Artillery during the Lapland War

The Field Artillery was not involved in the Finnish landing in the town of Tornio on 1 October. Apparently, to start with, the support of indirect fire had not been considered necessary. However, when support was finally needed they managed to ship the first Artillery Battalion to the combat area by 6 October. At the time of the German retreat, the activity of the Finnish Field Artillery was significantly hampered by the roads and bridges which had been destroyed. It was difficult for the artillery to keep up with the advancing troops, and the ammunition consumption remained small after the initial stage of the war. The maximum firing range of the cannons was not always enough to even reach the German positions. The German artillery, on the other hand, used its ammunition stocks without care. In the Trench Warfare in Kilpisjärvi in spring 1945, only one Finnish Artillery Platoon, with its two cannons took part. The last fire missions of the Finnish artillery were carried out on April 12, 1945.