The Reds were aiming to reach Haapamäki, 25 kilometres north of Vilppula, which was a vital junction of the east–west railways connecting the regions of Ostrobothnia, Häme and Karelia.

[2] The first clash in Vilppula occurred on 31 January, as 200 Reds attacked the industrial community of Mänttä which was held by the local White Guard.

On the next day, the White Guard from nearby Keuruu entered the scene, and the Reds were forced to retreat to the railway station of Lyly, about 15 kilometers south of Vilppula.

Later the same day, a White unit led by the prominent warlord Matti Laurila, later killed in the Battle of Länkipohja, advanced towards Lyly, but was stopped by a demolished railway bridge.

This unit was led by the second lieutenant G. A. Stolbov, but the Russians were soon sent to the Battle of Kuru, which was fought 40 kilometres west of Vilppula.

On 13 March, the Reds performed a peculiar operation as they loaded a train full of explosives and sent it towards the Vilppula station.

The ghost train ran over the roadblocks and finally stopped at the rail yard, where the Whites managed to make the overpressured locomotive harmless and prevent the explosion.

The Whites in turn had 600 men in Väärinmaja, commanded by the lieutenant Carl Nordensvan and the volunteer Swedish captain Martin Ekström.

[2][4] The Reds launched their first attack on 21 February by pounding Väärinmaja and the nearby villages of Seppälä and Enoranta with artillery fire.