Soviet casualties during the battle of Kuuterselkä

[Aleksander P]

Does anyone have more information on the approximate casualties suffered by the Red Army, during the Finnish counterattack at Kuuterselkä 14-15th of July 1944? I know that 17 tanks were destroyed by Finnish assault guns, but is there any idea of how many men were killed?

[Mikko H.]

Jatkosodan torjuntataisteluja 1942-44 by Ari Raunio and Yuri Kilin states on p. 114 that the Soviet forces lost three IS-2 destroyed as well as four SU-76 destroyed and seven damaged. There is no mention of other losses, but OTOH it's not stated that those were the total losses. The Soviets estimated that Finns lost 14 tanks (actual losses were five). No mention of infantry losses, sorry.

[Aleksander P]

Thank you for the information. I think that it's impossible to know Soviet infantry losses during the two days, as there is no Finnish estimate and Soviet sources of the time are known to be inaccurate.

Commander of the Jäger Brigade, Lt Gen. Albert Puroma mentions in his interview Sotilaiden äänet - Kuuterselän vastaisku, that there were 25 Soviet tanks that could have been captured, if there had been equipment to tow them back into Finnish positions. I wonder if there were more cases of tanks damaging or being abandoned by their crews?

[Art]

Jatkosodan torjuntataisteluja 1942-44 by Ari Raunio and Yuri Kilin states on p. 114 that the Soviet forces lost three IS-2 destroyed as well as four SU-76 destroyed and seven damaged.

There was 1 IS-122 lost as a total write-off and total 10 tanks and SP-guns (1 IS, 1 KV, 4 T-34 and 4 SU-76) plus some number damaged. All apparently were lost after the start of the Finnish counterattack. AFAIR 17 tanks is the Finnish claim. The Soviet 72 Rifle Divisions reported 179 men killed, 879 wounded and 346 missing, total 1398 men lost on 15-16 June. In the corrected report covering 15-19.06 the number of missing in action was reduced to 199, which makes total losses equal to 1171. One cannot be completely sure that a backlog of earlier casualties is not included in these numbers. Some losses were apparently suffered by elements of the 286 Rifle Division, artillery and tank units, but I have no info to calculate them. By any rate they were much smaller than those suffered by the 72 RD.

[Aleksander P]

Jatkosodan torjuntataisteluja 1942-44 by Ari Raunio and Yuri Kilin states on p. 114 that the Soviet forces lost three IS-2 destroyed as well as four SU-76 destroyed and seven damaged.

There was 1 IS-122 lost as a total write-off and total 10 tanks and SP-guns (1 IS, 1 KV, 4 T-34 and 4 SU-76) plus some number damaged. All apparently were lost after the start of the Finnish counterattack. AFAIR 17 tanks is the Finnish claim. The Soviet 72 Rifle Divisions reported 179 men killed, 879 wounded and 346 missing, total 1398 men lost on 15-16 June. In the corrected report covering 15-19.06 the number of missing in action was reduced to 199, which makes total losses equal to 1171. One cannot be completely sure that a backlog of earlier casualties is not included in these numbers. Some losses were apparently suffered by elements of the 286 Rifle Division, artillery and tank units, but I have no info to calculate them. By any rate they were much smaller than those suffered by the 72 RD.

Thank you for the in-depth response!

[Slava_M]

I have taken almost all the available data (name lists) from the database of losses http://obd-memorial.ru/html/advanced-search.htm for Karelian Isthmus for June-July 1944.
It is necessary to say that the name lists for officer losses for 72.RD is not available. It is possible to collect data from the orders of excludng the officers from the name lists of Red Army but I still didn't do it.
So I have:
72 RD: 14.06.44: 107 KIA and DOW in first-line hospitals (medical-sanitary battalions), 1 MIA
15.06.44: 101 KIA and DOW in first-line hospitals (medical-sanitary battalions), 4 MIA
16.06.44: 64 KIA and DOW in first-line hospitals (medical-sanitary battalions), 37 MIA
286 RD (taking into account only 994 RR and 370 Anti-tank Battalion at Kuuterselkä)
14.06.1944: 35 KIA and DOW in first-line hospitals (medical-sanitary battalions), 2 MIA
15.06.1944: 9 KIA and DOW in first-line hospitals (medical-sanitary battalions).
Also one can take into account losses of other units: I have 33 KIA for different units of 15 Breakthrough Artillery Division, 3 for 17 Guards Gun Artillery Brigade, 7 for 1222 Self-Propelled Artillery Regt, 9 for 27 Guards Tank Regt, only 2 for 185 Tank Regt, 3 for 8 Eng.Pion.Btln of 52 Eng.Pion.Brgd, 1 for 84 Assault Eng.Pion.Btln of 17 Eng.Pion.Brgd, 1 for Self-Propelled Artillery Battery of 1 Tank Brgd.
The data can be slightly incomplete, some people also could be put into lists by mistake but I hope I studied all the losses lists prepared by these units in 1944. It is still necessary to compare the data with the losses lists prepared after the war when the units were disbanbed.

[Art]

72 RD: 14.06.44: 107 KIA and DOW in first-line hospitals (medical-sanitary battalions), 1 MIA
15.06.44: 101 KIA and DOW in first-line hospitals (medical-sanitary battalions), 4 MIA
16.06.44: 64 KIA and DOW in first-line hospitals (medical-sanitary battalions), 37 MIA

So 314 men total (without officers). According to the reports by the army's and front's staffs the division lost 339 men from 14 to 19 June, which is a relatively good match. Are there any records of losses on 17-19.06?

[Slava_M]

72 RD: 14.06.44: 107 KIA and DOW in first-line hospitals (medical-sanitary battalions), 1 MIA
15.06.44: 101 KIA and DOW in first-line hospitals (medical-sanitary battalions), 4 MIA
16.06.44: 64 KIA and DOW in first-line hospitals (medical-sanitary battalions), 37 MIA

So 314 men total (without officers). According to the reports by the army's and front's staffs the division lost 339 men from 14 to 19 June, which is a relatively good match. Are there any records of losses on 17-19.06?

2 KIA (both were from 40th Recon Comp.), 1 DOW in medical-sanitary battalion.
Since 20.06 - a strong increase of losses at the battle of Tali.

[Globalization41]

I just read in Steven Kotkin's book on Stalin that the Soviets averaged slightly over 4,000 casualties daily during the Winter War, while sustaining just less than 4,000 casualties daily during the Battle of Stalingrad.

Globalization41.