Kuikonniemi fortifications near Punkaharju in Eastern Finland

Illustration by: Tupu Vuorinen

At the front line, men rested and spent time in the dugouts The illustration is based on a photo of everyday life in a dugout for troops from South Ostrobothnia during the Con- tinuation War (Metsäpirtti, 1942).

Dugouts were built to provide protection for men, weapons and even horses. The dugouts, mainly built of wood, were wholly or partly le ly located underground. The Kuikonniemi dugout was built as a shelter for troops. The entrance chamber leads into the dugout, where the ceiling is layered and fortified with logs and stones, to provide protection from enemy artillery shells.

During the Winter War and Continuation War, various fortifications were designed in Punkaharju and its environs. Only parts of them were actually built. The Kuikonniemi dugout is not original, but was built as a model in the 1990s.

Trenches and other defensive structures were built in Kuikonniemi in 1944, as the fortification of the esker region, initiated during the Winter War, continued. However, since the actual fighting never reached Punkaharju, the trenches were never used for their original purpose.

Fortified with wooden structures, the trenches were not built to last. The network of trenches was rebuilt on the spot in the 1990s, and parts of it were renovated in 2013.