Winter War

battle_name=Winter war

Background

Finland had a long history of being a part of the Swedish kingdom when it was conquered by Russia in 1808 and turned into a autonomous buffer state to protect the Russian capital. Following the end of World War I, and the revolution that brought Soviet power to government in Russia, Finland had declared itself independent on December 6, 1917. The German–Finnish ties remained close, although Finnish sympathy for the National Socialists was very sparse. These strong ties were founded when Finland's underground independence movement during the First World War was supported by Imperial Germany. In the subsequent Civil War German-trained Finnish Jaeger troops and regular German troops played a crucial role. Only Germany's defeat in World War I hindered the establishment of a Germany-dependent monarchy under Frederick Charles of Hesse as King of Finland.

Related Topics:
Swedish kingdom - Russia - 1808 - Buffer state - Russian capital - World War I - Revolution - Finland - Independent - December 6 - 1917 - National Socialist - Imperial Germany - Civil War - Finnish Jaeger troops - Monarchy - Frederick Charles of Hesse - King of Finland

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The relationship between the Soviet Union and Finland was tense and frosty—both the two periods of forced russification at the turn of the century, and the legacy of the failed socialist rebellion in Finland contributed to a strong mutual distrust. Josef Stalin feared that Nazi Germany would attack sooner or later, and, with Soviet-Finnish border just 32 km away from Leningrad (now: Saint Petersburg), Finnish territory would have provided an excellent base for the attack - something that Stalin was keen to avoid. In 1932, the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact with Finland. The agreement was reaffirmed in 1934 for ten years.

Related Topics:
Russification - Socialist rebellion in Finland - Josef Stalin - Leningrad - 1932 - Non-aggression pact - 1934

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Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union had signed a mutual non-aggression pact, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, on August 23, 1939. The pact also included a secret clause allocating the countries of Eastern Europe between the two signatories. Finland was agreed to be in the Soviet "sphere of interest". The German attack on Poland, September 1st, was followed by a Soviet invasion from the east. In a few weeks they had divided the country between them.

Related Topics:
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact - August 23 - 1939 - Eastern Europe - Sphere of interest - Poland - September 1

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In April 1938 or possibly even earlier, Soviet Union started diplomatic negotiations with Finland, trying to improve the mutual defence against Germany. Soviet Union's primary concern was that Germany would use Finland as a bridgehead for the attack on Leningrad.

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More than a year passed without considerable progress and the political situation in Europe worsened. In autumn 1939 after Germany's attack on Poland, Soviet Union finally demanded that Finland agree to move the border 25 kilometres back from Leningrad, which was at that time only 32 kilometres from Finland. It also demanded that Finland lease the Hanko Peninsula to the USSR for 30 years for the creation of a naval base there. In exchange Soviet Union offered to Finland a large part of Karelia (twice as large, but less developed).

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The Finnish government refused Soviet demands. On November 26, after the Shelling of Mainila provocation (which was staged by the Soviet forces), which lead to several Soviet deaths, Soviet Union demanded that Finns were to apologise for the incident and to move their forces 20-25 km from the border. Finns denied any responsibility for the attack and refused to give in to the demands. Soviet Union used it as an excuse to withdraw from the non-aggression pact. On November 30 Soviet forces attacked with 23 divisions, totalling 450,000 men, which quickly reached the Mannerheim Line.

Related Topics:
Shelling of Mainila - November 30 - Mannerheim Line

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A puppet regime was created in the occupied Finnish border town of Terijoki (now Zelenogorsk) on December 1, 1939, under the auspices of the Finnish Democratic Republic and headed by Otto Ville Kuusinen for both diplomatic purposes (it immediately became the only government for Finland that was recognized by the Soviet Union) and for military ones (it was hoped to cause socialists in Finland's Army to defect). It was not particularly successful. This republic existed until March 12, 1940, and was eventually incorporated with the Russian Karelo-Finnish SSR.

Related Topics:
Puppet regime - Terijoki - December 1 - Finnish Democratic Republic - Otto Ville Kuusinen - Socialist - Defect - March 12 - 1940 - Karelo-Finnish SSR

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