Finland was
united with Sweden from the early Middle
Ages and by the 12th century was largely an autonomous state until
1809 when it became a self-governing Grand Duchy of Russia.
At first the Romanov
Dynasty respected Finland's autonomy but Alexander
III pursued a policy of Russification of national minorities.
This included imposing the Russian language and Russian schools on
the German, Polish and Finnish peoples living in the Russian Empire.
After the
1905
Revolution in Russia Nicholas
II gave permission for the Finns to elect a parliament
chosen by universal suffrage of both sexes. A further period of repression
after 1910 stimulated growth in Finnish nationalism and taking advantage
of the breakdown of authority during the February
Revolution, Finland's national assembly proclaimed its independence
29th July 1917.
The Provisional
Government responded by devolving the national assembly. New elections
resulted in a pro-German, right-wing assembly, and on 6th December
it once again declared its independence from Russia. The new Bolshevik
government accepted the move but gave its support to the Red Guards
that staged a coup in Helsinki on 28th January 1918. Led by General
Carl Mannerheim, Finnish forces defeated
left-wing forces at the Battle of Viborg on 29th April 1918.
Russia
lost all control over Finland after the new Bolshevik
Government signed the Brest-Litovsk
Treaty. In July 1919 Finland adopted a democratic and republican
constitution. Over the next few years Finland was involved in border
disputes with Russia.
A dispute with Sweden over the Alandia
Islands, was peacefully resolved by the League of Nations.
General
Carl Mannerheim
retired from the army but in 1931 was recalled as head of the defence
council. Afraid of being invaded by the Red
Army,
he organised the construction of the Mannerheim Line across the Karelian
Isthmus.
Lapua,
a fascist group, attempted an armed uprising in Finland on 29th March
1932. Although the rebellion was put down after a couple of days,
the government agreed to pass anti-communist laws.
In the late
1930s Joseph Stalin became concerned about
the Soviet Union being invaded from the West.
Stalin argued that Leningrad was only thirty-two kilometres from the
Finnish border and its 3.5 million population, were vulnerable to
artillery fire from Nazi Germany.
After attempts
to negotiate the stationing of Soviet troops in Finland failed, Joseph
Stalin ordered the Red Army to invade
on 30th November 1939. Adolf Hitler, who
also had designs on Finland, had under the terms of the Nazi-Soviet
Pact, was forced to standby and watch the Soviet Union build up
its Baltic defences.
Although
the advance of Soviet troops was halted at the Mannheim
Line the Finns lost more that 20 per cent of their 200,000
soldiers in three months. In March 1940 the Finnish government signed
a peace treaty in Moscow that surrendered 16,000 square miles of territory
to the Soviet Union.
In an attempt
to recover the lands lost in 1940 Finland agreed to join the German
Army in
its attack on the Soviet Union in June 1941. This resulted in Britain
declaring war on Finland later that year.
When Adolf
Hitler ordered the German
Army to
invade the Soviet Union on 22nd June 1941, Mannerheim led the Finnish
Army that retook the Karelian Isthmus. The following year Carl
Mannerheim,
now aged 75, became a marshal of Finland.
The Red
Army launched a counter-offensive and penetrated the Mannerheim
Line taking Viipuri on 20th June 1944. Finnish defences were gradually
overwhelmed and on 4th September 1944, Mannerheim, now president of
Finland, was forced to sign a peace treaty with Joseph
Stalin.
Carl
Mannerheim, Adolf Hitler and Risto Ryti on 6th June 1942.
(1)
Manchester Guardian (30th November,
1939)
Though according to foreign reports the Red forces
this morning launched their promised "help for the Finnish people"
against their democratic Government - led by Socialists, the Kremlin's
particular detestation -
the Russian people remained ignorant until late tonight of the fact
that their Government had involved them in actual warfare with their
tiny neighbour.
Speculation on the soviet
objectives in foreign quarters here turns on the question whether
the campaign will be pursued after the seizure of the Karelian Ishmus,
the islands in the Gulf of Finland, Hanko, and the northern most peninsulas,
which were demanded in the negotiations, or then propose a peace,
to be concluded with a new and more compliant Finnish Government.
Certain foreign quarters
believe that the hostilities may serve as a justification for the
seizure of the Finnish copper and nickel mines, both of which metals
are solely needed in the Soviet Union. The production of Finnish copper
is largely exported to Germany, which took 12,000 tons in 1938, but
the nickel is controlled by a Canadian concession, and is exported
only from Petsamo.
(2)
Manchester
Guardian (1st December, 1939)
Russia
invaded Finland early yesterday morning, and at once began to try
to enforce submission by air attacks.
The Finnish
Government resigned early this morning. It is reported from Copenhagen
that Dr. Tanner, the Finnish Finance Minister, who was one of the
Finnish delegates to Moscow, will form a new Government to open negotiations
with Russia.
News of
the resignation came after the Russian threat, broadcast from Moscow,
that unless Finland surrendered by three o'clock this morning Helsinki
would be completely destroyed.
A representative
of the United States Legation in Helsinki sent the information of
the Government's resignation to the American Embassy in Moscow, which
is expected to communicate with the Kremlin.
M. Erkko,
the Finnish Foreign Minster, in a broadcast to the United States last
night, said "We remain ready to work for a solution of the dispute
by conciliation."
The Soviet
Government yesterday rejected the United States' offer of its good
offices in settling the dispute; the Soviet Government did not think
they were needed. Finland accepted the offer.
The invasion
of Finland without any declaration of war has cause the greatest indignation
throughout the world, especially in other Scandinavian countries and
in the United States, Italy, and Spain. In the House of Commons yesterday
Mr. Chamberlain made a statement on the invasion.
(3)
Anthony
Eden,
speech in Liverpool (29th February,
1940)
Not
Russia only but Germany also, bears a terrible responsibility for
what is happening in Finland at this hour. Hitler and Ribbentrop,
these men and their policies alone made Stalin's aggression possible.
Stalin is the aggressor in Finland, Hitler the abettor.
It seems strange to think
now how many hours I used to spend listening to the present German
Foreign Secretary when he was Ambassador in London, when he used to
expound to me, as indeed he did also in public many times, the dangers
and horrors of Bolshevism. He was never tired of expatiating on this
theme. Soviet Russia, this untouchable with whom Nazi Germany could
not sit down at a conference table, this leprous thing, this cancer.
Many a time the British people were taken to task because we, it was
alleged, did not understand the extent of our peril. We did not appreciate,
we were told, the realities of the European situation. Only Hitler
could do that. He, alone, we were assured, stood as a bulwark between
Britain and Red Russia.
But for the Hitlerian St. George the Red Dragon would have swallowed
us long since. So ran the German fable with its many variations.
And what has happened
now ? The Red Dragon has taken the Hitlerian St. George for a ride.
It may be that one day in the not so distant future the German Foreign
Minister may have need to recall his own warnings.
(4)
Dr.
Tomas Ries, Lessons of the Winter War, National Defence College,
Finland (2001)
The Winter War erupted
on 30 November 1939, when Stalin unleashed his Red Army in an all-out
assault against Finland. In August that year Stalin and Hitler had
divided eastern Europe between them in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact,
leaving Finland isolated in the Soviet sphere of influence. During
the fall Stalin demanded that Finland cede key parts of the country
to the USSR. When Finland refused to meet all his demands Stalin unleashed
his armies.
In the winter dawn of 30
November four Soviet Armies with 23 divisions - some 460,000 men with
over 2,000 tanks - began advancing across the length of Finland's
1,200 km long eastern border. Their objective was to occupy the entire
territory of Finland by the end of the year, installing Moscow's puppet
'Terijoki Government' in Helsinki, and establishing a new 'Democratic
Republic of Finland'. Their troops were issued with detailed written
warnings not to cross into Sweden once they had reached Finland's
western border, and the 7. Army included a military band for the victory
parade in Helsinki.
Few at the time expected
the tiny Finnish nation of 3.6 million to survive. But despite the
odds Finland reacted with desperate determination. On the one hand
the country was determined to fight, and the full field army of some
160,000 men had been mobilized and sent eastwards into position along
the front during the fall. On the other hand Finland also was grimly
prepared for the worst, and began sending her national treasure -
her children - to safety in Sweden, to cover the possibility of a
Soviet victory and Stalin's national extermination programmes. Leaving
at night from blacked out harbours along Finland's western coast,
in the gaps between wailing sirens warning of Soviet bombers, none
of the thousands of departing children or their parents remaining
behind knew whether they would see each other again.
(5)
Oleg
Rzheshevsky, Europe 1939: Was War Inevitable? (1989)
Finland's war preparations
and its anti-Soviet policy at home and abroad were a threat to both
the Soviet Union and Finland itself. Britain and France took advantage
of Finland's anti-Soviet policy to frustrate Soviet efforts toward
establishing a collective security system. During the Anglo-Franco-Soviet
talks Britain and France first refused to give guarantees to the Baltic
states and Finland and then came out against extending such guarantees
to the eventually of indirect aggression against them. This played
its role in the Finnish government's decision to seek closer relations
with Germany. Therefore, on June 20, 1939, that government declared
that it refused all cooperation with the Soviet Union in case of German
aggression against Finland and would regard any Soviet assistance
as aggression. The Soviet Union's efforts toward providing Finland
with a collectiove guarantee against fascist Germany ended in failure.
The blame for this lay with the Finnish reactionaries but also with
the British and French leaders making common cause with them against
the Soviet proposals.
(6)
Konstantin Tarnovsky, Illustrated History of the USSR (1982)
Faced
with the threat of war, the Soviet government proposed that the USSR
and Finland sign a mutual assistance pact and the border between the
two countries on the Karelian isthmus be moved westwards as a compensation
for which the USSR would cede to Finland a far larger territory of
South Karelia. But prompted by Germany on the one hand and by Britain
and France on the other and relying on the strong defence belt on
the Karelian isthmus - the Mannerheim line, the Finnish government
rejected the Soviet offer. On November 26, 1939, Finnish troops attacked.
Soviet territory with artillery fire. Red Army troops crossed the
border and broke through the Mannerheim line. In March 1940 the Soviet
border was moved 150 km from Leningrad to Vyborg under an agreement
signed at the Finnish government's request.
(7)
Christian Waselius, student, department of History, University of
Helsinki, Finland (14th January, 2002)
In the article written
by Mr. Tarnovsky it is said that "Finnish troops attacked Soviet
territory with artillery fire" on November 26th 1939. This incident
that happened in the small village Mainila, was made by Soviet troops
and put up as a reason for the Red Army to attack Finland. Finnish
frontier guards also recognized the explosions on the Soviet
side of the border. For that time being, the closest Finnish artillery
guns were placed so far away from Mainila that it would have been
impossible to reach the place with artillery gun fire. Finland´s
government wanted to negotiate and asked for a withdrawal of the troops
on both sides of the border. The soviet Foreign Minister Mr. Molotov
cut off all diplomatic connections with Finland and the Red Army attacked
Finland on November 30th 1939. The Soviet Union officially apologized
for the provocative artillery act in 1990.
(8)
Colonel
Maltitsky of the Red Army took part in the
fighting in Finland in
1941.
It is significant that even in the wooded terrain, where close fighting
predominates, the Germans avoid hand-to-hand encounters and strive
to dislodge the Soviet sub-divisions from their positions solely with
the aid of fire. They have never been known to accept a bayonet charge
of the Soviet infantry. When launching an offensive the Fascist units
usually sustain heavy losses in manpower. Whenever successful, they
completely refrain from pursuit.
The Finns practise different
methods of warfare. They rarely attack the well-organized defence
and prefer cautiously to advance where resistance is weaker. The Finnish
offensive on an organized defence is easily routed with heavy losses
to them. In defence, however, the Finnish forces are superior to the
Germans.
In general, the methods
of offensive operations of the Finns consist in advancing slowly but
securing their positions. Usually, after occupying a district, the
Finns immediately try to fortify it. A scouting party then seeks a
new terrain and the units try to occupy the next district.
(9)
Manchester Guardian (2nd August,
1944)
It is officially
announced from Helsinki that President Ryti has resigned and that
he has been succeeded by Marshal Mannerheim.
Mannerheim was appointed
by decree and not elected, as is customary. Linkomies, the Premier,
moved in Parliament that Marshal Mannerheim should be decreed as Finnish
President. This decree also provided that what was called "a
great burden of functions on the shoulder of the President" (Mannerheim
is 77) should be transferred to the Premier.
A delegation from the "peace
opposition" asked Mannerheim to assume leadership of the peace
movement, according to a usually reliable Swedish source. They said
that a move towards peace would faithfully represent the views of
the majority of the country. The delegation reminded him that the
recent pact with Germany was made on the personal initiative of Ryti,
and that if he resigned it would not be incompatible with Finland's
honour to denounce the pact.
Mannerheim held no office
in the administration and thus had no responsibility for the treaty
keeping Finland in the war which Ribbentrop negotiated with Ryti two
months ago. The treaty was never submitted to Parliament.
(10)
Joseph Goebbels, diary entry (20th March,
1945)
The result of the Finnish
elections looks as if it had given the Social-democrats 52 seats and
the communists 51. This means that the communists are almost holding
the balance. A left-wing government of Social-democrats and Communists
is now in the realm of possibility, giving the Soviets a stepping-stone
to the assumption of total power inside Finland. They will certainly
not hesitate to exert pressure to bring this left-wing cabinet into
existence as soon as possible. Paasiviki is already offering himself
as head of this left-wing government. His speech on the day before
the
election had such a depressing effect on bourgeois circles that -
extraordinarily typical of them once more - they largely abstained.
This explains the great left-wing victory. Paasiviki will not long
enjoy his reputation as the Finnish Kerensky, however. A shot in the
nape of the neck awaits him in the background.
Winter
War in Finland and the Media
History
of Finland
Virtual
Finland
Available from Amazon Books
