The Battle of Suyarvi

Colonel Pavo Talvela was a long-term service veteran and he had commanded Finnish troops in this very region during the Finnish Civil War 20 years earlier. On December 5th, Talvela would be received orders to move north with the 16th Infantry Regiment. The formation of Group Talvela did not immediately resolve the manpower problems in this area of the front. When the group arrived they were still outnumbered somewhere around 5 to 1 - that's just an infantry and the odds were far worse in other categories especially in equipment.