Why was finland so successful during the winter war. The theory accepts realisms assumptions regarding power. Finnish war in the scholarly fashion he recommends. Sovietrussian view of the reasons of the winter war and establishment of the karelo finnish soviet socialist republic. This ceded territory totalled ten percent of finlands land area and twenty percent of its industrial capacity. Essential guerrilla tactics from the finnish winter war. Russofinnish war november 30, 1939march 12, 1940, also called the winter war, war waged by the soviet union against finland at the beginning of world war ii, following the conclusion of the germansoviet nonaggression pact august 23, 1939. During the ensuing finnish civil war, the red guards.
Finnish military effectiveness in the winter war, 19391940. The soviet union very very much expected, when they crossed the border in late november, that they would be in helsinki within a week. Just over a year after the winter war ended, finland made the disastrous decision to join the nazi invasion of the u. Download book pdf finland in the second world war pp 4673 cite as. One soviet general, looking at a map of the territory russia had acquired on the karelian isthmus, is said to have remarked.
Julia abelev, perceptual realism and the winter war of 1939, intersections 10, no. The background of the winter war covers the period before the outbreak of the winter war between finland and the soviet union in 19391940, stretching from the finnish declaration of independence in 1917 to the sovietfinnish negotiations in 19381939. This book analyzes the multifaceted phenomenon of finnish military effectiveness in the winter war 193940. However, during the continuation war the finns took 64,000 pows, of whom almost 30 percent died. Pages 3347 from the saga of the karelo finnish republic by i. The russofinnish winter war of 19391940 trotter, william on. Winston churchill, january 1940 all we had to do was raise our voices a little bit and the finns would obey. Drawing on a wide array of primary and secondary sources, pasi tuunainen shows how by foc. Learn more about the russofinnish war in this article. The german troops which were sent to finland during world war. The true story of the battle between finland and russia that erupted at the dawn of world war ii. What would have happened if finland had won the winter war. While my curiosity in understanding the russofinnish war created my desire to read about it, i never thought i would become so engrossed in the conflict once i started reading a frozen hell. Held in migration fellows program institute of migration, turku, finland in 23.
The winter war the soviet unions invasion of finland 193940 the second world war was a vast conflict with hardfought clashes in places such as stalingrad, normandy, north africa, italy and the pacific theater. Stalin also insisted finland sign a mutual assistance treaty, which would allow the soviet military the right to enter finnish territory to assist in its. The winter war the soviet unions invasion of finland. Aid from france to finland in the winter war alternative. March, 2020 marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the winter war, the name finland gives to the phase of the second world war that lasted from november 30, 1939 to march, 1940. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. Jan 01, 2006 finlands fierce resistance changed the course of world war ii and saved a democracy. The winter war russia against finland a ballantine book this is another common book that can be located on ebay or with ease. This page was last edited on 9 november 2019, at 06. I didnt know much of the conflict between the finns and soviets. The thirty moranesaulnier fighter aircraft that france supplied for the finnish air force fought to great effect through the war, as did the 98 caudronrenault c.
Warfare in the far north us army center of military history. Soviet prisoners of war in finland during world war ii were captured in two sovietfinnish conflicts of that period. Gulf of finland in the face of evident future dangers. The winter war was a war between the soviet union ussr and finland. This was based on what had happened in poland earlier that year. British diplomatic correspondence during the winter war. After the war, stalin blamed the generation of officers that developed red army doctrine for failing to prepare the. Why did the soviet union choose to invade finland in 1939. In many works on the winter war, finlands relative military success is attributed to the. The troops in northern finland were named the north finland group psr pohjoissuomen ryhma in finnish, divided into two subgroups, the lapland group lr lapin ryhma in finnish defending a front from petsamo to salla, and the north karelia group pkr pohjoiskarjalan ryhma in finnish defending the front from near kuhmo to near ilomantsi. Julia abelev perceptual realism and the winter war of. Julia abelev perceptual realism and the winter war of 1939.
The russofinnish winter war of 19391940 by william r. In the weeks that followed, the tiny baltic republic would wage a warthe kind of war that spawns legendsagainst the mighty soviet union, which was desperate for a buffer against na. Finnish military effectiveness in the winter war 1939. It began with a soviet invasion of finland on 30 november 1939, three months after the outbreak of world war ii, and ended three and a half months later with the moscow peace treaty on march 1940. Sovietrussian view of the reasons of the winter war and establishment of the karelofinnish soviet. The finns did a heroic job defending their homeland from the soviet invaders. Finnish relationship, 19411944 32 alignment on opposite sides in world war ii 32 severance of u. We have won just about enough ground to bury our dead. Finnish military effectiveness in the winter war, 1939. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. The first substantial aid to arrive from france was a shipment of thirty moranesaulnier fighters. Sep 25, 2019 finnish armed forces in the winter war 193940 armed forces of finland in the winter war 193940. These guns served for many years after the war, the last being retired in the 1970s.
Just over a year after the winter war ended, finland made the disastrous. Before its independence, finland was an autonomous grand duchy inside imperial russia. The treaty ending the winter war forced finland to cede 11 percent of its territory to the soviet union, yet the country maintained its independence and later squared off against russia a second. The russofinnish war of 19391940, also known as the winter war, forms a curious portion of world war ii history that bears further study. On war and the winter war florida state university. After the war, stalin blamed the generation of officers that developed red army doctrine for failing to prepare the soviets for the rigors of modern war. The finns took about 5,700 pows during the winter war, and due to the short length of the war they survived relatively well. Volume 10, number 3 autumn 2009 julia abelev, perceptual realism and the winter war of 1939, intersections 10, no.
After polands defeat in the autumn of 1939, the soviet union, wishing to safeguard leningrad, demanded from finland a minor part of the karelian isthmus, a naval base at hanko hango, and some islands in the gulf of finland. Russo finnish war november 30, 1939march 12, 1940, also called the winter war, war waged by the soviet union against finland at the beginning of world war ii, following the conclusion of the germansoviet nonaggression pact august 23, 1939. These operations are discussed in a hundreds of books and can be found on an infinite number of websites. It was, in a way, a classic case of being up against the wall. Finnish armed forces in the winter war 193940 ww2 weapons. The finnish army of 160 000 men was opposed to an invading russian army consisting of 2000 russian tanks and 450 000 soldiers. Finnish armed forces in the winter war 193940 armed forces of finland in the winter war 193940. Roosevelts statement on march, 1940, as the winter war ended. This dissertation is an analytical examination of material published by the soviet union which concerned the. Finlands war debt and other early agreements 26 iv the winter wa r,19391940 29 prelude to the winter war 29 the winter war 29 the united states and the winter war.
The winter war and australia saw many types of material aid supplied to finland from two countries, australia and new zealand, which had no significant armaments industry to speak of but which despite this, did their best to support finland, largely due to significant public pressure on the goverments of the two countries to do something. It is much like the winter war the soviet attack on finland 19391940 by eloise engle and lauri paananen as this book is more a starting out point than a detailed work on the subject. Jul 23, 2012 the winter war of finland and russia 1939 1940. As part of the moscow peace treaty of 1940 hanko was leased to the soviet union as a. Learn more about the russo finnish war in this article. Finland unveils national memorial to commemorate winter war. The winter war occurred between the finland and the soviet unionwho started the war in hopes of new territoryduring the harsh winter of 19391940. The winter war the soviet unions invasion of finland 193940. The timeline of the winter war is a chronology of events leading up to, culminating in, and resulting from the winter war. On a november morning in 1939, soviet bombers began attacking helsinki, finland. November 30 th, 1939, following the alleged shelling of russian troops by finnish soldiers, the soviet union launched an invasion on finland. Even the end of the winter war is characterized as a lastminute diplomatic drama that saves finland from soviet rule. The winter war 193940 by vesa nenye was interesting.
The war began when the soviet union attacked finland on 30 november 1939 and it ended march 1940. The vickers armstrong mk b tank was the basis for the soviet t. The land ceded to russia by finland at the end of the winter war. Finlands fierce resistance changed the course of world war ii and saved a democracy. Experiences gained during the finnishsoviet winter war of.
Finnish divisions, strength and equipment, tanks, air force and navy. The win ter war 1939 40 bloomsbury publish ing, 2015. Pdf foreign volunteers in finland during winter war 1939. When close to half a million soviet troops poured into finland in 1939 it was expected that finnish defenses would collapse in a matter of. The 1939 soviet invasion of finland in crystalclear photos. The winter war when the finns humiliated the russians.
We talk to finnish historian antero holmila about how that time is seen from a modern perspective. Tiltu, a finnish language version of axis sally in radio moscow during the russofinnish wars of nov. Media in category maps of finland in winter war the following 59 files are in this category, out of 59 total. On the morning of 30 november 1939, six soviet infantry divisions flooded over the finnish border of the karelian. In these circumstances the soviet demands were, as upton notes in his excellent study of the winter war, both rational and moderate. Aid from france to finland in the winter war was significant in equipment and in artillery, if not in volunteers.
The sovietfinnish war, 19391940 getting the doctrine right. Pretty much everybody was aware of, that if stalins orchestra gets to perform with the red army at town square in hel. The league of nations deemed the attack illegal and expelled the soviet union from the organisation. Essential guerrilla tactics from the finnish winter war finland alone, in danger of death superb, sublime finland shows what free men can do. Finland started the winter war with only 30 of these guns, received 68 more during the winter war, bought 40 more during the interim peace, bought 98 more during the continuation war, and manufactured about 170 themselves. The story of the winter war between finland and soviet russia is a dramatic david versus goliath encounter. The defender had no options, only survive or let the kossacks in. Fire and ice the winter war of finland and russia youtube. Numerically and technologically speaking, the massive soviet force had a tremendous advantage over the smaller finnish army and. When close to half a million soviet troops poured into finland in 1939 it was expected that finnish defences would collapse in a matter of weeks. Aid from france to finland in the winter war while the french government discussed aid from france to finland, tangible results were slow to eventuate.
1063 1153 302 1342 8 150 880 38 124 1177 1350 1429 680 1114 1064 355 847 382 1230 960 1111 1059 949 1120 785 1489 1532 1025 939 153 1585 971 525 682 455 471 1021 446 899 300