Naval Detachment K

File:Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary b33 242-0.jpg), as illustrated in the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (vol. XVII, 1896){{cite Efron|wstitle=Ладожское озеро}}]]

Naval Detachment K ({{langx|fi|Laivasto-osasto K}}) was a Finnish military detachment—specifically, a flotilla that operated on Lake Ladoga during World War II.

Background

{{See also|Baltic Sea campaigns (1939–1945)|l1=Baltic Sea campaigns ({{nowrap|1939–1945}})}}

The Continuation War began in the summer of 1941. The Finns, who had operated naval units on Lake Ladoga before the Winter War, began reestablishing the Finnish Ladoga Flotilla ({{langx|fi|Laatokan laivasto-osasto|links=no}}) on the lake as soon as their troops reached its shores early on in the war. The headquarters was formed in {{ill|Läskelä|fi|Läskelä}} on 2 August 1941 and by 6 August, 150 motorboats, two tugs (used as minelayers) and four steam ferries had been transferred there. The tugs and ferries were equipped with 47 mm guns and machine guns. The Finns also established a number of coastal batteries on the shores and islands of Lake Ladoga. The only "true" Finnish warship on Lake Ladoga at that time was the obsolete motor torpedo boat {{sclass|Sisu|motor torpedo boat|5}}. As the Finnish land forces advanced, new headquarters were established in the captured towns along the shores of Ladoga. The Ladoga flotilla's headquarters was eventually moved to Sortavala and the harbour at Lakhdenpokhya became its primary base of operations.

Formation

File:SA-kuva 98419.jpg Commander, {{lang|de|Oberstleutnant}} Friedrich Siebel (left), and the Finnish Ladoga Coastal Defense Brigade Commander, {{lang|fi|Eversti}} Eino Järvinen, in Lakhdenpokhya on July 3, 1942]]

Already during the spring Finnish {{lang|fi|Kenraaliluutnantti}} Paavo Talvela and {{lang|fi|Eversti}} Eino Iisakki Järvinen who was commanding the Ladoga Coastal Defense Brigade ({{langx|fi|Laatokan rannikkoprikaati|links=no}}) came up with an idea that the boat traffic providing supplies to the Leningrad needed to be disrupted. Talvela then presented this idea to the Germans on his own behalf going past both Finnish Navy Staff and General Staff. Germans responded positively to the proposition and informed the slightly surprised Finns—who apart from Talvela had very little knowledge of the proposition—that transport of the equipment for the Ladoga operation was already arranged. Both the Germans and Italians sent naval units to Lake Ladoga to assist the Finns with coastal defence of the lake and to enforce the ongoing siege of Leningrad.{{cite book|author= Kijanen, Kalervo|title=Suomen Laivasto 1918–1968 II|year=1968|publisher=Meriupseeriyhdistys/Otava| location=Helsinki}}

A combined Finnish-German-Italian unit, the Naval Detachment K was formed on 17 May 1942, consisting of four Italian MAS boats, four German {{lang|de|Kriegsmarine}} minesweeping boats ({{langx|de|Küstenminenboot|lit=Coastal Mine Boat}}, or {{langx|de|KM-Boot|lit=KM-boat|label=none}}) and the Finnish motor torpedo boat {{lang|fi|Sisu}}. The German and Italian vessels were grouped into two units under Finnish command. First to arrive was the Italian {{lang|it|XII Squadriglia MAS}} on 22 June, consisting of four motor torpedo boats (MAS 526, MAS 527, MAS 528, and MAS 529). Five days later, four German KM-boats (KM 3, KM 4, KM 8, and KM 22) also arrived. However, the German minesweeping boats suffered from inexperienced crews and unreliable engines and it took until 10 August before all KM-boats were repaired and deemed operational.{{sfn|Meister|Morozov (ed.)|2005|pp={{nowrap|276–278}}, 288, 319}}

Also operating on the lake were the Finnish Ladoga Flotilla, composed mainly of armed fishing vessels and small motorboats, and the German Ferry Operations Staff East ({{langx|de|Einsatzstab Fähre Ost|links=no}}, or EFO), a {{lang|de|Luftwaffe}} formation consisting of infantry boats ({{langx|de|Infanterietransporter „Siebelgefäß“|lit=Siebel Vessel infantry transporter|links=no}}, a.k.a. {{langx|de|{{nowrap|I-Boot}}|lit={{nowrap|I-boat}}|label=none}}) and Siebel ferries.{{sfn|Meister|Morozov (ed.)|2005|pp={{nowrap|273–289}}, {{nowrap|290–291}}, {{nowrap|318–320}}}}

Operations

File:MAS 526(528).jpg

Naval Detachment K's primary task was harassing Soviet supply lines to Leningrad on southern Ladoga, where both Soviet and Allied produced food and munitions were delivered to the besieged residents of Leningrad. The unit also conducted minelaying operations near enemy bases and limited landing operations on the shores of Lake Ladoga.Finland and Siege of Leningrad 1941–1944. By Dr. Nikolai Baryshnikov. Russian: "Блокада Ленинграда и Финляндия 1941–44" Институт Йохана Бекмана. 2003. Russian fragment: {{cite web |url=http://politika-karelia.ru/shtml/article.shtml?id=16 |title=Центр Политических и Социальных Исследований Республики Карелия |accessdate=2007-09-25 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080210015237/http://politika-karelia.ru/shtml/article.shtml?id=16 |archivedate=2008-02-10 }} However, the unit was unable to sink a single Soviet watercraft during its operation on Lake Ladoga.{{sfn|Meister|Morozov (ed.)|2005|pp={{nowrap|276–283}}, {{nowrap|290–291}}, {{nowrap|319–320}}}}

EFO also undertook offensive operations on the lake, such as the assault on Sukho Island, but this was unsuccessful. The Finnish Ladoga Flotilla also had clashed with the Soviet Ladoga Flotilla, and operated in Lake Ladoga from June 25, 1941, through November 4, 1944.Дважды Краснознамённый Балтийский Флот, Гречанюк Н. М., Дмитриев В. И., Корниенко А. И. и др., М., Воениздат. 1990. с. 195.Доценко В. Д., Флот. Война. Победа. СПб, Судостроение. 1995 с. 238.

Analysis

The operations of the international flotilla were a failure. Torpedoes proved useless in the shallow waters of southern Lake Ladoga, where they frequently struck the bottom. Nor did their magnetic detonators work well against the wooden hulls of Soviet barges and patrol boats. The secondary armament of Italian motor torpedo boats also proved too light to seriously threaten Soviet gunboats. German KM-boats turned out to have extremely unreliable engines, keeping them docked in port far longer than they spent on actual operations nor were their influence mines especially useful against mainly wooden hulled Soviet vessels.

Dissolving the detachment

File:SA-kuva 114392.jpg

Naval Detachment K was dissolved in the winter of {{nowrap|1942–1943}}. The Italian motor torpedo boats were relocated from Lake Ladoga to Tallinn at the end of October 1942 and would eventually be absorbed into the Finnish Navy. Likewise, the Germans withdrew most of their vessels, leaving two Siebel ferries and four {{nowrap|I-boats}} which Finns had bought. In January 1943, the Soviet Armed Forces launched Operation Iskra, to open up a land connection to Leningrad and break the siege. Axis forces were pushed back 80 km and the Road of Life no longer had its previous significance. Neither German nor Italian units returned to Lake Ladoga, although smaller Finnish units continued to operate in the lake against the Soviets during 1943 and 1944.