Finnish recon patrol, East Karelia 1942

[bauer]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Range_Reconnaissance_Patrol#Finland

We did a patrol in Finnish woods with period skills and equipment. Mission was to take care of a Soviet sniper with a Finnish AT-rifle (with weight of a 50kg's it's a quite challenge to drag it in snowy woods!) and stay overnight behind enemy lines. There were no tents, but a traditional shelter and "rakovalkea", kind a Finnish wilderness campfire.

Temperature during the day was around -15'C and dropped during the night all the way down to -25'C.

These pictures are original Finnish LRRP and Sissi -unit pictures: (So that's what we tried to follow)

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/FinnishSkiPatrolDuringContinuationWar.jpg

www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135238750686.jpeg

www.veteraanienperinto.fi/suomi/Kertomukset/TietoP/kaukopartio/79807.jpg

And these pictures are from the reenactment happening: (This is how we looked)

s112.photobucket.com/albums/n185/sgt_dog/Etulinja/rakovalkea0.jpg
i112.photobucket.com/albums/n185/sgt_dog/Etulinja/th_rakovalkea1.jpg
i112.photobucket.com/albums/n185/sgt_dog/Etulinja/th_rakovalkea2.jpg
i112.photobucket.com/albums/n185/sgt_dog/Etulinja/th_rakovalkea3.jpg
i112.photobucket.com/albums/n185/sgt_dog/Etulinja/th_rakovalkea4.jpg


i112.photobucket.com/albums/n185/sgt_dog/Etulinja/th_rakovalkea6.jpg
i112.photobucket.com/albums/n185/sgt_dog/Etulinja/th_rakovalkea7.jpg
i112.photobucket.com/albums/n185/sgt_dog/Etulinja/th_rakovalkea8.jpg
i112.photobucket.com/albums/n185/sgt_dog/Etulinja/th_rakovalkea9.jpg
i112.photobucket.com/albums/n185/sgt_dog/Etulinja/th_rakovalkea10.jpg


i112.photobucket.com/albums/n185/sgt_dog/Etulinja/th_rakovalkea13.jpg
i112.photobucket.com/albums/n185/sgt_dog/Etulinja/th_rakovalkea14.jpg
i112.photobucket.com/albums/n185/sgt_dog/Etulinja/th_rakovalkea5.jpg

You can enlarge the picture by clicking the url.

Comments are more than welcome

[GyreneGreen]

Very cool. I have always been interested in the Finns during the war. I own two M-39 Mosin Nagants, and two 91/30s with Tikka barrels.

My only question is wear Finnish boots were rubber soled or hobnailed like most other boots during the war.
i112.photobucket.com/albums/n185/sgt_dog/Etulinja/rakovalkea1.jpg

[bauer]

Hey!

Army had both hobnailed, leather sole boots as well as rubber sole boots. Most of the leather sole boots were converted to rubbber sole boots after the war, so getting a good quality leather sole boots is a bitch in Finland these days. Most of our boots have rubber soles, out of which most are post war but similar or same as war time ones

Resoling them to be leather soled would cost 3 times the price of the boots, so we're not going to convert them though... which is indeed a bit incorrect.. but perhaps our unit had good luck with getting good shoes?

[bauer]

oulu.ouka.fi/ppm/laukka/kuvat/4/3604.jpg

Here is a basic setup of "rakovalkea", similar to the one we used