In 1980, Lieutenant general A. E. Martola opined: "Honestly, this regiment saved Finland during the midsummer weekend 1944, even if only temporarily.

On the Karelian Isthmus, the Finns froze their offensive 30 km from Leningrad, where the pre-World War II border of the Soviet Union and Finland ran.

[2][3][4] A general mobilization was initiated on 17 June 1941 in anticipation of renewed hostilities, and each Military Province was charged with establishing an army division.

After crossing the Jandeba River, the 61st Regiment advanced towards the area of the village of Shemenski and city of Podporoze, where it entered into trench warfare and remained for a period of more than two years until May 1944.

The objective was to force the retreat of the Finnish Army across the Svir River and capture a bridgehead for continued advance towards the old frontier.

Constant patrols into enemy territory, artillery barrage and readiness to counterattack, characterized this phase of the war.

At a critical moment on 10 November, when the Finnish line wavered, Marttinen personally took charge of a counterattack, halting any retreating soldiers, and with a drawn pistol commanding: We do not yield an inch!

The commander-in-chief, field marshal Mannerheim, therefore decided, on the advice of major general Lennart Oesch, to not attempt to recapture the lost terrain.

After more than two years at the front, IR61 was relieved of duty on 22 May 1944 and placed in reserve, behind the line held by the 5th Division, in the area of Kinkijeva-Ontroila-Karelskaja.

The regiment was deployed for defense at Tienhaara, which was located along the coastal highway leading north from Viipuri towards Finland, on the shore of Kivisillansalmi on 22 June relieving the worn out troops.