Winter War
The Winter War was a conflict fought between the Soviet Union and Finland from late 1939 to early 1940, during the broader context of World War II. Triggered by the Soviet Union’s desire for a buffer zone to protect Leningrad, the war followed a secret agreement between the Soviets and Germany that placed Finland within the Soviet sphere of influence. Despite being vastly outnumbered—Soviet forces had significantly more troops, aircraft, and tanks—Finnish soldiers mounted a determined defense, which garnered international sympathy, particularly from Western nations. The conflict concluded with the Treaty of Moscow, wherein Finland ceded a portion of its territory to the Soviet Union, which became the Karelian Soviet Socialist Republic. Although Finland was forced to surrender, its resistance during the war earned it respect worldwide, and many outside the country, including American and Canadian volunteers, actively supported its cause. Ultimately, while Finland was not absorbed into the Soviet Union and maintained its neutrality during the Cold War, it faced a complicated geopolitical landscape in the aftermath of World War II, especially following its alignment with Germany in the conflict against the Soviet Union.
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Winter War
The Event Soviet invasion of Finland to acquire territory
Also known as Russo-Finnish War
Dates November 30, 1939 to March 13, 1940
Place Karelia, Finland
The German-Soviet pact of August, 1939, designated Finland as a Soviet sphere of influence. When Finland refused the Soviet Union’s demand for territory, the latter invaded and won by sheer numbers. The Finns put up a gallant fight and won the sympathy of most North Americans, many of whom sent aid; many North Americans of Finnish origin volunteered to join the fight.
The Winter War was fought between the Soviet Union and Finland in late 1939 and early 1940 during the period of World War II when Germany was at war with England, France, and Poland. By this time, the German army had defeated Poland, and because of the winter, fighting between the combatants had stopped. However, according to the August, 1939, secret agreement between the Soviet Union and Germany two weeks before the war began, Finland, once part of the Russian Empire, was in the Soviet sphere of influence.
The Soviet forces were overwhelmingly superior to the Finns. They had four times as many troops, thirty times as many planes, and more than two hundred times as many tanks. Nevertheless, the Finns gave them a battle. Soviet troops were hampered by the loss of 50 percent of their experienced officers in the purge of the military in 1937. Eventually, the Red Army won by sheer man power, and the Treaty of Moscow ended the war. The League of Nations declared the war illegal and expelled the Soviet Union from Finland. Finland had to cede the eastern portion of its country to the Soviet Union, which became the short-lived Karelian Soviet Socialist Republic (now the Republic of Karelia). The main purpose of the war was for the Soviet Union to get a buffer for the protection of Leningrad in case of a war with their ally Germany.
During the war, there was much sympathy for Finland in the West. Finland was the only European country that had repaid its World War I debts to the United States, and this alone engendered attachment from Americans toward its people and the struggle the country faced.
The Soviets were considered allies of Germany and an aggressor against Poland, whose eastern provinces they absorbed after Germany invaded the country. In October, 1939, when negotiations between Finland and the Soviet Union were transpiring, American president Franklin D. Roosevelt gave the Finns verbal support, provoking a strong rebuke from Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov, the Soviet foreign minister.
The large Finnish community in Canada was enthusiastically awaiting the planned Olympics in Helsinki in 1940 when the war broke out. Canadians generally supported Finland, and 250 Finnish immigrants to Canada joined the American legion of volunteers fighting with the Finns. The Consulate-General K. F. Alito in Montreal and other unofficial consulates throughout the Dominion arranged for documents for volunteers. The Canadian government gave the volunteers permission to join the Finnish army on March 1. Arthur Meighen, leader of the Conservative Party in the Canadian senate and a former prime minister, wired Kyösti Kallio, the Finnish president, that two thousand volunteers were on their way. However, before the volunteers left, a truce occurred between Finland and the Soviet Union. Meighen headed the Canadian Relief Fund, which collected aid for the Finns during and after the war.
In the United States Finnish Americans also worked for their native land in the war. Herbert Hoover, who helped with relief work for Finland during the famine of the 1920’s, again worked for Finnish aid, collecting four million dollars worth of supplies.
Impact
Although Finland could not stand up to the overwhelming numbers of men and armament of the Soviet army, Finland’s gallant stand won the sympathy of people around the world. However, when Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June, 1941, ending the treaty between the two countries, Finland joined on the Axis side and was at war with the United States and Canada. After the war, the Soviet Union retained the territory it had won in the Winter War. Finland was not incorporated into the Soviet Union but was able to remain a neutral country in the Cold War and, despite being on the enemy side in World War II, retained much sympathy in North America.
Bibliography
Edwards, Robert. Winter War: Russia’s Invasion of Finland, 1939-1940. New York: Pegasus, 2008.
Jacobs, Travis Beal. America and the Winter War, 1939-1940. New York: Garland, 1981.
Trotter, William. A Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish War of 1939-1940. Chapel Hill, N.C.: Algonquin Books, 2000.