Tale of a Winter War

84 years ago marked the end of Finland’s Winter War with Russia, formerly the Soviet Union. The war officially ended March 13, 1940.

The war began when the Soviets invaded Finland on Nov. 30, 1939, shortly after the start of World War II. Finland had refused to give up land and border territories. Many historians thought Stalin’s goal was to protect Leningrad from a possible German invasion through Finland. The war became inevitable when negotiations with Stalin reached an impasse.

It was a David vs. Goliath matchup from the start with the Soviet Union boasting more than double the soldiers and a vastly superior arsenal including thousands of tanks and aircraft compared to Finland’s dozens. Finland had a large force of reservists, who were well-trained in basic survival techniques, such as cross-country skiing. Finns fought with their ingenuity including disabling tanks by jamming their suspensions with logs or crowbars. The Finns dressed in layers, and ski troopers wore a lightweight, white snow cape. This snow-camouflage made the ski troopers almost invisible so that they could execute surprise attacks.

The severely cold temperatures, snow, rough terrain, and long hours of darkness proved to be surprising advantages for the Finns. Finland repelled Soviet attacks for more than two months and inflicted substantial losses.

Interestingly, the name "Molotov cocktail" was coined by the Finns during the Winter War, in reference to Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov and his propaganda during the war. A “Molotov cocktail” was a hand-held bottle firebomb, or burn-bottle, developed to attack and destroy Soviet tanks.

In the end, casualties were large on both sides and Finland reluctantly signed the Moscow Peace Treaty and ceded 9 percent of its territory on March 12, 1940. Finland did, however, retain its sovereignty and enhance its international reputation. Finland suffered profound economic implications from the war since many of its working men were drafted.