The results of the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940 briefly. Soviet-Finnish War

Of all the wars that Russia has waged throughout history, the Karelian-Finnish war of 1939-1940. long time remained the least advertised. This is due both to the unsatisfactory outcome of the war and to significant losses.

It is still not known for certain how many combatants on both sides died in the Finnish war.

Soviet-Finnish War, soldiers march to the front

When the Soviet-Finnish war, started by the country's leadership, took place, the whole world took up arms against the USSR, which in fact turned into colossal foreign policy problems for the country. Next, we will try to explain why the war could not end quickly and turned out to be a failure overall.

Finland has almost never been an independent state. In the period from the 12th to the 19th centuries it was under Swedish rule, and in 1809 it became part of Russian Empire.

However, after February Revolution Unrest began on the territory of Finland, the population first demanded broad autonomy, and then completely came to the idea of ​​independence. After October Revolution The Bolsheviks confirmed Finland's right to independence.

The Bolsheviks confirmed Finland's right to independence.

However, the further path of development of the country was not clear-cut; a civil war broke out in the country between whites and reds. Even after the victory of the White Finns, there were still many communists and social democrats in the country's parliament, half of whom were eventually arrested, and half were forced to hide in Soviet Russia.

Finland supported a number of White Guard forces during the Russian Civil War. Between 1918 and 1921, several military conflicts occurred between the countries - two Soviet-Finnish wars, after which the final border between the states was formed.

Political map of Europe during the interwar period and the border of Finland before 1939

In general, the conflict with Soviet Russia was resolved and until 1939 the countries lived in peace. However, on detailed map The territory that belonged to Finland after the Second Soviet-Finnish War is highlighted in yellow. The USSR claimed this territory.

Finnish border before 1939 on the map

The main causes of the Finnish War of 1939:

• Until 1939, the USSR border with Finland was located only 30 km away. from Leningrad. In case of war, the city could be located under shelling from the territory of another state;
• Historically, the lands in question were not always part of Finland. These territories were part of the Principality of Novgorod, then were captured by Sweden, and recaptured by Russia during the Northern War. Only in the 19th century, when Finland was part of the Russian Empire, were these territories transferred to them for management. Which, in principle, was not of fundamental importance within the framework of a single state;
• The USSR needed to strengthen its position in the Baltic Sea.

In addition, despite the absence of war, the countries had a number of claims against each other. Many communists were killed and arrested in Finland in 1918, and a number of Finnish communists found refuge in the USSR. On the other hand, many Finns suffered during the political terror in the Soviet Union.

was killed and arrested this year large number communists in Finland

In addition, local border conflicts between countries regularly took place. How Soviet Union they were not happy with such a border near the second largest city in the RSFSR, and not all Finns were happy with the territory of Finland.

In some circles, the idea of ​​​​creating a “Greater Finland” that would unite the majority of Finno-Ugric peoples was considered.

Thus, there were enough reasons for the Finnish war to start, when there were a lot of territorial disputes and mutual discontent. And after the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was signed, Finland moved into the sphere of influence of the USSR.

Therefore, in October 1939, negotiations began between the two sides - the USSR demanded to cede the territory bordering Leningrad - to move the border at least 70 km.

Negotiations between the two countries begin in October this year

In addition, we are talking about the transfer of several islands in the Gulf of Finland, the lease of the Hanko Peninsula, and the transfer of Fort Ino. In exchange, Finland is offered a territory twice as large in area in Karelia.

But despite the idea of ​​a “Greater Finland”, the deal looks extremely unfavorable for the Finnish side:

• firstly, the territories offered to the country are sparsely populated and practically devoid of infrastructure;
• secondly, the territories to be taken away are already inhabited by the Finnish population;
• finally, such concessions would both deprive the country of a line of defense on land and seriously weaken its position at sea.

Therefore, despite the length of the negotiations, the parties did not come to a mutually beneficial agreement and the USSR began preparations for an offensive operation. The Soviet-Finnish war, the start date of which was secretly discussed in the highest circles of the political leadership of the USSR, increasingly appeared in Western news headlines.

The reasons for the Soviet-Finnish war are briefly outlined in archival publications of that era.

Briefly about the balance of forces and means in the winter war

As of the end of November 1939, the balance of forces on the Soviet-Finnish border is presented in the table.

As you can see, the superiority of the Soviet side was colossal: 1.4 to 1 in numbers of troops, 2 to 1 in guns, 58 to 1 in tanks, 10 to 1 in aircraft, 13 to 1 in ships. Despite careful preparation, the start of the Finnish war (the date of the invasion had already been agreed upon with the political leadership of the country) occurred spontaneously; the command did not even create a front.

They wanted to fight the war using the Leningrad Military District.

Formation of the Kuusinen government

First of all, the USSR creates a pretext for the Finnish-Soviet war - it suits border conflict at Mainila 11/26/1939 (the first date of the Finnish War). There are many versions describing the reasons for the start of the Finnish War of 1939, but the official version of the Soviet side:

The Finns attacked the border outpost, 3 people were killed.

The documents disclosed in our time, which describe the war between the USSR and Finland in 1939-1940, are contradictory, but do not contain clear evidence of an attack by the Finnish side.

Then the Soviet Union forms the so-called. Kuusinen's government, which heads the newly formed Finnish Democratic Republic.

It is this government that recognizes the USSR (no other country in the world has recognized it) and responds to the request to send troops into the country and support the struggle of the proletariat against the bourgeois government.

From that time until the peace negotiations, the USSR did not recognize the democratic government of Finland and did not negotiate with it. War has not even been officially declared - the USSR sent troops to assist a friendly government in an internal civil war.

Otto V. Kuusinen, head of the Finnish government in 1939

Kuusinen himself was an old Bolshevik - he was one of the leaders of the Red Finns in the Civil War. He fled the country in time, headed the international for some time, and even escaped repression during the Great Terror, although it primarily fell on the old guard of the Bolsheviks.

Kuusinen's coming to power in Finland would be comparable to the coming to power in the USSR in 1939 of one of the leaders of the white movement. It is doubtful that major arrests and executions could have been avoided.

However, the fighting is not going as well as planned by the Soviet side.

Hard war of 1939

The initial plan (developed by Shaposhnikov) included a kind of “blitzkrieg” - the capture of Finland was to be carried out within a short period of time. According to the plans of the General Staff:

The war in 1939 was supposed to last 3 weeks.

It was supposed to break through the defenses on the Karelian Isthmus and make a breakthrough with tank forces to Helsinki.

Despite the significant superiority of Soviet forces, this basic offensive plan failed. The most significant advantage (in tanks) was offset by natural conditions - tanks simply could not make free maneuvers in forest and swampy conditions.

In addition, the Finns quickly learned to destroy Soviet tanks that were not yet sufficiently armored (they used mainly T-28s).

It was during the Finnish war with Russia that an incendiary mixture in a bottle and a wick got its name - the Molotov cocktail. The original name was “Cocktail FOR Molotov”. Soviet tanks simply burned out upon contact with the combustible mixture.

The reason for this was not only the armor low level, but also gasoline engines. This incendiary mixture was no less terrible for ordinary soldiers.

The Soviet army also turned out, surprisingly, to be unprepared for war in winter conditions. Ordinary soldiers were equipped with ordinary Budenovkas and overcoats, which did not protect them from the cold. On the other hand, if necessary to fight in the summer, the Red Army would face more big problems, for example, impassable swamps.

The offensive that began on the Karelian Isthmus was not prepared for heavy fighting on the Mannerheim Line. In general, the military leadership did not have clear ideas about this line of fortifications.

Therefore, the artillery shelling at the first stage of the war was ineffective - the Finns simply waited out it in fortified bunkers. In addition, ammunition for the guns took a long time to be delivered - the weak infrastructure affected it.

Let us dwell in more detail on the Mannerheim line.

1939 - war with Finland on the Mannerheim Line

Since the 1920s, the Finns have been actively building a series of defensive fortifications, named after a prominent military leader of 1918-1921. - Carl Gustav Mannerheim. Realizing that a possible military threat to the country does not come from the north and west, it was decided to build a powerful defensive line in the southeast, i.e. on the Karelian Isthmus.

Karl Mannerheim, the military leader after whom the front line is named

We should pay tribute to the designers - the topography of the territory made it possible to actively use natural conditions - numerous dense forests, lakes, and swamps. The key structure was the Enkel bunker - a standard concrete structure armed with machine guns.

At the same time, despite the long construction time, the line was not at all as impregnable as it would later be called in numerous textbooks. Most of the pillboxes were created according to Enkel's design, i.e. early 1920s These were outdated at the time of the Second World War for several people, with 1-3 machine guns, without underground barracks.

In the early 1930s, million-dollar pillboxes were designed and began to be built in 1937. Their fortification was stronger, the number of embrasures reached six, and there were underground barracks.

However, only 7 such pillboxes were built. It was not possible to build up the entire Mannerheim line (135 km) with pillboxes, because before the war, certain sections were mined and surrounded by wire fences.

On the front, instead of pillboxes, there were simple trenches.

This line should not be neglected either; its depth ranged from 24 to 85 kilometers. It was not possible to break through it in a rush - for some time the line saved the country. As a result, on December 27, the Red Army stopped its offensive operations and prepared for a new assault, bringing up artillery and retraining soldiers.

The further course of the war will show that with proper preparation, the outdated line of defense could not hold out for the required time and save Finland from defeat.

Expulsion of the USSR from the League of Nations

The first stage of the war also saw the exclusion of the Soviet Union from the League of Nations (12/14/1939). Yes, at that time this organization lost its significance. The exclusion itself was more likely a consequence of increased antipathy towards the USSR throughout the world.

England and France (at that time not yet occupied by Germany) provide Finland with various assistance - they do not enter into an open conflict, but there are active supplies of weapons to the northern country.

England and France are developing two plans to help Finland.

The first involves the transfer of military corps to Finland, and the second involves the bombing of Soviet fields in Baku. However, the war with Germany forces us to abandon these plans.

Moreover, the expeditionary force would have to pass through Norway and Sweden, to which both countries responded with a categorical refusal, wanting to maintain their neutrality in World War II.

Second stage of the war

Since the end of December 1939, a regrouping of Soviet troops has been taking place. A separate North-Western Front is formed. Armed forces are being built up on all sectors of the front.

By the beginning of February 1940, the number of armed forces reached 1.3 million people, guns - 3.5 thousand. Airplanes - 1.5 thousand. Finland by that time was also able to strengthen the army, including through the help of other countries and foreign volunteers, but the balance of forces became even more catastrophic for the defending side.

On February 1, a massive artillery bombardment of the Mannerheim Line began. It turns out that most Finnish pillboxes cannot withstand accurate and prolonged shelling. They bomb for 10 days just in case. As a result, when the Red Army attacked on February 10, instead of bunkers, it found only many “Karelian monuments.”

In winter, on February 11, the Mannerheim Line was broken, Finnish counter-offensives lead to nothing. And on February 13, the second line of defense, hastily strengthened by the Finns, breaks through. And already on February 15, taking advantage of the weather conditions, Mannerheim gave the order for a general retreat.

Help for Finland from other countries

It should be noted that breaking through the Mannerheim Line meant the end of the war and even defeat in it. There was practically no hope for major military assistance from the West.

Yes, during the war, not only England and France provided Finland with various technical assistance. Scandinavian countries, the USA, Hungary and several others sent many volunteers to the country.

soldiers were sent to the front from Sweden

At the same time, it was the threat of direct war with England and France, in the event of a complete capture of Finland, that forced I. Stalin to negotiate with the current Finnish government and make peace.

The request was transmitted through the USSR Ambassador to Sweden to the Finnish Ambassador.

The myth of war - Finnish "cuckoos"

Let us dwell separately on the well-known military myth about Finnish snipers - the so-called. cuckoos During the Winter War (as it is called in Finland), many Soviet officers and soldiers fell victims to Finnish snipers. A story began to circulate among the troops that Finnish snipers were hiding in the trees and firing from there.

However, sniper fire from trees is extremely ineffective, since a sniper in a tree himself represents an excellent target and does not have a proper foothold and the ability to quickly retreat.

The answer to such accuracy of snipers is quite simple. At the beginning of the war, the officers were equipped with insulated sheepskin coats of a dark color, which were clearly visible in the snowy desert and stood out against the background of the soldiers' greatcoats.

The fire was fired from insulated and camouflaged positions on the ground. Snipers could sit in improvised shelters for hours, waiting for a suitable target.

The most famous Finnish sniper of the Winter War is Simo Häyhä, who shot about 500 Red Army officers and soldiers. At the end of the war, he received a serious injury to his jaw (it had to be inserted from femur), but the soldier lived to be 96 years old.

The Soviet-Finnish border was moved 120 kilometers from Leningrad - Vyborg, the northwestern coast of Lake Ladoga, and a number of islands in the Gulf of Finland were annexed.

A 30-year lease for the Hanko Peninsula was agreed upon. In return, Finland received only the Petsamo region, which provided access to the Barents Sea and was rich in nickel ores.

The completion of the Soviet-Finnish war brought bonuses to the winner in the form of:

1. USSR acquisition of new territories. They managed to move the border away from Leningrad.
2. Gaining combat experience, awareness of the need to improve military equipment.
3. Colossal battle losses. Data vary, but the average death toll was over 150 thousand people (125 from the USSR and 25 thousand from Finland). Sanitary losses were even greater - 265 thousand in the USSR and over 40 thousand in Finland. These figures had a discrediting effect on the Red Army.
4. Plan failure for the creation of the Finnish Democratic Republic .
5. Decline in international authority. This applies to both the countries of the future allies and the Axis countries. It is believed that it was after the Winter War that A. Hitler finally became convinced that the USSR was a colossus with feet of clay.
6. Finland lost territories that are important to them. The area of ​​land given away was 10% of the entire territory of the country. The spirit of revanchism began to grow in her. From a neutral position, the country increasingly gravitates toward supporting the Axis countries and ultimately participates in the Great Patriotic War on the side of Germany (in the period 1941-1944).

Summarizing all of the above, we can conclude that the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939 was a strategic failure of the Soviet leadership.

75 years ago, on November 30, 1939, the Winter War (Soviet-Finnish War) began. The Winter War was almost unknown to the people of Russia for quite a long time. In the 1980-1990s, when it was possible to blaspheme the history of Russia and the USSR with impunity, the dominant point of view was that “bloody Stalin” wanted to seize “innocent” Finland, but small, but proud northern people fought back the northern "evil empire". Thus, Stalin was blamed not only for the Soviet-Finnish War of 1939-1940, but also for the fact that Finland was “forced” to enter into an alliance with Hitler’s Germany in order to resist the “aggression” of the Soviet Union.

Many books and articles denounced Soviet Mordor, which attacked little Finland. They cited absolutely fantastic figures for Soviet losses, reported on heroic Finnish machine gunners and snipers, the stupidity of Soviet generals, and much more. Any reasonable reasons for the Kremlin's actions were completely denied. They say that the irrational anger of the “bloody dictator” is to blame for everything.

In order to understand why Moscow went to this war, it is necessary to remember the history of Finland. Finnish tribes have long been on the periphery of the Russian state and the Swedish kingdom. Some of them became part of Rus' and became “Russians”. The fragmentation and weakening of Rus' led to the fact that the Finnish tribes were conquered and subjugated by Sweden. The Swedes pursued a colonization policy in the traditions of the West. Finland did not have administrative or even cultural autonomy. The official language was Swedish, spoken by the nobles and the entire educated segment of the population.

Russia , having taken Finland from Sweden in 1809, essentially gave the Finns statehood, allowed them to create the main state institutions, to form a national economy. Finland received its own authorities, currency and even an army as part of Russia. At the same time, the Finns did not pay general taxes and did not fight for Russia. The Finnish language, while maintaining the status of the Swedish language, received the status of the state language. The authorities of the Russian Empire practically did not interfere in the affairs of the Grand Duchy of Finland. The policy of Russification was not carried out in Finland for a long time (some elements appeared only in a later period, but it was already too late). The resettlement of Russians to Finland was actually prohibited. Moreover, the Russians living in the Grand Duchy were in an unequal position in relation to the local residents. In addition, in 1811, the Vyborg province was transferred to the Grand Duchy, which included lands that Russia had captured from Sweden in the 18th century. Moreover, Vyborg had great military-strategic importance in relation to the capital of the Russian Empire - St. Petersburg. Thus, the Finns in the Russian “prison of nations” lived better than the Russians themselves, who bore all the hardships of building an empire and its defense from numerous enemies.

The collapse of the Russian Empire gave Finland independence. Finland thanked Russia by first entering into an alliance with the Kaiser’s Germany, and then with the Entente powers ( more details in a series of articles - How Russia created Finnish statehood; Part 2; Finland allied with the Kaiser's Germany against Russia; Part 2; Finland is in alliance with the Entente against Russia. First Soviet-Finnish War; Part 2 ). On the eve of World War II, Finland occupied a hostile position towards Russia, leaning toward an alliance with the Third Reich.

Most Russian citizens associate Finland with a “small, cozy European country”, with peaceful and cultural inhabitants. This was facilitated by a kind of “political correctness” towards Finland, which reigned in late Soviet propaganda. Finland, after defeat in the war of 1941-1944, learned a good lesson and extracted maximum benefits from its proximity to the huge Soviet Union. Therefore, the USSR did not remember that the Finns attacked the USSR three times in 1918, 1921 and 1941. They preferred to forget about this for the sake of good relations.

Finland was not a peaceful neighbor of Soviet Russia.Finland's separation from Russia was not peaceful. Started Civil war between white and red Finns. The Whites were supported by Germany. The Soviet government refrained from large-scale support for the Reds. Therefore, with the help of the Germans, the White Finns gained the upper hand. The winners created a network of concentration camps and unleashed the White Terror, during which tens of thousands of people died (during the fighting itself, only a few thousand people died on both sides).In addition to the Reds and their supporters, the Finns “purged” the Russian community of Finland.Moreover, the majority of Russians in Finland, including refugees from Russia who fled from the Bolsheviks, did not support the Reds and Soviet power. Exterminated former officers tsarist army, their families, representatives of the bourgeoisie, intelligentsia, numerous students, the entire Russian population indiscriminately, women, old people and children . Significant material assets belonging to the Russians were confiscated.

The Finns were going to place a German king on the throne of Finland. However, Germany's defeat in the war led to Finland becoming a republic. After this, Finland began to focus on the Entente powers. Finland was not satisfied with independence, the Finnish elite wanted more, laying claim to Russian Karelia, the Kola Peninsula, and the most radical figures made plans to build a “Greater Finland” with the inclusion of Arkhangelsk, and Russian lands up to the Northern Urals, Ob and Yenisei (the Urals and Western Siberia are considered ancestral home of the Finno-Ugric language family).

The leadership of Finland, like Poland, was not satisfied with the existing borders and was preparing for war. Poland had territorial claims to almost all its neighbors - Lithuania, the USSR, Czechoslovakia and Germany, the Polish lords dreamed of restoring a great power “from sea to sea.” People in Russia more or less know about this. But few people know that the Finnish elite was delirious with a similar idea, the creation of a “Greater Finland.” The ruling elite also set the goal of creating a Greater Finland. The Finns did not want to get involved with the Swedes, but they laid claim to Soviet lands, which were larger than Finland itself. The radicals had unlimited appetites, stretching all the way to the Urals and further to the Ob and Yenisei.

And first they wanted to capture Karelia. Soviet Russia was torn apart by the Civil War, and the Finns wanted to take advantage of this. Thus, in February 1918, General K. Mannerheim stated that “he will not sheathe his sword until Eastern Karelia is liberated from the Bolsheviks.” Mannerheim planned to seize Russian lands along the line White Sea - Lake Onega - Svir River - Lake Ladoga, which was supposed to facilitate the defense of new lands. It was also planned to include the Pechenga region (Petsamo) and the Kola Peninsula into Greater Finland. They wanted to separate Petrograd from Soviet Russia and make it a “free city”, like Danzig. On May 15, 1918, Finland declared war on Russia. Even before the official declaration of war, Finnish volunteer detachments began to conquer Eastern Karelia.

Soviet Russia was busy fighting on other fronts, so it did not have the strength to defeat its insolent neighbor. However, the Finnish offensive on Petrozavodsk and Olonets and the campaign against Petrograd across the Karelian Isthmus failed. And after the defeat of Yudenich’s white army, the Finns had to make peace. From July 10 to July 14, 1920, peace negotiations took place in Tartu. The Finns demanded that Karelia be transferred to them, but the Soviet side refused. In the summer, the Red Army drove the last Finnish troops out of Karelian territory. The Finns held only two volosts - Rebola and Porosozero. This made them more accommodating. There was no hope for help from the West; the Entente powers had already realized that the intervention in Soviet Russia had failed. On October 14, 1920, the Tartu Peace Treaty was signed between the RSFSR and Finland. The Finns were able to obtain the Pechenga volost, the western part of the Rybachy Peninsula, and most of the Sredny Peninsula and the islands, west of the limit line in the Barents Sea. Rebola and Porosozero were returned to Russia.

This did not satisfy Helsinki. Plans for the construction of “Greater Finland” were not abandoned, they were only postponed. In 1921, Finland again tried to resolve the Karelian issue by force. Finnish volunteer detachments, without declaring war, invaded Soviet territory, and the Second Soviet-Finnish War began. Soviet forces in February 1922 fully liberated the territory of Karelia from invaders. In March, an agreement was signed to take measures to ensure the inviolability of the Soviet-Finnish border.

But even after this failure the Finns did not cool down. The situation on the Finnish border was constantly tense. Many, remembering the USSR, imagine a huge powerful power that defeated the Third Reich, took Berlin, sent the first man into space and made the entire Western world tremble. Like, how could little Finland threaten the huge northern “evil empire”. However, the USSR 1920-1930s. was a great power only in terms of territory and potential. Moscow's real policy at that time was extremely cautious. In fact, for quite a long time, Moscow, until it became stronger, pursued an extremely flexible policy, most often giving in and not getting into trouble.

For example, the Japanese plundered our waters off the Kamchatka Peninsula for quite a long time. Under the protection of their warships, Japanese fishermen not only completely caught all the living creatures from our waters worth millions of gold rubles, but also freely landed on our shores to repair, process fish, and obtain fresh water etc. Before Khasan and Khalkin-Gol, when the USSR strengthened thanks to successful industrialization, received a powerful military-industrial complex and strong armed forces, the Red commanders had strict orders to restrain Japanese troops only on their territory, without crossing the borders. A similar situation existed in the Russian North, where Norwegian fishermen fished in the internal waters of the USSR. And when the Soviet border guards tried to protest, Norway withdrew warships to the White Sea.

Of course, Finland no longer wanted to fight the USSR alone. Finland has become a friend of any power hostile to Russia. As the first Finnish Prime Minister Per Evind Svinhuvud noted: “Any enemy of Russia must always be a friend of Finland.” Against this background, Finland even became friends with Japan. Japanese officers began to come to Finland for internships. In Finland, as in Poland, they were afraid of any strengthening of the USSR, since their leadership based their calculations on the fact that a war between some great Western power and Russia was inevitable (or a war between Japan and the USSR), and they would be able to profit from Russian lands . Inside Finland, the press was constantly hostile to the USSR, conducting almost open propaganda for an attack on Russia and the seizure of its territories. All kinds of provocations constantly took place on the Soviet-Finnish border on land, at sea and in the air.

After hopes for an imminent conflict between Japan and the USSR did not materialize, the Finnish leadership headed for a close alliance with Germany. The two countries are linked by close military-technical cooperation. With the consent of Finland, a German intelligence and counterintelligence center (“Bureau Cellarius”) was created in the country. His main task was to conduct intelligence work against the USSR. First of all, the Germans were interested in data about the Baltic Fleet, formations of the Leningrad Military District and industry in the northwestern part of the USSR. By the beginning of 1939, Finland, with the help of German specialists, had built a network of military airfields that was capable of receiving 10 times more aircraft than the Finnish Air Force. It is also very significant that even before the start of the war of 1939-1940. The Finnish swastika was the identifying mark of the Finnish Air Force and armored forces.

Thus, by the beginning of the great war in Europe, we had on the north-western borders a clearly hostile, aggressive state, whose elite dreamed of building a “Greater Finland at the expense of Russian (Soviet) lands and was ready to be friends with any potential enemy of the USSR. Helsinki was ready to fight the USSR both in alliance with Germany and Japan, and with the help of England and France.

The Soviet leadership understood everything perfectly and, seeing the approach of a new world war, sought to secure the northwestern borders. Leningrad was of particular importance - the second capital of the USSR, a powerful industrial, scientific and cultural center, as well as the main base of the Baltic Fleet. Finnish long-range artillery could fire at the city from its border, and ground forces could reach Leningrad in one burst. The fleet of a potential enemy (Germany or England and France) could easily break through to Kronstadt, and then Leningrad. To protect the city, it was necessary to push back the land border on land, as well as restore the distant line of defense at the entrance to the Gulf of Finland, gaining space for fortifications on the northern and southern shores. The largest fleet of the Soviet Union, the Baltic, was actually blocked in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland. The Baltic Fleet had a single base - Kronstadt. Kronstadt and Soviet ships could be hit by long-range guns of the Finnish coastal defense. This situation could not satisfy the Soviet leadership.

The issue with Estonia was resolved peacefully. In September 1939, a mutual assistance agreement was concluded between the USSR and Estonia. A Soviet military contingent was introduced into Estonia. The USSR received the rights to create military bases on the islands of Ezel and Dago, Paldiski and Haapsalu.

It was not possible to come to an amicable agreement with Finland. Although negotiations began back in 1938. Moscow has tried literally everything. She proposed concluding a mutual assistance agreement and jointly defending the Gulf of Finland zone, giving the USSR the opportunity to create a base on the coast of Finland (Hanko Peninsula), sell or lease several islands in the Gulf of Finland. It was also proposed to move the border near Leningrad. As compensation, the Soviet Union offered much larger territories of Eastern Karelia, preferential loans, economic benefits, etc. However, all proposals were met with a categorical refusal from the Finnish side. It is impossible not to note the inciting role of London. The British told the Finns that it was necessary to take a firm position and not give in to pressure from Moscow. This gave Helsinki hope.

In Finland, general mobilization and evacuation began civilian population from border areas. At the same time, arrests of left-wing figures were carried out. Incidents at the border have become more frequent. So, on November 26, 1939, a border incident occurred near the village of Maynila. According to Soviet data, Finnish artillery shelled Soviet territory. The Finnish side declared the USSR to be the culprit of the provocation. On November 28, the Soviet government announced the denunciation of the Non-Aggression Treaty with Finland. On November 30, the war began. Its results are known. Moscow solved the problem of ensuring the security of Leningrad and the Baltic Fleet. It can be said that it was only thanks to the Winter War that the enemy was unable to Patriotic War capture the second capital of the Soviet Union.

Currently, Finland is again drifting towards the West, NATO, so it is worth keeping a close eye on it. The “cozy and cultural” country can again recall the plans for “Great Finland” right up to the Northern Urals. Finland and Sweden are thinking about joining NATO, and the Baltic states and Poland are literally turning into NATO’s advanced springboards for aggression against Russia before our very eyes. And Ukraine becomes an instrument for war with Russia in the southwestern direction.

(see the beginning in the previous 3 publications)

73 years ago, one of the most unpublicized wars in which our state took part ended. The Soviet-Finnish War of 1940, also called the “Winter”, cost our state very dearly. According to the lists of names compiled by the personnel apparatus of the Red Army already in 1949-1951, the total number of irretrievable losses amounted to 126,875 people. The Finnish side in this conflict lost 26,662 people. Thus, the loss ratio is 1 to 5, which clearly indicates the low quality of management, weapons and skills of the Red Army. However, despite such a high level of losses, the Red Army completed all its tasks, albeit with certain adjustments.

So on initial stage During this war, the Soviet government was confident of an early victory and the complete capture of Finland. It was based on such prospects that the Soviet authorities formed the “government of the Finnish Democratic Republic” headed by Otto Kuusinen, a former deputy of the Finnish Sejm, a delegate of the Second International. However, as military operations progressed, appetites had to be reduced, and instead of the premiership of Finland, Kuusinen received the post of chairman of the presidium of the Supreme Council of the newly formed Karelian-Finnish SSR, which existed until 1956, and remained the head of the Supreme Council of the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.

Despite the fact that the entire territory of Finland was never conquered by Soviet troops, the USSR received significant territorial gains. From new territories and the already existing Karelian autonomous republic The sixteenth republic was formed within the USSR - the Karelo-Finnish SSR.

The stumbling block and the reason for the start of the war - the Soviet-Finnish border in the Leningrad region was moved back 150 kilometers. The entire northern coast of Lake Ladoga became part of the Soviet Union, and this body of water became internal for the USSR. In addition, part of Lapland and islands in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland went to the USSR. The Hanko Peninsula, which was a kind of key to the Gulf of Finland, was leased to the USSR for 30 years. The Soviet naval base on this peninsula existed at the beginning of December 1941. On June 25, 1941, three days after the attack by Nazi Germany, Finland declared war on the USSR and on the same day Finnish troops began military operations against the Soviet garrison of Hanko. The defense of this territory continued until December 2, 1941. Currently, the Hanko Peninsula belongs to Finland. During the Winter War, Soviet troops occupied the Pechenga region, which before the 1917 revolution was part of the Arkhangelsk region. After the area was transferred to Finland in 1920, large reserves of nickel were discovered there. The development of the deposits was carried out by French, Canadian and British companies. Largely due to the fact that the nickel mines were controlled by Western capital, in order to maintain good relations with France and Great Britain following the Finnish War, this site was transferred back to Finland. In 1944, after the completion of the Petsamo-Kirkines operation, Pechenga was occupied by Soviet troops and subsequently became part of the Murmansk region.

The Finns fought selflessly and the result of their resistance was not only large losses of Red Army personnel, but also significant losses of military equipment. The Red Army lost 640 aircraft, the Finns knocked out 1,800 tanks - and all this despite the complete dominance of Soviet aviation in the air and the virtual absence of anti-tank artillery among the Finns. However, no matter what exotic methods of fighting Soviet tanks the Finnish troops came up with, luck was on the side of the “large battalions”.

The whole hope of the Finnish leadership lay in the formula “The West will help us.” However, even the closest neighbors provided Finland with rather symbolic assistance. 8 thousand untrained volunteers arrived from Sweden, but at the same time Sweden refused to allow 20 thousand interned Polish soldiers through its territory, ready to fight on the side of Finland. Norway was represented by 725 volunteers, and 800 Danes also intended to fight against the USSR. Hitler also tripped up Mannerheim again: the Nazi leader banned the transit of equipment and people through the territory of the Reich. A couple of thousand volunteers (though of advanced age) arrived from Great Britain. A total of 11.5 thousand volunteers arrived in Finland, which could not seriously affect the balance of power.

In addition, the exclusion of the USSR from the League of Nations should have brought moral satisfaction to the Finnish side. However, this international organization was only a pathetic forerunner of the modern UN. In total, it included 58 states, and in different years from it various reasons countries such as Argentina (withdrew from 1921-1933), Brazil (withdrew from 1926), Romania (withdrew in 1940), Czechoslovakia (membership terminated on March 15, 1939), and so on left. In general, one gets the impression that the countries participating in the League of Nations did nothing but enter or leave it. Such countries “close” to Europe as Argentina, Uruguay and Colombia especially actively advocated for the exclusion of the Soviet Union as an aggressor, but Finland’s closest neighbors: Denmark, Sweden and Norway, on the contrary, stated that they would not support any sanctions against the USSR. Not being any serious international institution, the League of Nations was dissolved in 1946 and, ironically, the chairman of the Swedish Storing (parliament) Hambro, the same one who had to read out the decision to exclude the USSR, at the final assembly of the League of Nations announced a greeting to the founding countries of the UN , among which were the Soviet Union, still headed by Joseph Stalin.

Supplies of weapons and ammunition to Filand from European countries were paid in specie, and at inflated prices, which Mannerheim himself admitted. In the Soviet-Finnish war, profits were made by the concerns of France (which at the same time managed to sell weapons to Hitler’s promising ally Romania), and Great Britain, which sold frankly outdated weapons to the Finns. An obvious opponent of the Anglo-French allies, Italy sold Finland 30 aircraft and anti-aircraft guns. Hungary, which then fought on the side of the Axis, sold anti-aircraft guns, mortars and grenades, and Belgium, which a short time later fell under German attack, sold ammunition. Its closest neighbor, Sweden, sold Finland 85 anti-tank guns, half a million rounds of ammunition, gasoline, and 104 anti-aircraft weapons. Finnish soldiers fought in overcoats made from cloth purchased in Sweden. Some of these purchases were paid for with a $30 million loan provided by the United States. What is most interesting is that most of the equipment arrived “at the end” and did not have time to take part in hostilities during the Winter War, but, apparently, it was successfully used by Finland already during the Great Patriotic War in alliance with Nazi Germany.

In general, one gets the impression that at that time (winter of 1939-1940) the leading European powers: neither France nor Great Britain had yet decided with whom they would have to fight in the next few years. In any case, the head of the British Department of the North, Laurencollier, believed that the goals of Germany and Great Britain in this war could be common, and according to eyewitnesses - judging by the French newspapers of that winter, it seemed that France was at war with the Soviet Union, and not with Germany. The joint British-French War Council decided on February 5, 1940 to approach the governments of Norway and Sweden with a request to provide Norwegian territory for the landing of the British Expeditionary Force. But even the British were surprised by the statement of French Prime Minister Daladier, who unilaterally announced that his country was ready to send 50 thousand soldiers and a hundred bombers to help Finland. By the way, plans for waging war against the USSR, which at that time was assessed by the British and French as a significant supplier of strategic raw materials to Germany, developed even after the signing of peace between Finland and the USSR. Back on March 8, 1940, a few days before the end of the Soviet-Finnish War, the British Chiefs of Staff Committee developed a memorandum that described the future military actions of the British-French allies against the USSR. Combat operations were planned on a wide scale: in the north in the Pechenga-Petsamo region, in the Murmansk direction, in the Arkhangelsk region, in the Far East and in the southern direction - in the area of ​​Baku, Grozny and Batumi. In these plans, the USSR was considered as a strategic ally of Hitler, supplying him with strategic raw materials - oil. According to the French General Weygand, the strike should have been carried out in June-July 1940. But by the end of April 1940, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain admitted that the Soviet Union adheres to strict neutrality and there is no reason for an attack. In addition, already in June 1940, German tanks entered Paris, and it was then that the joint French-British plans were captured by Hitler's troops.

However, all these plans remained only on paper and for more than a hundred days of the Soviet-Finnish war, no significant assistance was provided by the Western powers. Actually, Finland was put in a hopeless situation during the war by its closest neighbors - Sweden and Norway. On the one hand, the Swedes and Norwegians verbally expressed all their support for the Finns, allowing their volunteers to participate in hostilities on the side of the Finnish troops, but on the other hand, these countries blocked a decision that could actually change the course of the war. The Swedish and Norwegian governments refused the request Western powers provide its territory for the transit of military personnel and military cargo, and otherwise the Western Expeditionary Force would not be able to arrive at the theater of military operations.

By the way, Finland’s military expenditures in the pre-war period were calculated precisely on the basis of possible Western military assistance. Fortifications on the Mannerheim Line in the period 1932 - 1939 were not at all the main item of Finnish military spending. The vast majority of them were completed by 1932, and in the subsequent period the gigantic (in relative terms it amounted to 25 percent of the entire Finnish budget) Finnish military budget was directed, for example, to such things as the massive construction of military bases, warehouses and airfields. Thus, Finnish military airfields could accommodate ten times more aircraft than were in service with the Finnish Air Force at that time. It is obvious that the entire Finnish military infrastructure was being prepared for foreign expeditionary forces. Typically, the massive filling of Finnish warehouses with British and French military equipment began after the end of the Winter War, and all this mass of goods, almost in full, subsequently fell into the hands of Nazi Germany.

The actual military operations of the Soviet troops began only after the Soviet leadership received guarantees from Great Britain of non-interference in the future Soviet-Finnish conflict. Thus, the fate of Finland in the Winter War was predetermined by precisely this position of the Western allies. The United States has taken a similar two-faced position. Despite the fact that the American Ambassador to the USSR Steinhardt literally went into hysterics, demanding that sanctions be imposed against the Soviet Union, expel Soviet citizens from US territory and close the Panama Canal to the passage of our ships, US President Franklin Roosevelt limited himself to only introducing a “moral embargo.”

The English historian E. Hughes generally described the support of France and Great Britain for Finland at a time when these countries were already at war with Germany as “the product of a madhouse.” One gets the impression that Western countries they were even ready to enter into an alliance with Hitler only so that the Wehrmacht would lead the West’s crusade against the USSR. French Prime Minister Daladier, speaking in parliament after the end of the Soviet-Finnish war, said that the results of the Winter War were a disgrace for France, and a “great victory” for Russia.

The events and military conflicts of the late 1930s in which the Soviet Union participated became episodes of history in which the USSR for the first time began to act as a subject of international politics. Before this, our country was viewed as a “terrible child”, an unviable freak, a temporary misunderstanding. Nor should we overestimate the economic potential of Soviet Russia. In 1931, Stalin, at a conference of industrial workers, said that the USSR was 50-100 years behind developed countries and that this distance must be covered by our country in ten years: “Either we do this, or we will be crushed.” The Soviet Union failed to completely eliminate the technological gap even by 1941, but it was no longer possible to crush us. As the USSR industrialized, it gradually began to show its teeth to the Western community, beginning to defend its own interests, including through armed means. Throughout the late 1930s, the USSR carried out the restoration of territorial losses that resulted from the collapse of the Russian Empire. The Soviet government methodically pushed state borders further and further beyond the West. Many acquisitions were made almost bloodlessly, mainly by diplomatic methods, but moving the border from Leningrad cost our army many thousands of soldiers' lives. However, such a transfer was largely predetermined by the fact that during the Great Patriotic Army Germany got stuck in the Russian expanses and eventually Nazi Germany was defeated.

After almost half a century of constant wars, as a result of the Second World War, relations between our countries normalized. The Finnish people and their government realized that it was better for their country to act as a mediator between the worlds of capitalism and socialism, and not to be a bargaining chip in the geopolitical games of world leaders. And even more so, Finnish society has ceased to feel like the vanguard of the Western world, called upon to contain the “communist hell.” This position has led to Finland becoming one of the most prosperous and rapidly developing European countries.

On November 30, 1939, the Soviet Union began war with Finland. Having started the war, the Soviet leadership counted on a quick victory and the creation of the so-called People's Republic of Finland. But these plans did not materialize.

The war was preceded by unsuccessful negotiations on the territorial issue. The USSR, in exchange for part of the territory of Karelia, wanted to receive the Karelian Isthmus in order to move the border away from Leningrad (it was located 30 km from the city). The Finnish government did not agree.

The fighting lasted three and a half months. Suffering huge losses, the Red Army units managed to overcome the Finnish defensive fortifications - the Mannerheim Line. On March 12, 1940, a peace treaty was signed between Finland and the USSR. The Karelian Isthmus with the cities of Vyborg and Kexholm (Korela, Priozersk) passed to the USSR. A Soviet military base was located on the leased Hanko Peninsula. The sixteenth republic was formed in the Soviet Union - the Karelo-Finnish SSR, which existed until 1956. Finland defended its independence. In the fall of 1940, Nazi troops were brought into its territory.

Losses of the parties

Soldiers and commanders paid with their lives for the mistakes of the political leadership. The losses of the Red Army in the Soviet-Finnish war amounted to about 300 thousand people, including about 100 thousand dead. Finnish losses were an order of magnitude smaller, but in proportion to the population they were equal to the US losses in the war of 2.5 million soldiers.

While the important events of the Second World War were developing in the East of Europe, in the West "strange war", as one French journalist called it. The strange thing was that here, against 4.5 million French soldiers, there were 800 thousand German soldiers, and half of the latter were just beginning to concentrate. The Anglo-French troops actually did not take any decisive action. The German military leadership was aware of the risk that Hitler was taking, but he psychologically calculated everything accurately.

• April 1940 - capture of Denmark by German troops and occupation of Norway.
• May 10, 1940 - German troops attack France, the beginning of Hitler's Western campaign.
• May 14, 1940 - Dutch surrender.
• May 28, 1940 - surrender of Belgium, encirclement of Anglo-French troops in the area of ​​the city of Dunkirk.
• June 22, 1940 - signing of the Franco-German truce in the Compiegne Forest. Occupation by Germany of two-thirds of French territory, including Paris, and the formation of the pro-fascist regime of General Petain on the remaining territory.

Under the conditions of the “Phantom War,” the importance of Swedish ore, Romanian oil, Norwegian ports and unimpeded access to them increased for the Nazi government. The British, realizing this, are making an attempt to mine the approaches to the Norwegian port of Narvik. In response April 9, 1940 German troops occupy all the most important points in Denmark and Norway by sea and airborne landings.

Norway finds itself under the control of the German occupation administration, Denmark becomes a German protectorate. After Denmark surrendered, British troops occupied its overseas territories (Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland) to prevent the Germans from getting there.

On May 10, under the impression of the failure of the British in Norway, the cabinet of N. Chamberlain was sent into retirement. It was replaced by a coalition government led by Winston Churchill.

In June 1940, pro-communist forces in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, supported by Soviet troops, took power into their own hands. In August 1940, these countries became part of the USSR. A significant part of the population initially reacted positively to what was happening. They were primarily confused by the growing aggressiveness of Nazi Germany. But soon thousands of citizens of the Baltic republics were repressed, a significant part were exiled. All this gave rise to deep dissatisfaction with the Soviet order.

In June 1940, the USSR presented Romania with a demand to transfer to it the former province of the Russian Empire, Bessarabia, captured by Romania in 1918, and Northern Bukovina, which was part of Austria-Hungary. Two months later, the Moldavian SSR was formed, and Northern Bukovina became part of Ukraine.

On June 10, 1940, Mussolini, contrary to the opinion of the military, entered the war against France and Great Britain. It seemed to the Italian dictator that his dream of a “Roman Mediterranean Empire” was about to become a reality. Italy's territorial claims were large: Nice, Corsica, Tunisia, French Somalia, Algeria, Morocco. Mussolini believed that Italy's leading role in the Mediterranean would be emphasized by the annexation of part of the Yugoslav lands.

As a result, in 1941, Rommel achieved, although resounding, partial success. Germany was involved in another "outsider" (given Hitler's main goal) campaign.

Capture of Romania

The plan for the Italian “parallel war” included striking Greece and Yugoslavia, but in August 1940 Hitler informed Mussolini that an invasion of the Balkans was not advisable at the moment because Great Britain had to be defeated first.

On the eve of the World War, both Europe and Asia were already in flames with many local conflicts. International tension was due to the high probability of a new big war, and all the most powerful political players on the world map before it began tried to secure favorable starting positions for themselves, without neglecting any means. The USSR was no exception. In 1939-1940 The Soviet-Finnish war began. The reasons for the inevitable military conflict lay in the same looming threat of a major European war. The USSR, increasingly aware of its inevitability, was forced to look for an opportunity to move the state border as far as possible from one of the most strategically important cities - Leningrad. Taking this into account, the Soviet leadership entered into negotiations with the Finns, offering their neighbors an exchange of territories. At the same time, the Finns were offered a territory almost twice as large as what the USSR planned to receive in return. One of the demands that the Finns did not want to accept under any circumstances was the USSR’s request to locate military bases on Finnish territory. Even the admonitions of Germany (an ally of Helsinki), including Hermann Goering, who hinted to the Finns that they could not count on Berlin’s help, did not force Finland to move away from its positions. Thus, the parties who did not come to a compromise came to the beginning of the conflict.

Progress of hostilities

The Soviet-Finnish war began on November 30, 1939. Obviously, the Soviet command was counting on a quick and victorious war with minimal losses. However, the Finns themselves were also not going to surrender to the mercy of their big neighbor. The president of the country, the military Mannerheim, who, by the way, received his education in the Russian Empire, planned to delay the Soviet troops with a massive defense for as long as possible, until the start of assistance from Europe. The complete quantitative advantage of the Soviet country in both human resources and equipment was obvious. The war for the USSR began with heavy fighting. Its first stage in historiography is usually dated from November 30, 1939 to February 10, 1940 - the time that became the bloodiest for the advancing Soviet troops. The line of defense, called the Mannerheim Line, became an insurmountable obstacle for the Red Army soldiers. Fortified pillboxes and bunkers, Molotov cocktails, which later became known as Molotov cocktails, severe frosts that reached 40 degrees - all this is considered to be the main reasons for the failures of the USSR in the Finnish campaign.

The turning point in the war and its end

The second stage of the war begins on February 11, the moment of the general offensive of the Red Army. At this time, a significant amount of manpower and equipment was concentrated on the Karelian Isthmus. For several days before the attack, the Soviet army carried out artillery preparations, subjecting the entire surrounding area to heavy bombardment.

As a result of the successful preparation of the operation and the further assault, the first line of defense was broken within three days, and by February 17 the Finns had completely switched to the second line. During February 21-28, the second line was also broken. On March 13, the Soviet-Finnish war ended. On this day, the USSR stormed Vyborg. The leaders of Suomi realized that there was no longer a chance to defend themselves after a breakthrough in the defense, and the Soviet-Finnish war itself was doomed to remain local conflict, without outside support, which is what Mannerheim was counting on. Given this, a request for negotiations was a logical conclusion.

Results of the war

As a result of protracted bloody battles, the USSR achieved satisfaction of all its claims. In particular, the country became the sole owner of the waters of Lake Ladoga. In total, the Soviet-Finnish war guaranteed the USSR an increase in territory by 40 thousand square meters. km. As for losses, this war cost the Soviet country dearly. According to some estimates, about 150 thousand people left their lives in the snows of Finland. Was this company necessary? Considering the fact that Leningrad was the target of German troops almost from the very beginning of the attack, it is worth admitting that yes. However, heavy losses seriously called into question the combat effectiveness Soviet army. By the way, the end of hostilities did not mark the end of the conflict. Soviet-Finnish War 1941-1944 became a continuation of the epic, during which the Finns, trying to regain what they had lost, failed again.