Lehtovaara village

During the Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union from 1939 to 1940, in December 1939, Russian troops headed toward the settlement of Lehtovaara with the aim of reaching Ilomantsi parish village. The Finnish forces resorted to scorched earth tactics.

An information board can be found at the center of Lehtovaara village at Hatuntie 189.

After the Red Army’s 155th Division had crossed the border on the morning of 30 November 1939, one of its regiments headed toward the settlement of Lehtovaara with Ilomantsi parish village as its objective. The 786th Rifle Regiment of about 6000 men and 800 horses reached Lehtovaara in early December.

A small defending force fought a delaying action but was eventually unable to halt a numerically superior enemy. The Front subsequently stabilised for the remainder of the Winter war at Kallioniemi, 8 kilometres from Lehtovaara, where the Russian troops’ advance was barred by the Koitajoki River.

The Finns resorted to scorched earth tactics. They attempted to destroy all buildings that the enemy could use for billeting and logistic purposes, but they did not have time to set every house on fire, and the enemy put the remaining buildings to good use. They established a main billeting area at Parissavaara five kilometres away.

After the Winter War ended on 13 March 1940, evacuees returned to the destroyed settlement. Everyone who had lost their home began hastily to erect any kind of a weather shelter before a proper rebuilding effort could be started. The lack of accommodation was alleviated significantly when Sweden donated 20,000 small, prefabricated houses to Finland which were easy to assemble on-site. The project was financed by a nationwide collection. 25 houses were shipped to Ilomantsi, and many ended up at Lehtovaara. They were commonly called “Swedish houses” or “emergency relief houses.” They remain standing to this day, although most have been expanded over the decades.

In 1944, during the late summer of the Finnish-Soviet Continuation War (1941 to 1944), Lehtovaara was a hive of activity as Finnish troops marched through the settlement to and from the short but fierce battles that were fought in the vicinity of Hattuvaara and Ilaja. The road was continuously packed by supply traffic. The Frontier Guard brigade, which was one of the two core elements of Group Raappana, set up its headquarters at Lehtovaara during the initial phase of the battles.