[2] Near the end of 1921, company-sized militia groups were being formed in East Karelia to fight against the Bolsheviks, due to the official abandonment of Finnish support for the cause of Karelian Independence following the signing of the Tartu Peace Treaty between the Finns and Russians.

[3] These militias would be united into the East Karelian Forest Guerilla Regiment on 14 October 1921, following a meeting between around 200 representatives from all around Karelia at Koivuniemi [fi].

[3] The Forest Guerillas had captured around 60,000 square kilometers from the Bolshevik Russians at their highest extent, and there was lots of public support behind them, as Karelian nationalism and Pan-Finnicism were increasingly popular in the rural areas of Karelia.

The Forest Guerillas had set up defensive positions upon hearing the news and opened fire over the Red Army group traveling over the frozen lake at Uskela.

On 5 February 1922, they were forced into a defensive battle with the Bolsheviks, where they ultimately retreated across the Finnish-Russian Border into Kainuu, due to the vast Red Army superiority in manpower and the reason that the Forest Guerillas were lacking ammunition and food supplies.