10 Crazy Ways Finland Fought Off Soviet Domination

hello I'm Simon Wesley you're watching top 10s in the video today the top 10 crazy ways that Finland fought off Soviet domination the Winter War began in November 1939 when the Soviets invaded Finland seeking to claim Finnish territory with overwhelming number advantages in men and firepower the Soviets were expecting victory in a couple of weeks instead of the conflict went on for three months with the Soviet soldiers taking casualties at a rate of five times to that of the Finnish forces while Finland's ultimately agreed to sign 11 percent of its land over to the Soviets in the peace treaty that ended the war Finland retained its sovereignty and demonstrated that it was no easy target Nikita Khrushchev characterized the advantages the Soviets had noting but on these most favorable terms we could only win through huge difficulties and incredibly greater losses in fact this victory was a moral defeat so how did tiny Finland dramatically outgunned and outmanned with soldiers who looked like there'd be more at home in Santa's workshop than on the battlefield give the Soviets so much more of a fight than they anticipated well in the video today we're looking at the 10 ingenious ways that Finnish forces fought off the Soviets to deliver this moral defeat [Music] number 10 they ate well and made sure the Soviets didn't the Winter War certainly proved the old saying there's an army marches on its stomach Finnish soldiers did pretty well in the food department via a lot as far as an organization of Finnish women who supported the war effort managed catering efforts for the troops volunteers staffed small mobile field kitchens sometimes pulled on sleds to provide hot meals to their soldiers almost every unit had its own field kitchen staffed with personnel who accompanied the soldiers everywhere caterers even carried their own firearms when their units were in combat zones additionally local chapters of the organization operated baking units which produced 200,000 kilograms of bread per day for the Finnish troops mindful of the value of a hot meal and a full stomach Finnish soldiers worked diligently to deny the same to their Soviet opposition Finnish soldiers targeted the much bulkier field kitchens for attack depriving their adversaries of the sustenance of hot food and this hurt morale hungry Soviet soldiers were responsible for one of the war's oddest episodes about all that to be known as the sausage war the Soviets launched a surprise nighttime attack on Finnish artillery and supply columns which were very lightly defended at the time the initial attack it was successful but lost momentum when starving Soviet soldiers spotted bubbling pots of sausage soup that the Finnish had abandoned as they fled as the Soviets tucked into the hot stew the Finns regrouped halting the Red Army's advance and killing over 100 Soviet soldiers some of whom died with bits of sausage still in their mouths number 9 they used and coins the term Molotov cocktails to neutralized Soviet tanks the invading Soviet Army had 100 times more tanks than the Finns who had less than 40 tanks some of which were totally obsolete the Finns also didn't have much anti-tank artillery at their disposal what they did have was the ingenuity to use simple materials to negate of a Soviet tank advantage they built improvised explosive devices using a bottle with some flammable material inside and a rag as a fuse when this rag was lit and the bottle was thrown it would ignite the combustible contents upon impact the tanks of the era had ventilation hatches and when these flammable bottles were chucked into them the fire smoke and heat they created within the confined environment of the tank drove the soldiers outside where the Finnish forces could face them on a more even footing while this type of device had been used in previous conflicts the Winter War is when it became known as the Molotov cocktail it was named derisively after the Russian commissar of Foreign Affairs who the Finns blamed for starting the winter war at the outset of the war the Soviets blanketed bombs and incendiaries on Finland's capital Helsinki when finished news sources reported these attacks Molotov denied them and said that the Soviets were merely delivering food aid to starving finns the finns who knew this wasn't the case began referring to multiple incendiary devices as Molotov bread baskets when the finns started deploying their anti-tank bottle bombs they dubbed them Molotov cocktails saying they were serving up a drink to power with the soviet red baskets number 8 they had the white death well what is the white death you might be asking well a better question would actually be who was the white death the answer would be pretty surprising prior to the war if you encountered similar high ha-hee wouldn't strike you as someone who warranted a fearsome nickname an unassuming Finnish farmer hyah stood only 5 foot 1 and was in his mid-30s when the war broke out nonetheless he managed to become the most prolific sniper in military history reportedly killing 505 Soviet soldiers during the three-month duration of the winter war Haier had enjoyed hunting as a hobby before the war and his exceptional marksmanship as a sniper quickly became infamous among the terrified Soviet forces who called him the white death this was probably because of the winter white coat in hoods that he wore in order to camouflage himself he did his very best to blend into the frozen landscape preferring ironsights for his gun to avoid having the sun's glare reveal his position and chewing snow to prevent his warm breath from being seen while the Soviets tried numerous times to take higher out even when they finally succeeded in shooting him in the head the Soviets could not stop the white death the day the Winter War ended Haier emerged from a coma and was cheered as a national hero despite his exceptional performance as a sniper Haier remains modest saying I did what was asked as well as they could finland's wouldn't exist if everyone hadn't done the same number 7 they had soreness pretty surprising as they're having saunas in front-line combat I mean the idea might seem ludicrous at first glance that saunas are an integral part of Finnish culture in Finland saunas outnumber households by a ratio of more than two to one and 99% of Finn's visit a sauna at least once a week Finnish soldiers they were absolutely willing to fight to the death to defend their homeland but they certainly weren't going to do it without saunas every two or three days if combat conditions permitted each Finnish soldier was scheduled for a tan on one of the front-line saunas in addition to utilizing the village saunas that are a constant across Finland Finnish troops had mobile saunas for themselves and their equipment in addition to providing an obvious morale boost and a reminder of the culture that they were fighting for the saunas were useful in preventing frost right and killing bacteria which reduced the incidence of disease number six they divide in Concord in the Finnish language mati it means a bundle of firewood during the winter war this word took on a new meaning as Finnish troops greatly outnumbered by their Soviet counterparts sorta to divide Soviet units into isolated pockets called Motty which could then be surrounded and dealt with individually by finished soldiers as one German military liaison to the Finns summarized it finished tactics aimed to penetrate the front of the enemy to separator the enemy's strong points from each other to cut off these strong points completely from all arteries of supply and to encircle them the mati strategy was abetted by the Soviets use of heavy equipment large mechanized Soviet convoys were forced to travel in large columns across Finland's few major roadways this left them vulnerable to ambushes from more nimble Finnish forces who sometimes felled trees to separate Soviet convoys into more manageable mati once they were divided into pockets the finns were able to starve soviet soldiers of supplies including food while launching occasional attacks ultimately defeating these small groups and claiming their artillery this tactic was effectively deployed in the Battle of sOooo miss Alma where Finnish troops triumphed number 5 they used psychological warfare because they could never overcome the Soviet advantage in sheer volume of manpower Finnish troops knew that they needed to demoralize the opposition Finnish tactics focused on keeping the Soviet troops off-balance depriving them of any relief from the misery of war and ensuring a constant state of fear amongst Soviet troops in addition to the use of improvised explosives snipers scattered throughout the wilderness and the Motty strategy the Finnish employed other tactics to strike terror into the heart of their enemies much of the territory abandoned by Finnish troops was booby-trapped with bombs and mines meaning a constant state of anxiety and a slow pace were features of any Soviet advance additionally the retreating Finns destroyed civilian shelters as they left denying the Soviets a place to rest during the war Soviet casualties were heavy and on occasion Finnish forces propped up the frozen dead bodies of Soviet troops as a warning to their comrades if the sight of the bodies of their fellow soldiers wasn't enough to keep Soviet soldiers awake at night the ambushed night attacks launched by the Finns ensured that sleeplessness was a constant for the Soviet forces leading to diminished morale lowered immunity to disease and frostbite and duller reflexes the presence of finished snipers meant that bonfires were also a very risky proposition so most Soviet forces endured the long cold winter nights with little relief from the frigid air the Finnish also dropped leaflets from the air over the Soviet forces offering cash payments for weapons and surrender and depicting Soviet soldiers enjoying their lives post surrender others mocked Soviet leadership and highlighted the gruesome losses that the Soviets had suffered during their war with Finland number four they used reindeer and sleds while the Soviets relied on tanks to cover ground Finnish Defence Forces used reindeer pack horses and sleds for transport while this was largely a matter of necessity defense did not have access to many tanks it was also a much better method of traversing Finland's harsh winter terrain special deep snow horse-drawn sleighs called akio's we used demonstrating usefulness well beyond getting to grandmother's house ochio's were used to transport the wounded holy munitions and even as firing platforms for machine gunners the slaves were pulled by pack horses and particularly in Finland's frigid Lapland region by reindeer most of these animals had been repurposed from logging and farming operations and were used to pulling heavy loads in sub-zero temperatures using multiple reindeer a sleigh could haul 650 pounds of gear and the reindeer at the stamina to pull this weight for up to eight hours at a time in additions of being able to navigate well off-road the sleighs offered another major advantage over the tanks that would be stealth by not employing motorized convoys Finnish soldiers were able to stay quiet retaining the element of surprise when challenging their Soviet counterparts during world war ii the soviets having learned from the winter war would develop their own reindeer units as part of their military strategy number three finished soldiers knew the terrain and then you have to navigate it while they were outnumbered and outgunned the Finnish troops did have the home-field advantage which they absolutely maximized the Finns viewed the Windsor not as an impediment but as an ally in defending their country while almost all finished soldiers were experienced skiers the Soviets lacked both decent skis when finished soldiers captured Soviet skis they employed them as fire words because of their inferior construction and for the most part they also lacked a skiing ability as winter began to intensify Finnish soldiers were able to maintain excellent ability through skiing including over frozen lakes and rivers able to launch ambush attacks on Soviet forces before gliding off into the woods because of their familiarity with the terrain Finnish soldiers were also able to effectively launch nighttime raids on Soviet units in addition to further depressing so via morale through these raids the ability to navigate was a significance advantage because of the lack of daylight during most of the day during winter in Finland number two they dressed for success the winter of 1939 was a very cold one in Finland with temperatures hitting minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit on multiple occasions while both sides anticipated the frigid conditions the Finnish soldiers were aided by their clothing while the Soviets were hampered by their uniforms Finnish troops dressed in layers generally wearing their own warm long underwear and sweaters under their uniforms removing layers as needed in order to avoid excessive sweating while cross-country skiing they also wore lightweight white snow capes over their uniforms helping them to blend into the snow in contrast the Soviets wore car key uniforms and utilized army green tanks making them stand out even more prominently against the snow providing unintentional assistance to the Finnish snipers number one they had sissu this is a Finnish word that lacks a precise English equivalent but it means a certain kind of resilience grits and a strength of purpose particularly when confronted with adversity the characteristic predates the winter war by hundreds of years long having been a central tenant of Finnish culture it's the ability to persevere where others might give up sissu influenced all of the other aspects of Finland's ability to force a stalemate during the winter war their soldiers were had cowed by the Soviets advantages in numbers and firepower they maximized their few advantages they developed novel tactics to dole the impact of the Soviet strengths and an understated small statured farmer became one of the most lethal military snipers in history while the Soviets had significant military advantages at the conflicts outset by the ends they undoubtedly understood that they had failed to account for the Finns Sisu when they had plans for a quick and easy conquest so I really hope you found the video interesting if you did please do hit that thumbs up button below do not forget to subscribe for brand new videos just like this every day of the week also check out my new channel it's called graphics will you biographies of notable people from history as well as the present-day so please do check that out there's a link in the description below and as always thank you for watching [Music]

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Views: 318,548

Rating: 4.9434023 out of 5

Keywords: top 10, toptenz, top10, top ten, top 10 list, Soviet Domination, Crazy Ways Finland Fought Off Soviet, White Death, Molotov cocktails, psychological warfare, The Winter War, finland vs soviet union, Finnish forces, Finland, Soviet, reindeer battalion of ww2

Id: LvPrfTOYgZc

Length: 13min 40sec (820 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 02 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/philipbv]

Well the winter war realy showed the problems especialy regarding the officers and command structure of the Red army at that moment and it realy helped it indirectly

[u/xtender5]

“Dominating” Finland was never a goal, although there did seem to be a misguided belief that “the Finnish workers will rise up against their capitalist overlords” or some such, which was supposed to have led to a friendly Finland for the coming war.