Marshal of Finland, Baron Carl Gustaf Mannerheim, served with distinction with the Russian Tsar's Army in the Russo-Japanese War and in the 14-18 war. Following the Bolshevik revolution, Mannerheim led the Finnish 'White Army' to defeat Finnish Communists, leading to Finnish independence from Russia in May 1918.
The Threat from Stalin
Finland, a small Nordic nation of 4 million people, was continuously at war from November 1939 to April 1945. Three wars were fought; the Winter War against the invading Red Army from late November 1939 to March 1940; the Continuation War against the USSR fought alongside German Army Group North on the Eastern Front from June 1941 to September 1944 and the Lapland War from September 1944 until April 1945 which was fought reluctantly to expel German forces from Finnish territory. Marshal Mannerheim succeeded in negotiating the separate peace with the USSR.
In October 1939 the Soviets demanded the right to establish military bases in all three Baltic States and Finland. This meant the Finns dismantling their defences in the Karelian Isthmus leaving them vulnerable to Soviet expansion. The Baltic States were occupied and Finland prepared to defend itself.
The Winter War, November 1939 - March 1940
30 November 1939 Helsinki was bombed and 450,000 Red Army men crossed Finland's southern and eastern borders. The Red Army, severely weakened by Stalin's disastrous purges of the officer classes, were not prepared for winter combat. A Red Army force of 48,000 men attempted to cut Finland in two, by advancing towards Oulu, and were attacked by Finnish ski troops at the battle of Suomussalmi, 1,300 were taken prisoner and the rest perished from exposure. Some Red Army men were discovered dead in circles. This mystery may have been due to Finnish Lotta Svard women soldiers, armed with sharp needles, interventing in the Ski troop war. In March, Finland ceded territory to the Soviets and the war ended. Finland suffered 25,000 killed and the Soviets 200,000 killed which was a severe shock to Stalin.
The Finns sought new allies against the Soviets. In June 1941, German aircraft arrived in Finland to support Operation Barbarossa. Soviet bombers attacked Finnish military and civilian targets. Finland and the USSR were at war.
The Continuation War, June 1941-September 1944
The Finnish advance into the Karelian Isthmus (see attached map) was halted near Leningrad, December 1941. The Finns had recovered their national territory. Finnish losses during this war reached 25,000. Marshal Mannerheim declared Finland would undertake no further offensive operations, when, in January 1943, the Soviets cleared the southern shore of Lake Ladoga of German troops. In January 1944, the siege of Leningrad was lifted, with German forces pushed back to Narva and Lake Peipus in Estonia. Massive Red Army artillery attacks pushed Finnish forces back from two defensive lines on the Karelian Isthmus during June 1944 and set the scene for the battle of Tali-Ihantala. This monumental battle of attrition in an area of 60 square kilometres of lakeland, pitted 150,000 Soviets against the 50,000 men of IV Corps, Finnish Army, under Lt. General Laatilkainen.
The Soviets launched massive frontal attacks with Finnish, German supplied Panzerschreck anti-tank launchers, accounting for 600 Soviet tanks destroyed. The Soviets lost 22,000 men killed and 200 aircraft destroyed. Finland lost 8,500 killed.
Finland fought for its very survival and succeeded. The Soviets did not need diehard Finnish resistance and remained in defensive positions on Finnish territory in order to fight German and Baltic forces in the Baltic States. Finland secured a separate peace with the Soviets at 07.00hrs on 5 September 1944.
The Lapland War, September 1944-April 1945
Finland's peace treaty required them to force all German forces from Finnish territory. Finland admired German military prowess and were grateful for German military assistance during the Continuation War. On 27-28 September 1944, fighting between the Finnish Armoured Division and German 20. Gebirgsarmee commenced. The Germans gradually withdrew from Lapland into Norway. A Finnish attack on the Lapland capital of Rovaniemi succeeded but the Germans burned the town. The Lapland war cost Finland 1,000 and the Germans 2,000 dead. This writer visited Rovaniemi where Finns still talk about the Lapland War against the Saxaleiters (Germans) as Stalin's act of revenge.
National Pride and Superb Fitness Characterised the Finns
The Finns were fit, rugged, independent countrymen motivated by intense loyalty to their young nation. The 'Motti' or Finnish envelopment tactic unnerved Soviet conscripts who were trapped in stalled armoured columns during the Winter War and were worn down by successive Ski troop attacks. Snipers achieved incredible kills - Simo Hayha killed 500 Soviets through his open sighted Mosin-Nagant rifle. The 9mm Konepistooli kp/31 sub-machine gun was a superb weapon and was known as the Suomi (Finland). Finnish Jaeger (Hunter) Lauri Torni led frequent raids against the Russian Murmansk railway. Finnish Olympic athlete Lieutenant Esa Seeste steadfastly fought the Soviets in Karelia, July 1941. Estonian 'Infantry Regiment 200' and Swedish volunteers made a significant contribution to the Finnish war effort.
Finland survived six years of war through capturing massive amounts of Red Army war materiel during the Winter War and with generous supplies of Panzerschreck anti-armour weapons supplied by their German allies.
Finland today remains wary of her 'Big Bear' neighbour. A militarily non-allied Finland defends itself independently.
Sources
- Finland at War 1939-45 by P. Jowett and B. Snodgrass Elite, Osprey Publishing 2006
- The Finnish Defence Forces Suomen Graafiser Palvelut Oy Ltd, Kuopio 1995
Michael Manning - ' The best lack all conviction while the worst are full of passionate intensity' W.B.Yeats
