Finnish military preparing 900,000 reservists for 'crisis situation'

Newsweek ^ | May 1, 2015 | Felicity Capon

[C19fan]

The Finnish Defence Forces are to send letters to all 900,000 of the country's reservists at the beginning of this month, informing them what their role would be in a "crisis situation", causing a row over whether such a move is necessary.

Finland, with its population of 5.2 million, has a small professional army of 16,000. Yet in the event of mobilisation, Finland could call on its former conscripts to fight. Finland's wartime military strength is 230,000.

According to local media reports, the decision was announced via a television advert, telling the nation's reservists "We want to have a word with you", and warning former conscripts that "Conscription is the cornerstone of Finland's defence capability."

[yawningotter]

Do not underestimate anyone who can give the Brewster Buffalo one of the best kill ratios in history.

[Nateman]

Unfortunately, the Finns only gave the Soviet Army a bloody nose, the Soviets eventually KO’d the Finns.

It's true they were eventually defeated but it was not in vain. The Finns did such a good job of fighting back they convinced Hitler that the Soviets were a rotten structure just waiting for him to cave it in. Can you imagine how horrible the world would be today if the Soviet-Nazi alliance had held together?

[GreyFriar]

Yes, the Soviet Army should have rolled over Finland in the original attack, but Stalin in his purges of the Soviet Army had, literally, executed many of the competent officers and left the Army in shambles. It was after the initial set back, that Stalin recognized his mistake and corrected it. Which later helped the Soviets after Hitler invaded in 1941.

[GreyFriar]

Nate,

Hitler had plans to invade and conquer the USSR before the Winter War. I do have to agree that the Soviet’s performance showed them weaker, at the command level, than many though them to be. However, Hitler in Mein Kampf, saw Germany’s “Living Room” in the East, i.e. the USSR, and he had always intended to conquer the Slavs.

[Does so]

"...Stalin in his purges of the Soviet Army had, literally, executed many of the competent officers and left the Army in shambles. It was after the initial set back, that Stalin recognized his mistake and corrected it..."

Back in 1968, I was reading an account of a Wehrmacht General at the Eastern Front (Guderian, perhaps), who gave accounts of failed Soviet attacks. He wrote, upon every failure, "The Soviet General was called back to Moscow and shot".

[GreyFriar]

That is true, Stalin did not react to failure by his generals very well.