troops transferred further south. Soon after, Hitler decided to pull back any German presence in southern Finland. Two assault gun brigades that had been ordered to Finland were instead redirected to other sectors of the front, and on 21 July, Detachment Kuhlmey was recalled from Finland. Finnish exit from the war While the Soviet offensive had been halted, the Finns remained in a precarious strategic situation. They were still dependent on German food, and German forces remained in the country. At the same time, the Soviets would have no need for a negotiated peace if Finland waited until a German exit from the war. On 17 July 1944, the Soviets informed the Finns that they were prepared for peace negotiations, with the main demand being that Finland would need to change its government. As a result, on 1 August 1944, Ryti resigned the presidency and was replaced by Mannerheim on 4 August. The Germans attempted to keep the Finns involved in the war by sending Chief of the German High Command Wilhelm Keitel to Helsinki on 17 August, but Mannerheim informed Keitel he did not consider himself to be bound by Ryti's agreement. Finno-Soviet negotiations continued until 2 September, when the Finnish parliament accepted the Soviet demands. A cease-fire was agreed to begin on 4 September, ending the war between the Finns and the Soviets. As part of the Soviet demands, the Finns were to evict any remaining German forces from Finland. Accordingly, on 2 September 1944, the Finns informed the Germans of severing all ties between the nations, and demanded that Germans leave Finland. Despite initial peaceful movements by the Germans, the situation soon deteriorated in the wake of an attempted German landing on the Finnish-held Suursaari, resulting in the Finno-German Lapland War, which ended on 27 April 1945 when the last German forces left Finnish territory. See also Finlandisation Notes References Political history of Finland Military history of Germany during World War II Politics of World War II Treaties of Finland 20th century in Finland Continuation War 1944 in Finland 1944 in Germany 1944 in international relations Foreign relations of Nazi Germany Finland–Germany relations 1944 treaties World War II treaties Treaties of Nazi Germany June 1944 events