Word: isthmus
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...what was left of three railroads the main body of the Red Army converged on its goal. The capital of Karelia, which was a Russian city from 1710 to 1918, was doomed to become Russian again. The Finns were holding it only to safeguard their withdrawal from the Karelian Isthmus...
...west had brought their western defense line parallel to their whole line of communications. This meant that if the line broke anywhere the rest of the front-line troops would be cut off from their supplies. And so last week the Finns began retreating in the middle of the isthmus, swinging their army back like a door, with Viipuri as the hinge. To the north and west of Viipuri civilians were cleared out of towns and villages, while the Army began preparing new positions between the Isthmus and Helsinki...
...Army in a real test of might, last week Joseph Stalin would have had to go 35 miles north of Leningrad. If he went to Leningrad, if he watched any of his bright-cheeked soldiers floundering through the snow on the Karelian Isthmus, no word of it leaked out: Leningrad is the only one of the world's ten largest cities without a foreign correspondent. But one thing was certain: that to celebrate its 22nd anniversary last week the Red Army did not take Viipuri. If Joseph Stalin was disappointed, that was nothing to the chagrin of his best...
...fate of Finland had become a matter of time, and accident. If Field Marshal Mannerheim's able commanders could continue to sell their ground dearly and slowly, then Russia might have no more than the Karelian Isthmus by the time spring's thaws and freshets came to the aid of the defenders. And then if-and only if-manpower and materiel came from other countries in ever-increasing quantities, Finland might turn the tide. With Russian bombs falling on the Swedish town of Pajala and Sweden approaching a crisis over help to the Finns, with Turkey growing restless...
15th Day. All across the isthmus the Russians pounded the weary Finns. Sleeplessness, exhaustion and frayed nerves were their allies. In the east, in the centre and at the western end of the line the Finns still held on, but the crack in their line at Summa widened into a breach. Through this breach the Russians kept pouring tanks and men, supported by an incessant bombardment. While their artillery was being moved up to support the continued advance, the Russians kept up the bombardment with planes. The Finns had no respite. Far behind the Russian lines transport was choked with...