Posted on 11/30/2006 6:26:49 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster
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Report: 1939 - Winter War: Soviet forces invade Finland and reach the "Mannerheim Line", starting the war.
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The Winter War (Finnish: Talvisota, Swedish: Vinterkriget, Russian: §©§Ú§Þ§ß§ñ§ñ §Ó§à§Û§ß§Ñ , also known as the Soviet-Finnish War or the Russo-Finnish War[4]) broke out when the Soviet Union attacked Finland on November 30, 1939, three months after the start of World War II. Because the attack was judged completely illegal, the Soviet Union was expelled from the League of Nations on December 14. Soviet leader Josef Stalin had expected to conquer the whole country by the end of 1939, but Finnish resistance frustrated the Soviet forces, who outnumbered the Finns 4:1 in men, 100:1 in tanks and 30:1 in aircraft[1]. Finland held out until March 1940, when a peace treaty was signed ceding about 10% of Finland's territory, and 20% of its industrial capacity, to the Soviet Union.
The results of the war were mixed. Although the Soviet forces finally managed to break through the Finnish defence, neither the Soviet Union nor Finland emerged from the conflict unscathed. Soviet losses on the front were tremendous, and the country's international standing suffered. Even worse, the fighting ability of the Red Army was put into question, a fact that some argue contributed to Hitler's decision to launch Operation Barbarossa. Finally, the Soviet forces did not accomplish their primary objective of conquest of Finland, but gained only a secession of territory along Lake Ladoga. The Finns retained their sovereignty and gained considerable international goodwill.
The March 15 peace treaty thwarted Franco-British preparations to send support to Finland through northern Scandinavia (the Allied campaign in Norway) which would also have hindered German access to northern Sweden's iron ore. Germany's invasion of Denmark and Norway on 9 April 1940 (Operation Weser¨¹bung) then diverted the attention of the world to the struggle for possession of Norway. The Winter War is considered by some a military disaster for the Soviet Union. However, Stalin did learn from this fiasco and realized that political control over the Red Army was no longer feasible. After the Winter War, the Kremlin initiated the process of reinstating qualified officers and modernizing its forces, a fateful decision that would enable the Soviets to eventually resist the German invasion. It may be noted that even the German Wehrmacht, as would become apparent in 1941, was not prepared for offensive winter warfare. Likewise, the Battle of the Bulge at the end of 1944, however, saw thousands of American troops stranded by weather arguably mild compared to Nordic winter.
The brave stand of the Finns against the Russian Bear is one of the great stories of the 20th century.
"Only Finland-superb, nay, sublime-in the jaws of peril-Finland shows what free men can do. The service rendered by Finland to mankind is magnificent. They have exposed, for all the world to see, the military incapacity of the Red Army and of the Red Air Force. Many illusions about Soviet Russia have been dispelled in these few fierce weeks of fighting in the Arctic Circle. Everyone can see how Communism rots the soul of a nation; how it makes it abject and hungry in peace, and proves it base and abominable in war. We cannot tell what the fate of Finland may be, but no more mournful spectacle could be presented to what is left to civilized mankind than that this splendid Northern race should be at last worn down and reduced to servitude worse than death by the dull brutish force of overwhelming numbers. If the light of freedom which still burns so brightly in the frozen North should be finally quenched, it might well herald a return to the Dark Ages, when every vestige 6f human progress during two thousand years would be engulfed."
I've known a number of Finnish Winter War enthusiasts over the Internet (part of having a mutual fascination with World War II aviation) and the Finns are fiercely proud of their stand in the Winter War, as they should be. Very few armies in history ever did more with less than the Finns--the Finnish Air Force in particular.
During the Winter War and the first years of their alliance with Nazi Germany in invading the USSR, their air force was flying mostly obsolescent British Hurricanes and cast-off Brewster Buffalos that were quickly dumped by the US Navy because they were so bad. The Finns bought the planes, made some changes, removed some of the armor-plating and carrier-landing equipment, and made them better. They then went out and had several aces run up impressive scores against the Red Air Force, in an airplane (the Buffalo) that was considered one of the worst ever to fly for the US Navy.
Part of that, of course, was just how dismal the USSR's armed forces were during the Winter War and the first year of Barbarossa. But there's no doubt that the Finns were incredible fighters...brave, tenacious, scrappy, and smart. The Germans had a great deal of respect for them.
}:-)4
I seem to remember a quote from somewhere about this in which a Russian General said "We gained just enough ground to bury our dead."
Tell them about Simo Häyhä.
"...Simo Häyhä was indeed one the Soviet soldiers came to fear and tell stories of. Häyhä was to many Red Army soldiers their nightmare, their ghost, their shadow, and for over 500 he was their "The White Death".
His skillful hunting in the Winter War ranks as the all time highest kill total for a sniper, although many of his adversaries fell to the K31 Suomi-Konepistooli he operated with imposing proficiency.
The most astounding fact of Häyhäs deeds is the time frame of these events was only 90 days.
The total number of "kills" by this man is truly remarkable and an accurate description of his talent as a stalker and a marksman. The conduct of Simo Häyhä and his results during the Winter War will never be matched by any other. Simo Häyhä was in a warrior class of which only a select few heroes can claim membership in."
If you can't find it in your area, Google "Talvisota torrent" - it's out there.
I found it interesting that the Finns took obsolete aircraft and tweaked them to make them batter. Never had heard that before. They did exactly the same thing with their small arms. The Finnish M39 rifle takes a Russian Mosin-Nagant action (some purchased, some captured from the Russians) and adds a heavier barrel and a different stock to produce a much better rifle.
Finland is the only coutry which bordered the USSR that didn't get sucked behind the Iron Curtain.
They are hardcore bada##se and proud of their country.... I might get that movie....any movie about killing communists has got to be good.
He was born in the small town of Rautjärvi near the present-day border with Russia, and started his military service in 1925. During the Winter War (1939 1940) between Finland and the Soviet Union, he began his duty as a sniper against the Red Army. Working in temperatures between ?20 to ?40 degrees Celsius, and dressed completely in a white camouflage suit, Häyhä was credited with 505 confirmed kills against Soviet soldiers.
The unofficial Finnish frontline figure from the battle field of Kollaa places the number of Häyhä's sniper kills at 542. A daily account of the kills at Kollaa was conducted for the Finnish snipers. Häyhä used a Finnish variant, M28, of the Soviet Mosin-Nagant rifle (known as "Pystykorva" rifle), because it suited his small frame (5 ft/1.52 m). He preferred to use iron sights rather than telescopic sights to present a smaller target (the sniper must raise their head higher when using telescopic sights) and aid concealment (sun reflecting off telescopic sight lenses can reveal a sniper's position).
Besides his sniper kills, Simo Häyhä was also credited with two hundred kills with a submachine gun, thus bringing his credited kills to at least 705. All of Häyhä's kills were accomplished within 100 days prior to injuries caused by an enemy bullet. Before his injury, the Russians tried several plans to get rid of him, including counter snipers and artillery strikes. Their best result was tearing the back of his coat away with shrapnel, but leaving Häyhä himself unscratched.
On March 6, 1940, Häyhä was shot in the jaw. The bullet tumbled upon impact and left his head. He was picked up by fellow soldiers who said "half his head was missing". He regained consciousness on March 13, the day peace was declared. Shortly after the war, Häyhä was promoted straight from corporal to second lieutenant by Field Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim. No one has ever gained rank in such a dramatic fashion in Finland's military history.
When asked in 1998 how he had become such a good shot, he answered, "Practice."
About his record, he has said "I did what I was told to as well as I could."
Yeah, the Finnish use of the Brewster Buffalo was interesting. The Navy ordered it as a carrier-based fighter around the same time as they got the Grumman F4F Wildcat. The Wildcat has gotten a bit of a bad rep (undeservedly) because it was rather inferior to the Japanese Zero in a lot of areas, but the Buffalo was far, far worse than the Wildcat. The few times it flew against the Japanese, it was routinely slaughtered.
The Navy got rid of the things as fast as they could and the Finns, who were desperate, grabbed a bunch. The Finns removed the arresting gear (no aircraft carriers!) and some of the armor plating, thus lightening the plane and improving its performance somewhat. It went from awful to merely obsolete, but it was flying against extremely inexperienced Soviet pilots, sometimes flying some pretty obsolete crates of their own (like the Polikarpov I-16 or I-153), and combined with the skill of the Finnish pilots, many of whom were German-trained, it acquitted itself surprisingly well. Later in the war, after Barbarossa, the Finns got some Messerschmitt Bf 109s to replace their Buffaloes and Hurricanes and did very well with them.
Stalin got a hard lesson in the Winter War. Basically, don't use clumsy brute-force tactics against a country that (a) is fiercely proud and nationalistic, (b) has horrible weather and rough terrain, (c) is full of tough men who know the country well, and (d) is full of those same tough men who know how to handle a weapon well.
}:-)4
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