Finland wins the Battle of Tali-Ihantala, the largest battle ever fought in northern Europe. The Red Army withdraws its troops from Ihantala and digs into a defensive position, thus ending the Vyborg-Petrozavodsk Offensive.
The VyborgPetrozavodsk offensive or Karelian offensive was a strategic operation by the Soviet Leningrad and Karelian Fronts against Finland on the Karelian Isthmus and East Karelia fronts of the Continuation War, on the Eastern Front of World War II. The Soviet forces captured East Karelia and Viborg/Viipuri. After that, however, the fighting reached a stalemate.
The operations of the strategic offensive can be divided into the following offensives:
Viipuri (1020 June) by the Leningrad Front
Virojoki-Lappeenranta (21 June 15 July) by the Leningrad Front
Koivisto landing (2025 June) by the Baltic Fleet
SvirPetrozavodsk (21 June 9 August) by the Karelian Front
Tuloksa landing (2327 June) by the Soviet Ladoga Flotilla
The Battle of Tali–Ihantala (June 25 to July 9, 1944) was part of the Finnish-Soviet Continuation War (1941–1944), which occurred during World War II. The battle was fought between Finnish forces—using war material provided by Germany—and Soviet forces. To date, it is the largest battle in the history of the Nordic countries.The battle marked a point in the Soviet offensive when the Finnish forces first prevented the Soviets from making any significant gains. Earlier at Siiranmäki and Perkjärvi the Finns had halted advancing Soviet forces. The Finnish forces achieved a defensive victory against overwhelming odds.After the Soviets had failed to create any breakthroughs at Tali–Ihantala, Vyborg Bay, or Vuosalmi, the Soviet Leningrad Front started the previously planned transfer of troops from the Karelian Isthmus to support Narva offensive, where they were encountering particularly fierce resistance. Though the Leningrad Front failed to advance into Finland as ordered by the Stavka, some historians state that the offensive did eventually force Finland from the war.