The first elements of the Finnish 11th Infantry Regiment (JR 11) landed unopposed at the port of Röyttä at 07:45 on 1 October and were met by a train that started transporting troops closer to the town. Lieutenant Colonel Halsti had planned to move his forces swiftly towards Kemi to secure the important bridges across the Kemi river – however after learning from the Finnish forces which had secured the town that there could be a whole German battalion in the vicinity he chose more a cautious approach.