Peter the Great's Naval Fortress

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Peter the Great's Naval Fortress
Remains of the fortress
Coordinates
Area	Estonia, Finland
Built	1912–1917

Peter the Great's Naval Fortress or the Tallinn-Porkkala defence station was a Russian fortification line, which aimed to block access to the Russian capital

The decision to start construction of the naval fortress line came after the disastrous events at

Defensive lines

The system consisted of several zones of defence:

1. The innermost zone consisted of the fortresses at Kronstadt, Krasnaya Gorka and Ino, and the land and coastal fortresses near Vyborg. The latter were to prevent the enemy circling the Kronstadt line by landing near the Bay of Vyborg.
2. The second line was between Kotka and Narva, following the between-lying islands.
3. The third and main line of defence was between Tallinn and Porkkala.
4. The fourth line was between Hiiumaa and the Hanko Peninsula.

Further, Helsinki and Tallinn were encircled with defensive lines on land, consisting of thousands of kilometers of railway, bunkers connected with tunnel systems, and cannon fire positions. The fortification around Helsinki, Krepost Sveaborg, was centered on the old fortress of Suomenlinna.

The construction of the defensive system was slowed due to the outbreak of

The heaviest batteries were supposed to consist of 356 mm/52 m 1913 guns. However, at the time of the

• Mäkiluoto:
  • 4x 203 mm/50 VC
• Naissaar:
  • 4x
    305 mm/52 O
  • 4x 234 mm/50 Be
  • 4x 203 mm/50 VC
  • 4x 152 mm/45 C
  • 3x 120 mm/50 V
• Aegna:
  • 2x 305/52 O
• Viimsi
  • 4x 120/50 V
• Suurupi:
  • 4x 234/50 Be
• Kakumägi
  • 3x 120/50 V

Aftermath

In the 1930s, the Finnish and Estonian coastal defenses made

The fortress in Porkkala, along with its 305 mm guns was leased to the Soviet Union in the Moscow Armistice of 1944. When the territory was returned to Finland in 1956, the guns were demolished.

See also

• Finnish–Estonian defense cooperation

References

Sources

• Leskinen, Jari (1999). Veljien valtiosalaisuus — Suomen ja Viron salainen sotilaallinen yhteistyö Neuvostoliiton hyökkäyksen varalle vuosina 1918–1940. Werner Söderström osakeyhtiö.
  ISBN 951-0-23828-7
  .
• Enqvist, Ove (1999). Itsenäisen Suomen rannikkotykit 1918–1998. Sotamuseo.
  ISBN 951-25-1033-2
  .

• Krepost Sveaborg - Land and Sea Fortress of Helsinki During the First World War
• Interactive map (incomplete)

Documentary film

• Legend Of The Fort – Upcoming documentary film about Naval Fortress of Emperor Peter The Great