Most of T�rni's reputation is based on his successful feats in the Continuation War (1941?44) between the Soviet Union and Finland. In 1943 a famous unit informally named Detachment T�rni was created under his command. This was an infantry unit that penetrated and fought deep behind the enemy lines and soon enjoyed a reputation on both sides of the front for its effectiveness. One of T�rni's men was the future President of Finland, Mauno Koivisto. The two served together for instance in the crucial Battle of Ilomantsi, the very final Finnish-Soviet fight of the Continuation War in July and August 1944. Koivisto witnessed this battle as a soldier in a reconnaissance company commanded by Captain T�rni.
T�rni's units inflicted continued heavy casualties on Russian units and the Soviet Army had a bounty on T�rni's head equivalent to 3 million Finnish Marks (650,000 USD), reputedly the only Finnish officer so recognized. He was decorated with the Mannerheim Cross, the equivalent of the American Congressional Medal of Honor, on July 9, 1944.
