The Winter War ended with the Moscow peace treaty 3.13.1940 and Hanko was rented to the Soviet Union as a naval base for 30 years. The rental period, however, lasted for a little less than two years.
The Continuation War began at the end of June 1941, and on the Hanko front there were battles during the summer and the autumn. The most well known battle was the battle of the Bengtskär lighthouse, 27.7.1941. The Hanko base was about to be encircled, and the Soviet Union decided to evacuate it. The last Soviet soldiers left Hanko on 2.12.1941, leaving behind them a destroyed town.
