Atlas of Battles

battle, major, interwar and Second World War

Battle of Suomussalmi

Battle of Suomussalmi was a battle fought on 7 December 1939 at Suomussalmi, in what is now Finland; it lasted 32 days. It was part of the Winter War, which ran from 1939 to 1940. The recorded result: Finnish victory. Recorded strength: 17,000 against 48,000.

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Battle of Suomussalmi, German version
Battle of Suomussalmi, German version. NordNordWest, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought7 December 1939lasted 32 days
WhereSuomussalmi, Finland64.888N, 28.889E
OutcomeFinnish victory
BelligerentsFinlandagainstSoviet Union
Casualties and losses2,700 casualtiesand12,972 to 29,100 casualties; See casualties
Part ofWinter War1939 to 1940

Where it sits in the Winter War

Battle of Petsamo, 1939Battle of Salla, 1939Battle of Taipale, 1939Battle of Suomussalmi, 1939Battle of Kollaa, 1939Battle of Varolampi Pond, 1939Battle of Tolvajärvi, 1939Battle of Summa, 1939Battle of Kelja, 1939Battle of Raate Road, 1940Battle of Vyborg Bay, 1940Second Battle of Summa, 1940Battle of Kuhmo, 1940Battle of Honkaniemi, 194019391940Battle of Suomussalmi, 1939
16 placed engagements of the Winter War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date7 December 1939
to 8 January 1940
PlaceSuomussalmi, Finland
64.888N, 28.889E
KindBattle, interwar and Second World War
Strength17,00048,000
Casualties and losses2,700 casualties12,972 to 29,100 casualties; See casualties
Commanders
  • Wiljo Tuompo
  • Hjalmar Siilasvuo
  • Paavo Susitaival
Battle of SuomussalmiBattle of SuomussalmiBattle of Raate RoadBattle of KuhmoSecond Battle of SummaSiege of Kajaani CastleKiimasjärvi ExpeditionBattle of Raate RoadSiege of Kajaani CastleKiimasjärvi ExpeditionOulu100 km64.888N, 28.889E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Suomussalmi
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Suomussalmi today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-07-17. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 216 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 180 to 256 m, 76 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 56% tree cover, 33% water, 6% grassland.

tree cover: 56%water: 33%grassland: 6%built-up: 4%tree cover 56%water 33%grassland 6%built-up 4%
west to east, 10.0 km196 to 217 mnorth to south, 10.0 km185 to 226 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1939

Combat data (CDB90)

Attacker: FIN 9TH INF DIVDefender: SOV 163RD UKRANIAN DIV & 44TH MOTORIZED DIV
Strength9,00029,954
Casualties2,670 (29.7%)19,600 (65.4%)
Mission accomplishment, 1 to 1091
Outcomeattacker won
Duration2 days
Front width32 km32 km
Attacker advanced0 km

From the US Army Concepts Analysis Agency Database of Battles (CDB90, battle 261), public domain, in the CC0 tidy edition by Jeffrey B. Arnold. Figures are the database's estimates, compiled in 1990 from published histories, and may differ from the Wikipedia infobox above.

Battle of Suomussalmi is one of 2,997 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 108 in present-day Finland.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q477095, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Suomussalmi, revision 1376141148, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.