The Winter War 1939-1940

In the fall of 1939, after intervening in Poland and occupying its share in accordance with the Nazi-Soviet Pact, the government of the USSR, under the leadership of Iosef Stalin, made territorial demands on Finland. The Soviets wanted to the lease of a naval base on the Hanko Peninsula, the demilitarization of the Mannerheim Line (a fortified line of defense across the Karelian Isthmus) and the cession of several islands in the Gulf of Finland. The Finnish government refused to comply with the demands and negotiations ended. On November 30, 1939, the Red Army invaded Finland with about 1 million troops supported by artillery, tanks and planes; the Finns could mobilize about 300, 000 troops with limited support.

The beginning of the Winter War (also called the Russo-Finnish War) was marked by a bombing raid on Helsinki of no consequence. Soviet troops, widely expected to achieve a quick victory on the ground, encountered fierce resistance by Finnish troops who employed superior tactics and made effective use of the snow covered terrain; by December 15th, the Red Army offensive had been stopped and the Mannerheim Line remained unbroken. Finland achieved a notable victory at Suomussalmi in eastern Finland between December 11th and January 8, 1940: two Soviet divisions were destroyed as a result of the combat in severe cold. Meanwhile, the Red Army regrouped and reinforced. On February 1st the Soviets renewed attacks on the Mannerheim Line with heavy artillery and air strikes. The line was finally broken on February 13th near Summa and the Soviet forces advance on Viipuri (Vyborg). Unable to secure help from the Allies or the Axis, the Finns sued for peace and accepted Soviet terms on March 12, 1940.

Finland agreed to the cession of western Karelia and to the construction of a Soviet naval base on the Hanko Peninsula. Internationally, political opposition to the Soviet invasion and some consideration of a military intervention on the side of Finland existed in France, Italy, Germany and the UK but nothing more than token support materialized. Soviet military performance was judged to be poor and this may have influenced German decision-making leading to the invasion of the USSR in June 1941; Finland would fight alongside the Axis on the Eastern Front of World War II.

Notes

[1] The Correlates of War battle deaths for USSR seems to follow Krivosheev, who reports Soviet battle deaths to be 87,506 with 39,369 missing. It is not clear the missing are presumed dead with Krivosheev, unlike the Finnish battle deaths, probably based on Clodfelter, who explicitly notes them as KIA or missing and presumed dead. Missing soldiers are not necessarily dead; other possibilities include desertion, capture or simply lost to the unit reporting.

References

Clodfelter, 790-1; COW142; EB - Russo-Finish War; Kohn, 414; Krivosheev, 77.

Region

Eastern Europe

Belligerents

Finland, USSR

Dispute

Territory

Initiation Date

November 30, 1939

Termination Date

March 12, 1940

Duration

3 months, 13 days
(104 days)

Outcome

Imposed Settlement
(Soviet victory)

Fatalities

Total: 151,798
Finland: 24,923
USSR: 126,875^[1]

Magnitude

5.2

Armed Conflict Events Data