The Winter War During World War IIConflict: The Winter War was fought between Finland and the Soviet Union. Dates: Soviet forces began the war on November 3. March 1. 2, 1. 94. Peace of Moscow. Causes: Following the Soviet invasion of Poland in the fall of 1. Finland. In November the Soviet Union demanded that the Finns move the border back 2. Leningrad and grant them a 3. Hanko Peninsula for construction of a naval base. In exchange, the Soviets offered a large tract of the Karelian wilderness. Termed as exchanging "two pounds of dirt for one pound of gold" by the Finns, the offer was flatly refused. Not to be denied, the Soviets began massing approximately 1 million men along the Finnish border. On November 2. 6, 1. Soviets faked the Finnish shelling of the Russian town of Mainila. In the aftermath of the shelling, they demanded that the Finns apologize and withdraw their forces 2. Denying responsibility, the Finns refused. Four days later, 4. Soviet troops crossed the border. They were met by the small Finnish army which initially numbered only 1. The Finns were badly outnumbered in all areas during the conflict with the Soviets also possessing superiority in armor (6,5. Course of the War: Led by Marshal Carl Gustav Mannerheim, Finnish forces manned the Mannerheim Line across the Karelian Isthmus. Anchored on the Gulf of Finland and Lake Lagoda, this fortified line saw some of the heaviest fighting of the conflict. To the north Finnish troops moved to intercept the invaders. Soviet forces were overseen by the skilled Marshal Kirill Meretskov but suffered heavily at lower command levels from Josef Stalin's purges of the Red Army in 1. Advancing, the Soviets had not anticipated meeting heavy resistance and lacked winter supplies and equipment. Generally attacking in regimental strength, the Soviets in their dark uniforms presented easy targets for Finnish machine gunners and snipers. One Finn, Corporal Simo Häyhä, recorded over 5. Utilizing local knowledge, white camouflage, and skis, Finnish troops were able to inflict staggering casualties on the Soviets. Their preferred method was the use of "motti" tactics which called for fast- moving light infantry to swiftly encircle and destroy isolated enemy units. As the Finns lacked armor, they developed specialized infantry tactics for dealing with Soviet tanks. Utilizing four- man teams, the Finns would jam the tracks of enemy tanks with a log to stop it then use Molotov Cocktails to detonate its fuel tank. Over 2,0. 00 Soviet tanks were destroyed using this method. Snow White Winters WarAfter effectively halting the Soviets during December, the Finns won a stunning victory on the Raate Road near Suomussalmi in early January 1. Isolating the Soviet 4. Infantry Division (2. Finnish 9th Division, under Colonel Hjalmar Siilasvuo, was able to break the enemy column into small pockets that were then destroyed. Over 1. 7,5. 00 were killed in exchange for around 2. Finns. The Tide Turns: Angered by Meretskov's failure to break the Mannerheim Line or achieve success elsewhere, Stalin replaced him with Marshall Semyon Timoshenko on January 7. Building up Soviet forces, Timonshenko launched a massive offensive on February 1, attacking the Mannerheim Line and around Hatjalahti and Muolaa Lake. For five days the Finns beat back the Soviets inflicting horrifying casualties. On the sixth, Timonshenko began assaults in West Karelia which met a similar fate. On February 1. 1, the Soviets finally achieved success when they penetrated the Mannerheim Line in several places. With his army's ammunition supply nearly exhausted, Mannerheim withdrew his men to new defensive positions on the 1. Some hope did arrive when the Allies, then fighting World War II, offered to send 1. Finns. The catch in the Allies' offer was that they requested that their men be allowed to cross Norway and Sweden to reach Finland. This would have allowed them to occupy the Swedish iron ore fields that were supplying Nazi Germany. Template:Campaignbox Winter War The Winter War (Finnish: Talvisota, Swedish: Vinterkriget, Russian: Зимняя война, also known as the Soviet-Finnish War or. The Battles of the Winter War. Information of the Soviet invasion of Finland 1939 - 1940. Winter War; Part of World War II: A Finnish machine gun crew during the Winter War. Home » World War Two » World War Two and Eastern Europe » The Winter War 1939 The Winter War 1939. The war - History Learning Site; More Info. Search. Navigation.
Upon hearing of the plan Adolf Hitler stated that should Allied troops enter Sweden, Germany would invade. Peace: The situation continued to worsen through February with the Finns falling back towards Viipuri on the 2. On March 2, the Allies officially requested transit rights from Norway and Sweden. Under threat from Germany, both countries denied the request. Also, Sweden continued to refuse to intervene directly in the conflict. With all hope of substantial outside assistance lost and the Soviets on the outskirts of Viipuri, Finland dispatched a party to Moscow on March 6 to begin peace negotiations. Finland had been under pressure from both Sweden and Germany for nearly a month to seek and end to the conflict, as neither nation wished to see a Soviet takeover. After several days of talks, a treaty was completed on March 1. By the terms of the Peace of Moscow, Finland ceded all of Finnish Karelia, part of Salla, the Kalastajansaarento Peninsula, four small islands in the Baltic, and was forced to grant a lease of the Hanko Peninsula. Included in the ceded areas was Finland's second- largest city (Viipuri), most of its industrialized territory, and 1. Those living in the affected areas were permitted to move to Finland or remain and become Soviet citizens. The Winter War proved a costly victory for the Soviets. In the fighting, they lost approximately 1. In addition, they lost around 2,2. Casualties for the Finns numbered around 2. The Soviet's poor performance in the Winter War led Hitler to believe that Stalin's military could be quickly defeated if attacked. He attempted to put this to the test when German forces launched Operation Barbarossa in 1. The Finns renewed their conflict with the Soviets in June 1. Germans. Selected Sources.
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Maart 2019
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