Russian Invasion of Finland - The Winter War 1939-40
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- Опубліковано 23 бер 2022
- Find out why Russia invaded neutral Finland in late 1939, and how the outnumbered and outgunned Finns managed to defend their country for 3 months until making peace with Stalin.
Dr. Mark Felton is a well-known British historian, the author of 22 non-fiction books, including bestsellers 'Zero Night' and 'Castle of the Eagles', both currently being developed into movies in Hollywood. In addition to writing, Mark also appears regularly in television documentaries around the world, including on The History Channel, Netflix, National Geographic, Quest, American Heroes Channel and RMC Decouverte. His books have formed the background to several TV and radio documentaries. More information about Mark can be found at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Fe...
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Credits: US National Archives; Library of Congress; Finnish National Archives; Peltimikko
Never underestimate the people who want to defend their own country, culture and way of life.
Greetings from Finland.
Didn't Finland lose though? Eventually?
Especially not the finnish people, brave and stubberned . Love Sweden
Yes we finns lost, but what does that mean eventually to the russians? XD
@@drakebell6784 Technically yes, but then again we kept our indepence so I'd say no. Afterwards one could come up with better alternative what if scenarios, but considering that we got attacked with invasion and annexation in mind I call it a defensive victory.
@@benbaselet2026 thanks for the reply. Just trying to understand the war.
The Winter War was instrumental in improving rations in all armies. The Russians were living on the traditional tea and black bread, while the Finnish soldiers had field kitchens and hot meals. There is a story of a large group of Russian soldiers who, on smelling the Finnish dinner being cooked, surrendered in exchange for a hot meal. This was told to me by husband's grandfather who fought on the Finnish side.
Not a lot changes for the Russians does it,army generals put in charge who were furniture delivery men from Molodova put in charge of army units .....its Like asking your local baker to repair your car logic ????
A lot of the time the Finns had saunas at their camp.
I was on Harrier forces in the 80s and we deployed to the forests of Germany even during the winter,It was minus 20.Yes hot food and warm clothing is paramount in keeping morale high. I have sat in a gun pit in extreme cold at 0200hrs in the morning,But in the morning to get a hot breakfast and hot tea soon sorted me out.And a hot shower once a week helped us feel better.
There was also the sausage war / battle. Soviets flanked and overran a soup kitchen where they were making sausage soup and stopped to eat, allowing the finns to gather mostly noncombatant roles and drive them off.
My uncle was a Colonel in a German S.S. division. He told me that same story many years ago and said it was very true. That story made it all over Germany. Best wishes.
As a swede, I've always felt that we should've assisted Finland more. Finland - friends, neighbours, brothers 💙🤍💙💛💙
Sweden did a lot, sending goods, troops and weapons.
@@VilleKuitunen6True. Swedes also sold iron to Germans from Swedish Kiruna mine during the whole WW2. 85% of all German iron came from Swedish Kiruna.
Basically every tank, artillery, submarine, and airplane made by the Germans in WW2, was made based on bloody Swedish iron ore. So much for neutrality.
Just thinking back.. he said France and Britain were going to help Finland. Then they would be fighting them a few years later, when they fought for the axis with the Germans.
@@Gr8Notion It's not years later. Finland invaded Russia together with Nazis from 1941 till September 1944. When Germans started to lose war - 8 months before the end of WW2, Finns switched sides and betrayed the Germans.
Yeah but i live in Finland btw end i know it happened 1939 so i still live but i hope all it going be ok
Huge RESPECT for Finland from Greece. We admire a brave fight of David against Goliath.
And similar admiration to Greece from Finland (because of the Greco-Italian War).
I've been to Raate road, where the two Soviet divisions were trapped and outmaneuvered by my countrymen. There's a lot of reminders of the war there, including foxholes, bullet-scarred trees and even marked mass graves. The atmosphere there was like in any other Finnish forest, but with an eerily sinister aspect to it.
My grandparents were from Raate... and ironically enough according to them many of the men in the red army were from Ukraine and did not know how to ski. I remember from childhood all the forests full of remains of the war including the dead. Though there are still plenty of stories from Raate which have not seen daylight just like from the rest of the winter war.
@@janierik any stories that come to mind you would like to share ?
@@mattallen100 Lets put it this way... some of the documentations are still classified. One exiting but also sad story was that of the people of the village Raate who was left there without warning just to be captured by the red army. As far as I know from my grandmother some got away, but not all. Including her and her children as their sleigh fell to ditch trying to get rid of approaching Red army. There is still as far as I know unclear why the garrison of border patrol was empty when a relative of mine tried to go and warn them about the army approaching from the border... If anyone here knows more updated of this here, please let me know, these people died long time ago.
@@mattallen100 I want to hear more about these haunted forests of the dead
@@saltypatriot4181 They are not haunted, they are just sad and full of unfulfilled lives like all battlefields are and will be.
Greetings from Finland. We are forever grateful for Swedish, Estonian, and other foreign voluntary fighters that helped us to defend our country.
Hello from San Francisco! My mother was born in Helsinki. I have not been there since 1992. I want to come visit soon.
Greetings from Sweden. Very impressed with your country and it's people's mentality, sisu ftw! Finlands sak är vår, forever.
@@WinstonSmith1997 Welcome buddy. 👍
Youll get invaded again if you try to join NATO
@@erikhedenstrom8764 Tack, Erik 🇫🇮❤🇸🇪
Finland refusing territorial demands made complete sense since it was just a ruse to take over the whole country, as happened in the Baltic states. Also something that was important was that Finland already existed as a state before independence, subject to the tsar, and so when it declared independence it already had a government and years of democratic rule under its belt, which probably played a big role in Finland remaining a democratic country unlike other eastern European states, which probably contributed to its ability to resist. (1/3)
Also the Soviets created a communist Finnish puppet government at the start of the war that they briefly recognized as the only legitimate Finnish regime, again indicating intent to conquer the whole country. (2/3)
The reason Finns are so proud of the Winter War is because even though Finland lost territory, it kept its independence for which the territorial loss was a bitter but acceptable sacrifice, especially since the people there were allowed to migrate into new homes elsewhere in Finland. If Finland had accepted the territorial demands modern Finland would be bigger but it would have come at a cost of 50 years of Soviet rule. Whereas by fighting Finland united its people, protected its democracy and put itself in history books as the little country no one's ever heard of that had its finest hour against an empire a hundred times its size. (3/3)
@@Kuhlfurst History is rhyming at this time
@UCKf2hfOOorldNL8tWbBu5fA did you forget to take your medication this morning?
Wtf are you talking about? What democracy? Finland in times of tsars was just another small duchy. It even recognized itself as an independent nation only after 1905, when it was given such an opportunity by the impotent provisional government at that time
My dear grandfather, may he rest in peace, fought the soviet invaders. Among his 4 brothers and all actually survived(they fought on 5 different battlefields and not together). He lived to be 95 years old when he passed away. Never talked about the war when he was mentally still there. But he had spoken about the movie "Unknown soldier"(1955) which he stated that the movie was crap. Because you could never imagine the smell of decaying bodies which the soviet army left behing. And when in his last year started to become senile he stated that the german troops could not ve trusted, when the soviets launch an attack they fleed. He was the best grand father there could be and I miss him so much. Great vid as always!
@@Bonzi_Buddy sellaset google transleitit sieltä
@@Bonzi_Buddy Kyllä, miltä sinusta tuntuu siltä, koska muut myyvät hänen ruumiinsa rahasta turisteille. Näin se on peikkojen kanssa. Heillä ei ole mitään elämässä, joten he vihaavat hyviä normaaleja ihmisiä.
Looks like you picked up a troll. Never mind the trash here. Your Grandfather was a brave man.
@@publiusledeuxieme7404 Couldn't care less about such low life. But thanks!
Was your grandfather talking about Italians, because Germans racked up a lot of kills against Russians.
The hardest things on earth
3. Diamond
2. Graphene
1. The Mannerheim line
The parallels between this and the invasion of Ukraine are incredible.
Well, looks like history might repeat itself as Finland is eager to join Nato now....
Yes, I thought the same. Poor training, conscripts low morale, large country attacking a much smaller country, sounds like the evening news. Victory to Ukraine. 🇺🇦
@@playme129 So you support the Neo Nazistic dirtbags like Azov Batallion, this is a very racist country, so I understand that a lot of countrys support Russia, I am European, and know our system is owned by huge Criminals that abuse us for their own financial gain and control over the innocent civillians!
Russia is acutely vulnerable at this time, to an attack on another front.
The Chinese and Japanese have long standing territorial claims.
was Finland corrupt and a usa puppet like Ukraine ?
My grandfather (my Fafa or Farfar) was in JR13, front line combat rifleman and machine gunner from the winter on. He was 19 years old at the start. He was later in JR61 under Alpo Marttinen at Tienhaara June 1944. He was badly wounded 3 or 4 times, left for dead once but was able to hand on a few days until he could be evacuated to a hospital. He never spoke about the war, but I know he was in some brutal combat. The one story he did tell was when he jumped into a trench, shot a Soviet soldier a few times. The guy fell back, pulled a picture of his wife and kid out, looked at it, then showed my grandfather, then died. That really bothered him til he died.
Men become very different once the adrenaline fades away...guilt sets in...
Thanks for sharing that. It speaks to how unnatural it is to take the life of another person, however justified it may be at the time.
Wish I had a chance to see my grandfather(s) alive. Having fought both in the Winter war and in the continuation war, the amount of death and destruction he and all other servicemen have seen and gone through is something else. I'm so deeply grateful for that generation, our country wouldn't be the same without their sacrifice.
From what I've heard from my parents and uncles/aunties neither of them never wanted tell a single thing about war times and always switched the topic if someone had asked something related to war.
My father told me that one single time his father mentioned the word "war" was when he said to him: "Boy, don't you never get involved in war stuff".
Ain't war hell?
You forgot to mention that the Russian had the pictures in a metal cigarette box what saved his life. And years later he turned up in Hollywood and he was known as John Wayne.
Thanks for acknowledging this part of the Finnish history Mark. As a Finn, many of us draw parallells between the Winter War and the bravery Ukraine shows at this moment in time.
hope it doesnt also presage a world war
That was quite honestly my first reaction to the news coming out of Ukraine, I immediately remembered the story of my great grandfather who was awarded the Mannerheim cross for destroying a bunch of armoured vehicles and trucks trying to break out of the Vyborg motti. Right now there are who know how many people out there, who like him are fighting down to the last bullet to remain free.
@@HandleMyBallsUA-cam what was your relative's name that was decorated?
Too late, we already ramped up the 100 billion war machine.
Deutschland über alles!!!
Some parallels exist, but you have to really consider the differences. Ukraine is a large country with around 50 million people and Russia nowadays has 40 million people less than Soviet Union 1939. Ukraine also is full of plains, twice as large as Finland and a brother people to Russia. Most of the invaders in Finland were drafted Ukranians.
Stalin: "Finland is so scary, lets conquer them!"
*Fails utterly
Stalin: "They are not a threat."
We found no Nazis. All went according to plan.
Can't describe how much I've waited for you to cover the Winter War and perhaps the Continuation War also! Thank you very much for your immaculate content!
Of course there are things that I would've liked to be said differently but I bet your audience reads the comments also so they'll get some different points to think about.
Mark I have followed nearly all of your work. It’s fascinating to me as a local oral historian, that you collate all this information. Amazing and excellent work. Thoroughly enjoy your productions and your voiceover is very ‘listenable’. Congratulations
The Fins haven't been praised enough throughout post war history for the feirce defence of their homeland. Thank you once again Mark for bringing unsung heroes to our attention.
My sister in law's family is from Finland. She's been over there a number of times and I guess they are still very proud of how they stood up to those reds!
Rudi!!! D.R.I.!! 🔥🔥🙌🙌
havent been praised enough? Its almost the first thing people think of, when Finland is a subject. Along with death metal and saunas
I think that's partly because they ended up siding with the Nazis shortly afterwards.
@@jackroutledge352 yeah to go against the Russians so I’m not surprised
The finnish artillery units that the Russians claimed to have fired the Mainila shots were actually out of range of that area, so it was 100% a false flag attack.
My Heroic Fatherland
My grandfather came from Denmark to finland to help fighting the Sobiets, there he found my grandmother, swedish born, she was a nurse during this conflict..
My grandfather was a part of a Scandinavian force , danish, norwegian and swedish troops helping the fins fight the soviets. Im pretty proud of that
Aptly posted, you have brilliantly timed this to a similar struggle elsewhere with similar circumstances.
Hey Dr Felton thank for this the winter war wasn’t covered very much when I was going through school so thank you for this small in depth explanation of this sometimes forgotten conflict
Heh, conflict... Russians still to this day in schools only concider it as a border conflict instead of a real war, kind of like how Putin portraits the Unrainian war currently.
@@heh9392 that maybe true, but it did show how even a very under equipped and heavily out number army and nation was able to stand up to a larger force or like the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae
You could spend a lifetime studying war & still not know everything. Dr Felton would likely agree with me.
The Winter War reminds me of the current Russian was with Ukraine.
@@jefferynelson you know I have to agree with you in that
You missed a key detail in the Soviet demands. Their offer would make Finland lose it's defensive line, making Finland defenseless in case the Soviet would attack anyway. And it's a fact that Finland would have ended up like the Baltic states if Finland were to agree to the terms.
If Finland 🇫🇮 wished to join NATO and being bordered with Russia at same time, it will certainly end as same fate as Georgia and Ukraine: get dragged into a never ending conflict.
Staying NEUTRAL and do business with both side was indeed a wise choice.
@hkek56 nah, it won't happen.
@@leonleon2021 More and more Finns are willing to join Nato, even people who were against it earlier, wants us to join.
@@Tipi83 guess a referendum will decide where it goes, we will see, but i'm willing bet my ass on. lol
@@leonleon2021 Nope, polls show that a majority thinks a referendum isn't needed. NATO's Stoltenberg has said the door is open, to both Finland and Sweden. You're not much of a betting man if you can't figure out the odds.
I hadn't been watching as much of your stuff until lately, but I'm really enjoying the new direction. The naval focus before was utterly fascinating, and I'm really excited for more stuff like this. Thanks for the great work!
You're in the sniper's sight...
I love this video! Amazing, how even eight decades later, the Russian army hasn't solved all of their issues from that time.
Impossible
Piscator...The man, the myth, the legend!
...Russian incompetence seems to have little limit or memory.....
Putin is a fan of Stalin, so of course he had to also purge the military of capable officers in fear of coup.
Why Russians? There were Ukrainians, Kazakhstanians, Uzbeks, Belorussians???
Fun fact: The Finns also owed a lot of their survivability to mobile saunas (basically insulated tents with a smoke oven). Helped boost their immune system and kill off parasites, whereas the Red Army was ravaged by infectious diseases in the Karelian swamps, particularly during the later campaigns in WWII.
Gem tactics. Those are the best.
Damn, cool fun fact.
And when the soldier was in the sauna his clothes were washed and disinfected so there were far fewer parasitic animals.
Seriously? That makes sense but now all I can think of is fast overweight overpaid men sat in saunas and Finnish soldiers like ,'wankers. That's not what it's meant for.'
"You can fight dirty, but you must die clean" - the Finns, probably...
I worked in Sweden mid eighties winter on oil rig construction. It was seriously freezing in the cold hulls and the British workers were clothed up to the hilt. The Finnish welders wore just overalls and tee shirt. Hard workers,hard drinkers to whom the cold had no effect.
my dad and uncle i the fifties in Canada were the ones LEFT on pipeline sites as the temperature dropped. All the Alabama boys went home (All the pipelilne in Canada then was American managed) We hit the road, and never stopped...until Los Angeles. !!!
I'm a welder and you know... welding is hot.
@@davidurban7346 This was just hanging around on the Main Deck, but I get it.
@@adamskikijowski9139 I live in Nebraska. It gets cold here. In fact if you use latitude nebrasks is farther north than many realize.
@@davidurban7346 yeah, like spain or italy - really cold mediterian countrys
As i read the news from Ukraine, the Finnish-Russian war always comes to mind... Havent the Ruskies (ryssät, as my grand father said) learned anything about their past??? 🇺🇦🤝🇫🇮
1941-1945😉 Finish people don’t remember the last time, they joined allies, as Germans and now again¿
@@everythingabouthistory4000 There will be no continuation war, NATO will not attack Ruzzia as it did not attack North Korea when it had the opportunity.
What if it happens is that Ruzzia will receive a brutal defeat and the fall of its government... we could even talk about a free Siberia.
@@everythingabouthistory4000 Stalin worked with Hitler during the winter war. So nice joke. Finland beat Russians despite lack of help
Interesting input down below all over the place, thanks Mark Felton.
One would appreciate if "Finland used to belong to the Russian empire" would also include the information, that prior to the brief 108year visit to the empire as an autonomous grand duchy, Finland was a part of Sweden for centuries. Sweden lost their eastern provinces, i.e. Finland to Russia in the peace of 1809. Finland has NEVER been Russian.
Yes I noticed those points too. Finland had partial autonomy as a grand duchy so was never really a part of the Russian empire.
I would have guessed that. Finland seems more Scandinavian to me.
except Finnish Karelia, where the Russians deported all the Finns and imported replacements. they ought to do the right thing and give that back. I'm starting to feel the same way about Donbas and Crimea.
Nah, it was russian then and it is russian now!
As much as you want to deny it, Finland was part of Russian Empire.. Even if it had a nominal autonomy. It's like saying that Åland islands are not _really_ part of Finland as it's autonomous.
It's funny and a little bit of sad how these overly patriotic keyboard warriors always try to distort history..
I am somewhat shocked that you chose to omit the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact as a factor in the prelude to the war. When the Soviets and Nazis agreed to which countries each could freely invade, the fate of Finland was sealed.
And regarding the "terms offered before the war" it might be good to remember what history proved the following summer about the true meaning of the pact, when the Baltic states and Romania were occupied. There was no real choice in 1939. It was fight or die.
As Finnish history teacher, I agree with this! I was dissapointed that this key fact is missing in a Mark Felton video.
100% Agree. Omitting the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact is shockingly bad error and leaves out the main reason why soviets were able to wage war without german or allied response.
🚨Geek alert🚨
Your analysis is spot on but that extra space between the words "the" and "Soviets" as well as between "remember" and "what" is driving my OCDs crazy.
@@saltypatriot4181 Geek to you is intelligence to the rest of us.
You streamlined a lot.
-It was common knowledge even back in 30-40's that it was false flag
-Finland did have anti-air weaponry, but they were concentrated on cities and important places
-Finland had small but effective air force that won immense aerial victories
3:30 The lads rocking out with the reindeer. Absolute legends.
It would've been important to mention that Finland didn't just "used to belong to the Russian empire". Finland was basically it's own nation, but was juggled between its far stronger neighbors Sweden and Russia over and over again, therefore always under invasion, subjugation and taxed so hard it was kept weak. That's the only reason they weren't an independent nation.
Finland had its own culture, its own national identity and had no desire to be ruled by Russia (or Sweden).
Facts first please. Actually, Finland was the Eastern border province of Sweden for almost 700 years, then a Grand Dutchy of Russia for about one century and an independent country only from 1917 onwards. Finland even applied Swedish laws through 1919. Finnish nationalism started gaining strength only during the late 19th Century.
@@esah9182 Actually Finland was a pretty independent between 1809-1898 but the tsar of Russia started breaking the promises the old tsar had made with Finland and started russification and that led to us wanting to become independent.
Jere Poysti Independent or at least independedly minded, definitely, but legally the area of present-day Finland was an occupied province of Sweden. (That is, occupied by the Russians.) Even the history of the Finnish people was largely reconstructed during the century to serve nationalistic goals of the Finnish independence activists, Fennomans. Language and literature were hot topics as well.
@@Laguna2013 They weren't always so gentle. Charles XII invaded Russia and although he was eventually defeated, he was more than a serious headache for them. The Swedes of old would NEVER have made the lethal mistake of letting Muslims in. They're largely regretting it now, but they had been warned, but now it's too late, they're screwed.
Laguna2013 You are right. Perhaps the same way the native indian tribes managed to occupy the area of USA for so many centuries. 😉
What’s going on in Ukraine reminds me exactly of this conflict! Hopefully, there won’t be a Continuation War! Also, from a pilot’s perspective, Finland produced more fighter aces per territory than any other nation and they were considered some of the best airmen of WWII on whole.
Ironically, many of the Soviet soldiers who fought in the Winter War were actually Ukrainians, pressed into service and fighting in a country few of them had ever heard of.
Having just read Upheaval by Jerad Diamond, who speaks of Finland and this conflict, I too see the parallels. Great video ! Seems like as with this micro war and battles, just like you say, are reocurring with the current Russian invasion of Ukraine. Except this time, Ukraine's bravery will break Russia. Wow, the lessons that can be learned from history.
I get the same feeling. The Russian troops are so poorly trained that they are doing worse than their 1939 counterparts. I think this is because Putin does not want any well trained and well lead units because they may turn on him. That I think will come back and bite him in the rear because he won't have any well trained and well lead troops that are sworn to him.
Ukraine is NOTHING like Finland. Finland had a functional democracy that was not bent on suppressing its minorities. Ukraine is run by CRIMINAL OLIGARCHS JUST LIKE RUSSIA. In all this, the PEOPLE suffer on BOTH SIDES.
@@skepticalobserver2135 What does any of that have to do with the training and motivation of the Ukrainians soldiers? They are fighting in much the same way as the Finns against a Russian army that is fighting much the same way as the Soviet Army did during the Winter War. The difference is that during the Winter War, no one was willing to help the Finns and they had to surrender when they ran out of ammunition. This time around, the entire world is keeping the Ukrainians supplied with weapons.
Great respect for the research that makes these stories so powerful 👍 thank you Mark ‼️
Thank U DR.FELTON !!!!!👍😎🤝
What saved Finland in the summer of 1944, was the race to Berlin and the Finns' victory at Tali-Ihantala (biggest battle fought in history in the Nordics). This convinced the Soviets to liberate as many troops from the Finnish front and use them for Berlin instead.
And the biggest artillery bombardment in history in the world.
We were saved in the end by German air units and weapons supplied by them. Without them we would have been annexed for sure.
I thought also that the Estonian units slowing the Russians to the south helped.
@@mcuddy799 That is very true aswell. Soviet were halted for six months between February and August 1944 by german and estonian units east of Estonia which was crucial to the defence of Finland. Battles east of Estonia between Germans and Soviets were extremely fierce.
Mannerheim had made it clear to germans that if Estonia falls to the Soviets Finland has to make truce aswell.
German air units in Finland actually flew more combat sorties to Narva than to the Karelian Ishmus.
@@Frosmad Absolutely correct. Finland owes a big debt of gratitude to Detachment Kuhlmey. At Kurt Kuhlmey's funeral, there was a wreath "from a grateful Finland".
Seeing this video brought a huge smile on my face, thank you for covering little Finland!
I just wish it would have been done properly and not this badly.
Your knowledge is in-depth and detailed; It’s enjoyable to listen to your vid(s); THANK YOU! 👍🏼👍🏼👣
Hi Dr. Felton, I am sorry I couldn't give more but will later when times get better (I know it "ain't" much). Thank you for all you interesting research and keep em coming. Thank you.-Paul D. Dodson
I'm no expert on the subject, but I've been reading Antony Beevor's history of WWII, and it seems pretty clear that the invasion of Finland was just another step in Stalin's plan to recover the former colonies of Tsarist Russia. The USSR had already occupied eastern Poland and installed puppet governments in the Baltic states. They wouldn't have done this if they hadn't been sure that Germany would not intervene. I find it difficult to believe that they had any genuine fear of an attack by Finland on its own. Of course one must make some allowance for Russian paranoia about invasion from the west, in the light of the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War in 1918, but it is hardly conceivable that Finland itself was seen as a major threat. Finland with backing from Britain and France (still in the War at the time of the Soviet attack on Finland) might be a more dangerous enemy, but on geographical grounds alone this would be far-fetched. It would make far more sense to fear an attack by Finland with German support, or by Germany through Finland, but if Stalin was really so worried about being attacked by Nazi Germany he would have done better to improve his defences to the west!
Incidentally, according to Beevor the Soviet troops invading Finland had been told they would be welcomed as liberators, and got a nasty shock when they were not. Sound familiar?
Yes.
Could Finland have achieved success without backing from GB and France?
Now we're dealing with a Russian madman vowing to return things to the Soviet Empire. Great.
@@karlmonet
Stop bitching and go join the Ukraine militia.
@@r0ky_M what "backing"? Their governments did nothing but talk and think about how the Winter war could work to allied advantage in ways other than actually helping us Finns. What the French and Brits actually wanted was an excuse to occupy Northern parts of Sweden that benefitted Germany at that time after all. Churchill was but a warmonger and an opportunist, nothing more. He only cared about himself and "his mission".
It's true that aid was given in small quantities to Finland but even that was for the most part funded by private entities, not governments per se.
In my opinion the allies did us dirty, just as they did with the Poles by abandoning them to the Germans first and second time for the soviets.
Never underestimate soldiers on skis. Finnish soldier’s had the advantage of their knowledge of the land and climate, and thus took on the Russians with hit-and-run tactics. The Russians moved in large columns of poorly trained soldiers and conscripts. Though the Russians would come on top, one could arguably say that the war ended with a draw.
Yeah few wars have been on par with finnish skill and badassery. Riff war,boer war,chichimeca war,new zealand wars with maori.
Russia is waiting until most of the population moves west. then the real attack will start
More soldiers need to learn how to ski..
the soldiers thrown into combat even came from occupied countries like ukraine. the polit officers told them that the finns would torture them and skin em alive if they were captured. so the prefered freezing to death instead of giving up.
@@ktheterkuceder6825 Russians were forced to stay on the roads, for freely roaming finnish ski troops to attack and quit.
Plus the "motti" tactics (motti is 1 cubic meter of firewood). where russian forces were chopped into smaller parts and destroyed one by one.
Best WWII DOCUMENTARY intro music.
Finland 🇫🇮 Topgun Country
I was thinking of this war thank you for the info
This video claims that the intention of Stalin was to only attack Finland if his demands were not met which is demonstrably false. Not only was Finland already assigned to the Soviet Union in the Molotov-Ribbentrop-pact, the demands were strategically chosen to take away most defensive capabilities from Finland. The Soviet Union made practically the same demands for the Baltic countries at the same time for its “security” and invaded and took over them anyway after the demands were met and the Baltic defenses were so crippled. At this point Finland and Germany were not in good terms militarily as Germany because of the Molotov-Ribbentrop-pact actually helped the Soviet Union in its invasion of Finland and sabotaged Finlands defense, so Stalins fears of some kind of finnish threat would have made no sense. The long prepared intention of taking over Finland completely can also be demonstrated by the very public announcement by soviets of the pre-prepared puppet government of Otto Ville Kuusinen for Finland within a day of the start of the invasion. So, long story short: the Soviet Union would have demonstrably attacked Finland anyway with a bad excuse of security in a time when Finland posed little threat to the soviets and Finland was smart and justified in refusing the soviet deals as that allowed her to defend itself successfully. Neither side really won the war, but Finland was able achieve its main goal of retaining its independence and the Soviet Union failed in its goal of conquering Finland.
This false story of Stalin giving somehow reasonable demands to Finland for soviet "security" and only invading because the Finns did not agree to them has become relatively popular quite recently, almost certainly because of the new history Putins Russia has been trying to write and popularize... you know... the history where Russia has literally never invaded anyone and has only responded to attacks against itself or its allies... including the current invasion of Ukraine... That's the stuff current Russian children read in their history school books.
exactly. Mark is usually on point but he's wrong here. Reminds me of the current Rus lies about security issues with Ukraine.
When you have known the maskirovka behind all that pact you can't believe the manipulate history of today for justifying the "donbass oppression" and the invasion of Ukraine.
We clearly see its all BS
Totally agree. Security was not the reason. Expansion was.
Same as the demands to Ukraine, they knew they could not say "yes".
Also, Russia did not invade Finland, the Sovied Union did, and Stalin, was not Russian, for example.
The Finns had guts and skills, and the tale is repeating.
My grandmother, born in 1927, told me after learning about the news concerning the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine, that she hears the air raid alarms and bombings in her head all over again. Having lived through the Winter war already, it’s absolutely heartbreaking that she’s going through it all again.
Your grandmother lives in Ukraine? If not at least show some respect to the people actually undergoing death and destruction and not complain about " absolutely heartbreaking that she’s going through it all again".... the hell. Talk about hyperbole. I understand it worries your grandmother but you make it sounds as if she actually getting bombed by the Russians.
@@flybeep1661 I think we can call this a form of PTSD. It clearly says, she lived through the winter war, so she is finnish and survived the war. She obviously fears having to go through another, which she has ALL RIGHTS to do. She knows what the ukrainians are going through, and she might be scared that Finland, "could" be next on russia's list. What's the point of being a full on asshole, fly beep?
@@flybeep1661 you seriously think I can’t worry for my close ones and respect Ukrainians’ situation at the same time? What makes your peanut brain think they are mutually exclusive? It’s also hilarious how you assume I’m not aware of the most topical issue in the world right now just because I didn’t mention it on a YT comment. Keep it classy lmao
Well, lot of units involved in Winter War were actually from Ukraine :P
@@flybeep1661 Jeez mate, take it easy. Have you been in her situation? Have you any older relative that has been in her situation? Would you care what that older relative is going through, or would you dismiss their worries as hyperbole?
And look at a map, Finland is still bordering Russia, it's still a nominally neutral country that was once a part of Russia, see the similarity to today's Ukraine?
Russia played this game before on Georgia, Crimea, the Donbass region of Ukraine and others.
After Ukraine, if Russia is successful, then what stops them doing the same again to other neutral countries which were once under the control of Soviet Russia like Moldova, and Finland?
Can you see the truth of her fears of reliving that hell in that regard? Get off your high horse dude.
Thank you Mark for this great documentary. Winter War is a great part of our history, and it is not forgotten in our daily lives. It would be great to see similar episodes about Continuation War and the Lapland War, when the german troops were forcefully withdrawn.
The amount of men in the Finnish army was 330000 (13 divisons) during the Winter war plus 100000 lottas (female volunteers) in the supportive activities. The Red army started this war with 25 divisions and ended it with 55 divisions (some of these had had big losses). At that time the amount of the reserves plus those units, which were just been created and partly on their way to the front was 25 divisions. The total losses of the Finns were a little over 70000 soldiers and civilians, but some units had dreadful losses. The unit, whose battles are described in the Winter war movie in 1989, started the war with 845 men. When the Winter war ended, there were only 19 men left to fight. The war doesn't determine, who is right, only who is left.
Stalin treated Finland in a pretty similar way as the three Baltic countries. We can assume, that he in reality thought Finland to be a Balltic and not a Nordic country like Sweden. And we know, what happened to all Baltic countries, who agreeded to the demands of Stalin. If Finland had originally bended, too, to those demands, what makes you believe, that the future of Finland would not have been a similar one? i think, that almost all we Finns think, that Stalin's original goal was to get rid of an independent Finland. He didn't respect the small non-communist countries at all. Then later he changed his mind and started to practise a more constructive policy towards Finland in the years 1945-1953. The Sovjetunion lost around 1.3 million men during the Winter and Contuanation war. That is one reason, why Putin recently attacked Ukraine and not Finland. He obviously thought, that although Ukraine has 44 million inhabitants, she would still be an easier target than Finand. The other reason was, that Putin tried to make Ukraine another Belorussia. Now Putin knows, that he has made a huge blunder by attacking Ukraine. How can he made his way out of this war by not loosing his face?
This video claimes, that Finland rejected Stalin's proposal. True, but this process had several phases, and the Finns tried to keep the negotiations going and made some concessions. But to give up Hanko would have ben a very hard decision and giving up a big part of Kannas a critical one, because a part of the Mannerheim-line would have eneded to the Russian hands. Stalin also demanded, that the fortifications near the border would have been destroyed. The Finns didn't thrust Stalin enough to go with that. Luckily so. The Finnish government had to be very careful with its concessions, because the treaty would have needed 2/3 majority in the parliament. No Stalin's proposal would have had any chance to be accepted in the Finnish parliament. Most of the parliament members didn't believe the Sovjetunion to attack, and that made them pretty stiff.
Emm... You know nothing about Russo-Ukrainian conflict. Putin don't have reasons to invade Finland, and this is why he didn't invaded. But Putin have reasons to invade Ukraine, and this is why he invaded Ukraine. There is no possibility of war between Russia and Finland, there is no reasons for that.
The negotiations with Stalin were useless - Russian defense ministry opened secret documents, at now everything is clear. Stalin wanted the spread of the World revolution, and he used negotiations only as an istrument. Factually, Soviet command wanted to occupy all Finland in 2 weeks
@@arty5876 Russia has exactly the same reasons to attack Finland as the Soviet Union had ... That's why Finland must join NATO if we can.
@@arty5876, well, I must admit, that I am not an expert of this current war, but I have known several war veterans, who have fought against the Russians for several years during the WWII and one officer of our club has been a military advisor for the Ukrainian army quite rencently before this war. So I have some basic knowledge about both sides and i have studied the war history for 60 years, and naturally had gone through the military sevice. I don't think, that Putin had a rational reason to invade Ukraine. This war has been a result of an overoptimistic thinking and according to Putin's plan it should have been a parade march just like Stalin thought about the invasion to Finland. Not much sense with that either. But if we change the angle and try to handle this war from a Russian perspective, then it looked like the Ukrainians were throwing away their historic Russian origin and become puppets of the U.S., the enemy. That had to be stopped, by any means. The Russian world had to be saved from the Western bacteria. So from the Russian angle this war has a function and that is why it still is popular in Russia (but not for very long, I expect). But from a Finnish point of view this is a very poor and disparaging argument against the current Ukrainians, who have fought bravely against the attacking Russians.
There might not be valid reasons for a big war between Russia and Finland, because Finland has never been a part of the Russian world, although she has been an autonomic part of Imperial Russia. So Russia has indeed no reason for saving us Finns from ourselves. But Russia might have motivation to snatch Gotland from Sweden and Ahvenamaa from Finland in the same way she took Crimea.
@@vesakaitera2831 I think Putin is liar, and "NATO expansion threat" is also lie. I think that Putin invaded Ukraine to not allow Ukraine to enter European Union and Wetsern sphere of influence, because Russian oligarchs would lose Ukraine as their cake, and also Ukraine by enetering the European Union, from one of the poorest countries of Europe, even more poor than Russia, would become the good place to live, probably better than Russia, and Putin's dictatorship don't need the rich country of European Union near the Russian borders. Finland already a part of European Union, also Finland have good economic relations with Russia, and Finland stays neutral in question between NATO and Russia, so, there is zero possibility that Russia would attack Finland, there is no rivalry in media between Russia and Finland.
Also, Putin need war for popularity. Putin always was providing his rating by war - for example in 1999, during the Chechen war, Putin was Russian prime minister. in Russia power is arranged so that president is transfering power to prime minister, something like the monarchy, and when sick Yeltsin resigned, Putin temporarily became the president of Russia. This is symbolically happened on New Year, 31 december 1999. Russian population didn't had any trust to him, people were thinking, that coup against Yeltsin had happened.
Putin became the ruler during the terrorist attacks - Chechen Islamic terrorists, known for their cruelty since 1991, attacked the Dagestan region of Russia. Also, dozens of blasts in the residental buildings had happened all across Russia, and Putin blamed the Chechens in organizing this blasts, from which hundreeds of people died. Russian army provided the operation in Dagestan and Chechnya, defeating the Islamists and occupying the region. This is exactly what Russian army didn't achieved in thr first Chechen war of 1994-96, when Chechen terrorists and killers had won the war. Putin gained rating from millitary victory over the terrorism, and he won the presidential elections of 2000. But Chechens continued rebel fighting, and terracts were happening in Russia up to ~2008. Some people are also believing, that some terracts and blasts of 1999 were organized by Putin himself. Also, there was a massive blast in Moscow metro in 2010, when the entire station with train was destroyed, this station was closed for repair for few years. Probably this blast was organized by Putin to keep the picture of foreign threat. In 2008, when Russia defended Abkhazians and Osetians from Georgian agression, Putin also gained rating, and in 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea, his popularity grew from 40% to 80%. Crimea was a Ukrainian-controlled territory, that is populated by Russians. Nikita Hrushew, the ruler of USSR (1954-1964) was Ukrainian by nationality, and he transferred Crimea from Russian SFSR to Ukrainian SR in 1956. And people in Russia always wanted Crimea back, Russians really cared by this question for 70 years. And Putin, that wanted the growth of his popularity, annexed Crimea.
If we are talking about this war - Putin's rating is also growing. Ukraine isn't saint country in Russo-Ukrainian conflict. in 2014 the Donbass region, Eastern Ukraine, had rebelled against the Kyiv rule. Donbass region is highly populated by Russians, and these Russians standed against the nationalistic-democratic revolution in Ukraine, and they wanted to enter Russia. Putin isn't lying, when he is saying, thet Ukraine have naz%s in the government. This is true. Ukraine is a nationalistic government, and Ukrainian forces were fighting against Russians is the Donbass region since 2014. 14 thousand people had died as a result of Donbass war (2014-2022). Little ammount of people in Russia at now are standing against this war, and even I am neutral to the war, because Ukrainian side isn't saint, as Western propaganda is saying. Ukrainian forces for 8 years were killing the Russians in the Donbass, and this is true that Ukrainian government and media even before the war of 2022 were rusophobic naz%s, so these people deserved the war, their current fate. Let's hope Zelensky would stop useless resistance and would surrender, because Russian army had retreated from Kyiv region, so this means that Russian command rejected its first plan, and occupying all Ukraine isn't the target of war anymore. So, there is no reasons of Ukrainian resistance at now, because Russia isn't targeting the occupation of all Ukraine, but only Donbass region, highly populated by Russians, that were fighting against Ukrainians for their independence for 8 years since 2014. And the fact, that war still going since the 5th of April is completely Ukrainian fault, because there is no reasons for Ukraine to continue to fight.
Never underestimate the ferocity and tenacity of those fighting to protect their own land, because for them everything is at stake. The best an invading soldier can hope for is to go home alive and in one piece.
Not about russians. They desperately want to fertilize ukrainian soil now.
I agree
they were fascists
@@adamjones3818 and so what you're on the commie tyrant side ?
@@adamjones3818 Russia , yes
I read a book in which a Soviet soldier said "The snow was a cruel enemy. If you stayed still it ate your feet and hands and if you moved it shot you."
That stuck with me for decades.
They learned their lesson and got General Winter on the Red Army's side for the next war.
Simo Häyhä: Have you tried eating snow? Very refreshing.....as long as it isn't yellow.
Who else got a 'déjà vu' when Russia invaded Ukraine and what happened next?
Come to Finland and loose...
Finland had the best sniper ever!
Keep covering Finland its pretty similar to the situation in Ukraine! History seems to go in a never ending circle.
I think that was the point if you have seen his more recent uploads
And it's the damn Russians again
Yes, except Ukrainians were also involved in invasion of Finland for example Ukrainian 44th division were completely destroyed by Finns at battle of Raate road.
@@ohho1 Rightfully so, we had no business being there.
@@ohho1 Yeah back when USSR was a thing. Ukraine now is not the same as Ukraine now. Also another fact for you, most Azov Battalion are from Russian speaking regions. But taking up neo nazi issues in Russia wouldnt be good excuse for Putin to invade another country
Mark! At 0:58 you mention the "Soviet's nervousness at Germany that had recently conquered Poland", ignoring the fact that it was Germany AND Russia which conquered Poland. Sure the Soviets were nervous about Germany, but that was basically a case of "No honor among thieves".
Exactly. Finland (along with Baltic states and east Poland) was part of influence sphere agreed on Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. Baltic states were practically under Russian control when Winter war began. Soviet military bases on Estonia were used in attack against Finland.
Exactly!
Nope - not together. Cooperation to buy time.
And Czech conqured Polish attached first
good point
Hi Mark. This was great and accurate presentation, allthought you used wrong photo for Simo Häyhä and did not include Molotov-Ribbentropp pact 😊 I’d really like to see you doing an episode of the battle of Raate Road!
Thanks for this 👍🇳🇿
May the memory of the sacrifices of the Finnish heroes live as long as there is Finland, and Finns!🇫🇮
Q: Why should you not start a war with Finland?
A: Because they'll be the ones to Finnish it.
Thanks!
The best under half hour documentary of the Winter War. Thanks, Mark!
On a flight from the USA to Helsinki, Finland, I watched a Finnish movie about the _“Continuation War"._ Never having heard of this conflict, I asked my host about it. He was more than happy to give me the Finnish side of the conflict. Therein followed a dinner at a private lodge dedicated to a Winter War hero outside of Oulu (FI). The walls were decorated with old B&W combat photographs plus sub-machine guns and Finnish rebuilt Mosin-Nagant rifles. I would have loved to acquire one of the Finnish Mosins, but alas, my interest in firearms was still 10 years in the future. My Russian Mosin performs acceptably as a deer rifle.
One of the reasons as to why Finns rejected the Soviet land-exchange offer was because had Finland accepted, the Soviets would have gotten "around" the Mannerheim-line in the south-west making a possible future invasion much easier for the Soviets
It was all just excuses to eventually occupy entire Finland and colonize the area after genocide with ethnkc Russians. It ended up badly with Leningrad getting siege. Theynof course once again played the victim.
"Thin end of the wedge" is often used. Thankfully the Fins realized this and treated it as such.
The the winter war probably saved the soviets. It exposed alot of the institutional incompetence in the red army against an enemy that had no hope of invading them. The lessons learned were just barely in time to prepare for Barbarosa a year later. How the red army would have done against Germany without the lessons of the winter war dont look good.
I disagree that the winter war encouraged Hitler. It might have seemingly encouraged him but he ALWAYS planned to invade the USSR.
The initial Soviet demands included demolishing all defensive fortifications of the Karelian Isthmus in any case.
@@chadgaston8615 Never give up stuff to orcs as i say
It's been said in Russian documents Stalin actually wanted to get whole Finland, it was easier to get some land without an effort at first. His officers promised Finland to Stalin as his birthday gift and Stalin even decided communist government to Finland: "the Kuusinen's government".
No, Stalin want only security from the finish pupet state
@@gyeppmester A coincidence: Stalin gave same "fair" offers to the Baltics and Finland. The Baltics took the offer and accidentally they were ALL part of the Soviet Union. Finland didn't take the offer and they kept their independece. Stalin's officers promised Finland to Stalin as his birthday gift
Proof links please
@@1Shapic1 what😭 we learn this stuff in middleschool. are you slow?
@@Abdul_rahman_von_yasin Oh, and I learn otherwise. On what notion is that based? Another thinktank decision 30 years later?
Simo Hayha 500 + confirmed kills, he was a legend
I have been waiting for this video for so long!, Thank you Mr Felton!
I was going to say that too! Took the words right out of my mouth.
And it is a shame that video is just so mad quality. Too many errors and missing of very relevant key information.
Thanks for sharing Mark! Great to see your latest documentary again!
@we will do it stop it
Great video Mark. Well done. Where do you find your archival footage?
This is now a bit simplified version of history in some parts. There was a well justified reason 1939 to believe that Finland giving in to Russian demands in the first place would have resulted in the same kind of process that had already lead to full soviet occupation in the Baltic countries.
Yes. Originally Baltic countries only agreed to "renting some bases" for Soviet troops. Suddenly, the troops intefered with free election, forced communists to "win" and became occupiers.
Sweden was not officially fighting in the Winter War. All approximately 8840 Swedes fighting in Finland were volunteers (33 KIA) in the Finnish army, though they were equipped and armed by the Swedish army. The Swedish volunteer air force squadron Flygflottilj 19 was also part of the Finnish Air Forces, but the aeroplanes, pilots and maintenance was on loan from the Swedish Air Forces. A Gloster Gladiator- fighter plane, that defended Northern Finland in the Winter War, is on display in the aviation museum in the city of Linköping in Sweden. There is also a Hawker Hart with wartime Finnish swastika marking (nothing to do with nazis) but that plane didn´t serve in the Winter War.
Nobody should have to explain the finns sunwheel or the swastika, its demonization is the result of hollowfraud myths perpetuated by crap movies and books for fake blood money profit and sympathy .
I always recognize the Finnish swastika, it's blue and square.
Sweden sold ball-bearings to Joseph Stalin while Finns died. That is the only part everyone needs to know about their role in this. Soviet Union was a project on western industrialists and Wall Street to prevent Germany from dominating Europe. Brits even said that Finland was an acceptable lose. Well, Germany is weak now so no such excuses exists in Ukraine case.
@@chadgaston8615 Never trust the Swedes
My grandfather told me the stories of when he arrived to the frontlines in winter war... frozen enemy solders stuck up to show direction of battle lines wearing fancy fur coats. What I learned from both of my grandfathers makes me sad knowing what Ukrainians have to suffer...
Don't be sad. If the Ukrainians won't suffer, their fate woud be even worse. Freedom and independence and battle against evil is worth it.
Eloise Engle, Lauri Paananen. «THE WINTER WAR. THE SOVIET ATTACK ON FINLAND 1939-1940».
My great grandpa was in the trenches in WW1, he threw back a German grenade that landed in their trench. It exploded in the air as he threw it back taking off two of his fingers.He recieved a medal. He had lung problems all his life after the war due to being gassed. He successfully ran a green grocers store for 14 years after returning alive from that hell. He died of lung cancer in 1967 I have picture's of me and him feeding the swans in Cassiobury park in Watford , England. I was 4 years old. My absoulute fking hero.
My grandfather was from Muolaa but had to seek asylum in Sweden, the Soviets stole the land so they had no place to return to after the wars. He passed away a month ago and the funeral is today. What are the odds that you post about the war the day before. Thank you and keep doing what you do! And as my grandmother, also a Finnish refugee from Kemijärvi, used to say "Be wary of the wolves and the Russians!"
Yea the Soviet’s never enslaved Africans
@@carlosbrown9493 lol what?
@@jvkxbe
CHILE ARGENTINA AURORA AUSTRAL
Im sorry for your grandpa.
The Sausage War, where the tide of battle was changed from defeat to victory because a battalion of famished Soviet soldiers came upon vats of freshly cooked sausage soup. The Finns, largely cooks, clerks, rear echelon personnel, rallied and came screaming from the dark brandishing bayonets.
The exact toll is just a guess, but most of the Soviets were killed. Some were found dead around the vats with sausages held up to their frozen lips.
I was just thinking about this event same time I read this haha..would like know more since it been years and forgot lots of info.
That incident is known as "the sausage mutiny", attacking hungry russian soldiers stopped at finnish field kitchen full of sausage soup :)
I've heard that they throw frozen sausages to Soviet soldiers...🤔 Don't know if it is true...
That is just so sad.
The threads have been full of amazing stories today!!! Sausage mutiny😆🌭🌭🌭
Felton forgot to mention how much Sweden helped Finland, we sent them two times their entire defense budget, we sent planes, tanks, ships, artillery, rifles, HMGs and so so much more!
@Valefore Of course.
Though our governments may disagree, I'm sure that the finnish population knows that Swedes will always support Finland, we do not forget "our own" people across the sea.
exactly, the Fins never mention how much help they got, just like those Ukrainian peasants. without US arms they would have lasted 7 days,
(Press in the world 1940)
Finland's secret weapon:
It's not the skis.
It's not the snow.
It's not the zero weather.
It's not the long arctic nights.
It's not the sixty thousand frozen lakes.
But; It's the man upon the skis on the snow in the zero weather through the dark nights on the frozen lakes.
Thank you , I am a Finn living in the USA.
I'm vise versa XD... (well finnish parents but born in USA)
Thank you very much for this episode …the parallels between the 39 winter war and this winter war are astonishing …!
Фіни молодці.
I like the videos that this channel makes and they do a great job. One correction to the video tough at: 6:37 when Simo Häyhä is mentioned the person in the picture is not Simo Häyhä.
The winter war demonstrated "Sisu" - the Finnish resolve, courage and determination to defend their homeland against all odds. Even today, Finland remains independent and free.
I grew up in northern Ontario in the then second biggest Finn city in the world. I competed many times as a lad on skis against Finns. It was then I learned at a very early age the deep significance of ‘sisu’. Courage, grit, determination to a mystical degree.
Except for the EU
They were fascists at this time
@@adamjones3818 they allied with Germany on the basis of self defence only after the British and French refused help them against the USSR.
Yes, Molotov-Ribbentrop pact; russians were fascists
Thank you ! My grandfather was 16 years old when the Russian army invaded. This started a life long military career (USAF). Thus also solidified in him very strong pride for his country as well as his strong hatred towards all communist. I'm glad he isn't here today to see what has become of his beloved adopted home.
My grandma had to also flee Karjala at 13 and their family burned their house in there so it would'vent fallen onto Russian hands :(
The USA isn't communist. Stop trying to bring your shitty politics into this.
what's happened to his adopted home?
@@mitchel123234 the useless dems are.
@@rickyj5547 i wish
NIET MOLOTOV! Greatings from Romania to Finland and the brave Finish Nation!
I wish the video included more emphasizing and direction (circling, arrows, boxes, shading) of areas being discussed as just listening and trying to pick things out on the map was difficult.
An interesting aspect of Germany & Finland becoming Allies was that Nazis & Jewish troops from Finland fought side by side.
The Finns received or bought a lot of WW1 German surplus,( I have seen an 1889 Reichrevolver with S.A. Finnish army acceptance stamps).The Finns were also good shots.Thanks Dr Felton,another wonderful video
thanks from finland for making this vid
Mark .. you mention Finland used to be part of the Russian Empire.. true from 1809 -1917 as a result of the Napoleonic War and this wasn’t rejoiced.. you fail to mention that Finland for most of its history has been Swedish with whom they have far stronger links and history, to the extent of Finland being a bilingual country .. both Finnish and Swedish are taught in schools; all road signs, websites etc are bilingual.. Finns are not Slavic, and generally the Finns have quite a dim view of Russia, although as neighbours there is an element of realpolitik.. I don’t want people to have the impression that Finland is in anyway Russian ..
Other than that, another fabulous video..
Oddly tho, when first Ukrainian refugees arrived in my town, they said how "it looks and feels like home, but sametime it feels like we would be in Europe"
I lived in Finland in the early 80s and the lack of men of the age that would've been in this war was stunning. Almost every widow of this age group said her husband was killed in the Winter or Continuation War. The Finns are tough as hell. Sisu!
Surely you're exaggerating. Finland had 2.62% war deaths between 1939 and 1945. The WW2 deaths of many countries were far in excess of that. For example, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia and Germany all lost more than 10 percent of their populations. I'm not pooh-poohing it, but Finland's deaths could've easily jumped to double digits if we had let the Soviets in. The Baltic countries are testament to that.
@@peabase The difference here is that in the nations you mention many of those casualties were civilians of every age and both males and females.
Finland is different because it was never conquered and attacks on civilians were limited.
Deaths may "only" be 2,5% but those were nearly 100% men of fighting age which is a much smaller group.
If you take Finland's population pyramid of today, out of a population of 5,5 million the group of men ages 20-45 number 881000. That's 16% of the total population.
If we use that math on the past, 100/16 = 6,25.
So you have to multiply that 2,5% of war deaths by 6,25.
What you get then is 15,625%.
What does that mean? About 15-16% of ALL Finnish men aged 20 to 45 were killed. THAT is a significant number.
Even if we extend the age range to something like 18-55 years old which is probably more realistic, you'll end up with a number somewhere around 10% of the men killed.
1/10 is a number that will be very visible in a population, especially when he speaks about widows... again, women and civilians were largely spared but they will have lost these men as their husbands.
@@peabase In the Baltic countries and Russia, the main part of the losses are the killed civilians, they were killed by the German Nazis. For example, in the Baltic countries, local Nazis almost completely destroyed their Jews.
@@peabase Finnish forces were at the time established the way that one platoon would consist of men from the same small village. So if things went really bad, entire platoon could've been KIA and you can think what kind of sadness would hit their home village. So his story could very well be true.
@@peabase This isn't about body count. This is about a small country , in this case Finland , that stood up to a the huge Russian Communist assault in order to survive . What is the Fault in that?
thanks for covering this, one of my favourite parts of WW2 ski-ing around with their suomi's
I will always respect Finland for standing up to the bullies and giving them a lesson.
They might have lost the war, but they kept their independence and their dignity.
You can’t have dignity when you lose a piece of terrority 🤷🏻♂️ that means you lost it doesn’t matter how much you kill you lost
they were fascists
@@adamjones3818 You're fascist
@@adamjones3818 better than communists
Well done.
Been waiting for this one. Thanks once again Mr Felton
One of the foreign volunteers to Finland was future-Sith Lord, Saruman, and slayer of 4,000 Saxon men, Sir Christopher Lee.
There's always one.......
Yes. Christopher Lee was an volunteer ambulance driver.
Please Dr.Felton,do episode(s) about Finnish president Risto Ryti, who practically saved Finland in continuation war..
His story is absolutely fascinating!!
Thank you for this very interesting video! It would also be interesting to see a video about how Finland invaded Russia in the summer of 1941.
Strong comparison to what Ukraine is doing now - Finland "won" the war by fighting to a stalemate that the Russians couldn't overcome - the Finns were on skis, using old equipment like the Brewster Buffalo etc and even captured Soviet tanks and aircrafts.
The Finnish didn't have CIA/NATO plc
Very strong indeed, but the Ukrainian invasion (IMO) is even more humiliating for Russia.
Yep both nazi supporters waging war
NWO George soros owns Ukraine
But the soviets achived all their goals and took more lands that they originaly wanted.
@@stooge389 I think maybe we should let the Russian and Ukrainian people sort it out, who's fighting for our children's land ?
Thanks for this good video. My granddad was basically just a schoolboy when he volunteered to go fight for our country and took part in the most intense battles at the Mannerheim line and bay of Viipuri.
At 10:45 must be corrected: No part of Swedish airforce ever participated the Winter War. And no units of Swedish infantry either. Sweden kept it clear that it was neutral and there was no official help for Finland. But thousands of Swedish men went to help as private volunteers and that was inofficially supported.
Finns know not to trust Russian promises, deals or treaties. There's a saying in Finland that "A deal with a Russians is worth less than the paper it's printed on." They say one thing while doing the exact opposite.
Looking at the conflict in Ukraine today, it seems to hold truth still.
And their propaganda... Telling their people dirtiest lies as facts and those who wont listen are silenced. Cant believe we have such cavemen for eastern neighbors still in 2022
Exellent timing with this content👌History repeats itself...