Editing Mannerheim Line (section)

===Planning in 1918===
During the civil war of 1918, the Finnish government and high command started to develop defence plans to protect against possible attacks from the Soviet Union. The main such route was the [[Karelian Isthmus]]. The most endangered part of that isthmus was to the west, near the Gulf of Finland, the eastern part was better protected by the natural water-ways of [[Vuoksi]], [[Lake Sukhodolskoye|Suvanto]] and [[Taipaleenjoki]]. The first plans for a defensive line were commissioned by Mannerheim from the Swedish volunteer Lieutenant Colonel A. Rappe at the beginning of May 1918. Rappe's line was placed close to the border and designed to protect two rail lines that crossed the border, which could be used in a counterattack toward Petrograd. When Mannerheim resigned at the end of May, Rappe's plans were abandoned.<ref name="Kronlund1">[[#Kronlund1988|Kronlund 1988]], page 187</ref>

The young nation possessed no guard troops, and the border area was insecure. Security of the border on the isthmus was the responsibility of the 2nd Division and local White Guard units in June 1918.<ref name="Kronlund2">[[#Kronlund1988|Kronlund 1988]], page 127</ref> In that form they were also entrusted with the security of the fortification construction. First efforts were weak depots without any concrete.<ref name="UittoGeust2">[[#UittoGeust2006|Geust & Uitto 2006]], pages 9–14</ref>

The Germans had ordered Colonel [[Otto von Brandenstein]] to investigate defensive positions on the Karelian Isthmus; he delivered his plan on 16 July. He was the first to suggest using the lake isthmuses, where smaller lakes like Lake Kuolemajärvi, Lake Muolaa, Lake Suvanto and the Taipaleenjoki river divided the Karelian Isthmus to the shorter land sections, as defensive positions, his plan was initially approved by the Finnish high command in August 1918. In October 1918, the Finnish government allocated 300,000 marks for the work, which was to be carried out by German and Finnish sappers as well as Russian prisoners of war. However, the money allocated was insufficient and a lack of building materials and a qualified workforce hampered the building of proper fortifications. With Germany's defeat in [[World War I|The Great War]], von Brandenstein's plan was scrapped.<ref name="Kronlund3">[[#Kronlund1988|Kronlund 1988]], page 189</ref>