![]() ![]() ![]() The Red Army would not wait passively behind the border but would rather “advance to meet the enemy.” Finland vowed that it was committed to a policy of neutrality and that the country would resist any armed incursion. Some background: In April 1938, Finnish officials were told that the Soviets did not trust Germany and that war was considered possible between the two countries. Most likely, the Soviet Union had intended to conquer all of Finland, but Finland repelled Soviet attacks for months and inflicted substantial losses on the invaders while temperatures ranged as low as −45 ☏, which is almost as cold as Putin’s heart. When Finland refused, the Soviets invaded. The catalyst was a demand by the Soviet Union that Finland cede substantial border territories, claiming security reasons-primarily the protection of Leningrad, 20 miles from the Finnish border. Despite superior military strength, especially in tanks and aircraft, the Soviet Union suffered severe losses and initially made little headway. The Winter War was a conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland, which began with the latter being invaded in November 1939. This image is in the public domain via Wikicommons. A Finnish Maxim M/32-33 machine gun nest 100 meters from Soviet forces during the Winter War, located approximately 5 kilometers north of Lemetti (area of the modern Pitkyarantsky District, Russia). ![]()
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