A Forgotten Winter: The Russo-Finnish War

If someone who did not have more that a cursory understanding of the chronology of World War II, they might pick up a history book, come across a section on the Soviet war with Finland, and say, "There was a war in Finland?". Indeed, the war in Finland is not often brought up when trying to conjure up images of World War II. However, the Russo-Finnish War would prove to show not only the resilience of the nation of Finland, but also of the inadequacies of the Red Army, a fact that Hitler would've been very interested in when planning his Operation Barbarossa.

Almost three months after the invasion of Poland by the Germans, and later the Soviets, in September 1939, Joseph Stalin saw an opportunity to expand his territory. Bordering the Soviet Union were the three Baltic states, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, and the Scandinavian country of Finland. The three Baltic states, under pressure from the Soviet diplomats, signed over their countries to the Soviet Union without a fight. However, Finland was not so eager to give in. They figured that their position so far north gave them enough natural barriers to invasion that their meager armed forces could easily make up the difference. Because Finland had gained territory after World War I that Russia had received almost 200 years earlier, Stalin was willing to try his luck.

The Red Army invaded Finland on November 30, 1939. At first, Stalin encountered little resistance and thought he would easily win. This did not last long at all, though. The Finnish forces fought furiously to defend the Mannerheim Line, as it was called. The extreme Finnish resistance brought diplomatic applause and support from the UK, France, the US, and Sweden. The USSR, on the other hand, was banished from the League of Nations upon their invasion.

The Finnish army took advantage of several flaws in the Red Army, to an astonishing degree. First, after the Great Purges of 1936/37, almost all of the Red Army's most experienced leaders were either dead or in prison,leaving inexperienced leaders in charge of the troops. Second, the Soviets had almost no ski troops, while the Finnish army had nearly grown up on skis and knew how to fight on them. In some cases, entire units were completely massacred, with ski troops machine-gunning troops on their way past, and quickly planting gas bombs on Soviet tanks.

Nevertheless, despite the Finns' proud hearts and strong resolve, they just couldn't compete numerically. Also, the countries that supported them before were either unwilling to give them any substantial aid, or were unable because of their neutrality, as was the case for the US and Sweden. On March 13, 1940, the Finnish Prime Minister was forced to sign the Treaty of Moscow, which gave the USSR 11% of Finland's prewar gains and 30% of Finland's resources. Also, crucially, it gave Leningrad a buffer of territory, which would be put to good use during the siege later on.

While the Russo-Finnish War is not often referred to when thinking about World War II, it is important to note that nearly all of the problems with the Red Army revealed during the conflict remained largely unfixed, right up until Germany's invasion in 1941. This led to the near collapse of the Red Army, were it not for Hitler's misguidance. Until next time, take care, and thanks for reading.