Battle of Tolvajärvi

Battle of Tolvajärvi
	Part of Winter War
	; Plan of the Finnish attack
Date	12-24 December 1939 (1 week and 5 days)
Location	Tolvajärvi and Ägläjärvi, north of Lake Ladoga, Finland (today Republic of Karelia, Russia)62°17′17″N 31°29′18″E / 62.28806°N 31.48833°E
Result	Finnish victory
Belligerents
Finland	Soviet Union
Commanders and leaders
Paavo Talvela; Aaro Pajari	Nikolai Belyaev
Units involved
Group Talvela	16th Rifle Division
Strength
4,000 men	20,000 men
Casualties and losses
100+ killed; 250 wounded; 150 captured	4,000–5,000 killed; 5,000+ wounded; 20 tanks destroyed; 39 armoured vehicles destroyed; 30 guns destroyed
	Location within Karelia Battle of Tolvajärvi (Finland)

The Battle of Tolvajärvi (['tol.va.jær.vi]; Finnish: Tolvajärven–Ägläjärven taistelu, Russian: Битва при Толваярви) was fought on 12 December 1939 between Finland and the Soviet Union. It was the first large offensive victory for the Finns in the Winter War.

The battle took place on the territory of so-called Ladoga Karelia (Finnish: Laatokan Karjala) which today is part of the Republic of Karelia in Russia.