[210] The Anglo-French Supreme War Council elected to send notes to Norway and Sweden on 27 December, urging the Norwegians and Swedes to help Finland and offer the Allies their support. He stated that "the strongest argument" against a Soviet intention of full conquest is that it did not happen in either 1939 or during the Continuation War in 1944 even though Stalin "could have done so with comparative ease". Clothing, equipment and tactics for winter operations were improved. Posted March 11, 2022 | Reviewed by Tyler Woods Key points. [17], There were 5,572 Soviet prisoners of war in Finland. The Anglo-French Supreme War Council was unable to formulate a workable plan, revealing its unsuitability to make effective war in either Britain or France. [148], The Battle of Raate Road, which occurred during the month-long Battle of Suomussalmi, resulted in one of the largest Soviet losses in the Winter War. This is the story of the Winter War. From 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809, the Russian Empire waged the Finnish War against the Kingdom of Sweden, ostensibly to protect the Russian capital, Saint Petersburg, and eventually this led to the conquest and annexation of Finland and its conversion into an autonomous buffer state. And surrender was no option for him; Soviet propaganda had told him how the Finns would torture prisoners to death. The operation would have required 100,000 British and 35,000 French soldiers with naval and air support. 80 Soviet tanks were destroyed in the border zone engagements. A Short History Of The 'Winter War' | Imperial War Museums On 17 December, the Soviet northern group, comprising an infantry regiment, a battalion, and a company of tanks, was outflanked by a Finnish battalion. The ammunition shortage meant the Finns could seldom afford counter-battery or saturation fire. A third Soviet division entered the fight but performed poorly and panicked under shell fire. For other uses, see, Toggle Operations from December to January subsection, Toggle Soviet breakthrough in February subsection, Toggle Aftermath and casualties subsection, Shelling of Mainila and Soviet intentions, Start of invasion and political operations, First battles and Soviet advance to Mannerheim Line, Red Army reforms and offensive preparations, White migrs and Russian prisoners-of-war, At the beginning of the war, the Finns had 300,000 soldiers. The war - History Learning Site Mannerheim was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Defence Forces after the Soviet attack. The period of combat known as the Continuation War, 1941 to 1944, during which German forces fought alongside the Finnish army, exacted a much heavier toll on Finland and Russia than the Winter War had. Armies fighting there had recognised supply and communications centres, which could be easily targeted by armoured vehicle regiments. During daylight hours, the Finns took shelter inside their fortifications from the bombardments and repaired damage during the night. On 19 December, the Finns temporarily ceased their assaults due to exhaustion. France planned to rearm the Polish exile units and transport them to the Finnish Arctic port of Petsamo. The area was treeless, windy, and relatively low, offering little defensible terrain. 6 Nations That Had No Problems Invading Russia in the Winter The commander of the Finnish IV Army Corps Juho Heiskanen was replaced by Woldemar Hgglund on 4 December. She offered to contact Moscow through the Soviet Union's ambassador to Sweden, Alexandra Kollontai. In total, Finland received 12,000 volunteers, 50 of whom died during the war. From the very outset of the war, working-class Finns stood behind the legitimate government in Helsinki. [218] According to revised estimates in 2005 by Finnish historians, 25,904 people died or went missing and 43,557 were wounded on the Finnish side during the war. Finland: Soviet Annexation Of Karelia Still A Taboo Subject Operational plans made in September called for the invasion to start in November. What he wouldn't commit on was the speed of that accession once the conflict was over: while Finland - and soon Sweden - have gained entry in just over a year, the prime minister wasn't willing to . In 1918 and 1919, Finnish volunteers conducted two unsuccessful military incursions across the Soviet border, the Viena and Aunus expeditions, to annex areas in Karelia that according to the Greater Finland ideology would combine all Baltic Finnic peoples into a single state. The Battle of Taipale began with a forty-hour Soviet artillery preparation. One typical Soviet attack during the battle lasted just an hour but left 1,000 dead and 27 tanks strewn on the ice. [165] The top scoring fighter ace was Jorma Sarvanto, with 12.83 victories. [F 12] Finnish and Russian researchers have estimated that there were 8001,100 Finnish prisoners of war, of whom between 10 and 20 percent died. [181][182], By mid-February, it became clear that the Finnish forces were rapidly approaching exhaustion. [158][159] Often, targets were village depots with little value. The Red Army was superior in numbers and material, but Finns used the advantages of speed, manoeuvre warfare and economy of force. Despite these defensive preparations, even the most fortified section of the Mannerheim Line had only one reinforced-concrete bunker per kilometre. The Finns lacked the manpower to defend it fully, as the main front was distant at the Karelian Isthmus. Often the motti tactic was not applied as a strategy, but as a Finnish adaptation to the behaviour of Soviet troops under fire. What Was the Winter War? - HISTORY On 15 February, Mannerheim authorised a general retreat of the II Corps to a fallback line of defence. The Soviet Union, with a . [172] The main focus of the Soviet attack was switched to the Karelian Isthmus. How did Finland do so well in the Continuation War? After 15 months of Interim Peace, in June 1941, Germany commenced Operation Barbarossa, and the Continuation War between Finland and the Soviets began. On 14 October 1920, Finland and Soviet Russia signed the Treaty of Tartu, confirming the old border between the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland and Imperial Russia proper as the new FinnishSoviet border. Soviet soldiers had even been warned not to cross the border mistakenly into Sweden. The National Interest: Blog | The National Interest On 6 December 1917, the Senate of Finland declared the nation's independence. [40] The resulting Grand Duchy of Finland enjoyed wide autonomy within Russia until the end of the 19th century, when Russia began attempts to assimilate Finland as part of a general policy to strengthen the central government and unify the Empire by Russification. The Finns had built 41 reinforced-concrete bunkers in the Summa area, making the defensive line in this area stronger than anywhere else on the Karelian Isthmus. [95], The Soviet forces were organised as follows:[96], The Finnish strategy was dictated by geography. [14] Often, a Finnish forward air base consisted of a frozen lake, a windsock, a telephone set and some tents. Two sets of fortress artillery made significant contributions to the early battles on the Karelian Isthmus and in Ladoga Karelia. [49], Soviet General Secretary Joseph Stalin regarded it a disappointment that the Soviet Union could not halt the Finnish Revolution. The Finns remained in their trenches, allowing the Soviet tanks to move freely behind the Finnish line, as the Finns had no proper anti-tank weapons. [61] The Soviets had already started intensive mobilisation near the Finnish border in 193839. Along the Suvanto sector, the Finns had a slight advantage of elevation and dry ground to dig into. [44], The period after the Finnish Civil War to the early 1930s was a politically unstable time in Finland because of the continued rivalry between the conservatives and the socialists. After the barrage, Soviet infantry attacked across open ground but was repulsed with heavy casualties. He was succeeded by Marshal Gustaf Mannerheim, who began negotiations for an armistice. [62] Assault troops thought to be necessary for the invasion did not begin deployment until October 1939. After the blitzkrieg attack on Poland by Germany, the Explore Exam Subjects Advanced Level History Ancient Rome Medieval England Tudor England Stuart England Nazi Germany World War One World War Two Contact Search More results. 'There will be no way back': will war change Finland's pragmatic [66] The Finns would also cede the islands in the Gulf of Finland. He instructed them to stop at Finland's western border with Sweden. [41], World War I led to the collapse of the Russian Empire during the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the Russian Civil War. The Soviets shipped large numbers of new tanks and artillery pieces to the theatre. hquist's plan was bold; however it failed. Aftermath of the Winter War - Wikipedia The 122nd retreated, abandoning much of its heavy equipment and vehicles. Rather, the objective was to gain Finnish territory and to reinforce Soviet influence in the region. [13] Air raids killed 957 civilians. Mannerheim Line Plans for Franco-British intervention v t e Foreign support in the Winter War consisted of materiel, men and moral support to the Finnish struggle against the Soviet Union in the Winter War. The League of Nations deemed the attack illegal and expelled the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, Finland was attempting to negotiate a military co-operation plan with Sweden and hoping to jointly defend land. Both the Red Army and the League of Nations were humiliated, and the Anglo-French Supreme War Council had been revealed to be chaotic and powerless. An even greater problem than lack of soldiers was the lack of materiel since foreign shipments of anti-tank weapons and aircraft were arriving only in small quantities. The Communist Party of Finland was declared illegal in 1931, and the nationalist Lapua Movement organised anticommunist violence, which culminated in a failed coup attempt in 1932. [155], In southern Lapland, near the village of Salla, the Soviet 88th and 122nd Divisions, totaling 35,000 men, advanced. A memorable quote, "Kollaa holds" (Finnish: Kollaa kest) became a legendary motto among Finns. American historian William R. Trotter asserted that Stalin's objective was to secure Leningrad's flank from a possible German invasion through Finland. The Winter War Ghost Haunts Putin's War Today The Russo-Finnish War was a near-disaster for Stalin, presaging Putin's war. However, the prospect of an invasion of the Soviet Union reversed the policy. 350 American nationals of Finnish background volunteered, and 210 volunteers of other nationalities arrived in Finland before the war ended. ", "The Winter War When the Finns Humiliated the Russians", "Swedish volunteer in position during the Soviet-Finnish War", YLE: Marokon Kauhu nousi legendaksi Kollaalla, Jtynyt helvetti: Tllainen on Raatteen tie tnn, "Intelligence and Stalin's Two Crucial Decisions in the Winter War, 193940", "Bad blood and humiliation: Finns' experiences of the Moscow peace negotiations in 1940", "70th Anniversary of the End of the Winter War", "Venlisemigranttien talvisota Mannerheim hyvksyi huippusalaisen suunnitelman bolevikkien vastaisen sotavankiarmeijan perustamisesta", "The Annexation of the Baltic States and Its Effect on the Development of Law Prohibiting Forcible Seizure of Territory", "Putin: Winter War aimed at correcting border "mistakes", "Casus Belli: , , " " 193940 ", "Sotasankari Simo Hyhn ennennkemtn pivkirja lytyi "Tss on minun syntilistani", "SovietFinish War 19391940 and Red Army's Losses", "These 17 photos show Finland's brutally cold World War II battle with the Soviet Union", Fire and Ice: The Winter War of Finland and Russia, Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany, Raising the Flag on the Three-Country Cairn, Military history of the Russian Federation, List of battles involving the Russian Federation, Sino-Russian border conflicts (16521689), Red Army intervention in Afghanistan (1929), Red Army intervention in Afghanistan (1930), Soviet occupation of the Baltic states (1940), Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, Soviet re-occupation of the Baltic states (1944), Anti-communist resistance in Poland (19441953), Soviet OMON assaults on Lithuanian border posts, GermanSoviet military parade in Brest-Litovsk, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union, Russian Revolution, Russian Civil War, PolishSoviet War, Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance, Aggravation of class struggle under socialism, Backwardness brings on beatings by others, 1906 Bolshevik raid on the Tsarevich Giorgi, National delimitation in the Soviet Union, Demolition of Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Case of Trotskyist Anti-Soviet Military Organization, Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia, Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR, On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences, List of awards and honours bestowed upon Joseph Stalin, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Winter_War&oldid=1164832398, Articles containing Finnish-language text, Articles containing Swedish-language text, Articles containing Russian-language text, Wikipedia pages semi-protected against vandalism, Use shortened footnotes from January 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0. Finland profile - Timeline - BBC News [41] Finland achieved full sovereignty in May 1918 after a four-month civil war in which the conservative Whites defeated the socialist Reds with the help of the Imperial German Army, pro-German Jgers, and some Swedish troops, in addition to the expulsion of Bolshevik troops. That day, the weather was fair and visibility was excellent. On 15 November 1917, the Bolshevik Russian government declared that national minorities possessed the right of self-determination, including the right to secede and form a separate state, which gave Finland a window of opportunity. Ukraine-Russia war latest: Russia scrambles fighter jets to Norwegian The ensuing battle of Kollaa lasted until the end of the war. [152] So sure of their victory had the Soviets been that a military band, complete with instruments, banners and notes, was traveling with the 44th Division to perform in a victory parade. November 23, 2019 02:01 GMT An archive of thousands of images of the Soviet Union's 1939 invasion of Finland have been scanned and digitized, revealing the harrowing human details of the David. The Finns used effective guerrilla tactics, taking special advantage of their superior skiing skills and snow-white layered clothing and executing surprise ambushes and raids. Almost 100 aeroplanes were used for flight training purposes, unsuitable for combat or under repair. There were no paved roads, and even gravel or dirt roads were scarce. [129] The Finns had built 221 strong-points along the Karelian Isthmus, mostly in the early 1920s. The obvious problem here is the fact that Russia has been using them since the beginning of the war. [10] The Soviet Air Force learned from its early mistakes, and by late February instituted more effective tactics. They were expecting reinforcements and supplies to arrive by air. They also had a support group of three brigades, bringing their total strength to over 30,000. [90] Waging Blitzkrieg in Finland was a highly-difficult proposition, and according to Trotter, the Red Army failed to meet the level of tactical co-ordination and local initiative that would be required to execute such tactics in Finland. The Baltic Fleet was a coastal defence force which did not have the training, logistical structure, or landing craft to undertake large-scale operations. The Soviets made several demands, including that Finland cede substantial border territories in exchange for land elsewhere, claiming security reasons primarily the protection of Leningrad, 32km (20mi) from the Finnish border. [51] He thought that the pro-Finland movement in Karelia posed a direct threat to Leningrad and that the area and defences of Finland could be used to invade the Soviet Union or restrict fleet movements. In prewar calculations, the Finnish Defence Command, which had established its wartime headquarters at Mikkeli,[96] had estimated seven Soviet divisions on the Karelian Isthmus and no more than five along the whole border north of Lake Ladoga. [34], Before the war, Soviet leadership had expected total victory within a few weeks. [80], Stalin's purges in the 1930s had devastated the officer corps of the Red Army; those purged included three of its five marshals, 220 of its 264 division or higher-level commanders and 36,761 officers of all ranks. Winter War, Russo-Finnish War, World War II, Russian Revolution, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Treaty of Dorpat, Nazi-Soviet Pact, Operation Barbarossa DOI 10.15385/jch.2018.2.2.4 Abstract The Russo-Finnish War of 1939-1940, also known as the Winter War, forms a curious portion of World War II history that bears further study. The Treaty of Moscow gives around 10% of Finnish territory to the Soviet . [179] On the eastern side of the isthmus, the Finns continued to resist Soviet assaults, achieving a stalemate in the battle of Taipale. [219] On 31 July 1940, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler gave the order to plan an assault on the Soviet Union and so Germany had to reassess its position regarding Finland. [141], In the south, two Soviet divisions were united on the northern side of the Lake Ladoga coastal road. During the Interim Peace, Finland aimed to improve its defensive capabilities and conducted negotiations with Sweden on a military alliance, but negotiations ended once it became clear that both Germany and the Soviet Union opposed such an alliance. In January 1940, the Soviet Pravda newspaper continued to stress that no civilian targets in Finland had been struck, even accidentally. Their anti-aircraft guns shot down one or two planes over the city, and the ships remained there for the rest of the war. The fortress of Koivisto provided similar support from the southwestern coast of the Isthmus. Air-raid warnings were given by Finnish women organised by the Lotta Svrd. Yartsev suggested that Finland cede or lease some islands in the Gulf of Finland along the seaward approaches to Leningrad, but Finland refused. What Was the Winter War? [121], The winter of 193940 was exceptionally cold with the Karelian Isthmus experiencing a record low temperature of 43C (45F) on 16 January 1940. He demanded that Finland apologise for the incident and to move its forces beyond a line 2025km (1216mi) from the border. [55][56], In April 1938, NKVD agent Boris Yartsev contacted Finnish Foreign Minister Rudolf Holsti and Finnish Prime Minister Aimo Cajander, stating that the Soviets did not trust Germany and that war was considered possible between the two countries.

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