For example, garlands. Explosive devices in the form of wire with contactors placed at a certain distance – every 2-3 meters. Any place you enter this closure will work. When pressed or opened.
– Very fast. The emaciated mannequins were immediately handed over to the Ministry of Defense and analyzed. And then a procedure was developed for working with these devices.
– We never say “last”, always just “last”. We don't take pictures until we set off on a task. By the way, you can't take pictures in the background of the plane you're flying before leaving for a business trip.
– The desire to help people. In Syria, the locals are very pleased with our army. They look at the pole, smile, wave their hands, thank you. After all, we are a kind of guarantor of a safe life for them. People want to lead a normal life, go shopping and do not be afraid to let their children go out.
***
While walking through the woods with Bair in the direction of the road, I remembered the words about the courage of engineers , which was said by an officer of the 45th Engineer and Camouflage Regiment:
– The work of engineers is less covered, but this does not change its significance. No matter how strong and brave a fighter of any other unit is, the sapper will first cross a minefield …
Mannerheim Line Puzzles: Artifact Frames and a unique demining operation
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