WWII History
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Bengtskär
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WWII History
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The Battle for Bengtskär
Bengstkär, approaching from the east.
The tiny island of Bengtskär (about 100 m by 200 m), with its massive granite lighthouse (at 52 m, the tallest in Scandinavia), occupies a place in the hearts of Finns akin to that of the Alamo in the hearts of Americans. At 01:00 on July 26th, 1941, following the resurgence of hostilities between Finland and the Soviet Union, Russian marines mounted a surprise attack on the island, their orders being to destroy the lighthouse which the Finns were using to monitor Russian naval movements around the Finnish port of Hanko (Hangö), then in Soviet hands. In the ensuing battle, during which the defenders were obliged to call in artillery fire from neighbouring islands on their own position, at least 20 members of the original garrison were killed and 17 wounded. Of the various relieving forces, 11 were killed and 28 were wounded. On the Russian side, at least sixty troops were killed (some put the number as high as 120) before the invaders were finally repelled on July 27th. For the Finns, jealous of their independence (won as recently as 1917) and angered by the humiliating settlement of the Winter War, which ceded vast territories to Russia and left parts of their country occupied, it was a victory with both military and moral significance. For the Russians, it was the beginning of the end of their short-lived occupation of Hanko.
To understand the significance of Bengtskär, it is necessary to examine both the history of the island itself and the Russian occupation of the southern Finnish port of Hanko.
Bengtskär lies about twenty-five kilometres west-south-west of the Finnish port of Hanko, itself at the most south-westerly tip of the mainland, and dominates the entrance to the Gulf of Finland, the sea route to Leningrad (now St Petersburg). The waters around Bengtskär are exceedingly treacherous, having many small islands, shoals and reefs – a factor which was later to add to the lighthouse's strategic significance. In 1900, at the Paris World Exhibition, the architect F. Granholm unveiled plans for a lighthouse to be constructed on Bengtskär. However, it was not until 1906, following the loss of the steamer Helsingfors in January of 1905, that work began on the project. The result was a massive, 52m tall, structure, constructed of granite quarried from the island itself, and attached to a four-storey accommodation block. The building was 'topped-out' in August of 1906 and the lamp was lit for the first time on December 19th of that year. (The lamp, which is still in place though no longer used, is interesting, being of French manufacture.)
In 1914, following the outbreak of the First World War, the island was evacuated and the lamp removed to the mainland. Later that year, two German cruisers, Magdeburg and Augsburg, subjected the installation to a thirty shell bombardment which did no more than superficial damage to the building whose walls are about 2.5 m thick at the base and 1.5m thick throughout most of the structure. The lighthouse men and their families returned in the summer of 1915 but, because the Gulf of Finland had been heavily mined, the lamp was not re-lit until 1919. By the 1930's, the island's population had risen to about forty and a teacher had to be imported to cater to the needs of the young children; the schoolroom survives today.
Russia – like Germany – has always feared encirclement by hostile powers and one particular fear has always been the closure of the Gulf of Finland which gives access to Leningrad (now, St Petersburg). This, and the physical proximity of the Finnish border to Leningrad were contributory factors to the Russian attack on Finland in 1939.
Figure 1: The Gulf of Finland, showing Hanko, Bengtskar, and the other islands
In April 1940, following the Treaty of Moscow which ended the Winter War (November 30th, 1939 to March 13th, 1940), Soviet troops took control of the port of Hanko on a thirty year lease. A glance at the map (Figure 1) shows why: Hanko, with its superb natural harbours, dominates the Gulf of Finland and hence the approaches to Leningrad. Soviet troops constructed extensive field fortifications on the landward side of the peninsula -- faced by equally extensive Finnish defences -- and proceeded to turn Hanko into a naval base for seaplanes and small naval vessels. They also built an airfield for fighter-bombers at Täcktom, just outside Hanko, though this was never a great success, being prone to becoming waterlogged in spring and autumn. Then, in June 1940, Russia gained control of Estonia, giving the possibility to dominate the Gulf of Finland from both sides. The longed-for gates to Leningrad were now in place.
Figure 2: A Russian T34 turret emplaced on an island in Hanko harbour.
(Note that this picture has been digitally enhanced to remove vegetation and an antenna tower in the background.)
The natural harbours of Hanko are surrounded by a ring of small islands and any approaching craft must pass through one of the narrow gaps between them. This made the job of defending the port very easy: it was merely necessary to mount artillery pieces on each island to dominate the gaps; remnants of these defences remain today. (See Figure 2, left). In addition, the Russians took over and restored the (destroyed) former Finnish coastal artillery positions on the islands of Rusarö and Hästö Busö, equipping them with 130mm batteries. In September, 1940, these batteries were supplemented by three 305mm railway guns, brought from Leningrad. The majority of Russian air power in Hanko, apart from a few seaplanes, consisted mainly of Polikarpov I-16 single-seater fighters and Polikarpov I-153 biplane fighter-bombers – in total, about 60 aircraft.
However, Hanko's natural defensive features are also a weakness; because of the relatively shallow water (average 5m) and the numerous rocks and shoals, there is only a limited number of possible routes into and out of the port. These possibilities were reduced by the Finnish presence in the surrounding islands. To the west is the Hanko archipelago, a mass of islands, many of which were fortified by the Finns and some of which were major naval bases. To the immediate east, another group of islands was similarly occupied and fortified. Also, from the Russian point of view, all of the Finnish coastline, from Hanko almost to Leningrad, was a hostile shore. Consequently, to support Hanko as a base, Russian vessels had to enter and leave the port on a north-south course, bringing them in sight of several of the western group of Finnish-held islands – in particular, Morgonland and Bengtskär – and within range of Finnish batteries on the island of Örö.
1. 'Bengt' is a common Swedish forename; 'skär' means 'rocky islet' and is linguistically related to the Scottish word 'skerry'. The name is approximately pronounced: benkt' char.
2. All times are Finnish local time which, allowing for Summer Time, would be three hours ahead of GMT.
3. Throughout this article, all names are given in their Finnish form, with the Swedish form, where one exists, in parentheses. It should also be remembered that in Finnish & Swedish the letter ‘y’ is pronounced as ‘ew’. Thus ‘Nyman’ would be pronounced as ‘Newman’ in English.
4. 'Obuhov' guns, as fitted to battleships.
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Bengtskär
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