Finnish historian markku ruotsila opens his excellent book with a clear. The orders were already given to prepare a retreat to the next line of. The winter war 30 november 1939 march 1940 was a conflict fought between the soviet union and finland. Despite superior military strength the soviet union advance was halted by finland. See all 5 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. Buy this book the november 1939 soviet invasion of finland.
I find this to be a more apt title than the more excitingly titled american edition. When close to half a million soviet troops poured into finland in 1939 it was expected that finnish defences would collapse in. The russofinnish winter war of 19391940 by trotter, william r isbn. Foreign support in the winter war consisted of materiel, men and moral support to the finnish struggle against the soviet union in the winter war. It is much like the winter war the soviet attack on finland 19391940 by eloise engle and lauri paananen as this book is more a starting out point than a detailed work on the subject. Winter war simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Finlands gallant stand against the soviet army modern war studies hardcover. Book, print in english, french, german finlands war years, 19391945. In russian historiography, the war is called the soviet finnish front of the great patriotic war. Jun 01, 2008 a brisk, efficient account of one of the most overlooked episodes of world war iithe soviet invasion of finland.
Last month the finnish defence forces put an archive of 160,000 wwiiera. In 1944 and 1945, finland attacked german forces leaving the country in the lapland war. If they are losing, they will offer to surrender some land around leningrad as well as salla. This war began when stalin and his henchmen claimed that tiny finland attacked the u. The second world war had not yet begun in earnest and was known to the public as the phoney war. The continuation war against the soviet union lasted from the summer of 1941 until the fall of 1944. Lundes finlands war of choice is a book that concentrates on the war of 194144 and also has description of lapland war though only a bare mention of the winter war. Germany regarded its operations in the region as part of its overall war efforts on the eastern front and provided finland with. After polands defeat in the autumn of 1939, the soviet union, wishing to safeguard leningrad, demanded from finland a minor part of the karelian isthmus, a naval base at hanko hango, and some islands in the gulf of finland. One finnish war veteran, lars loflund, believes there was nothing wrong with the russian people. It is an accurate representation of finlands winter war against the u. This book focuses on the winter war between the soviet union and neighboring finland. The story of the winter war between finland and soviet russia is a dramatic david versus goliath encounter.
Even though this book was written for older children and teens, i enjoyed it. The soviet invasion of finland remains one of the lesser known segments of world war ii. Numerically and technologically speaking, the massive soviet force had a tremendous advantage over the smaller finnish army and. The winter war 19391940, where the soviet union invaded finland to impose their will and redraw the map, while the finns fought with determination the soviets did manage to secure peace a peace terriorial claims on finland and displacing some 400,000 people but. The finnish army of 160 000 men was opposed to an invading russian army consisting of 2000 russian tanks and 450 000 soldiers. This is a good book if you are looking for an introductory volume on the winter war.
The winter w ar wa s a war between the soviet union ussr and fi nland. In my opinion its better than trotters book in that it does not wonder off after details too often. The soviet attack on finland, 19391940 eloise engle, lauri. The winter war when the finns humiliated the russians.
Finnish armour in the winter war of wwii playing with. Finland 19391940 university of delaware press, newark. After world war ii, finland would go on to become one of the ussrs closest partners in the west. A volume in the brill series history of warfare, finland in world war ii will prove useful reading for anyone interested in the fate of small nations in great wars, democratic institutions in wartime, or the eastern front in world war ii. It began with a soviet inva sion of finland on 30 november 1939, three months after the outbreak of w orld war ii, and ended three and a half months later with the moscow peace treaty on march 1940.
May 23, 20 last month the finnish defence forces put an archive of 160,000 wwiiera photographs online. During the ominous lull between the nazi conquest of poland and the assault on france, the soviet union sought palpable assurances from neutral, democratic finland to protect vulnerable leningrad against attack, ostensibly from the british or the french, but in fact from hitler. The images record the war years from 1939 to 1945, spanning three conflicts the finns recognize as the. They won the war in the sense that they could dictate the terms of peace in their favor.
As a result of the war, the eastern third of sweden was established as the autonomous grand duchy of finland within the russian empire. The finns not only survived the initial attacks but succeeded in inflicting devastating casualties before superior. Review churchill and finland einternational relations. World opinion at large supported the finnish cause. The term means to become like finland referring to the influence of the soviet union on finlands. The russofinnish winter war of 19391940 by william r. Finlands winter war with the soviet union, waged over the course of 105 days from november 1939 to march 1940, should be an object of study for all students of military strategy. Russias invasion of finland, 19391940 by edwards, robert isbn. On november 30, 1939, the red army crosses the sovietfinnish border with. The short period after the war and before the next, the continuation war, is known as the interim peace. Before its independence, finland was an autonomous grand duchy inside imperial russia. November 30 th, 1939, following the alleged shelling of russian troops by finnish soldiers, the soviet union launched an invasion on finland.
The winter war is a historical fiction book about boy trying to help out his homeland during wartime. Finns are commemorating the 70th anniversary of the start of the winter war against the soviet union. Finland, a weak, sparsely populated, and diplomatically isolated nation, succeeded in imposing staggering costs on a far more potent aggressor. The soviet union thus acquired territorial gains which the russians believed were vital to its strategic and military interests. The background of the winter war covers the period before the outbreak of the winter war between finland and the soviet union in 19391940, stretching from the finnish declaration of independence in 1917 to the sovietfinnish negotiations in 19381939. The cover art of a soldiers white silhouette against a red background, designed by martti mykkanen, became similarly famous and is often used as a symbol for war in finland.
Lundes finland s war of choice is a book that concentrates on the war of 194144 and also has description of lapland war though only a bare mention of the winter war. A breakdown of the war follows including the causes, finland and the ussrs expectations and advantages and disadvantages, propaganda techniques as well as war tactics for both countries, major battles, and ending with the effects of the winter war. Participants talked about how finland survived politically and economically as a neighbor to the soviet union during the cold war. This book describes the odd coalition between germany and finland in world war ii, and their joint military operations from 1941 to 1945. In march 1940, finland and russia signed the moscow peace treaty and hostilities between the two nations ended. Toni wirtanen the story of the winter war between finland and soviet russia is a dramatic david versus goliath encounter. The winter war was a direct result of the nazisoviet nonaggression pact of august 1939. In march 1940 the finnishsoviet winter war ended with an armistice. The winter war was a war between the soviet union ussr and finland. It was a war one of the sides involved would rather forget, while the other fights to keep the memory alive. The continuation war was a conflict fought by finland and nazi germany, as cobelligerents, against the soviet union ussr from 1941 to 1944, during world war ii. Despite the passage of time, it is clear that in finland, the winter war is forever frozen into the nations. The defender had no options, only survive or let the kossacks in. Learn more about the russofinnish war in this article.
Suomen sota was fought between the kingdom of sweden and the russian empire from 21 february 1808 to 17 september 1809. Swedish volunteers in the russofinnish winter war, 19391940. It began when the soviet union tried to invade finland soon after the invasion of poland. Published in 1954, the unknown soldier chronicles the continuation war between finland and the soviet union during 19411944 from the viewpoint of ordinary finnish soldiers. Standard histories of world war ii tend to treat the russofinnish winter war which lasted from november 30, 1939 to the middle of march, 1940 as a kind of prelude or sideshow to the main event, but at the time the plight of the valiant finns, invaded by the russian giant, aroused worldwide sympathy leading in fact to the ouster of the ussr from the league of nations. Russias invasion of finland, 19391940 robert edwards, author. They also gained more than they had initially demanded from finland before launching their surprise inva. At the end of the war, the situation of the finnish army on the karelian isthmus had been the subject of some debate. It is commonly used in reference to finland s policies in relation to the soviet union during the cold war, but it can refer more generally to similar international relations, such as denmarks attitude toward germany between 1871 and 1945, or the policies of the swiss government towards nazi germany until the end of world war ii. Firstly, i have the uk edition, titled the winter war. A soviet book of red army war heroes in the winter war. After months of ultimatums, on november 30, 1939, the soviet union invaded finland. Finnlandisierung is the process by which one powerful country makes a smaller neighboring country abide by the formers foreign policy rules, while allowing it to keep its nominal independence and its own political system. This is a topic often missing in english, though in stark contrast to the numerous books on.
In 1939, finland was in war against the soviet union during the winter war. Using this phony provocation as an excuse, the soviets invaded finland with more than a million men, thousands of tanks, artillery pieces and airplanes and dozens of ships. The british reaction to the invasion of finland admin on 1st june 2017 comments closed last year i talked to irish historian bernard kelly about his book military internees, prisoners of war and the irish state during the second world war, thats episode 23 for those who havent listened. Soviet forces began the war on november 30, 1939, and it was concluded on march 12, 1940, with the peace of moscow. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Finland ceded large parts of its territory amounting to approximately 30% of its land area to russia. Finlands war finland in wwii can best be described as having three phases. Foreign support of finland in the winter war wikipedia. The winter war that the soviet union launched against finland in 1939 grew out of territorial disputes that had existed between the two nations for more than two hundred years. Despite superior military strength the soviet union advance wa s halted by finland.
This is backed up by the information acquired from several soviet pows captured during the continuation war 19411944. Pretty much everybody was aware of, that if stalins orchestra gets to perform with the red army at town square in hel. When finland rejected the demand, the soviet union launched an attack on november 30, 1939, beginning the russo. This was my first book from this general series of military history books stackpole i believe and i will now be getting more from them. Why did the soviet union lose the winter war of 1939. Russofinnish war november 30, 1939march 12, 1940, also called the winter war, war waged by the soviet union against finland at the beginning of world war ii, following the conclusion of the germansoviet nonaggression pact august 23, 1939.
It began with a soviet invasion of finland on 30 november 1939, three months after the outbreak of world war ii, and ended three and a half months later with the moscow peace treaty on march 1940. This is a topic often missing in english, though in stark contrast to the numerous books on the shorter and less bloody winter war. The aftermath of the winter war covers historical events and comments after the winter war between finland and the soviet union from 30 november 1939 to march 1940. The soviet military forces expected a victory over finland in a few weeks, because the soviet army had many more tanks and planes than the finnish. The authors cover enough of the geopolitical problems that led up to the winter war, along with the military operations and first person accounts, to give you a pretty broad overview of the war from the finnish perspective. Following the soviet invasion of poland in the fall of 1939, they turned their attention north to finland. This book, written by finns, is a solid account, explaining the battles in detail. The public face of this treaty was a tenyear period of nonaggression between nazi germanyand stalins russia. Why was finland so successful during the winter war. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that. Finlands heroic struggle to preserve independence and defend its territories, citizens, and culture against the russian superpower to the east has been acknowledged many times, as have the bravery and resourcefulness of the finnish troops in the 105day conflict termed the russofinnish winter war of 193940 hereafter shortened. During the ensuing finnish civil war, the red guards. It was, in a way, a classic case of being up against the wall. See all 6 formats and editions hide other formats and editions.
Jan 20, 2018 the war between russia and finland, generally referred to as the winter war, lasted from november 30th1939 to march th, 1940. Useful international support was minimal, arrived late, and the german blockade prevented most armament shipments. Markos job is to alert the troops if the soviets are coming. The 105day war had a profound and depressing effect in finland. The winter war russia against finland a ballantine book this is another common book that can be located on ebay or with ease. When close to half a million soviet troops poured into finland in 1939 it was expected that finnish defences would collapse in a matter of weeks. The hundred day winter war is a military history focusing on the phenomenon called war and its influence on international politics, as well as on the experiences of the people who participated in the war. The soviet military forces expected a victory over finland in a few weeks, because the soviet army had many more tanks and planes than the finnish army.
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