The battles were part of a Soviet campaign to penetrate the Finnish Mannerheim Line in the Karelian Isthmus region to open a route into southern Finland.

In the Ladoga sector, the Soviet commanding officer was Vladimir Grendahl and on the Finnish side, Erik Heinrichs.

The terrain was flat farmland, so the Soviets had no cover, and the Finnish 10th Division's accurate artillery inflicted heavy losses.

However, due to the sheer size of the Soviet forces, the attackers managed to establish a bridgehead over the river.

Despite this, however, they were not strong enough to stop the Soviet advance, and soon the bridgehead was gradually enlarged, securing ground for the reinforcements that were on the way (the 39th Armoured Brigade).