Winter War Began Today

[Tigerace117]

Today in 1939 the Winter War began.

Winter War - Wikipedia

Finland successfully defended itself from a Soviet invasion and limited their gains as much as possible.

 

[Irredentist]

I wouldn't describe the defense as successful. The Soviets won the war. Finland would have lost less territory had they agreed to the initial Soviet demands than by trying to fight it out. The efforts of Finnish soldiers were heroic, but ultimately futile.

 

[Tigerace117]

I wouldn't describe the defense as successful. The Soviets won the war. Finland would have lost less territory had they agreed to the initial Soviet demands than by trying to fight it out. The efforts of Finnish soldiers were heroic, but ultimately futile.

More recent historiography suggests that the Soviets were planning to press home additional demands and turn Finland into a puppet state. When the Finns refused Stalin wanted to “punish them” with a quick military victory only for it to turn into a humiliating debacle.

Unlike other countries, Finland was able to preserve its independence even after the continuation war.

They didn’t get the land back, but that alone would make it clear the war wasn’t “futile”

 

[Irredentist]

More recent historiography suggests that the Soviets were planning to press home additional demands and turn Finland into a puppet state. When the Finns refused Stalin wanted to “punish them” with a quick military victory only for it to turn into a humiliating debacle.

Unlike other countries, Finland was able to preserve its independence even after the continuation war.

They didn’t get the land back, but that alone would make it clear the war wasn’t “futile”

If the Soviets had really wanted Finland as a puppet state that badly, they could have pressed home their attack when they broke Finnish defences. Instead they settled for territory. I'm not saying it wasn't a goal of the invasion, had Finnish resistance collapsed immediately. But the fact remains, the Finnish army was not capable of preserving the territorial integrity of Finland. So choosing to fight it out was pointless.

 

[Tigerace117]

If the Soviets had really wanted Finland as a puppet state that badly, they could have pressed home their attack when they broke Finnish defences. Instead they settled for territory. I'm not saying it wasn't a goal of the invasion, had Finnish resistance collapsed immediately. But the fact remains, the Finnish army was not capable of preserving the territorial integrity of Finland. So choosing to fight it out was pointless.

The Soviets had already been humiliated by Finnish defenses. They could have pressed home and tried to conquer Finland, but it would have been a bloodbath for their already humiliated forces and would have tied down large numbers of troops at a time when they could be urgently used elsewhere. The failure of the initial attack showed the whole of Finland was not worth the cost of conquering it.

It was capable of preserving Finland’s independence and sovereignty, however, and that was worth fighting for. Stalin only respected strength. Had the Finns folded he would have smelled blood in the water

 

[Litwin]

Today in 1939 the Winter War began.

Winter War - Wikipedia

Finland successfully defended itself from a Soviet invasion and limited their gains as much as possible.

in one video :



PS Great respect to all Finnish brothers veterans from 22 D. i am in Finland, i will visit the army museum again , i do some shooting with my relatives. so anyone has to be sure that we are always ready for Moskal hordes

 

[Litwin]

If the Soviets had really wanted Finland as a puppet state that badly, they could have pressed home their attack when they broke Finnish defences. Instead they settled for territory. I'm not saying it wasn't a goal of the invasion, had Finnish resistance collapsed immediately. But the fact remains, the Finnish army was not capable of preserving the territorial integrity of Finland. So choosing to fight it out was pointless.

much like they did to BPR, UPR, Georgia, Armenia , Baltics , etc. right? stop your Stalinist propaganda

 

[Litwin]

Fire and Ice : The Winter War

 

[Jredbaron96]

 

[Litwin]

View attachment 67269145

Simo "Simuna" Häyhä was a Finnish sniper who earned the ominous nickname, "The White Death". He's credited as one of the most accurate snipers of all time with a reported 500+ kills under his belt while enlisted. Today we're learning more about the man behind the rifle.