The division was formed Savo-Karjala military province from the men in Pohjois-Savo (Northern Savonia) and Pohjois-Karjala (North Karelia) civil guard districts.

[4] By July 1941 the division was commanded by Colonel Antero Svensson and had advanced to the Matkaselkä Railway and pushed the Soviets back towards Lake Ladoga.

[5] The 7th Division captured Sortavala, a Russian town since 1917 but which had previously been part of Finland, on 8 August 1941 after a fierce battle.

[11] During the Soviet Svir-Petrozavodsk Offensive of 1944, the division fought a delaying action from the river Svir first to Petrozavodsk[12] and eventually to the Sortavala region.

[15] Based on the periodic reports made by units to Finnish General Headquarters the total losses suffered by the 7th Division in killed, wounded and missing during the Continuation War were 12,384 men, the second-highest losses suffered by the Finnish divisions during the war.