TheWinter War[F 6] was a war between theSoviet Union andFinland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak ofWorld War II, and ended three and a half months later with theMoscow Peace Treaty on 13 March 1940. Despite superior military strength, especially in tanks and aircraft, the Soviet Union suffered severe losses and initially made little headway. TheLeague of Nations deemed the attack illegal and expelled the Soviet Union from its organization.
The Soviets made several demands, including that Finland cede substantial border territories in exchange for land elsewhere, claiming security reasons – primarily the protection ofLeningrad, 32 km (20 mi) from the Finnish border. When Finland refused, the Soviets invaded. Most sources conclude that the Soviet Union had intended to conquer all of Finland, and cite the establishment of thepuppet Finnish Communist government and theMolotov–Ribbentrop Pact's secret protocols as evidence of this,[F 7] while other sources argue against the idea of a full Soviet conquest.[F 8] Finland repelled Soviet attacks for more than two months and inflicted substantial losses on the invaders in temperatures as low as −43 °C (−45 °F). The battles focused mainly onTaipale along theKarelian Isthmus, onKollaa inLadoga Karelia and onRaate Road inKainuu, but there were also battles inLapland andNorth Karelia.
Following the initial setbacks, the Soviets reduced their strategic objectives and put an end to the puppet Finnish communist government in late January 1940, and informed the legitimate Finnish government that they were willing to negotiate peace.[38][39] After the Soviet military reorganized and adopted different tactics, they renewed their offensive in February 1940 and overcame the Finnish defences on the Karelian Isthmus. This left the Finnish army in the main theatre of war near the breaking point, with a retreat seeming inevitable. Consequently, Finnish commander-in-chiefCarl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim urged a peace deal with the Soviets, while the Finns still retained bargaining power.[40]
Hostilities ceased in March 1940 with the signing of the Moscow Peace Treaty in which Finland ceded 9% of its territory to the Soviet Union. Soviet losses were heavy, and the country's international reputation suffered.[41] Their gains exceeded their pre-war demands, and the Soviets received substantial territories alongLake Ladoga and further north. Finland retained itssovereignty and enhanced its international reputation. The poor performance of theRed Army encouraged German ChancellorAdolf Hitler to believe that an attack on the Soviet Union would be successful and confirmed negative Western opinions of the Soviet military. After 15 months ofInterim Peace, in June 1941,Germany commencedOperation Barbarossa, and theContinuation War between Finland and the Soviets began.
Geopolitical status in Northern Europe in November 1939[42][43]
Neutral countries
Germany and annexed countries
Soviet Union and annexed countries
Neutral countries with military bases established by Soviet Union in October 1939
Until the early nineteenth century, Finland was the eastern part of theKingdom of Sweden. From 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809, theRussian Empire waged theFinnish War against the Kingdom of Sweden, ostensibly to protect the Russian capital,Saint Petersburg. Eventually Russia conquered andannexed Finland, and converted it into anautonomousbuffer state.[44] The resultingGrand Duchy of Finland enjoyed wide autonomy within Russia until the end of the nineteenth century, when Russia began attemptsto assimilate Finland as part of a general policy to strengthen the central government and unify the Empire byRussification. Those attempts were aborted because of Russia's internal strife, but they ruined Russia's relationship with Finland. In addition, support increased in Finland for self-determination movements.[45]
Finland joined the League of Nations in 1920 and sought security guarantees, but Finland's primary goal was co-operation with theScandinavian countries, mainly Sweden, and it focused on the exchange of information and on defence planning (the joint defence ofÅland, for example), rather than onmilitary exercises or on the stockpiling and the deployment ofmateriel. Nevertheless, Sweden carefully avoided committing itself to Finnish foreign policy.[47] Finland's military policy included clandestinedefence co-operation withEstonia.[48]
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. TheCommunist Party of Finland was declared illegal in 1931, and the nationalistLapua Movement organisedanticommunist violence, which culminated in afailed coup attempt in 1932. The successor of the Lapua Movement, thePatriotic People's Movement, had a minor presence in national politics and never had more than 14 seats of the 200 in theFinnish Parliament.[49] By the late 1930s, the export-oriented Finnish economy was growing and the nation's extreme political movements had diminished.[50]
After Soviet involvement in the Finnish Civil War in 1918, no formal peace treaty was signed. In 1918 and 1919, Finnish volunteers conducted two unsuccessful military incursions across the Soviet border, theViena andAunus expeditions, to annex areas inKarelia that according to theGreater Finland ideology would combine allBaltic Finnic peoples into a single state. In 1920, Finnish communists based in Soviet Russia attempted to assassinate the former FinnishWhite Guard Commander-in-Chief, MarshalCarl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim. On 14 October 1920, Finland and Soviet Russia signed theTreaty of Tartu, confirming the old border between the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland and Imperial Russia proper as the new Finnish–Soviet border. Finland also receivedPetsamo Province, with itsice-free harbour on the Arctic Ocean.[51][52] Despite the signing of the treaty, relations between the two countries remained strained. The Finnish government allowed volunteers to cross the border to support theEast Karelian uprising in Russia in 1921, and Finnish communists in the Soviet Union continued to prepare for revenge and staged a cross-border raid into Finland, thePork Mutiny, in 1922.[53] In 1932, theSoviet–Finnish Non-Aggression Pact was signed between both countries, and it was reaffirmed for ten years in 1934.[53] Foreign trade in Finland was booming, but less than 1% of it was with the Soviet Union.[54] In 1934, the Soviet Union also joined the League of Nations.[53]
Justification
Soviet General SecretaryJoseph Stalin regarded it a disappointment that the Soviet Union could not halt the Finnish Revolution.[55] He thought that the pro-Finland movement in Karelia posed a direct threat toLeningrad and that the area and defences of Finland could be used to invade the Soviet Union or restrict fleet movements.[56] Soviet propaganda then painted Finland's leadership as a "vicious and reactionaryfascist clique". Field Marshal Mannerheim andVäinö Tanner, the leader of theFinnish Social Democratic Party, were targeted for particular scorn.[57] When Stalin gained absolute power through theGreat Purge of 1938, the Soviets changed their foreign policy toward Finland and began to pursue the reconquest of the provinces of Tsarist Russia that had been lost during the chaos of theOctober Revolution of 1917 and the Russian Civil War almost two decades earlier.[58] Soviet leaders believed that the old empire's extended borders provided territorial security and wanted Leningrad, only 32 km (20 mi) from the Finnish border, to enjoy a similar level of security against the rising power ofNazi Germany.[59][60]
Finnish soldiers gather breakfast from afield kitchen during "additionalrefresher training" at the Karelian Isthmus, on 10 October 1939.
In April 1938,NKVD agentBoris Yartsev contacted Finnish Foreign MinisterRudolf Holsti and Finnish Prime MinisterAimo Cajander, stating that the Soviets did not trust Germany and that war was considered possible between the two countries. The Red Army would not wait passively behind the border but would rather "advance to meet the enemy". Finnish representatives assured Yartsev that Finland was committed to a policy of neutrality and that the country would resist any armed incursion. Yartsev suggested that Finland cede or lease some islands in theGulf of Finland along the seaward approaches to Leningrad, but Finland refused.[61][62]
Negotiations continued throughout 1938 without results. The Finnish reception of Soviet entreaties was decidedly cool, as the violent collectivisation and purges in Stalin's Soviet Union resulted in a poor opinion of the country. Most of the Finnish communist elite in the Soviet Union had been executed during the Great Purge, further tarnishing the Soviets' image in Finland. Meanwhile, Finland was attempting to negotiate a military co-operation plan with Sweden and hoping to jointly defend Åland.[63]
The Soviet Union and Nazi Germany signed theMolotov–Ribbentrop Pact in August 1939. It was publicly anon-aggression treaty, but it included a secret protocol in which Central and Eastern European countries were divided intospheres of influence. Finland fell into the Soviet sphere. On 1 September 1939, Germany began itsinvasion of Poland, and two days later, the United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany. On 17 September, theSoviet invasion of Poland began. After the fall of Poland, Germany and the Soviet Union exchanged occupied Polish lands to establish a new border in accordance with the provisions of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Estonia,Latvia andLithuania were soonforced to accept treaties that allowed the Soviets to establish military bases on their soil.[64] Estonia accepted theultimatum by signing the agreement on 28 September. Latvia and Lithuania followed in October. Unlike the three Baltic countries, Finland started a gradualmobilisation under the guise of "additionalrefresher training".[65] The Soviets had already started intensive mobilisation near the Finnish border in 1938–39.[58] Assault troops thought to be necessary for the invasion did not begin deployment until October 1939. Operational plans made in September called for the invasion to start in November.[66][67]
On 5 October 1939, the Soviets invited a Finnish delegation to Moscow for negotiations.Juho Kusti Paasikivi, the Finnish envoy to Sweden, was sent to Moscow to represent the Finnish government[65] Furthermore, the negotiations were attended by Stalin in person, signalling the seriousness of the effort.[68] Paasikivi would later recount his surprise over the friendly atmosphere in which the delegation was received, and mentioned the pleasant manners of Stalin towards them.[69]
The meetings began on 12 October, with Molotov's offer of a mutual assistance pact, which the Finns immediately refused. To the Finns' surprise, Molotov dropped the offer and instead proposed an exchange of territory.[68] The offer stipulated that the Finnish-Soviet border on theKarelian Isthmus be moved westward to a point only 30 km (19 mi) east ofViipuri (Russian:Vyborg) and that Finland destroy all existing fortifications on the Karelian Isthmus. Likewise, the delegation demanded the cession of islands in the Gulf of Finland as well asRybachy Peninsula (Finnish:Kalastajasaarento). The Finns would also have to lease theHanko Peninsula for 30 years and to permit the Soviets to establish amilitary base there. In exchange, the Soviet Union would cedeRepola andPorajärvi fromEastern Karelia (2120 square miles), an area twice the size as that of the territory demanded from Finland (1000 square miles).[65][70][71]
The Soviet offer divided the Finnish government:Gustaf Mannerheim had argued for an agreement, being pessimistic of the Finnish prospects in a war against the Soviet Union.[72] But the Finnish government was reticent in reaching an agreement out of mistrust for Stalin: there was a fear of repeated follow-up demands, which would have put the future of Finnish sovereignty in danger. There were also those, such as Foreign MinisterEljas Erkko and Prime MinisterAimo Cajander, and the Finnish intelligence in general, who mistook the demands and the Soviet military build-up as a mere bluff on the part of Stalin, and were thus disinclined to reach an agreement.[72]
The Finns made two counteroffers that would cede theTerijoki area to the Soviet Union. This would have doubled the distance between Leningrad and the Finnish border, but was far less than the Soviets had demanded.[73] The Finns would also cede the islands in the Gulf of Finland, but they would not agree to lease any territory to the USSR for military purposes.[74][75]
On the next meeting on 23 October, Stalin lessened his demands: a reduction in the amount of land demanded in Karelia; a reduction of the Hanko garrison from 5000 to 4000 men; and reducing the length of lease from 30 years to whatever date the ongoing (second world) war in Europe would end.[76] However, this sudden change, contrary to previous statements that Soviet demands were minimalist and thus unalterable, had surprised the Finnish government, and lead them to believe more concession may be forthcoming. Thus, Paasikivi's idea of reaching some sort of compromise by offering the Soviets the island of Jussarö and the fort of Ino were refused by Helsinki.[77]
On 31 October, Molotov publicly announced the Soviet demands to theSupreme Soviet. This surprised the Finns, and lent credibility to Soviet claims that their demands were minimalist and thus unalterable, as it would have been impossible to reduce them without a loss of prestige after having made them public.[78] However, the Soviet offer was eventually rejected with respect to the opinion of the public and Parliament.[73]
At the meeting on 9 November, Paasikivi announced to the attending Stalin and Molotov the Finnish refusal to accept even their reduced demands. The Soviets were visibly surprised. Finnish Foreign MinisterVaino Tanner later wrote that "the eyes of our opposite numbers opened wide". Stalin had asked "You don't even offer Ino?"[79] This would become the final meeting: the Soviets stopped responding to further Finnish letters and on 13 November, when the Finnish delegation was recalled from Moscow, no Soviet officials came to see them off.[80] The Finns had left under the expectation that the negotiations would continue.[81] Instead, the Soviet Union ramped up its military preparations.[82]
The negotiations had failed, as neither side was willing to substantially reduce their demands, nor was either side able to fully trust the other. The Finns were fearful of an encroachment on their sovereignty, while the Soviets were (claiming to be) fearful of a springboard for international enemies in Finland, in close proximity to Leningrad. No promises to the contrary managed to persuade the other.[83] Additionally, both sides had misunderstood the others position: the Finns had assumed that the Soviets had opened up on a maximalist demand, ready to be traded down smaller. The Soviets instead had stressed the minimalist nature of their demands, and were incredulous over Finnish reluctance to agree.[75] Finally, there was also Stalin's unwillingness or inability to accept that any territorial concessions on the part of Finland would have only been possible by a 4/5th majority in the Finnish parliament. He had mocked such a requirement, proposing that they count his and Molotov's votes, too.[84]
On 26 November 1939, an incident was reported near the Soviet village ofMainila, near the border with Finland. A Soviet border guard post had been shelled by an unknown party resulting, according to Soviet reports, in the deaths of four and injuries of nine border guards. Research conducted by several Finnish and Russian historians later concluded that the shelling was afalse flag operation since there were no artillery units there, and it was carried out from the Soviet side of the border by an NKVD unit with the purpose of providing the Soviets with acasus belli and a pretext to withdraw from the non-aggression pact.[85][86][F 9] Soviet war games held in March 1938 and 1939 had been based on a scenario in which border incidents taking place at the village of Mainila would spark the war.[89]
Molotov claimed that the incident was a Finnish artillery attack. He demanded that Finland apologise for the incident and to move its forces beyond a line 20–25 km (12–16 mi) from the border.[90] Finland denied responsibility for the attack, rejected the demands and called for a joint Finnish–Soviet commission to examine the incident. In turn, the Soviet Union claimed that the Finnish response was hostile, renounced the non-aggression pact and severed diplomatic relations with Finland on 28 November. In the following years,Soviet historiography described the incident as Finnish provocation. Doubt on the official Soviet version was cast only in the late 1980s, during the policy ofglasnost. The issue has continued to divide Russian historiography even after theend of the Soviet Union in 1991.[91][92]
Soviet intentions
In 2013, Russian PresidentVladimir Putin stated at a meeting with military historians that the Soviets had launched the Winter War to "correct mistakes" made in determining the border with Finland after 1917.[93] Opinion on the scale of the initial Soviet invasion decision is divided. The puppet Finnish communist government and the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact's secret protocol is used as proof that the Soviet Union had intended to conquer all of Finland.[F 10]
The People's Government in its present composition regards itself as a provisional government. Immediately upon arrival in Helsinki, capital of the country, it will be reorganised and its composition enlarged by the inclusion of representatives of the various parties and groups participating in the people's front of toilers.[98]
Soviet leaflets dropped over Helsinki on the first day of the war stated: "Finnish Comrades! We come to you not as conquerors, but as liberators of the Finnish people from the oppression of the capitalists and the landlords".[99][100]
In 1939, Soviet military leadership had formulated a realistic and comprehensive plan for the occupation of Finland.[101] However, Joseph Stalin was not pleased with the conservative pace that the operation required and demanded new plans be drawn up. With the new plans, the key deadline for Finland's capitulation was to be Stalin's 60th birthday on 21 December.[102] Convinced of the invasion's forthcoming success,Andrei Zhdanov, chairman of the highest legislative body in the Soviet Union, commissioned a celebratory piece of music fromDmitri Shostakovich,Suite on Finnish Themes, intended to be performed as the marching bands of the Red Army paraded through Helsinki.[103][104] The Soviets were confident that the Western powers would not come to Finland's aid. Ivan Maisky, the Soviet ambassador to the UK, said: "Who would help? The Swedes? The British? The Americans? There's no way in hell. There will be a fuss in the press, moral support, moaning and whining. But troops, aircraft, cannons, and machine guns – no."[105]
Hungarian historian István Ravasz wrote that theSoviet Central Committee had set out in 1939 that the former borders of the Tsarist Empire were to be restored, including Finland.[30] American political scientistDan Reiter stated that the Soviets "sought to impose aregime change" and thus "achieve absolute victory". He quoted Molotov, who had commented in November 1939 on the regime change plan to a Soviet ambassador that the new government "will not be Soviet, but one of a democratic republic. Nobody is going to set up Soviets over there, but we hope it will be a government we can come to terms with as to ensure the security of Leningrad".[33] According to Russian historianYuri Kilin, the Soviet terms encompassed the strongest fortified approaches of the Finnish defences for a reason. He claimed that Stalin had little hope for such a deal but would play for time for the ongoing mobilisation. He stated the objective as being to secure Finland from being used as a staging ground by means of regime change.[106]
Others argue against the idea of a complete Soviet conquest. American historianWilliam R. Trotter asserted that Stalin's objective was to secure Leningrad's flank from a possible German invasion through Finland. He stated that "the strongest argument" against a Soviet intention of full conquest is that it did not happen in either 1939 or during theContinuation War in 1944 even though Stalin "could have done so with comparative ease".[35] Bradley Lightbody wrote that the "entire Soviet aim had been to make the Soviet border more secure".[36] In 2002, Russian historian A. Chubaryan stated that no documents had been found in Russian archives that support a Soviet plan to annex Finland. Rather, the objective was to gain Finnish territory and to reinforce Soviet influence in the region.[34]
Another American historianStephen Kotkin also shares the position that the Soviet Union did not aim for annexation. He points out the different treatment Finland was given, compared to the Baltics: unlike the pacts of mutual assistance that the Baltics were pressured into, resulting in their total Sovietization, the Soviets demanded limited territorial concessions from Finland, and even offered land in return, which would not have made sense if full Sovietization was intended.[107] And according to Kotkin, Stalin seemed to be genuinely interested in reaching an agreement during the negotiations: he had personally attended six of the seven meetings with the Finns, and had multiple times reduced his demands.[108] However, mutual mistrust and misunderstandings would mar the negotiations, producing an impasse.[83]
Opposing forces
Soviet military plan
Before the war, Soviet leadership had expected total victory within a few weeks. The Red Army had just completed the invasion of eastern Poland at a cost of fewer than 4,000 casualties after Germany attacked Poland from the west. Stalin's expectations of a quick Soviet triumph were backed up by politicianAndrei Zhdanov and military strategistKliment Voroshilov, but other generals were more reserved. Red Army Chief of StaffBoris Shaposhnikov advocated a narrow-front assault right on the Karelian isthmus.[109] Additionally, Shaposhnikov argued for a fuller build-up, extensivefire support and logistical preparations, a rationalorder of battle and the deployment of the army's best units. Zhdanov's military commander,Kirill Meretskov, reported, "The terrain of coming operations is split by lakes, rivers, swamps, and is almost entirely covered by forests.... The proper use of our forces will be difficult". These doubts were not reflected in Meretskov's troop deployments, and he publicly announced that the Finnish campaign would take two weeks at most. Soviet soldiers had even been warned not to cross the border mistakenly into Sweden.[110]
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. Fewer than half of all the officers remained.[111][112] They were commonly replaced by soldiers who were less competent but more loyal to their superiors. Unit commanders were overseen bypolitical commissars, whose approval was needed to approve and ratify military decisions, which they evaluated based on their political merits. The dual system further complicated the Soviet chain of command[113][114] and annulled the independence of commanding officers.[115]
After the Soviet success at theBattles of Khalkhin Gol against Japan, on the USSR's eastern border, Soviet High Command had divided into two factions. One side was represented by theSpanish Civil War veterans GeneralPavel Rychagov from theSoviet Air Forces; the tank expert GeneralDmitry Pavlov and Stalin's favourite general, MarshalGrigory Kulik, the chief of artillery.[116] The other faction was led by Khalkhin Gol veterans GeneralGeorgy Zhukov of the Red Army and GeneralGrigory Kravchenko of the Soviet Air Forces.[117] Under this divided command structure, the lessons of the Soviet Union's "first real war on a massive scale using tanks, artillery, and aircraft" at Khalkin Gol went unheeded.[118] As a result, RussianBT tanks were less successful during the Winter War, and it took the Soviet Union three months and over a million men to accomplish what Zhukov had managed at Khalkhin Gol in ten days (albeit in completely different circumstances).[118][119]
Dense forests of Ladoga Karelia atKollaa. A Soviet tank on the road in the background according to the photographer.
Soviet generals were impressed by the success of GermanBlitzkriegtactics, but they had been tailored to conditions inCentral Europe, with its dense well-mapped network of paved roads. Armies fighting there had recognised supply and communications centres, which could be easily targeted by armoured vehicle regiments. Finnish Army centres, in contrast, were deep inside the country. There were no paved roads, and even gravel or dirt roads were scarce. Most of the terrain consisted of trackless forests and swamps. The war correspondentJohn Langdon-Davies observed the landscape: "Every acre of its surface was created to be the despair of an attacking military force".[120] WagingBlitzkrieg 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.[121]
Commander of theLeningrad Military District Kiril Meretskov initially ran the overall operation against the Finns.[122] The command was passed on 9 December 1939 to the General Staff Supreme Command (later known asStavka), directly under Kliment Voroshilov (chairman),Nikolai Kuznetsov, Stalin and Boris Shaposhnikov.[123][124] On 28 December, when Stalin asked for volunteers to take over military command, Semyon Timoshenko offered himself on the condition that he be allowed to implement Shaposhnikov's initial plan of a focused attack on the Karelian Isthmus to break the Mannerheim Line; it was accepted.[125][126] In January 1940, the Leningrad Military District was reformed and renamed "North-Western Front".[126]
The7th Army, comprising nine divisions, a tank corps and three tank brigades, was located on the Karelian Isthmus. Its objective was to quickly overrun the Finnish defenses on the Karelian Isthmus and conquer Viipuri. From there, the 7th Army was to continue towards Lappeenranta, then turn west towards Lahti, before the final push to the capital Helsinki. The force was later divided into the 7th and13th Armies.[128][129]
The8th Army, comprising six divisions and a tank brigade, was north of Lake Ladoga. Its mission was to execute a flanking manoeuvre around the northern shore of Lake Ladoga to strike at the rear of theMannerheim Line.[128]
The9th Army was positioned to strike into Central Finland through theKainuu region. It was composed of three divisions with one more on its way. Its mission was to thrust westward to cut Finland in half.[128]
Offensives of the four Soviet armies from 30 November to 22 December 1939 displayed in red[130][131]
The Finnish strategy was dictated by geography. The 1,340 km (830 mi)[F 12] border with the Soviet Union was mostly impassable except along a handful ofunpaved roads. In prewar calculations, the FinnishDefence Command, which had established its wartime headquarters atMikkeli,[127] had estimated seven Soviet divisions on the Karelian Isthmus and no more than five along the whole border north of Lake Ladoga. In the estimation, the manpower ratio would have favoured the attacker by three to one. The true ratio was much higher, however, since for example, 12 Soviet divisions were deployed north of Lake Ladoga.[132]
Finland had a large force of reservists, which was trained in regular maneuvers, some of which had experience from the recent Finnish Civil War. The soldiers were also almost universally trained in basic survival techniques, such as skiing. The Finnish Army was not able to equip all its soldiers with proper uniforms at the outbreak of war, but its reservists were equipped with warm civilian clothing. However, the sparsely-populated highly-agrarian Finland had to draft so many of its working men that theFinnish economy was massively strained because of a lack of workers. 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 ammunition situation was alarming, as stockpiles had cartridges, shells and fuel to last only 19 to 60 days. The ammunition shortage meant the Finns could seldom affordcounter-battery orsaturation fire. Finnish tank forces were operationally nonexistent.[132] The ammunition situation was alleviated somewhat since Finns were largely armed withMosin–Nagant rifles dating from the Finnish Civil War, which used the same7.62×54mmR cartridge that was used by Soviet forces. The situation was so severe that Finnish soldiers sometimes had to maintain their ammunition supply by looting the bodies of dead Soviet soldiers.[133]
The Finnish forces were positioned as follows:[134]
On 30 November 1939, Soviet forces invaded Finland with 21 divisions, totalling 450,000 men, andbombed Helsinki,[128][135] killing about 100 citizens and destroying more than 50 buildings. In response to international criticism, Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov stated that the Soviet Air Force was not bombing Finnish cities but rather dropping humanitarian aid to the starving Finnish population; the bombs were sarcastically dubbedMolotov bread baskets by Finns.[136][137] The Finnish statesman J. K. Paasikivi commented that the Soviet attack without adeclaration of war violated three separate non-aggression pacts: the Treaty of Tartu, which was signed in 1920, the non-aggression pact between Finland and the Soviet Union, which was signed in 1932 and again in 1934; and also theCovenant of the League of Nations, which the Soviet Union signed in 1934.[88] Field Marshal C.G.E. Mannerheim was appointed Commander-in-Chief of theFinnish Defence Forces after the Soviet attack. In a further reshuffling,Aimo Cajander's caretaker cabinet was replaced byRisto Ryti andhis cabinet, with Väinö Tanner as foreign minister because of opposition to Cajander's prewar politics.[138] Finland brought the matter of the Soviet invasion before the League of Nations. The League expelled the Soviet Union on 14 December 1939 and exhorted its members to aid Finland.[139][140]
Headed byOtto Wille Kuusinen, the Finnish Democratic Republic puppet government operated in the parts of Finnish Karelia occupied by the Soviets, and was also referred to as the "Terijoki Government", after the village ofTerijoki, the first settlement captured by the advancing Red Army.[141] After the war, the puppet government was reabsorbed into the Soviet Union. From the very outset of the war, working-class Finns stood behind the legitimate government in Helsinki.[139] Finnish national unity against the Soviet invasion was later called thespirit of the Winter War.[142]
First battles and Soviet advance to Mannerheim Line
The array of Finnish defence structures that during the war started to be called the Mannerheim Line was located on the Karelian Isthmus approximately 30 to 75 km (19 to 47 mi) from the Soviet border. The Red Army soldiers on the Isthmus numbered 250,000, facing 130,000 Finns.[143] The Finnish command deployed adefence in depth of about 21,000 men in the area in front of the Mannerheim Line to delay and damage the Red Army before it reached the line.[144] In combat, the most severe cause of confusion among Finnish soldiers was Soviet tanks. The Finns had fewanti-tank weapons and insufficient training in modernanti-tank tactics. According to Trotter, the favoured Soviet armoured tactic was a simple frontal charge, the weaknesses of which could be exploited. The Finns learned that at close range, tanks could be dealt with in many ways; for example, logs and crowbars jammed into thebogie wheels would often immobilise a tank. Soon, Finns fielded a better ad hoc weapon, theMolotov cocktail, a glass bottle filled withflammable liquids and with a simple hand-litfuse. Molotov cocktails were eventually mass-produced by the FinnishAlko alcoholic-beverage corporation and bundled with matches with which to light them. 80 Soviet tanks were destroyed in the border zone engagements.[145]
By 6 December, all of the Finnish covering forces had withdrawn to the Mannerheim Line. The Red Army began its first major attack against the Line inTaipale – the area between the shore of Lake Ladoga, theTaipale river and theSuvanto waterway. Along the Suvanto sector, the Finns had a slight advantage of elevation and dry ground to dig into. The Finnishartillery had scouted the area and made fire plans in advance, anticipating a Soviet assault. TheBattle of Taipale began with a forty-hour Soviet artillery preparation. After thebarrage, Soviet infantry attacked across open ground but was repulsed with heavy casualties. From 6 to 12 December, the Red Army continued to try to engage using only a single division. Next, the Red Army strengthened its artillery and deployed tanks and the150th Rifle Division forward to the Taipale front. On 14 December, the bolstered Soviet forces launched a new attack but were pushed back again. A third Soviet division entered the fight but performed poorly and panicked under shell fire. The assaults continued without success, and the Red Army suffered heavy losses. One typical Soviet attack during the battle lasted just an hour but left 1,000 dead and 27 tanks strewn on the ice.[146] North of Lake Ladoga on theLadoga Karelia front, the defending Finnish units relied on the terrain. Ladoga Karelia, a large forest wilderness, did not have road networks for the modern Red Army.[147] TheSoviet 8th Army had extended a new railroad line to the border, which could double the supply capability on the front. On 12 December, the advancing Soviet139th Rifle Division, supported by the56th Rifle Division, was defeated by a much smaller Finnish force underPaavo Talvela inTolvajärvi, the first Finnish victory of the war.[148]
In Central and Northern Finland, roads were few and the terrain hostile. The Finns did not expect large-scale Soviet attacks, but the Soviets sent eight divisions, heavily supported by armour and artillery. The155th Rifle Division attacked atIlomantsi andLieksa, and further north the44th attacked atKuhmo. The 163rd Rifle Division was deployed atSuomussalmi and ordered to cut Finland in half by advancing on Raate road. InFinnish Lapland, the Soviet88th and 122nd Rifle Divisions attacked atSalla. The Arctic port of Petsamo was attacked by the 104th Mountain Rifle Division by sea and land, supported bynaval gunfire.[149]
Swedish volunteer with a Carl Gustaf M/96 rifle wearing a face wool mask.[150]
The winter of 1939–40 was exceptionally cold with the Karelian Isthmus experiencing a record low temperature of −43 °C (−45 °F) on 16 January 1940.[151] At the beginning of the war, only those Finnish soldiers who were inactive service haduniforms andweapons. The rest had to make do with their own clothing, which for many soldiers was their normal winter clothing with a semblance of insignia added. Finnish soldiers were skilled incross-country skiing.[152] The cold, snow, forest, and long hours of darkness were factors that the Finns could use to their advantage. The Finns dressed in layers, and theski troopers wore a lightweight white snow cape. This snow-camouflage made the ski troopers almost invisible so that they could more easily executeguerrilla attacks against Soviet columns. At the beginning of the war, Soviet tanks were painted in standardolive drab and men dressed in regularkhaki uniforms. Not until late January 1940 did the Soviets paint their equipment white and issuesnowsuits to their infantry.[153]
Most Soviet soldiers had proper winter clothes, but this was not the case with every unit. In theBattle of Suomussalmi, thousands of Soviet soldiers died offrostbite. The Soviet troops also lacked skill in skiing, so soldiers were restricted to movement by road and were forced to move in long columns. The Red Army lacked proper winter tents, and troops had to sleep in improvised shelters.[154] Some Soviet units incurred frostbite casualties as high as ten per cent even before crossing the Finnish border.[153] However, the cold weather did give an advantage to Soviet tanks, as they could move over frozen terrain and bodies of water, rather than being immobilised in swamps and mud.[154] According to Krivosheev, at least 61,506 Soviet troops were sick orfrostbitten during the war.[19]
Soviet tracks atKianta Lake, Suomussalmi during a Finnish pursuit in December 1939. Nordic combined skierTimo Murama is pictured.
In battles from Ladoga Karelia to the Arctic port ofPetsamo, the Finns usedguerrilla tactics. The Red Army was superior in numbers and material, but Finns used the advantages of speed,manoeuvre warfare andeconomy of force. Particularly on the Ladoga Karelia front and during theBattle of Raate Road, the Finns isolated smaller portions of numerically superior Soviet forces. With Soviet forces divided into smaller groups, the Finns dealt with them individually and attacked from all sides.[155]
For many of the encircled Soviet troops in apocket (called amotti in Finnish, originally meaning 1 m3 (35 cu ft) of firewood), staying alive was an ordeal comparable to combat. The men were freezing and starving and endured poor sanitary conditions. Historian William R. Trotter described these conditions as follows: "The Soviet soldier had no choice. If he refused to fight, he would be shot. If he tried to sneak through the forest, he would freeze to death. And surrender was no option for him; Soviet propaganda had told him how the Finns would torture prisoners to death."[156] The problem however was that the Finns were mostly too weak to fully exploit their success. Some of the pockets of encircled Soviet soldiers held out for weeks and even months, binding a huge number of Finnish forces.
Battles of the Mannerheim Line
The terrain on the Karelian Isthmus did not allow guerrilla tactics, so the Finns were forced to resort to the more conventional Mannerheim Line, with its flanks protected by large bodies of water. Soviet propaganda claimed that it was as strong as or even stronger than theMaginot Line. Finnish historians, for their part, have belittled the line's strength, insisting that it was mostly conventional trenches and log-covereddugouts.[157] The Finns had built 221 strong-points along the Karelian Isthmus, mostly in the early 1920s. Many were extended in the late 1930s. Despite these defensive preparations, even the most fortified section of the Mannerheim Line had only onereinforced-concrete bunker per kilometre. Overall, the line was weaker than similar lines in mainland Europe.[158] According to the Finns, the real strength of the line was the "stubborn defenders with a lot ofsisu" – a Finnish idiom roughly translated as "guts, fighting spirit".[157]
On the eastern side of the Isthmus, the Red Army attempted to break through the Mannerheim Line at the battle of Taipale. On the western side, Soviet units faced the Finnish line at Summa, near the city of Viipuri, on 16 December. 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. Because of a mistake in planning, the nearby Munasuo swamp had a 1-kilometre (0.62 mi)-wide gap in the line.[159] During theFirst Battle of Summa, a number of Soviet tanks broke through the thin line on 19 December, but the Soviets could not benefit from the situation because of insufficient co-operation between branches of service. 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. The Finns succeeded in repelling the main Soviet assault. The tanks, stranded behind enemy lines, attacked the strongpoints at random until they were eventually destroyed, 20 in all. By 22 December, the battle ended in a Finnish victory.[160]
The Soviet advance was stopped at the Mannerheim Line. Red Army troops suffered from poor morale and a shortage of supplies, eventually refusing to participate in moresuicidal frontal attacks. The Finns, led by GeneralHarald Öhquist, decided to launch a counter-attack and encircle three Soviet divisions into amotti near Viipuri on 23 December. Öhquist's plan was bold; however it failed. The Finns lost 1,300 men, and the Soviets were later estimated to have lost a similar number.[161]
Battles in Ladoga Karelia and North Karelia
Simo Häyhä, the legendary Finnish sniper, known as "the White Death" in Finnish wartime propaganda.[162]
The strength of the Red Army north of Lake Ladoga in Ladoga Karelia surprised the Finnish Headquarters. Two Finnish divisions were deployed there, the 12th Division led byLauri Tiainen and the 13th Division led byHannu Hannuksela. They also had a support group of threebrigades, bringing their total strength to over 30,000. The Soviets deployed adivision for almost every road leading west to the Finnish border. The 8th Army was led byIvan Khabarov, who was replaced byGrigory Shtern on 13 December.[163] The Soviets' mission was to destroy the Finnish troops in the area of Ladoga Karelia and advance into the area betweenSortavala andJoensuu within 10 days. The Soviets had a 3:1 advantage in manpower and a 5:1 advantage in artillery, as well asair supremacy.[164]
Finnish forces panicked and retreated in front of the overwhelming Red Army. The commander of the Finnish IV Army Corps Juho Heiskanen was replaced by Woldemar Hägglund on 4 December.[165] On 7 December, in the middle of the Ladoga Karelian front, Finnish units retreated near the small stream of Kollaa. The waterway itself did not offer protection, but alongside it, there wereridges up to 10 m (33 ft) high. The ensuingBattle of Kollaa lasted until the end of the war. A memorable quote, "Kollaa holds" (Finnish:Kollaa kestää) became a legendary motto among Finns.[166] Further contributing to the legend of Kollaa was the sniperSimo Häyhä, dubbed "the White Death" in Finnish media.[167] and credited with over 500 kills.[168] CaptainAarne Juutilainen, dubbed "the Terror of Morocco", also became a living legend in the Battle of Kollaa.[169] To the north, the Finns retreated fromÄgläjärvi toTolvajärvi on 5 December and then repelled a Soviet offensive in the battle of Tolvajärvi on 11 December.[170]
In the south, two Soviet divisions were united on the northern side of the Lake Ladoga coastal road. As before, these divisions were trapped as the more mobile Finnish units counterattacked from the north to flank the Soviet columns. On 19 December, the Finns temporarily ceased their assaults due to exhaustion.[171] It was not until the period of 6–16 January 1940 that the Finns resumed their offensive, dividing Soviet divisions into smallermottis.[172] Contrary to Finnish expectations, the encircled Soviet divisions did not try to break through to the east but instead entrenched. They were expecting reinforcements and supplies toarrive by air. As the Finns lacked the necessary heavy artillery equipment and were short of men, they often did not directly attack themottis they had created; instead, they worked to eliminate only the most dangerous threats. Often themotti tactic was not applied as a strategy, but as a Finnish adaptation to the behaviour of Soviet troops under fire.[173] In spite of the cold and hunger, the Soviet troops did not surrender easily but fought bravely, often entrenching their tanks to be used aspillboxes and building timber dugouts. Some specialist Finnish soldiers were called in to attack themottis; the most famous of them was MajorMatti Aarnio, or "Motti-Matti" as he became known.[174]
InNorth Karelia, Soviet forces were outmanoeuvredat Ilomantsi and Lieksa. The Finns used effective guerrilla tactics, taking special advantage of their superior skiing skills and snow-whitelayered clothing and executing surprise ambushes and raids. By the end of December, the Soviets decided to retreat and transfer resources to more critical fronts.[175]
Battles in Kainuu
Dead Soviet soldiers and their equipment at Raate Road, Suomussalmi, after being ambushed and encircled at theBattle of Raate Road
The Suomussalmi–Raate engagement was a double operation[176] which would later be used bymilitary academics as a classic example of what well-led troops and innovative tactics can do against a much larger adversary. In 1939, Suomussalmi was a municipality of 4,000 inhabitants, with long lakes, wild forests and few roads. The Finnish command believed that the Soviets would not attack there, but the Red Army committed two divisions to the Kainuu area with orders to cross the wilderness, capture the city ofOulu and effectively cut Finland in two. There were two roads leading to Suomussalmi from the frontier: the northern Juntusranta road and the southern Raate road.[177]
TheBattle of Raate Road, which occurred during the month-longBattle of Suomussalmi, resulted in one of the largest Soviet losses in the Winter War. The Soviet 44th and parts of the 163rd Rifle Division, comprising about 14,000 troops,[178] were almost completely destroyed by a Finnish ambush as they marched along the forest road. A small unit blocked the Soviet advance while Finnish ColonelHjalmar Siilasvuo and his 9th Division cut off the retreat route, split the enemy force into smallermottis, and then proceeded to destroy the remnantsin detail as they retreated. The Soviets suffered 7,000–9,000 casualties;[179] the Finnish units, 400.[180] The Finnish troops captured dozens of tanks, artillery pieces, anti-tank guns, hundreds of trucks, almost 2,000 horses, thousands of rifles, and much-needed ammunition and medical supplies.[181] 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. The Finns found their instruments among the captured materiel.[182]
Battles in Finnish Lapland
A Finnish soldier on guard nearKemijärvi in February 1940.
The Finnish area ofLapland, bestriding theArctic Circle, is sparsely developed, with little daylight and persistent snow-cover during winter; the Finns expected nothing more than raiding parties and reconnaissance patrols. Instead, the Soviets sent full divisions.[183] On 11 December, the Finns rearranged the defence of Lapland and detached theLapland Group from the North Finland Group. The group was placed under the command ofKurt Wallenius.[184]
In southern Lapland, near the village of Salla, the Soviet 88th and 122nd Divisions, totaling 35,000 men, advanced. In theBattle of Salla, the Soviets proceeded easily to Salla, where the road split. Further ahead wasKemijärvi, while the fork toPelkosenniemi led northwest. On 17 December, the Soviet northern group, comprising an infantry regiment, abattalion, and a company of tanks, was outflanked by a Finnish battalion. The 122nd retreated, abandoning much of its heavy equipment and vehicles. Following this success, the Finns shuttled reinforcements to the defensive line in front of Kemijärvi. The Soviets hammered the defensive line without success. The Finns counter-attacked, and the Soviets retreated to a new defensive line where they stayed for the rest of the war.[185][186]
To the north was Finland's only ice-free port in the Arctic, Petsamo. The Finns lacked the manpower to defend it fully, as the main front was distant at the Karelian Isthmus. In theBattle of Petsamo, the Soviet 104th Division attacked the Finnish 104th Independent Cover Company. The Finns abandoned Petsamo and concentrated on delaying actions. The area was treeless, windy, and relatively low, offering little defensible terrain. Thealmost constant darkness and extreme temperatures of the Lapland winter benefited the Finns, who executed guerrilla attacks against Soviet supply lines and patrols. As a result, the Soviet movements were halted by the efforts of one-fifth as many Finns.[183]
The USSR enjoyedair superiority throughout the war. TheSoviet Air Force, supporting the Red Army's invasion with about 2,500 aircraft (the most common type beingTupolev SB), was not as effective as the Soviets might have hoped. The material damage by the bomb raids was slight as Finland offered few valuable targets forstrategic bombing. For example, the city ofTampere was one of the most important targets because it was an important railway junction, and also housedState Aircraft Factory and theTampere Linen and Iron Industry premises, which manufacturedmunitions and weapons, includinggrenade launchers.[187][188] Often, targets were village depots with little value. The country had few modern highways in the interior, therefore making the railways the main targets for bombers.Rail tracks were cut thousands of times but the Finns hastily repaired them and service resumed within a matter of hours.[10] The Soviet Air Force learned from its early mistakes, and by late February instituted more effective tactics.[189]
The largest bombing raid against the capital of Finland,Helsinki, occurred on the first day of the war. The capital was bombed only a few times thereafter. All in all, Soviet bombings cost Finland five per cent of its total man-hour production. Nevertheless, Soviet air attacks affected thousands of civilians, killing 957.[11] The Soviets recorded 2,075 bombing attacks in 516 localities. The city of Viipuri, a major Soviet objective close to the Karelian Isthmus front, was almost levelled by nearly 12,000 bombs.[190] No attacks on civilian targets were mentioned in Soviet radio or newspaper reports. In January 1940, the SovietPravda newspaper continued to lie that no civilian targets in Finland had been struck, even accidentally.[191] It is estimated that the Soviet air force lost about 400 aircraft because of inclement weather, lack of fuel and tools, and during transport to the front. The Soviet Air Force flew approximately 44,000 sorties during the war.[189]
Finnish Air Force
March 1940, a FinnishBristol Blenheim Mk. IV bomber of theNo. 44 Squadron refuelling at its air base on a frozen lake inTikkakoski. On the fuselage is the swastika, which theFinnish Air Force had adopted as their symbol in 1918. Despite the similarity, it was not a Nazi design but was based on the personal owner;Eric von Rosen had donated the first aircraft to the Air Force.
At the beginning of the war, Finland had a small air force, with only 114 combat planes fit for duty. Missions were limited, andfighter aircraft were mainly used to repel Soviet bombers. Strategic bombings doubled as opportunities for militaryreconnaissance. Old-fashioned and few in number, aircraft offered little support for Finnish ground troops. In spite of losses, the number of planes in theFinnish Air Force rose by over 50 per cent by the end of the war.[192] The Finns received shipments of British, French, Italian, Swedish and American aircraft.[193]
Finnish fighter pilots often flew their motley collection of planes into Soviet formations that outnumbered them 10 or even 20 times. Finnish fighters shot down 200 Soviet aircraft, while losing 62 of their own on all causes.[14] Finnish anti-aircraft guns downed more than 300 enemy aircraft.[14] Often, a Finnish forwardair base consisted of a frozen lake, awindsock, a telephone set and some tents. Air-raid warnings were given by Finnish women organised by theLotta Svärd.[194] The top scoring fighter ace wasJorma Sarvanto, with 12.83 victories. He would increase his tally during the Continuation War.
There was little naval activity during the Winter War. TheBaltic Sea began to freeze over by the end of December, impeding the movement ofwarships; by mid-winter, onlyice breakers andsubmarines could still move. The other reason for low naval activity was the nature ofSoviet Navy forces in the area. TheBaltic Fleet was a coastal defence force which did not have the training, logistical structure, orlanding craft to undertake large-scale operations. The Baltic Fleet possessed twobattleships, oneheavy cruiser, almost 20destroyers, 50motor torpedo boats, 52 submarines, and other miscellaneous vessels. The Soviets used naval bases inPaldiski,Tallinn andLiepāja for their operations.[195]
TheFinnish Navy was a coastal defence force with twocoastal defence ships, five submarines, fourgunboats, seven motor torpedo boats, oneminelayer and sixminesweepers and at least 5icebreakers. The two coastal defence ships,Ilmarinen andVäinämöinen, were moved to harbour inTurku where they were used to bolster the air defence. Their anti-aircraft guns shot down one or two planes over the city, and the ships remained there for the rest of the war.[138] At 18 January, Finnish armed icebreakerTarmo was severely damaged atKotka, received 2 bombs from a Soviet bomber with 39 Finnish troops killed in action. As well as coastal defence, the Finnish Navy protected the Ålandish and Finnishmerchant vessels in the Baltic Sea.[196]
Soviet aircraft bombed Finnish vessels and harbours and droppedmines into Finnishseaways. Still, only five merchant ships were lost to Soviet action. World War II, which had started before the Winter War, proved more costly for the Finnish merchant vessels, with 26 lost due to hostile action in 1939 and 1940.[197]
Coastal artillery
Finnish coastal artillery batteries defended important harbours and naval bases. Most batteries were left over from the Imperial Russian period, with 152 mm (6.0 in) guns being the most numerous. Finland attempted to modernise its old guns and installed a number of new batteries, the largest of which featured a 305 mm (12.0 in) gun battery on the island ofKuivasaari in front of Helsinki, originally intended to block the Gulf of Finland to Soviet ships with the help of batteries on the Estonian side.[198]
The first naval battle occurred in the Gulf of Finland on 1 December, near the island ofRussarö, 5 km (3.1 mi) south ofHanko. That day, the weather was fair and visibility was excellent. The Finns spotted the Soviet cruiserKirov and two destroyers. When the ships were at a range of 24 km (13 nmi; 15 mi), the Finns opened fire with four 234 mm (9.2 in) coastal guns. After five minutes of firing by the coastal guns, the cruiser had been damaged by near misses and retreated. The destroyers remained undamaged, but theKirov suffered 17 dead and 30 wounded. The Soviets already knew the locations of the Finnish coastal batteries, but were surprised by their range.[199]
Coastal artillery had a greater effect on land by reinforcing defence in conjunction with army artillery. Two sets of fortress artillery made significant contributions to the early battles on the Karelian Isthmus and in Ladoga Karelia. These were located atKaarnajoki on the Eastern Isthmus and atMantsi on the northeastern shore of Lake Ladoga. The fortress ofKoivisto provided similar support from the southwestern coast of the Isthmus.[200]
Soviet breakthrough in February
Red Army reforms and offensive preparations
Finnish officers inspecting Soviet skiing manuals gained as loot from theBattle of Suomussalmi
Joseph Stalin was not pleased with the results of December 1939 in the Finnish campaign. The Red Army had been humiliated in defeats by smaller Finnish forces. By the third week of the war, Soviet propaganda was already working to explain the failures of the Soviet military to the populace: blaming bad terrain and harsh climate, and falsely claiming that the Mannerheim Line was stronger than the Maginot Line, and that the Americans had sent 1,000 of their best pilots to Finland. However, the Soviets were confronted with the unavoidable reality of the poor performance of their troops against the Finns. Stalin in particular was concerned about the effects of the war on Soviet reputation.[201] In late December, the Soviets decided to reduce their strategic objectives and focused on bringing the war to an end.[202]
Chief of Staff Boris Shaposhnikov was given full authority over operations in the Finnish theatre, and he ordered the suspension of frontal assaults in late December. Kliment Voroshilov was replaced withSemyon Timoshenko as the commander of the Soviet forces in the war on 7 January 1940.[203] The main focus of the Soviet attack was switched to the Karelian Isthmus. Timoshenko and Zhdanov reorganised and tightened control between different branches of service in the Red Army. They also changed tactical doctrines to meet the realities of the situation.[204]
The Soviet forces on the Karelian Isthmus were divided into two armies: the 7th and the 13th Army. The 7th Army, now under Kirill Meretskov, would concentrate 75 per cent of its strength against the 16 km (9.9 mi) stretch of the Mannerheim Line between Taipale and the Munasuo swamp. Tactics would be basic: an armoured wedge for the initial breakthrough, followed by the main infantry and vehicle assault force. The Red Army would prepare by pinpointing the Finnish frontline fortifications. The 123rd Rifle Division then rehearsed the assault on life-sizemock-ups. The Soviets shipped large numbers of new tanks and artillery pieces to the theatre. Troops were increased from ten divisions to 25–26 divisions with six or seven tank brigades and several independent tank platoons as support, totalling 600,000 soldiers.[204] On 1 February, the Red Army began a large offensive, firing 300,000 shells into the Finnish line in the first 24 hours of thebombardment.[205]
Soviet offensive on the Karelian Isthmus
Although the Karelian Isthmus front was less active in January than in December, the Soviets increased bombardments, wearing down the defenders and softening their fortifications. During daylight hours, the Finns took shelter inside their fortifications from the bombardments and repaired damage during the night. The situation led quickly to war exhaustion among the Finns, who lost over 3,000 soldiers intrench warfare. The Soviets also made occasional small infantry assaults with one or two companies.[206] Because of the shortage of ammunition, Finnish artillery emplacements were under orders to fire only against directly threatening ground attacks. On 1 February, the Soviets further escalated their artillery and air bombardments.[205]
Even though the Soviets refined their tactics and morale improved, the generals were still willing to accept massive losses to reach their objectives. Soviet attacks were now being screened by smoke, heavy artillery, and armour support, but the infantry charged in the open and in dense formations.[205] Unlike their tactics in December, Soviet tanks advanced in smaller numbers. The Finns could not easily eliminate tanks if infantry troops protected them.[207] After 10 days of constant artillery barrage, the Soviets achieved a breakthrough on the Western Karelian Isthmus in the Second Battle of Summa.[208]
By 11 February, the Soviets had approximately 460,000 soldiers, 3,350 artillery pieces, 3,000 tanks and 1,300 aircraft deployed on the Karelian Isthmus. The Red Army was constantly receiving new recruits after the breakthrough.[209] Opposing them, the Finns had eight divisions, totalling about 150,000 soldiers. One by one, the defenders' strongholds crumbled under the Soviet attacks and the Finns were forced to retreat. On 15 February, Mannerheim authorised a general retreat of the II Corps to a fallback line of defence.[210] On the eastern side of the isthmus, the Finns continued to resist Soviet assaults, achieving a stalemate in the battle of Taipale.[211]
Peace negotiations
While the Finns attempted to re-open negotiations with Moscow by every means during the war, the Soviets did not respond. In early January, Finnish communistHella Wuolijoki contacted the Finnish Government. She offered to contact Moscow through the Soviet Union's ambassador to Sweden,Alexandra Kollontai. Wuolijoki departed forStockholm and met Kollontai secretly at a hotel. On 29 January, Molotov put an end to the puppetTerijoki Government and recognized the Ryti–Tanner government as the legal government of Finland, informing it that the USSR was willing to negotiate peace.[39][212]
By mid-February, it became clear that the Finnish forces were rapidly approaching exhaustion. For the Soviets, casualties were high, the situation was a source of political embarrassment to the Soviet regime, and there was a risk ofFranco-British intervention (which was overestimated by Soviet intelligence in February and March 1940[213]). With the spring thaw approaching, the Soviet forces risked becoming bogged down in the forests. Finnish Foreign Minister Väinö Tanner arrived in Stockholm on 12 February and negotiated the peace terms with the Soviets through the Swedes. German representatives, not aware that the negotiations were underway, suggested on 17 February that Finland negotiate with the Soviet Union.[214]
Both Germany and Sweden were keen to see an end to the Winter War. The Germans feared losing theiron ore fields in Northern Sweden and threatened to attack at once if the Swedes granted the Allied forcesright of passage. The German invasion plan, namedStudie Nord, was later implemented asOperation Weserübung.[215]Leon Trotsky opined after the war that Hitler would view a Soviet occupation of Finland as a threat to this plan. Any potential German plans for bases in Finland would also be thwarted if the Soviets occupied Finland, though Trotsky himself believed that Hitler was not interested in occupying Finland, but rather its role as a buffer between Germany and the USSR.[216]
As the Finnish Cabinet hesitated in the face of harsh Soviet conditions, Sweden's KingGustav V made apublic statement on 19 February in which he confirmed having declined Finnish pleas for support from Swedish troops. On 25 February, the Soviet peace terms were spelt out in detail. On 29 February, the Finnish Government accepted the Soviet terms in principle and was willing to enter into negotiations.[217] Red Army commanders wished to continue the war as their forces were starting to make progress against the Finns, whereas the Communist Party pointed out that the war was becoming too costly and called for the signing of a peace treaty. The party believed that Finland could be taken over later by means of a revolution. The heated discussion that ensued failed to yield any clear result and the matter went to a vote, in which the party's opinion prevailed and the decision was taken to bring hostilities to an end.[216]
End of war in March
Situation on the Karelian Isthmus on 13 March 1940, the last day of the war[218]
On 5 March, the Red Army advanced 10 to 15 km (6.2 to 9.3 mi) past the Mannerheim Line and entered thesuburbs of Viipuri. The same day, the Red Army established a beachhead on the WesternGulf of Viipuri. The Finns proposed anarmistice on 6 March, but the Soviets, wanting to keep the pressure on the Finnish government, declined the offer. The Finnish peace delegation travelled to Moscow via Stockholm and arrived on 7 March. They were disappointed to find that Stalin was not present during peace negotiations, likely due to the Red Army's humiliation by the Finns.[216] The Soviets had further demands, as their military position was strong and improving. On 9 March, the Finnish military situation on the Karelian Isthmus was dire, as troops were experiencing heavy casualties. Artillery ammunition was exhausted and weapons were wearing out. The Finnish government, realizing that the hoped-for Franco-British military expedition would not arrive in time, as Norway and Sweden had not given theAllies right of passage, had little choice but to accept the Soviet terms.[219] Finnish PresidentKyösti Kallio resisted the idea of giving up any territory to the Soviet Union, but eventually agreed to sign the Moscow Peace Treaty. When he signed the document, the tormented president uttered the well-known words: "Let the hand wither that signs this monstrous treaty!"[220]
Finland's territorial concessions to the Soviet Union displayed in red
The Moscow Peace Treaty was signed in Moscow on 12 March 1940. Acease-fire took effect the next day at noon Leningrad time, 11 a.m. Helsinki time.[221][222] With it, Finland ceded the Karelian Isthmus and most of Ladoga Karelia. The area included Viipuri (Finland's second-largest city [Population Register] or fourth-largest city [Church and Civil Register], depending on the census data[223]), much of Finland's industrialised territory, and significant land still held by Finland's military – all in all, nine per cent of Finnish territory. The ceded territory included 13 per cent of Finland's economic assets.[224] 12 per cent of Finland's population, 422,000 to 450,000 Karelians,were evacuated and lost their homes.[225][226][227] Finland also ceded a part of the region of Salla, the Rybachy Peninsula in theBarents Sea, and four islands in the Gulf of Finland. The Hanko peninsula was leased to the Soviet Union as a military base for 30 years. The region of Petsamo, captured by the Red Army during the war, was returned to Finland according to the treaty.[228]
Finnish concessions and territorial losses exceededSoviet pre-war demands. Before the war, the Soviet Union demanded for the frontier with Finland on the Karelian Isthmus to be moved westward to a point 30 kilometres (19 mi) east of Viipuri to the line between Koivisto andLipola; for existing fortifications on the Karelian Isthmus to be demolished and for the islands ofSuursaari,Tytärsaari, andKoivisto in the Gulf of Finland and Rybachy Peninsula to be ceded. In exchange, the Soviet Union proposed to cede Repola and Porajärvi from Eastern Karelia, an area twice as large as the territories that were originally demanded from the Finns.[229][65][230]
Norwegian volunteers somewhere in Northern Finland
World opinion largely supported the Finnish cause, and the Soviet aggression was generally deemed unjustified. World War II had not yet directly affected France, the United Kingdom or the United States; the Winter War was practically the only conflict in Europe at that time and thus held major world interest. Several foreign organisations sent material aid, and many countries granted credit and military materiel to Finland. Nazi Germany allowed arms to pass through its territory to Finland, but after a Swedish newspaper made this public, Adolf Hitler initiated a policy of silence towards Finland, as part of improved German–Soviet relations following the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact.[231]
The largest foreign contingent came from neighboring Sweden, which provided nearly 8,760 volunteers during the war. TheVolunteer Corps was formed of predominantly Swedes, as well as 1,010 Danes and 727 Norwegians. They fought on the northern front at Salla during the last days of the war. A Swedish unit ofGloster Gladiator fighters, named "the Flight Regiment 19" also participated. Swedish anti-air batteries withBofors 40 mm (1.6 in) guns were responsible for air defence in northern Finland and the city of Turku.[232] Volunteers arrived fromHungary, Italy and Estonia. 350American nationals of Finnish background volunteered, and 210 volunteers of other nationalities arrived in Finland before the war ended.[232]Max Manus, aNorwegian, fought in the Winter War before returning toNorway and later achieved fame as a resistance fighter during theGerman occupation of Norway. In total, Finland received 12,000 volunteers, 50 of whom died during the war.[233] The British actorChristopher Lee volunteered in the war for two weeks, but did not face combat.[234]
White émigrés and Russian prisoners-of-war
Finland officially refused overtures from the anti-SovietRussian All-Military Union (ROVS) for aid. Nevertheless, Mannerheim eventually agreed to establish a small Russian detachment (Russkaya narodnaya armiya, RNA) of 200 men after being introduced toBoris Bazhanov, a high-ranking ROVS member, in person in January 1940. The project was deemed top secret, and was under the auspices of the intelligence division of the Finnish army headquarters.[235]
The ranks of RNA were to be filled by prisoners-of-war, but it would be commanded by White émigrés instead of captured Soviet Army officers, who were deemed unreliable. Bazhanov's Finnish assistant Feodor Schulgin chose Captain Vladimir Kiseleff, Lieutenant Vladimir Lugovskoy, Anatoly Budyansky and brothers Nikolay and Vladimir Bastamov as officers for the unit. Of the five, the Bastamovs were not Finnish citizens, but hadNansen passports. The prisoners-of-war were trained inHuittinen, although it is possible that some were also trained inLempäälä.[235]
RNA never participated in battle, despite Boris Bazhanov's later claims to the contrary in his memoirs. About 35 to 40 members of it were present during a battle inRuskeala in early March 1940, where they spread flyers and broadcast propaganda to encircled Soviet troops, but did not carry weapons. The men were subsequently detained by Finnish forces, who mistook them for Soviet infiltrators. After the war's end, Bazhanov was immediately asked to leave Finland, which he did. Finnish military historianCarl Geust presumes that most members of the RNA were executed after they were returned to the Soviet Union after the war. Additionally, Vladimir Bastamov was later extradited into the Soviet Union as one of theLeino prisoners in 1945, and was sentenced to 20 years of hard labour. He was released after Stalin's death and returned to Finland in 1956.[235]
Franco-British support was offered on the condition their forces could pass freely fromNarvik throughneutral Norway and Sweden instead of the difficult passage through Soviet-occupiedPetsamo.
France had been one of the earliest supporters of Finland during the Winter War. The French saw an opportunity to weaken Germany's resource imports via a Finnish counteroffensive, as both Sweden and the Soviet Union were strategic trading partners to Germany. France had another motive, preferring to have a major war in a remote part of Europe rather than on French soil. France planned to re‑arm thePolish exile units and transport them to the Finnish Arctic port of Petsamo. Another proposal was a massive air strike with Turkish co-operation against theCaucasusoil fields.[236]
The British, for their part, wanted to block the flow of iron ore from Swedish mines to Germany as the Swedes supplied up to 40 per cent of Germany's iron demand.[236] The matter was raised by British AdmiralReginald Plunkett on 18 September 1939, and the next dayWinston Churchill brought up the subject in theChamberlain War Cabinet.[237] On 11 December, Churchill opined that the British should gain a foothold in Scandinavia with the objective to help the Finns, but without a war with the Soviet Union.[238] Because of the heavy German reliance on Northern Sweden's iron ore, Hitler had made it clear to the Swedish government in December that any Allied troops on Swedish soil would immediately provoke a German invasion.[239]
On 19 December, French Prime MinisterÉdouard Daladier introduced his plan to the General Staff and the War Cabinet. In his plan, Daladier created linkage between the war in Finland and the iron ore in Sweden.[238] There was a danger of Finland's possible fall under Soviet hegemony. In turn, Nazi Germany could occupy both Norway and Sweden. These two powers could divide Scandinavia between them, as they had already done with Poland. The main motivation of the French and the British was to reduce German war-making ability.[240]
The Military Co-ordination Committee met on 20 December in London, and two days later the French plan was put forward.[240] TheAnglo-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. Norway and Sweden rejected the offer on 5 January 1940.[239] The Allies came up with a new plan, in which they would demand that Norway and Sweden give them right of passage by citing a League of Nations resolution as justification. The expedition troops would disembark at the Norwegian port of Narvik and proceed by rail toward Finland, passing through the Swedish ore fields on the way. This demand was sent to Norway and Sweden on 6 January, but it was likewise rejected six days later.[241]
Stymied but not yet dissuaded from the possibility of action, the Allies formulated a final plan on 29 January. First, the Finns would make a formal request for assistance. Then, the Allies would ask Norway and Sweden for permission to move the "volunteers" across their territory. Finally, to protect the supply line from German actions, the Allies would send units ashore atNamsos,Bergen, andTrondheim. The operation would have required 100,000 British and 35,000 French soldiers with naval and air support. The supply convoys would sail on 12 March and the landings would begin on 20 March.[242] The end of the war on 13 March cancelled Franco-British plans to send troops to Finland through NorthernScandinavia.[243]
The 105-day war had a profound and depressing effect in Finland. Meaningful international support was minimal and arrived late, and the German blockade had prevented most armament shipments.[244] The 15-month period between the Winter War andOperation Barbarossa, part of which was the Continuation War, was later called theInterim Peace.[228] After the end of the war, the situation of the Finnish Army on the Karelian Isthmus became a subject of debate in Finland. Orders had already been issued to prepare a retreat to the next line of defence in the Taipale sector. Estimates of how long the Red Army could have been delayed by retreat-and-stand operations varied from a few days to a few weeks,[245][246] or to a couple of months at most.[247]
Immediately after the war, Helsinki officially announced 19,576 dead.[248] 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.[F 13] Finnish and Russian researchers have estimated that there were 800–1,100Finnish prisoners of war, of whom between 10 and 20 per cent died. The Soviet Union repatriated 847 Finns after the War.[13] Air raids killed 957 civilians.[11] Between 20 and 30 tanks were destroyed and 62 aircraft were lost.[14] Also, Finland had to cede all ships of theFinnish Ladoga Naval Detachment to the Soviet Union by virtue of theMoscow Peace Treaty.
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.[249] On 31 July 1940, German ChancellorAdolf Hitler gave the order to plan an assault on the Soviet Union and so Germany had to reassess its position regarding Finland. Until then, Germany had rejected Finnish appeals to purchase arms. However, the prospect of an invasion of the Soviet Union reversed the policy. In August, the secret sale of weapons to Finland was permitted.[250]
Karelian evacuees established an interest group, theFinnish Karelian League, to defend Karelian rights and interests and to find a way toreturn ceded regions of Karelia to Finland.[227][251] Finland wished to re-enter the war mainly because of the Soviet invasion of Finland during the Winter War, which had taken place after Finland had failed by relying on the League of Nations and on Nordic neutrality.[252] Finland aimed primarily to reverse its territorial losses from the Moscow Peace Treaty and, depending on the success of the German invasion of the Soviet Union, possibly to expand its borders, especially intoEast Karelia. Some right-wing groups, such as theAcademic Karelia Society, supported a Greater Finland ideology.[253] The Continuation War began in June 1941 and led to Finnish participation in theSiege of Leningrad as well as theFinnish occupation of East Karelia.[254][255]
Soviet Union
Monument devoted to the victims of the Winter War in St. Petersburg
The Soviet General Staff Supreme Command (Stavka) met in April 1940, reviewed the lessons of the Finnish campaign and recommended reforms. The role of frontline political commissars was reduced, and old-fashioned ranks and forms of discipline were reintroduced. Clothing, equipment and tactics for winter operations were improved. Not all of the reforms had been completed when Germans initiated Operation Barbarossa 14 months later.[256]
Between the Winter War andperestroika in the late 1980s, Soviet historiography relied solely on Molotov's speeches on the Winter War. In his radio speech of 29 November 1939, Molotov argued that the Soviet Union had tried to negotiate guarantees of security for Leningrad for two months. The Finns had taken a hostile stance to "please foreign imperialists". Finland had undertaken military provocation, and the Soviet Union could no longer abide by the non-aggression pacts. According to Molotov, the Soviet Union did not want to occupy or annex Finland, but the goal was purely to secure Leningrad.[257]
The official Soviet figure, with reference to the command of the Leningrad Military District, was published at a session of the Supreme Soviet on 26 March 1940, with 48,475 dead and 158,863 sick and wounded.[18] More recent Russian estimates vary: in 1990,Mikhail Semiryaga claimed 53,522 dead, andN. I. Baryshnikov, 53,500. In 1997,Grigoriy Krivosheyev claimed 126,875 dead and missing and total casualties of 391,783, with 188,671 wounded.[15] In 1991, Yuri Kilin claimed 63,990 dead and total casualties of 271,528. In 2007, he revised the estimate of dead to 134,000[16] and in 2012, he updated the estimate to 138,533.[258] In 2013,Pavel Petrov stated that the Russian State Military Archive has a database confirming 167,976 killed or missing along with the soldiers' names, dates of birth and ranks.[17]Nikita Khrushchev stated in his memoirs that over one million Soviet soldiers were killed.[259][260]
There were 5,572Soviet prisoners of war in Finland.[20][261][262] After the Winter War, the Soviet prisoners were returned to the USSR in accordance with the Moscow Peace Treaty. Of these, 450 were released, 4,354 were sentenced to imprisonment in labour camps ranging from 3 to 10 years and 414 were exposed to be "active in traitorous activities while in captivity", with 334 criminal cases being transferred to theSupreme Court of the Soviet Union; 232 of those cases ended in a death penalty.[263]
Between 1,200 and 3,543 Soviet tanks were destroyed. The official figure was 611 tank casualties, but Yuri Kilin found a note received by the head of the Soviet General Staff, Boris Shaposhnikov, reporting 3,543 tank casualties and 316 tanks destroyed. According to Finnish historianOhto Manninen, the 7th Soviet Army lost 1,244 tanks during the breakthrough battles of the Mannerheim Line in mid-winter. In the immediate aftermath of the war, the Finnish estimate of the number of lost Soviet tanks was 1,000 to 1,200.[21][22][23] The Soviet Air Forces lost around 1,000 aircraft, but fewer than half of them were combat casualties.[23][24] According to Carl Fredrik Geust, based on the studies of Soviet air force units, Finnish anti-aircraft units shot down 119 and Finnish fighter pilots 131 Soviet aircraft, though all Soviet aircraft losses had been more than 900.
Germany
The Winter War was a political success for the Germans. 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. The German policy of neutrality was unpopular in the homeland, and relations with Italy had suffered. After the Moscow Peace Treaty, Germany improved its ties with Finland, and within two weeks,Finnish-German relations were at the top of the agenda.[264][36] More importantly, the very poor performance of the Red Army convinced Hitler thatan invasion of the Soviet Union would be successful. In June 1941, Hitler declared, "we have only to kick in the door and the whole rotten structure will come crashing down".[265]
Allies
The Winter War laid bare the disorganisation and ineffectiveness of the Red Army and that of the Allies. 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. This failure led to the collapse of theThird Daladier Government in France and the nomination ofPaul Reynaud as the newPrime Minister of France.[266]
^At the beginning of the war, the Finns had 300,000 soldiers. The Finnish Army had only 250,028 rifles (total 281,594 firearms), butWhite Guards brought their own rifles (over 114,000 rifles, total 116,800 firearms) to the war. The Finnish Army reached its maximum strength at the beginning of March 1940 with 346,000 soldiers in uniform.[1][2]
^From 1919 onwards, the Finns possessed 32 FrenchRenault FT tanks and a few lighter tanks. These were unsuitable for the war and they were subsequently used as fixedpillboxes. The Finns bought 32 BritishVickers 6-Ton tanks during 1936–39, but without weapons. Weapons were intended to be manufactured and installed in Finland. Only 10 tanks were fit for combat at the beginning of the conflict.[3]
^On 1 December 1939 the Finns had 114 combat aeroplanes fit for duty and seven aeroplanes for communication and observation purposes. Almost 100 aeroplanes were used for flight training purposes, unsuitable for combat or under repair. In total, the Finns had 173 aircraft and 43 reserve aircraft.[4]
^[5] 550,757 soldiers on 1 January 1940 and 760,578 soldiers by the beginning of March.[6] In the Leningrad Military District, 1,000,000 soldiers[7] and 20 divisions one month before the war and 58 divisions two weeks before its end.[8]
^At the beginning of the war, the Soviets had 2,514 tanks and 718 armoured cars. The main battlefield was the Karelian Isthmus where the Soviets deployed 1,450 tanks. At the end of the war the Soviets had 6,541 tanks and 1,691 armoured cars. The most common tank type wasT-26, but alsoBT type was very common.[9]
^This name is translated as follows:Finnish:talvisota,Swedish:Vinterkriget, Russian:Зи́мняя война́,romanized:Zimnyaya voyna. The namesSoviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (Russian:Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) andSoviet–Finland War 1939–1940 (Russian:Сове́тско-финляндская война́ 1939–1940) are often used in Russianhistoriography;[25][26][27]Russo–Finnish War 1939–1940 orFinno-Russian War 1939–1940 are used by the U.S.Library of Congress' catalogue (see authority control).
^The Soviet role is confirmed inNikita Khrushchev's memoirs, which states that Artillery MarshalGrigory Kulik had personally supervised the bombardment of the Soviet village.[87][88]
^Turtola, Martti (1999). "Kansainvälinen kehitys Euroopassa ja Suomessa 1930-luvulla". In Leskinen, Jari; Juutilainen, Antti (eds.).Talvisodan pikkujättiläinen. pp. 41–43.
^Leskinen, Jari (1997). "Suomenlahden sulku ja Neuvostoliitto" [Blockade of the Gulf of Finland and the Soviet Union].Vaiettu Suomen silta [Hushed bridge of Finland] (in Finnish). Helsinki: Hakapaino Oy. pp. 406–407.ISBN951-710-050-7.
Chubaryan, A. (2002). "Foreword". In Kulkov, E.; Rzheshevskii, O.; Shukman, H. (eds.).Stalin and the Soviet-Finnish War, 1939–1940. Frank Cass.ISBN978-0-7146-5203-0.
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Reiter, Dan (2009).How Wars End (Illustrated ed.). Princeton University Press.ISBN978-0691140605.Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved29 October 2010.
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Rigby, Jonathan (2003).Christopher Lee: The Authorised Screen History. Reynolds & Hearn.ISBN978-1903111642.
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Yarov, Sergey (2017).Leningrad 1941–42: Morality in a City under Siege. Foreword by John Barber. John Wiley & Sons. p. 7.ISBN978-1509508020.Archived from the original on 27 February 2018.While the exact number who died during the siege by the German and Finnish armies from 8 September 1941 to 27 January 1944 will never be known, available data point to 900,000 civilian deaths, over half a million of whom died in the winter of 1941–2 alone.
Zeiler, Thomas W.; DuBois, Daniel M., eds. (2012).A Companion to World War II. Wiley Blackwell Companions to World History. Vol. 11. Wiley-Blackwell.ISBN978-1-4051-9681-9.
Baryshnikov, N.; Salomaa, E. (2005).Вовлечение Финляндии во Вторую Мировую войну [Finland's Entrance into World War II]. In Chernov, M. (ed.).Крестовый поход на Россию [Crusade Against Russia] (in Russian). Yauza.ISBN5-87849-171-0. Archived fromthe original on 6 November 2008. Retrieved1 July 2008.
Bichekhvost, Alexander Fedorovich (2012)."Вы точно человек?" [The Repressive Policy of the Soviet State and the Fate of the Red Army Prisoners of War Participants in the Soviet-Finnish War 1939–1940].Известия Саратовского Университета. Новая Серия. Серия История. Международные Отношения (in Russian).12 (4):99–108.Archived from the original on 8 July 2022. Retrieved23 August 2020.
Elfvegren, Eero (1999). "Merisota talvisodassa" [Naval Warfare in the Winter War].Talvisodan pikkujättiläinen (in Finnish).
Engman, Max (2007).Raja – Karjalankannas 1918–1920 [Border – The Karelian Isthmus 1918–1920]. WSOY.ISBN978-951-0-32765-4.
Enkenberg, Ilkka (2020).Talvisota Väreissä (in Finnish). Readme.fi.ISBN978-952-373-053-3.
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Halsti, Wolfgang Hallstén (1955).Talvisota 1939–1940 [The Winter War 1939–1940] (in Finnish). Otava.
Jokipii, Mauno (1999).Финляндия на пути к войне: Исследование о военном сотрудничестве Германии и Финляндии в 1940–1941 гг [Birth of the Continuation War: Research of German–Finnish Military Collaboration 1940–1941] (in Russian). Petrozavodsk: Karelia.ISBN5754507356.
Juutilainen, Antti; Koskimaa, Matti (2005). "Maavoimien joukkojen perustaminen" [Establishing the Army Forces].Jatkosodan pikkujättiläinen (in Finnish).
Juutilainen, Antti (1999a). "Laatokan Karjalan taistelut" [Battles in Ladoga Karelia].Talvisodan pikkujättiläinen (in Finnish).
Juutilainen, Antti (1999b). "Talvisodan ulkomaalaiset vapaaehtoiset" [Foreign Volunteers in the Winter War].Talvisodan pikkujättiläinen (in Finnish).
Kantakoski, Pekka (1998).Punaiset panssarit: Puna-armeijan panssarijoukot 1918–1945 [Red Armour: The Red Army's Tank Forces, 1918–1945] (in Finnish). PS-Elso.ISBN951-98057-0-2.
Kilin, Juri (2007a). "Leningradin sotilaspiirin rajakahakka". In Jokisipilä, Markku (ed.).Sodan totuudet. Yksi suomalainen vastaa 5,7 ryssää [Truths of War. One Finn equals 5.7 Russians] (in Finnish). Ajatus.
Kilin, Juri (2007b). "Rajakahakan hidas jäiden lähtö". In Jokisipilä, Markku (ed.).Sodan totuudet. Yksi suomalainen vastaa 5,7 ryssää [Truths of War. One Finn equals 5.7 Russians] (in Finnish).
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Silvast, Pekka (1999). "Merivoimien ensimmäinen voitto: Russarö" [The Navy's First Victory: Russarö].Talvisodan pikkujättiläinen (in Finnish).
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Kolomiec, Maksim V.; Kolomiec, Maksim V. (2008).Tanks in the Winter War 1939-1940. Operations Scandinavia. Translated by Dinan, Tim. Stockholm: Leandoer & Ekholm.ISBN978-91-975895-2-9.
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