When the Winter War broke out, horses were requisitioned for the Defence Forces and taken to the mansions of Vuolinko, Nikara and Kekkola. Later in the winter, there were 300 horses, including animals recovered in battle along the Raate road.
At the beginning of July 1941, Bomber Squadron 44 was based in Mikkeli. In addition to bombing raids, the squadron conducted reconnaissance and photography flights in Ladoga Karelia and the Karelian Isthmus. The squadron commander and his staff were accommodated in Kekkola mansion, near the airfield, until the squadron was transferred to support the Karelian Army’s assault towards Petrozavodsk in the autumn.
The inspector of artillery, General V P Nenonen, moved to Kekkola with his staff in March 1944, when Headquarters anticipated air raids in the Mikkeli region, and executed a policy of decentralisation. Artillery operations were developed under Nenonen’s command and, in the Battle of Tali-Ihantala in 1944, the Finnish artillery focused on a priority area of 7 square kilometres with fire from as many as 250 guns – the only example of such coordinated artillery fire in the world.
Kekkola mansion is a company that provides meeting and tourism services, specialising in horse riding.
