Finland in World War II

Abstract

The Soviet invasion of Finland began on 30 November 1939. For a long time, Russian historiography referred to the ensuing Winter War (1939–1940) as a border clash, a sort of dress rehearsal for the Great Patriotic War. The war between a great power with unlimited manpower and material resources and its small Nordic neighbor was fought under severe Arctic weather conditions for which, unlike the Finns, the Red Army was badly prepared. The Finnish resistance lasted for 105 days until 13 March 1940. Partly owing to the changes in the international situation the war ended in a negotiated settlement, the Moscow Peace Treaty, and the Soviet Union annexed one tenth of Finnish territory. Both belligerents suffered heavy losses. Western nations had offered sympathy and military assistance to the Finns during the war but after Germany occupied a large portion of Northern Europe, Finland was practically cut off. Thus the fifteen-month period of Interim Peace (1940–1941) saw a change in Finnish foreign policy orientation toward Germany. In the Winter War Finland, a nation with a population of less than 4 million, was fighting almost alone against the Soviet Union of 170 million inhabitants, but in June 1941 the much stronger Finnish Army joined the German-led Operation Barbarossa to reclaim the lost areas. Finland was aligned with the Germans but was not formally an Axis member. Yet the country was a signatory of the Anti-Comintern Pact. The German troops were primarily stationed in northern Finland. The Finnish Army advanced deep into the Soviet territory in the Continuation War (1941–1944). The offensive was followed by two and a half years of stationary war. In June 1944 the Soviet Union started its major strategic offensive to occupy all of Finland. In the battles fought during that summer the Finnish Army fell back to near the 1940 borders where it managed to stop the Soviet onslaught. The Soviets no longer demanded unconditional surrender, and Finland avoided occupation for the second time. However, the armistice agreement of September 1944 stipulated that the Finns should push the German forces from Finnish territory into Norway. This marked the beginning of the Lapland War (1944–1945) that lasted until April 1945. The fate of Finland was at stake twice, in 1940 and 1944. Yet the country was able to remain independent and a democratic republic.