Isn't Life Strange

by the Moody Blues

I got yesterday my late father's army calendar from 1944. I found the markings of the day that determined his and also my fate. On 7 May their unit was shifted from Valkeasaari part of the Karelian Isthmus front to the Syväri/Svir front (where they arrived on 13 May). On 10 June the Russians broke through the Karelian Isthmus front exactly at the location where my father's unit had been, with 36 infantry battalions and 12 tank battalions against 3 Finnish infantry battalions at that point of the line. The Russians had 220 artillery guns per km on that sector. The Finnish units were totally annihilated. Hence, that shift on 7 May saved my dad - and me. The text on 5 May shows that he was very upset that his leave had been cancelled (likely due to the front shift), but he should not have been. Pity that I never went through the details with him.

The extra tells what happened to my father on the other front. At 19:45 on 21 June they also had to start to retreat, and marched often at night due to Russian air superiority for more than two weeks with the Russians at their heels. They were dropped supplies, and once they survived on cream crackers - the only drop they managed to reach. My dad refused to eat them since that.

On 4 September the calendar notes say: "The truce began at 8. The Russians are still firing". On 5 September "Beautiful morning, Quiet. The Russians stopped at 8. Package from mom. 2 letters." Thus ended his fighting war.