The border between the USSR and Finland before 1939. Armed forces of the opponents. The Soviet Union concluded an agreement on territorial concessions with the self-formed “people's government”
Armed conflict between Soviet state and Finland, contemporaries increasingly evaluate it as one of components Second World War. Let's try to isolate real reasons Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940.
The origins of this war are in the system itself international relations, which had developed by 1939. At that time, war, the destruction and violence it brought, were considered an extreme, but completely acceptable method of achieving geopolitical goals and protecting the interests of the state. Large countries built up armaments, small states looked for allies and entered into agreements with them for assistance in case of war.
The Naval Air Force consisted of four squadrons, one of which consisted of torpedo bombers. Unfavorable winter conditions hampered naval activity during the Winter War, although some Finnish submarines began to carry out operations in the Gulf of Bothnia. However, the coastal batteries, of which there were two regiments, played important role in the defense of Finnish territory.
The total number of Finnish troops at the beginning of the winter war:. 000 people, 9 divisions, 145 aircraft, 2 shores, 5 submarines. Only three European capitals European countries. As for Stalin’s “replacement - Finland” - the so-called “Karelian-Finnish Socialist Republic", it outlived its creator and existed as part of the Soviet Union until the end of the 20th century.
Soviet-Finnish relations from the very beginning could not be called friendly. Finnish nationalists wanted to return Soviet Karelia to the control of their country. And the activities of the Comintern, directly financed by the CPSU (b), were aimed at the speedy establishment of the power of the proletariat throughout globe. It is most convenient to start the next campaign to overthrow bourgeois governments from neighboring states. This fact should already make the rulers of Finland worry.
June: stupidity or aggression? Goals to fill this gap in history. Junis served as the “trigger” for the start of the Soviet-Finnish war. The basis for the study was great amount original documents of the Soviet military-political leadership, archives of the Communist International, released in last years; Many of the documents listed in the book have not been seen since they were added to the archive! Before the reader's eyes amazing picture Stalin's continuous attempts to destroy the “Finnish beetle” are unfolding - with war, destroy the economic blockade, strangle it with hunger, undermine it with an armed rebellion.
Another exacerbation began in 1938. The Soviet Union predicted the imminent outbreak of war with Germany. And to prepare for this event, it was necessary to strengthen the western borders of the state. The city of Leningrad, which is the cradle October revolution, was in those years a large industrial centre. A loss former capital during the first days of hostilities would have been a serious blow for the USSR. Therefore, the Finnish leadership received a proposal to lease their Hanko Peninsula to create military bases there.
These efforts, which were supposed to culminate in a new, incomparably larger scale of armed attack, each time ended in fatal ineffectiveness and complete failure. June, was arrested, detained and tortured. Solonin compares these and many other events, carefully analyzes the texts of reconnaissance reports, and he comes to a devastating hypothesis: the Soviet attack on Finland will not happen.
Another reason why the study of combat operations on the front of the Soviet-Finnish war is of particular interest. Bibliography with Russian historians, definition of research objectives. Head of Finland, Karelia, Russia. Review of little-known events of the revolution and civil war in Finland and northern Russia, anti-communist peasant uprisings in Karelia and the participation of Finnish volunteers.
The permanent deployment of the armed forces of the USSR on the territory of a neighboring state was fraught with a violent change of power to “workers and peasants”. The Finns well remembered the events of the twenties, when Bolshevik activists tried to create a Soviet republic and annex Finland to the USSR. The activities of the Communist Party were banned in this country. Therefore, the Finnish government could not agree to such a proposal.
The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and Stalin's first steps towards the annexation of the Baltic states. Military and political preparations for the invasion of Finland. Chapter A varied miracle of the “Winter War”. A detailed analysis of the fighting of the “winter war” on land, at sea and in the air. Is the Mannerheim Line an insurmountable fortification zone or a comforting myth of Soviet propaganda?
Why did Stalin forgive Finland? Stalin's strategy on initial stage Second World War. Was Stalin offended by the results of the “Winter War”, did he begin to doubt the fighting strength of the Red Army? Chapter 1 Peace Treaty or “peaceful atempauna”? Under what conditions did it end? winter war"? The broad and economic importance of the enclosed Finnish space. Was the security of the Soviet Union strengthened or, on the contrary, weakened after the first unsuccessful attempt to crush Finland?
In addition, in the Finnish territories designated for transfer there was the famous Mannerheim defensive line, which was considered insurmountable. If it is voluntarily handed over to a potential enemy, then nothing will be able to restrain the Soviet troops from advancing forward. A similar trick had already been performed in Czechoslovakia by the Germans in 1939, so the Finnish leadership was clearly aware of the consequences of such a step.
The establishment of "Replacement-Finland" on the territory of the Soviet Union Why did party officials study Finnish language at night? Chapter Restless Summer. The Soviet base on the Finnish peninsula Hanko is the springboard for the attack on Helsinki. Soviet operational plans Baltic Fleet. "Stockholm facility" on military maps Soviet pilots. Operational plan for a new attack on Finland, unique documents from the fall.
The last months of the world. Last attempts Stalin to “bypass” Finland. Economic blockade. "Nickel crisis." The Finnish Ambassador leaves Moscow. Chapter Very active defense. On the Finnish-Soviet border. Operational plans of the Soviet leadership. Chapter Conclusion and discussion.
On the other hand, Stalin had no compelling reason to believe that Finland's neutrality would remain unshakable during the upcoming big war. The political elites of capitalist countries generally saw the USSR as a threat to the stability of European states.
In short, the parties in 1939 could not and, perhaps, did not want to come to an agreement. The Soviet Union needed guarantees and a buffer zone in front of its territory. Finland needed to maintain its neutrality in order to be able to quickly change foreign policy and lean towards the favorite in the approaching big war.
Chapter Tuesday. Separation of tanks into the deserted tundra beyond the Arctic Circle? The first hours of the Soviet-German war. Fight on the Baltic Sea and in the air above. The main research question is: where was the target and what was the practical result of the Soviet bombing attack on Finland.
Chapter The existence and foundation of the opposing air forces. Finnish Luftwaffe troops and the Soviet Air Force group near Leningrad: reserves, weapons, power relations, operational plans. Heads of flight as a dream and reality. Three last days peace. Was the German aircraft fleet stationed at Finnish airports?
Another reason for a military solution to the current situation seems to be a test of strength in a real war. Finnish fortifications were stormed in the harsh winter of 1939-1940, which was a difficult test for both military personnel and equipment.
Part of the community of historians cite the desire for the “Sovietization” of Finland as one of the reasons for the outbreak of the Soviet-Finnish war. However, such assumptions are not confirmed by facts. In March 1940, the Finnish defensive fortifications fell, and the imminent defeat in the conflict became obvious. Without waiting for help from the Western allies, the government sent a delegation to Moscow to conclude a peace agreement.
Head shield and sword. Soviet bomber and Finnish air defense: reserves and combat capabilities. Chapter Wednesday. Chronology of the events of June 25 in the light of documents from Soviet military archives. Why did the air strike on Finland stop at the very beginning? Chapter 10 Arrest of Meretskov.
Who and what made the decision to attack Finland? Soviet tanks crossing the Finnish border. An invasion that was forgotten by everyone. Short review the course of the battle in the Second Soviet-Finnish War. Chapter three. Stalin broke all agreements with his allies and made a new attempt to crush Finland with weapons. The Helsinki bombing in February was the largest Soviet bomber operation in World War II.
For some reason, the Soviet leadership turned out to be extremely accommodating. Instead of quickly ending the war with the complete defeat of the enemy and the annexation of its territory to the Soviet Union, as was done, for example, with Belarus, a peace treaty was signed. By the way, this agreement also took into account the interests of the Finnish side, for example, the demilitarization of the Åland Islands. Probably in 1940 the USSR focused on preparing for war with Germany.
Mannerheim's guilt and Stalin's crimes. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about this story is that almost no one knows anything about it. Words like “forgotten”, “unknown”, “ lost war", are best suited for the Soviet-Finnish war, whose dramatic events are in great turmoil. It is difficult to imagine an American or an Englishman who did not know the army of his country during the World War European continent. The irretrievable losses of the Red Army in all Soviet-Finnish wars were significantly higher than the number of soldiers killed in the Allied armies during the liberation Western Europe, but not only people from the street, but also graduates of history departments in the Soviet Union Most important stages and the results of the Soviet-Finnish war.
The formal reason for the start of the war of 1939-1940 was artillery shelling of positions Soviet troops near the Finnish border. Which, naturally, the Finns were accused of. For this reason, Finland was asked to withdraw troops 25 kilometers in order to avoid similar incidents in the future. When the Finns refused, the outbreak of war became inevitable.
Helsinki is calling for compensation from Bonn and East Berlin - so far in vain. German officers entrenched themselves in the house of the city of Tornio and refused to capitulate. The Finns shot the house, ten survivors surrendered. At the Lyceum, 32 German soldiers surrendered after three days without water. The Finns blocked the water supply.
For this, only a few weeks of long-lasting German-Finnish military demands - 30 years after that - Finnish state chief Urho Kekkonen of the divided reparations to Germany: the Germans devastated northern Finland as they retreated to Norway.
This was followed by a short but bloody war, which ended in 1940 with the victory of the Soviet side.
Another old entry of mine made it to the top after 4 whole years. Today, of course, I would correct some of the statements from that time. But, alas, there is absolutely no time.
When Mannerheim fought against the Laplander army, Finland was bleeding and starving. And he saw the defeat of the Germans and the day when Germany would have to adjust the supply of weapons and food. Helsinki, which never entered into an alliance with Germany, tried to come to terms with Moscow through Stockholm.
Finland decided to continue the fight. “It’s strange,” Mannerheim said in his memoirs, “but we had no choice.” Thus, it was doubtful whether Finnish officers would fight against the defense - but Hitler himself resolved the conflict of loyalties. The Finns occupied the Germans bloodily, made 700 prisoners, and the Soviets debuted as the new pistol brothers - their Luftwaffe entered the fray.
gusev_a_v in the Soviet-Finnish War. Losses Part 2
Soviet-Finnish War and Finland's participation in World War II are extremely mythologized. A special place in this mythology is occupied by the losses of the parties. Very small in Finland and huge in the USSR. Mannerheim wrote that the Russians walked through minefields, in dense rows and holding hands. Every Russian person who recognizes the incomparability of losses must at the same time admit that our grandfathers were idiots.
The attack on Suursaari freed Finland from many painful responsibilities to take the first step. There is no longer any need to have any conscience. Three days later, on a flight to Stockholm, a full-fledged Finnish commercial aircraft was released by a German fighter. And the Finnish press published daily “official reports” from northern Finland about the demolition of the holding Germans.
The order was given to Hitler, and the troupe, rejected by the “Finnish treason,” carried it out carefully. It broke roads and railway bridges, burned entire villages and spots. In the city of Kemi, the Germans took more than 100 hostages - the city director, police officers, pharmacists, pastors, even the Swedish consul and threatened to shoot them if the Finns continued to attack.
I’ll quote Finnish Commander-in-Chief Mannerheim again:
« It happened that the Russians in the battles of early December marched with songs in dense ranks - and even holding hands - on minefields Finns, not paying attention to explosions and accurate fire from the defenders.”
Can you imagine these cretins?
After such statements, the loss figures cited by Mannerheim are not surprising. He counted 24,923 Finns killed and dying from wounds. Russians, in his opinion, killed 200 thousand people.
Tuju Salo, current director of Rovaniemi: “The city was destroyed up to 90 percent.” "German General at Finnish Headquarters." Waldemar Erfurt, justified the destruction: "The Germans believed that the Russians would enter Finnish territory and occupy Finland." On the other hand, the Finnish editors said: "The Germans knew that only Finns were following them."
The Germans slowly retreated to save their winter supplies. Halsti, 68, in Helsinki, who fought against them as a commander. “But burning Western Lapland was nonsense.” The Colonel remembers - in fluent German his mother is from Lower Saxony. that the Germans fought "like savages" but also practiced countless vulgarities. In houses. which left them untouched, explosives were left in chimneys and furnaces. They smashed furniture, sewing machines, baby strollers, dishes down to the last cup, and torn doll toys.
Why feel sorry for these Russians?
Finnish soldier in a coffin...
Engle, E. Paanenen L. in the book “The Soviet-Finnish War. Breakthrough of the Mannerheim Line 1939 - 1940.” with reference to Nikita Khrushchev they give the following data:
"From total number 1.5 million people. sent to fight in Finland, the USSR's losses in killed (according to Khrushchev) amounted to 1 million people. The Russians lost about 1,000 aircraft, 2,300 tanks and armored vehicles, as well as a huge amount of various military equipment..."
They killed dogs and cats, killed cows and sheep, and disgorged their heads onto pale fences. Finnish prisoners, such as Lieutenant Abbell of Colonel Halstis's regiment, were abused as draft animals all the way to the Norwegian border. And on memorial plaque of the burnt place of Muonio they wrote the words “what happened” about “Muonio”.
Cardboard Approval. Mr. Halsty, you dog! There have also been tragic situations: when captured ground screams cried because they were being interrogated former brothers. Or German and Finnish company, which once lay side by side in Russian fire. Finn met and carried the badly wounded, crying man back. On the other side, former comrades increased the number of their opponents in the fight against Russia to a total of several thousand people.
Thus, the Russians won, filling the Finns with “meat”.
Finnish military cemetery...
Mannerheim writes about the reasons for the defeat as follows:
“In the final stages of the war, the weakest point was not the lack of materials, but the lack of manpower.”
Why?
According to Mannerheim, the Finns lost only 24 thousand killed and 43 thousand wounded. And after such scanty losses, Finland began to lack manpower?
However, Moscow made a dangerous hint that the Finns were only guilty. The non-military rage of extermination of the persecuted may have had a special reason: they were often, according to Halstie, under the influence of alcohol. On the 115 kilometers from Kemi to Rovaniemi there were only 100 meters of road trenches, not full bottles.
Value in today's money: about 800 million Finnish marks. The federal government was declined because it did not want to become the first ambassador Western state until the conclusion of the intergovernmental East Berlin Treaty. It says consideration of reparations remains pending until a peace treaty with Germany is concluded.
Something doesn't add up!
But let's see what other researchers write and have written about the losses of the parties.
For example, Pykhalov in “The Great Slandered War” states:
« Of course, during the fighting, the Soviet Armed forces suffered significantly greater losses than the enemy. According to name lists, in the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940. 126,875 Red Army soldiers were killed, died or went missing. The losses of the Finnish troops, according to official data, were 21,396 killed and 1,434 missing. However, in Russian literature Another figure for Finnish losses is often found - 48,243 killed, 43 thousand wounded. The primary source of this figure is a translation of an article by Lieutenant Colonel of the Finnish General Staff Helge Seppälä published in the newspaper “Abroad” No. 48 for 1989, originally published in the Finnish publication “Maailma ya me”. Regarding the Finnish losses, Seppälä writes the following:
“Finland lost more than 23,000 people killed in the “winter war”; more than 43,000 people were injured. 25,243 people were killed in the bombings, including on merchant ships.”
The last figure - 25,243 killed in bombings - is questionable. Perhaps there is a newspaper typo here. Unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to familiarize myself with the Finnish original of Seppälä’s article.”
Mannerheim, as you know, assessed the losses from the bombing:
“More than seven hundred civilians were killed and twice that number were wounded.”
The most big numbers Finnish losses are cited by Military Historical Journal No. 4, 1993:
“So, according to far from complete data, the losses of the Red Army amounted to 285,510 people (72,408 killed, 17,520 missing, 13,213 frostbitten and 240 shell-shocked). The losses of the Finnish side, according to official data, amounted to 95 thousand killed and 45 thousand wounded.”
And finally, Finnish losses on Wikipedia:
According to Finnish data:
25,904 killed
43,557 wounded
1000 prisoners
According to Russian sources:
up to 95 thousand soldiers killed
45 thousand wounded
806 prisoners
As for the calculation of Soviet losses, the mechanism of these calculations is given in detail in the book “Russia in the Wars of the 20th Century. The Book of Loss." The number of irretrievable losses of the Red Army and the fleet includes even those with whom their relatives broke off contact in 1939-1940.
That is, there is no evidence that they died in the Soviet-Finnish war. And our researchers counted these among the losses of more than 25 thousand people.
Red Army soldiers examine captured Boffors anti-tank guns
Who and how counted the Finnish losses is absolutely unclear. It is known that by the end of the Soviet-Finnish war total number Finnish armed forces reached 300 thousand people. The loss of 25 thousand fighters is less than 10% of the armed forces.
But Mannerheim writes that by the end of the war Finland was experiencing a shortage of manpower. However, there is another version. There are few Finns in general, and even minor losses for such a small country are a threat to the gene pool.
However, in the book “Results of the Second World War. Conclusions of the Vanquished,” Professor Helmut Aritz estimates the population of Finland in 1938 at 3 million 697 thousand people.
The irretrievable loss of 25 thousand people does not pose any threat to the gene pool of the nation.
According to Aritz's calculations, the Finns lost in 1941 - 1945. more than 84 thousand people. And after that, the population of Finland by 1947 grew by 238 thousand people!!!
At the same time, Mannerheim, describing the year 1944, again cries in his memoirs about the lack of people:
“Finland was gradually forced to mobilize its trained reserves down to people aged 45, something that had never happened in any country, not even Germany.”
Funeral of Finnish skiers
What kind of cunning manipulations the Finns are doing with their losses - I don’t know. On Wikipedia, Finnish losses in the period 1941 - 1945 are indicated as 58 thousand 715 people. Losses during the war of 1939 - 1940 - 25 thousand 904 people.
A total of 84 thousand 619 people.
But the Finnish website http://kronos.narc.fi/menehtyneet/ contains data on 95 thousand Finns who died between 1939 and 1945. Even if we add here the victims of the “Lapland War” (according to Wikipedia, about 1000 people), the numbers still do not add up.
Vladimir Medinsky in his book “War. Myths of the USSR” claims that ardent Finnish historians pulled off a simple trick: they counted only army losses. And the losses of numerous paramilitary formations, such as the Shutskor, were not included in the general loss statistics. And they had many paramilitary forces.
How much - Medinsky does not explain.
"Fighters" of the "Lotta" formations
Be that as it may, two explanations arise:
First, if the Finnish data about their losses is correct, then the Finns are the most cowardly people in the world, because they “raised their paws” without suffering almost any losses.
The second - if we assume that the Finns are brave and courageous people, then Finnish historians simply vastly underestimated their own losses.
