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The Finnish–Soviet War: The ‘Winter War’

Stalin, knowing that his country’s pact with Germany would not last indefinitely, sought a buffer zone against any future German attack. By June 1940, he had bullied Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania into co-operation, swiftly followed by full annexation. Finland, however, resisted, preferring to fight than submit to Soviet demands. The 105-day ‘Winter War’ started with Russia’s attack on Finland on 30 November 1939. Russia, expecting an easy victory as the Germans had had over the Poles, was soon disabused, underestimating Finnish bravery, tenacity and expertize at guerrilla warfare.

Finnish soldiers during the Soviet–Finnish War, February 1940

Coupled with the Soviet Union’s lack of military proficiency, following Stalin’s military purge of the 1930s, and poor equipment that froze in the plummeting temperatures, the Soviets learnt a hard but useful lesson, eventually subduing the Finns in March 1940 by sheer weight of numbers.