Battle of Rautu 1918
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 5 April 1918 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1918 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | World War I era (1914–1918) | derived from year |
| Location | Russia | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Finnish Civil War, Karjala Front | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 60.5471, 30.2167 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Rautu was a 1918 Finnish Civil War battle, fought in Rautu, Finland (now Sosnovo, Leningrad Oblast, Russia) from 21 February to 5 April 1918 between the Finnish Whites and the Finnish Reds supported by the Russian Bolsheviks.
The battle was fought by the Rautu railway station, taken by the Reds in late February and soon sieged by the Whites. After weeks of trench warfare, the Whites launched their decisive attack and finally smashed the Red defense on 5 April. The last two days of the Rautu battle were one of the most fierce of all the Finnish Civil War battles. The battle is known as the massacre in the "Death Valley", where more than 400 fleeing Reds were killed by machine gunfire.
Unlike any other Finnish Civil War battle, the number of Russian Bolshevik troops was remarkable. The Russian interest is explained by Rautu's location only 60 kilometers north of Saint Petersburg. The Bolsheviks were concerned that the Finnish Whites and their ally Germany would launch an attack against the city along the Rautu railway. The Whites, in turn, were protecting their front on the western side of the Karelian Isthmus.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Rautu (revision 1370587262), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
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- Battle of Kämärä 1918 · 64 km
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Other battles of the Finnish Civil War
- Battle of Ahvenkoski 1918
- Battle of Antrea 1918
- Battle of Hyvinkää 1918
- Battle of Hämeenlinna 1918
- Battle of Kämärä 1918
- Battle of Lahti 1918
- Battle of Länkipohja 1918
- Battle of Ruovesi 1918
- Battle of Syrjäntaka 1918
- Battle of Tampere 1918
All 14 battles of the Finnish Civil War →
Browse more: battles in Russia · Europe · World War I era battles