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WWII Military History of Finland

In 1938, negotiations started between Finland and the Soviet Union concerning the safety of Leningrad. No agreement was reached. In 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. In a secret clause of the agreement, Finland was part of the Soviet sphere of influence. In November 1939, the Soviet Union falsely accused the Finnish army of the shelling of the village of Mainila.

On November 30, the Soviet Union attacked Finland, three months after the start of World War II. Because the attack was judged completely illegal, the Soviet Union was expelled from the League of Nations on December 14. Soviet leader Josef Stalin had expected to conquer the whole country by the end of 1939, but Finnish resistance frustrated the Soviet forces, who outnumbered the Finns 4:1 in men, 100:1 in tanks and 30:1 in aircraft. Finland held out until March 1940, when a peace treaty was signed ceding about 10% of Finland's territory and 20% of its industrial capacity to the Soviet Union. Finland did not surrender and was not occupied, but peace terms were heavy and casualties were high: 26.662 dead, 39.886 wounded and 1.000 captured. Russian losses were at least 126.875 dead or missing, 264.908 wounded and 3.100 captured although heavier numbers have also been presented.

The period of peace following the Winter War was widely regarded as temporary even when peace was announced in March 1940. A period of frantic diplomatic efforts and rearmament followed. Soviet Union kept up intense pressure on Finland, thereby hastening the Finnish efforts to improve the security of the country. Defensive arrangements were attempted with Sweden and Great Britain, but the political and military situation in the context of the Second World War rendered these efforts fruitless. Finland therefore turned to Nazi Germany for military aid. As the German offensive against the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa) approached, the cooperation between the two countries intensified. German troops arrived in Finland and took up positions, mostly in Lapland. Operation Barbarossa began on June 22, 1941. On June 25, the Soviet Union launched a massive air raid against Finnish cities, after which Finland declared war and also allowed German troops stationed in Finland to begin offensive warfare. The resulting war was to be called the Continuation War.

During the summer and autumn of 1941, the Finnish army was on offensive, retaking the territories lost in the Winter War. However, the Finnish army also advanced further, especially in the direction of Lake Onega, (east from Lake Ladoga), leading to the occupation of Russian East Karelia (it never had been a part of Finland - or before 1809 of Sweden-Finland). This caused Great Britain to declare war on Finland on December 6. The German-Finnish troops in Northern Finland were less successful, failing to take the Russian port city of Murmansk.

In September 1941, the Finnish army took defensive positions. This led to a long period of relative calm in the front line, lasting until 1944. During this period, especially after the major German defeat in the Battle of Stalingrad, intermittent peace negotiations took place. These negotiations did not lead to any settlement.

In June 9, 1944, the Red Army launched a massive attack against Finland. The fact that the enemy had vast numerical superiority and had managed to surprise the Finnish army, led to a retreat approximately to the same positions as Finns were holding at the end of the Winter War. Eventually the Soviet offensive was fought to a standstill in Battle of Tali-Ihantala, while still tens or hundreds of kilometres in front of the main Finnish line of fortifications, the Salpa Line.

The dire situation in 1944 had led to Finnish president Risto Ryti giving Germany his personal guarantee that Finland would not negotiate peace with the Soviet Union. In exchange Germany delivered weapons to the Finns. However, after the Soviet invasion was halted, Ryti resigned. Due to the war, elections could not be held, and therefore the Parliament elected Mannerheim, the Finnish commander-in-chief, as the president and charged him with negotiating a peace.

The Finnish front had become a sideshow for the Soviet leadership, as they were in a race to reach Berlin before the Western Allies. This, and the heavy casualties inflicted to the Red Army by the Finns, led to the withdrawal of most troops from the Finnish front. In September 4, 1944 a cease-fire was agreed, and the Moscow armistice was signed on September 19. In the armistice agreement Finland was obliged to expel German troops from the country. This led to the Lapland War.

The Lapland War was fought between Finland and Nazi Germany in Lapland, the northernmost part of Finland. The main strategic interest of Germany in the region were the nickel mines in the Petsamo area.

Initially the warfare was cautious on both sides, reflecting the previous allied nature of the two sides, but by the end of 1944 the fighting intensified. The Germans adopted a scorched earth policy, and proceeded to lay waste the entire northern half of the country as they retreated. Some 100 000 people lost their homes, adding the burden of post-war reconstruction. The actual loss of life, however, was not catastrophic. Finland lost some 1000 troops and Germany about 2000. The Finnish army expelled the last of the foreign troops from their soil in April 1945.

The war had caused great damage to infrastructure and the economy. From the autumn of 1944, the Finnish army and navy performed many mine clearance operations, especially in Karelia, Lapland and the Gulf of Finland. The sea mine clearance lasted until 1950. The mines caused many military and civilian casualties, particularly in Lapland.

As part of the peace agreement, the Soviet Union imposed heavy war reparations on Finland and took the Porkkala area near the Finnish capital Helsinki as a military base. The reparations were initially thought to be crippling for the economy, but a determined effort was made to pay them. They were actually paid off years in advance, in 1952. Porkkala was returned back to Finnish control in 1956.

In subsequent years the position of Finland was unique in the Cold War. The country was heavily influenced by Soviet Union, but retained democracy and a market economy. Finland neither entered into a military alliance with Soviet Union nor became a member of Comecon. Finland was also the only Axis country that did not surrender and was never occupied by the Allies.

Some more material and more links can be found on the wikipedia site:
The Continuation War
The Winter War

(c) SS Nord 2007

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