Anti-tank minefields in Mannerheim line

[Panssari Salama]

I got asked an interesting question: were there anti-tank minefields laid out in front of the Mannerheim line before and during Winter War? If so, what types of mines, and where were they, in what density?

I did not find any on-line resources readily (at least not yet), so any pointer to a book etc would be appreciated!

[Waleed Y. Majeed]

Mentions tank obstacles, minefields and some naval mines used too.
https://books.google.dk/books?id=UDO1Cw ... ld&f=false
waleed

[Panssari Salama]

Thanks Waleed! I have Käkelä's "Marskin panssarintuhoojat" (Mannerheim's tank destroyers) and Kolomyjec's Tanks in the Winter War as my only sources at hand, was not aware of his book on the subject.

My understanding is that there were no larger at-minefields in place during Winter War, while cerrtain key points were mined, like roads and their immediate vicinity.

[JTV]

My understanding is that there were no larger at-minefields in place during Winter War, while cerrtain key points were mined, like roads and their immediate vicinity.

Pretty much that. In addition during the war it seems to have been a standard practice to place antitank-mines in holes that the Soviets had succeeded busting in antitank obstacle stone lines.

When Winter War started the whole antitank-mine inventory of Finnish Army was 5,000 antitank-mines m/36, so there simply were not enough antitank-mines for building large minefields. Neither antitank-mine m/36 or antitank-mine m/39 that went into production in December of 1939 could be manufactured in large numbers, so as a stop-gap measure of sort Finnish Army introduced antitank-mines m/S-39 and m/S-40 which were build in wooden boxes, that could be manufactured by carpenter's shops and furniture factories.

More info on these pages that in my website:
https://www.jaegerplatoon.net/landmines1.htm
https://www.jaegerplatoon.net/landmines3.htm

Jarkko

[Panssari Salama]

Thanks Jarkko!