How Finland Survived a 1,000,000+ Soviet Invasion (1939-1940) FULL DOCUMENTARY

it is November 1939 and Europe is consumed by War Poland has fallen to the invading armies of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union as the first snows Begin to Fall in the continent's Northeast a sparsely populated newly independent country stands isolated at risk of being crushed in the Titanic struggle caught in a deadly strategic dilemma Finland faces Invasion by the USSR the Baltic nation of Just 4 million people can never hope to defeat the Soviet Juggernaut yet when the winter war begins on November 30th the world watches in awe as the Finnish military halts and severely bloodies the invading Soviet armies in a heroic Act of resistance to understand how this extraordinary feat of arms was possible we will explore the the equipment the organization and the tactics of the Finnish Army on the eve of World War II if you like stories of dogged resistance are fascinated by the in war period and love the RTS genre then I can highly recommend today's sponsor last train home the game was 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narrative what's even better is that they're just released DLC Legion Tales introduces a whole new collection of self-contained missions each one offers an electrifying experience as recalled by the veteran zultan there's many paths to Victory with lots of replayable challenges to sink your teeth into so check it out now and support the channel by clicking the link in the description below enjoy let's take a step back and briefly examine the emergence of the state of Finland and its Armed Forces to better understand how these two countries came to the precipice of War we can begin by rewinding the clock to the 19th century for many years the territories of modern Finland were ruled by Sweden and Finnish soldiers distinguished themselves in numerous Wars in service of the Swedish Crown frequently against the Russian Empire after Russia's victory over Sweden in The Finnish war in 1809 Finland was annexed to the Zar Empire as an autonomous Grand duche Russian rule over of Finland was marked by alternating waves of relative cultural autonomy and repressive russification subject to the whims and worries of the Zars and their advisers by the turn of the 20th century growing fears of Finnish nationalism spurred the government of Zar Nicholas II to begin a brutal program of repression against Finnish language and culture concerns this an autonomous Finland commanding its own military might seek Independence and frustrated by finnished draft dodging the so-called oppression years saw the disbanding of the Finnish military and the replacement of the draft in Finland with additional taxation this russification policy hampered by Finnish resistance and interrupted by the outbreak of World War I contributed greatly to seething resentment and organized opposition against Russian rule well some fins such as the future Finnish commander-in-chief Carl Gustaf manaheim Saw Service in the Imperial Russian army during World War I Finnish citizens were not subject to conscription and Finland played little part in the conflict nevertheless the events of 1914 to 1917 set the stage for Finnish Independence and for the bloody ideological struggles which followed it and anti-russian sentiment decades in the making saw the rise in 1915 of the Jer movement a German Le clandestine program to build the foundations of a new Sovereign Finnish Army which saw 1,000 to 2,000 finish men secretly traveled to Germany drawn primarily from the upper classes and driven by nationalist ideals these men received extensive military training in the Kaiser's Army and were organized and deployed as the elite 27th jger Battalion the Jers saw action against the Imperial Russian army on the Eastern front in 1917 in the Baltic upon their return to Finland the jer's training and Leadership proved decisive in The Finnish Civil War and Jer veterans went on to form the foundation of the post-war Finnish [Music] military in the wake of the collapse of the Russian Empire Empire and the societal upheaval of the February and October Revolutions of 1917 Finland seized the opportunity to break away from Russian Dominion The Finnish Senate ratified the fledgling States Constitution on December 6th 1917 and secured recognition of independence from Lenin's Bolshevik government who was stretched too thin to suppress a Finnish Rebellion but war was to come to Finland soon enough the climates of Revolution and tensions between Finnish communist red guards and anti-communist white guard forces quickly exploded into violence Finland became embroiled in a brutal civil war between January and may 1918 following the breakdown of governmental control throughout 1917 opposing paramilitary groups became the dominant forces in the cities and towns of Finland Finnish red forces controlled the south of Finland backed by the country's large workingclass Urban population and supported with men and weapons by Lenin's Bolsheviks white conservative forces controlled the country's Northern towns and Estates and were supported by finland's wealthy industrialists and land owners as well as the German Empire critically The Finnish white Army could count on the support of returning Jer forces whose leadership and tactic Acumen proved decisive time and time again in a war fought largely by untrained militias equally important was the leadership of manaheim who led the whites as commander-in-chief securing victory for Finnish anti-communist forces during the daring offensive actions of March and April 1918 the three-month War saw the deaths of more than 35,000 fins and widespread use of Terror tactics by all combatants including the perpetration of war crimes against prisoners and civilians the Victorious white forces summarily executed thousands of red prisoners of War under orders from manaheim and allowed many thousands more to die in brutal conditions in post-war prison camps Finland was left scarred by the Civil War but the countryes imperiled government and democratic system slowly stabilized throughout the interwar period a series of border conflicts in East cilia and poor relations with the Soviet Union fed Finnish fears of invasion throughout this period Finnish strategists including Veterans of the Jager movement and the Civil War established the foundations for a well-trained infantry Army this effort was supported by a paramilitary organization called the SE Jal skun the Civil guard directly descended from the Civil War white guard they contributed greatly to finland's wartime preparedness while also playing a controversial role in post Civil War political tensions their partner women's organization the lfed provided enormous additional support in a wide range of auxiliary roles military preparations were constrained by severely limited funds a point of constant and fierce tension between military planners and the civilian government the result was a well-trained fighting force highly motivated and underpinned by a sound Doctrine but desperately short of the heavy weapons and ammunition required Finnish interbellum planning always assumed that the most likely war was one against the Soviet Union a mammoth Foe for a small and poor Nation with a vast border to defend the defense Council chaired by manaheim recognized that utilizing the rugged geography of the country would be key to survival in the event of War a two-fold strategy was developed the obvious routes for a Soviet invasion lay in the south of Finland where the Border with the USSR cut across the kilan ismith just 30 km from the outskirts of Leningrad the short distance between the border and finland's second largest city of vper necessitated a stiff defensive Doctrine designed to blunt and then contain an invading Army on the ismos if the ismus were to fall The Invader would be able to unstoppably Fan out across the country here it was necessary to prepare strong fortifications a defensive line which would eventually become known as the manaheim line consisting of an extensive network of bunkers dugouts tank traps Mine Fields and trenches and anchored on both flanks by old but powerful Coastal guns these defenses were formidable however they were chronically underfunded like the rest of the Finnish military and were incomplete when war broke out in 1939 Finnish Doctrine along the vast Border North of Lake larda was dictated by entirely different conditions the front line in war would be a vast Wilderness covered in trees and dotted with lakes with very few roads and only scattered Villages for shelter here manaheim outlined a strategy of Defense in depth where outnumbered Finnish Defenders would trade land for time time allowing the Soviets to advance into the interior and overextend their supply lines in the unforgiving tiger forests shadowed and harassed every step of the way by Finnish soldiers and militias with intimate knowledge of the local terrain years of attempts by Finnish diplomats throughout the 1930s failed to form a security alliance with their Scandinavian neighbors and as War loomed in Europe the country was dangerously isolated although Finland and the USSR had signed a non-aggression pact in 1932 Stalin openly decried the threat which Finland posed to Soviet security fearing that Finland would align with Germany and act as a springboard for a Nazi invasion secretly considering a preemptive invasion of Finland Stalin did dispatched diplomats in 1938 to demand assurances that Finland would repel any German attempt to move soldiers into the country and accept a Soviet intervention in the event of a German invasion The Finnish government reaffirmed its neutrality and said it would repel any foreign Invasion attempt but gave no further allowances the signing of the molotov ribbon trop pact in August 1939 and the subsequent Nazi invasion of Poland dramatically worsened finland's diplomatic isolation and emboldened Soviet demands armed with the secret Assurance from Hitler that Finland lay in the Soviet sphere of influence Stalin began pressing for territorial concessions in October 1939 summoning a Finnish delegation to Moscow on October 5th the Soviets demanded the surrender of the kilan ismos and strategically important islands for contr control of the Baltic Coastline in exchange the USSR would seed large tracks of Eastern corellia to the fins these demands placed Finland in an impossible position the very land that Stalin demanded to ensure the security of Leningrad was the same terrain that gave Finland any hope of Defending against a Soviet invasion and their surrender would leave Finland defenseless fatefully the fins rejected the Soviet demands offering lesser concessions that the Soviets in turn deemed unacceptable with talks at an impass The Finnish delegation returned home on November 13th expecting further rounds of diplomacy instead following a false flag shelling of their own border Outpost at mana on November 26 the Soviet Union renounced their non-aggression pact with Finland and on November 30th issued a declaration of war now that we understand what brought the Soviet Union to invade Finland in the winter of 1939 we can explore the preparations and capabilities of the Finnish Armed Forces we will start with an overview of the equipment of the Finnish military before expanding to describe their organization tactics and operational disposition during the winter war in terms of equipment the average Finnish Soldier had poor access to Modern military gear but was at least familiar with the harsh winters of their Homeland in many cases reservists could not even be issued with winter pattern uniforms being provided little more than a rifle when mobilized most soldiers had access to warm winter clothing and white smoks for snow camouflage though the former were usually brought from home and the latter homemade by families or the Lotter spared from bed sheets Finnish soldiers overwhelmingly also had to self-supply gloves warm socks underwear and warm headgear helmets were worn rarely if at all being both in short supply and too cold to wear in frigid conditions skis were crucial equipment for every finnished Soldier though some units faced shortages particularly during the early days of the war Finnish reservist and military training heavily emphasized proficiency with skis and they were ubiquitous in civilian life meaning Finnish troops in Winter were able to quickly and covertly cover large distances this provided them with an advantage in Mobility over their Soviet foes and was Central to several key victories the primary weapon of the Finn Soldier was the sturdy Mosen neant bolt action rifle which had been the main stay of warfare in the region since the turn of the century though there was modest production and refinement of the model during the inter War years most Mosin in Finnish service were the classic M 1891 model many of which were decades old by the time of their use in the winter War as the mo was also the standard infantry weapon of invading Soviet forces Finnish troops were readly able to use captured weapons and ammunition although Limited in availability Finnish soldiers could count on the effective support of a range of submachine guns the most numerous of which was the kp31 suomi SMG while only 4,000 KP 31s were available to finish forces during the winter War due to their high production cost this extremely reliable and rugged weapon proved so influential itial that it would have a lasting influence on Infantry War fighting Doctrine first designed from 1930 by famous Finnish arms designer IMO Lati by 1939 the kp31 was refined into a cuttingedge weapon of War usually armed with a 70 round drum magazine and spare barrels which could be easily replaced in the event of overheating from sustained fire this weapon soon garnered a fierce reput utation among invading Soviet troops for its devastating Firepower Beyond this the fins suffered from serious shortages of heavy machine guns mortars and artillery pieces the primary mg employed by Finnish forces was the trusty watercooled Maxim many models of Maxim were in service during the winter War both of Finnish Russian and imported designs totaling several hundred guns a respectable number for a small military but far more sparsely available than in the Red Army notably domestic Finnish weapons manufacturers LED once again by amol Lati made numerous modifications to their MGS which greatly improved their performance and mobility in Winter these included ski mounts and modifications to the weapons water jacket so that snow could be used to cool the gun as a result the fins could count on far greater reliability from their MGS during the winter War than their Soviet opponents whose guns were plagued by problems with Frozen colant and lubricant artillery mortar anti-tank and anti-air support was limited and eclectic acquired over the years from various sources this caused severe logistical consequences for for ammunition and spare parts as the war progressed the most pressing shortages were in anti-tank Weaponry leaving finish soldiers ill equipped to fight the thousands of Tanks employed by the invading Red Army the scattershot collection of around 100 anti-tank guns at the outbreak of War were spread far too thin to reliably counter Soviet armor the fins were therefore forced to rely upon mines satchel charges rugged terrain and the soon to be Infamous Molotov cocktail to destroy enemy armor to this end the Finnish home front produced 500,000 of these impromptu anti-tank weapons and they were employed with surprising efficacy but with corresponding heavy casualties due to the need to close with enemy tanks thus we have seen how Finland and Russia were set to colled in the winter war and how the defending soldiers while outnumbered and outgunned had the critical advantage of mobility and adaptability in the harsh conditions of their home turf in our next episode we shall see how these ragtag Defenders were cobbled into an army to confront the Russians and what training and tactics they leveraged to withstand the Red Army Onslaught we shall then finally provide an overview of their service history with examples of their deadly Battlefield performance the winter war of 1939 between Finland and Soviet Russia was the culmination of a long history of tensions between the two Nations while a detailed review of the conflict is certainly warranted in this series we will be looking specifically at the nature of the Finnish Army as it prepared to face the Soviet juggernaut in episode 1 we delved into the evolution of the Finnish Army in the leadup to the conflict including a high level review of their strategic military philosophy as well as a ground level view of the soldiers who were to carry out these plans in this episode we shall now see how the two came together with regards to the organization training and tactics necessary to stop the Red Army this is how the Finnish Army fought the winter war in the leadup to the winter war of 1939 the fins had been preparing for a looming conflict with their Russian neighbors while such tensions had existed for many generations during the 20th century organized military opposition had begun during the years of the first world war when several thousand young fins were trained into the elites 20 27th Jer Battalion by the German government such forces would return home to support the 1917 independence movement and eventually helped defeat the Red Faction in the ensuing Civil War During the interbellum period these Jaggers would be among the veterans who helped staff the nent ranks of the Finnish military and who now sought to prepare their fledgling Nation for its next existential crisis a war with Russia in our prior episode we covered the two front defensive strategy of the war planners which focused on holding hardened positions along the kilan ismos whilst adopting a defense in depth across Eastern cilia now let us take a closer look at how Finnish troops were organized to man these various positions at this point it will be important to note that a detailed analysis of this subject will be outside the scope of this video instead we will be focusing our attention on the most relevant subject of how typical infantrymen were mobilized for combat in this period let us begin one major point to make is that during the winter War Finnish formations were usually organized by geographic region meaning that soldiers in a unit often knew their ncos and officers personally this contributed greatly to Finnish morale and coordination and inspired numerous acts of heroism unfortunately it could have devastating consequences for morale within a unit as well as its community on the home front as heavy losses might mean the deaths of many men from a single town or Village under this model a typical reservist would be organized into a 10-man section led by an NCO most soldiers were armed with their own bolt-action rifle with one man in each section being issued a sub machine gun usually the kp31 given severe material shortages this was not always a guarantee and so Finnish troops also availed themselves of every opportunity to supplement their Firepower with captured Soviet Weaponry ideally every soldier in the section was also equipped with skis and could be relied on to be proficient in their use each Finnish rifle platoon contained two such sections in addition it employed two six-man lmg sections note five Riflemen and one lmg the fins employed various domestic and imported lmgs but also captured roughly 3,000 Soviet dectur of DPS during the winter War which quickly proved more reliable and popular than most of their own models these sections were organized under a platoon HQ team which consisted of an officer armed with a pistol or SMG a sergeant and two Messengers for running orders and information a Finnish rifle company consisted of four platoon its HQ team would consist of an officer generally a captain supported by a fiveman battle messenger team for running orders in addition each company had a dedicated Observer section for relaying and coordinating support weapon and artillery fire and a small detail specializing in defending against gas Warfare which remained a lingering threat from the Great War moving to a larger scale here we see a Finnish infantry battalion around the the time of the winter War it is important to keep in mind the ad hoc nature of the Finnish Arsenal and severe shortages of equipment as in reality it is unlikely that many Finnish formations conformed perfectly to this model finish field support weapons namely heavy machine guns and mortars were organized into companies controlled by the Battalion HQ though shortages of mortars in particular meant that many Finnish mortar companies were underere equipped their efforts were also hampered by a severe shortage of radios which were rarely available at the Battalion level battalions were thus forced to rely heavily on vulnerable phone lines and messenger Runners who faced daunting challenges particularly in the dark and confusing terrain of the Eastern forests each Battalion was supported by a large Supply Company these men played a critical role in not just keeping troops supplied with ammunition but also warm and well fed in the blistering cold conditions of the Finnish Wilderness in dire conditions these Supply Troopers could be called upon to fight with Frontline forces and frequently performed commendably in combat a Finnish rifle regiment held the main command elements of its constituent forces centered around a 12-man command team the regiment was responsible for the large scale coordination and supply of its battalions a task handled by a roughly 200 strong Supply team most Finnish forces were supplied with radios at the regimental level operated by a roughly 50-man signal Splatoon though their reliability and numbers varied greatly each regiment also had a dedicated attached engineering Force who were heavily involved in the planning and construction of field fortifications as well as preparing roadblocks and traps to waylay Soviet armor in addition the regiment was responsible for the management of field kitchens their importance should not be underestimated as the availability of highquality hot food to Finnish troops made an enormous difference for their health and morale in the grueling conditions of the war in cont trust their Soviet foes too often endured Frozen rations with oil-fed cooking equipments that regularly froze solid in the minus 40° temperatures of the deep winter an in-depth description of organization at the divisional level is beyond the scope of this video but you're welcome to pause now to review the structure of a finish rifle division we hope to explore the high level command and control of the Finnish Army in the future but for now let's move on to examining the training and tactics that underpinned the success of this fighting force the tactics of the wartime Finnish Army were dominated by a doctrine of mobile light infantry focused on small unit tactics and emphasizing quick Innovation and initiative at the NCO and section leader level this approach arose both out of budgetary necessity and as a response to the highly asymmetrical nature of the war against Russia with this in mind training focused on the importance of Marksmanship mobility and the use of terrain to constrain a numerically Superior foe soldiers reservists and civil guard members extensively practiced ski born maneuver Warfare disguising snow tracks and campfire smoke creating ambushes and roadblocks and flanking and hitandrun attacks many Finnish soldiers were also experienced in orientering and navigating in the wilderness particularly important in the depths of winter when snow has covered most landmarks the sum of these skills and tactics combined with operational maneuver would prove critical in securing victory over Soviet forces in several key battles the fins were able to achieve this high level of preparedness with the assistance of several organizations particularly the Army Reserve and the paramilitary Civil guard finland's peacetime Army stood at only 33,000 full-time soldiers and so the vast bulk of the 300,000 to 400,000 soldiers in finland's Wartime order of battle were reservists trained by one or both of these organizations generally to a far superior standard than enjoyed by the conscripts in the opposing Red Army a policy of universal conscription with regular refresher training maintains this Baseline competency in Finn ranks finish troops were familiar with their ncos and generally enjoyed a high level of unit morale and cohesion finally the decision of the government to mobilize the military in October 1939 under the pretext of extraordinary Autumn Maneuvers ured that Finnish conscripts were recently refreshed and gave them crucial knowledge of the terrain in which they'd be fighting just weeks later it is worth keeping in mind that although the Finnish Army was well trained and motivated by the standards of the time it consisted nonetheless mostly of mobilized conscripts with varying levels of training Finnish troops often struggled to coordinate particularly early in the war and particularly when fighting on the offensive they also almost universally struggled against Soviet armor against which they had minimal training and very few effective weapons indeed there were numerous incidents of Finnish troops fleeing in Terror in their first encounters with the red Army's tanks nonetheless the fins employed what anti-tank guns they had to great effect and developed several Innovative tactics for destroying and disabling armor such as detonating charges under the ice of frozen lakes and streams as tanks were crossing them a tactic which soon made the Red Army fearful of deploying over the open [Music] Ice to put all this into action we can now turn to the service history of these Finnish soldiers however again it will be important to note that a comprehensive study of the winter war will have to be covered in another series for for now we will provide an overview of this conflict with highlights of key battles which demonstrate the capabilities of the Finnish Army here we see the map of the front line at the start of the war which we can roughly divide into four theaters the kilan ismos front the ladiga Cilia front the central Finland front and the arctic front when the Red Army begins its Invasion on November 30th 1939 it attacks along all four fronts its forces are split into 21 infantry divisions in four armies supported by multiple armored brigades a fighting strength of roughly half a million men supported by 5,700 field guns more than 6,500 tanks and nearly 4,000 aircraft against them stand roughly 200 80,000 fins mobilized across all branches of the Armed Forces supported by about 400 artillery pieces 32 obsolete tanks and 75 combat aircraft The Finnish Army Fields nine divisions and a number of smaller forces grouped into three cores the primary Soviet thrust comes through the Cilan ismos where the 120,000 strong seventh Army drives straight for V Pere the fins anticipate this move and fight a successful week-long delaying action from the border to the prepared defenses of the manaheim line which is reached on December 6th the red army forces though outnumbering their opponents several times over are ill prepared and disorganized over the next Fortnight they launched numerous frontal assault assults aiming to breach the line through sheer weight of numbers despite appalling losses they almost succeed particularly in the typo sector where they managed to take parts of the mainline before being repulsed by desperate Finnish counterattacks by Christmas the seventh Army has exhausted itself against the manaheim line and the newly reorganized Soviet command calls a halt to offensive operations as it begins a massive mive buildup for a renewed offensive meanwhile north of Lake lader 12 Red Army divisions invade Finland across three axes the fins considering the Wilderness too unforgiving for large scale operations have greatly underestimated the size of the forces assaulting along the frontier in larda cilia the Soviet 8th Army and its six divisions push West wood with the goal of outflanking the fins on the manaheim line and see early success before they are halted by determined resistance at the battles of the Kola River and T severe winter conditions and congested Logistics along the few usable roads in the region see the eighth Army grinds to a halt with heavy losses though their fate is Kinder than that of the ninth Army to their North which we shall Now cover in Greater detail with the goal of bisecting Finland and driving for Olu on the Baltic Coast the ninth invades with three divisions moving through the depths of the Finnish Wilderness its forces are constrained almost entirely to the unpaved rat Road The Finnish general staff is shocked by the rash decision to invade in such force and with good reason even without Finnish resistance the brutal winter conditions and total lack of infrastructure make sustaining the ninth impossible the advance soon Slows To A craw and thousands of troops are rendered frostbite casualties before even making contact with the Enemy with limited winter gear or survival training and encumbered by Massive numbers of tanks and guns the ninth Army becomes practically immobile and extremely vulnerable to flanking attacks the fins urgently dispatched a flying column to the lightly defended region dubbed task force seasa after its Commander yalar sasv the Soviet 163rd division takes control of the village of suo Meli on December 7th though it provides Little Shelter as it has been burnt by retreating fins the night before rapidly reinforced by the arriving task force the fins repulsed the 163r attempts to push further west from suo Meli inflicting heavy losses next using their superior mobility and equipped with sleds and skis the fins set about encircling the 163rd and isolating it from the nearby 44th rifle division this is achieved primarily by establishing well-sited roadblocks at a choke point between lakes on the rat Road the fins specifically t Target Soviet ski patrols and launch deadly hit and run attacks using small submachine gun armed groups confining the Soviets ever more to the road and besieging suo Meli as frostbite and starvation take their toll on the Red Army Finnish forces identify weak points in their defenses launching Swift attacks to cut the overstretched Soviet perimeter into smaller Pockets known as moti a term for firewood left in the forest by woodsmen to be collected and burned later the stronger moti are harassed and left to freeze and starve while the weaker ones are cleared with well-planned infantry attacks by late December the 163rd has been utterly routed forced to retreat North and then East to the Russian border by a force less than 1/3 its size with the 163rd defeated the fins turned their sights on the 44th having failed to relieve Sur Meli the 44th now finds itself in an even more dire situation spread out along many kilometers and completely confined to the rate Road in turn it is surrounded isolated and destroyed in detail using the same Moy tactics throughout late December and early January altogether the 6000 strong Finnish Force has devastated two Soviet divisions totaling nearly 30,000 the 163rd and 44th lose more than 10,000 killed and countless more to frostbite casualties while abandoning massive quantities of weapons and ammunition to the fins the battles of su musami and the rat Road thus serve to showcase the deadly effect of successful finish Doctrine theater preparation training and tactics we covered in our series but the war was far from over meanwhile the situation for the Red Army tasked with seizing The Finnish Port of petsamo in the far north is little better while not subjected to the same calamitous defeat as their comrades in the 9th Army the Soviet forces in the 14th Army had attacking along the arctic front are subjected to blistering minus 40° winter conditions chest deep snow near constant night and effective finish harassment as news of the disaster to the South filters through the Soviet command revises its War plans for a renewed offensive on the corillian ismos it adopts a defensive posture along the vast Frontier maneuver Warfare continues throughout January as Finnish forces go on the offensive targeting vulnerable formations at Kumo and along the shoreline of Lake ladiga during this time the Red Army has prepared a massive buildup of troops tanks and guns along the kilan ismos while subjecting the bed Finnish Defenders to constant artillery bombardment in early February it began its second assault against the manaheim line the renewed huge Soviet offensive on the ismos comprising 30 divisions and more than 1 million soldiers is brutal Soviet Commander Simon timoshenko plans an attritional offensive correctly estimating that the manaheim lines Defenders are exhausted and will be unable to withstand the tide of men and steel he sets against them from the beginning of February Soviet forces launched daily attacks against the line suffering ing horrendous casualties but rapidly degrading Finnish defenses and exhausting their ammunition particularly for crucially needed artillery soon the Red Army succeeds in breaching the manaheim line in the more open terrain of the Western ismos on February 11th and what follows is a desperate fighting withdrawal by Finnish forces through their secondary and tertiary defensive lines back towards the city of vory as the Finnish Army Army of the ismos nears collapse in early March a diplomatic settlement to the war is reached between the Soviet and Finnish governments spurred by the threat of Western intervention the winter war ends at 11: a.m. on March 13th 1940 as the Red Army is poised to seize control of finland's second most important city the terms of the peace treaty are harsh Finland is forced to seed 9% of its territory including the entire Killian ismos in addition 400,000 fins or roughly 10% of the country's population are forced to abandon their homes and livelihoods on just 10 days notice causing widespread hardship however thanks to these concessions and the hardfought victories of the country's Armed Forces Finland avoids outright annexation this outcome proves to be be a spectacular success which stuns the world none could have ever imagined that such a small Young Nation could stand up to the Colossus which bore down upon it the asymmetrical nature of the conflict is deeply informative for students of military history and will be the subject of a more detailed review in another series at the time the winter War provided many lessons for its participants and Observers however perhaps the most profoundly impacted of all would be the Soviets themselves who would go on to leverage these Lessons Learned in blood to adapt their own Doctrine for a defensive war against the invading Germans but this story we have to wait for another time we hope to explore the war its Origins and its aftermath in Greater detail in future videos and hope you have enjoyed enjoyed this examination of a small but influential chapter in 20th century military history you can catch script previews participate in polls and grab HD downloads of all our art by becoming a patron or member of the channel a big thanks to our current supporters for funding the channel and to the researchers writers and artists for making this episode possible we couldn't have done it without this team and this community if you enjoyed this episode be sure to like And subscribe and check out these other related videos see you in the next one

Channel: Invicta

Views: 381,776

Keywords: invicta, invicta history, winter war, red army, soviet union, russian war, russian history, russian army, russian military, ski troops, winter war documentary, soviet army documentary, russian invasion, russian invasion documentary, red army history, evolution of the red army, finland history, finland winter war, winter war history, russian army tactics, finnish history, finland, winter war all parts, battle of raate road, battle of suomosalmi, mannerheim, mannerheim line

Id: 3jgrSxkvgYA

Length: 46min 48sec (2808 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 23 2024