Researching history of Finnish Lotta units in Reval, 1944

[Larry deZeng]

Yes, Flugmelde-Abt. z.b.V. 11 and 12 were twin sisters. In 1944, z.b.V. 11 had aircraft observations sections and outposts at Pskov, Luga, Tartu, Rakvere, etc. The 1942 and 1943 locations were Staraya Russa, Nevel, Izhora, Gory, Tuleblya, etc. It seems that z.b.V. 11 was deployed inland while z.b.V. 12 was mostly along the Baltic coast. I don't know about z.b.V. 12, but z.b.V. 11 had quite a few casualties from Russian bombs and artillery fire, so I think it was a little too close to the action for women. Back then, women were generally spared from frontline duty. Today, things are different. We have lost nearly 200 women soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan to IEDs and small arms fire.