File:Men of the 61st Infantry Regiment in a trench near the village of Shemenski, 28 April 1942. Colorized by Julius Jääskeläinen.jpg

English: Men of the 61st Infantry Regiment in a trench near the village of Shemenski, 28 April 1942. Originally black and white photograph colorized Julius Jääskeläinen.

The Finnish 61st Infantry Regiment (IR61) was a combat regiment of the 17th division of the Finnish Army during the Second World War, consisting almost exclusively of Swedish speaking Finns.

After crossing the Jandeba River, the 61st Regiment advanced towards the area of the village of Shemenski and city of Podporozhye, where it entered into trench warfare and remained for a period of more than two years until May 1944.

At the beginning of 1942, the Soviet 7th Army was facing the Finnish 17th Division in the Svir area. The 61st Regiment was located at the east, opposite the Soviet 114th Infantry Division. Towards the end of March, the Soviet Army concentrated their forces, and launched its Spring Offensive at the start of April 1942.

The main Soviet advance soon encountered fierce resistance, requiring the Soviet 114th Division to be thrown into the main line of attack, after which the Soviet forces managed to break through the Finnish lines between Shemenski and Pertjärvi. As preparation for a Finnish counterattack, a major Finnish combat unit was formed on 17 April, of which the 61st Infantry Regiment was a key component. The Finnish counterattack was launched on 19 April and by 22 April all the Soviet forces that had advanced through the Finnish lines between Shemenski and Pertjärvi had been annihilated. The Finnish Army suffered losses of 2,165 men, while the Soviet 7th Army suffered losses around 12,800 men.

Photograph taken by T. Räisänen and was provided by Sa-kuva. Photo number: 84910.