World War II · Film · 2007
Tali-Ihantala 1944
In June 1944 the Finnish army, driven back across the Karelian Isthmus, makes a stand north-east of Vyborg against the largest Soviet offensive ever launched against Finland.
Where it happened
Follow the story across 2 places.
Stop 1: Viipuri (Vyborg)
The broken Finnish divisions pull back through the Isthmus as Finland's second city is lost.
Stop 2: Tali–Ihantala battlefield
Key location
Tanks, artillery and aircraft collide in the fields and woods as Finnish units counter-attack to close the breach.
What really happened
The Vyborg–Petrozavodsk offensive opened on 9 June 1944 and broke the Finnish lines on the Karelian Isthmus within days; Vyborg fell on 20 June. Between Tali and Ihantala, just north-east of the city, the Finns stopped the Soviet advance in the largest battle in Nordic history, fought from 25 June to 9 July 1944.
About 50,000 Finnish soldiers, supported by German StuG assault guns and the Luftwaffe's Detachment Kuhlmey, held off roughly 150,000 Soviet troops with massed artillery fire. The defence allowed Finland to negotiate the armistice of September 1944 instead of surrendering. The film uses museum tanks, some of which fought in the battle.
Where to watch
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Full details
- Original title
- Tali-Ihantala 1944
- Directed by
- Åke Lindman, Sakari Kirjavainen
- Countries
- Finland
- Languages
- Finnish, Russian, German
- Released
- 2007
- Period
- –
- Theaters of war
- Eastern Front
- Themes
- Combat
- True story
