Military history of Finland during World War II
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Finnish policy during WWII could be seen as a series of miscalculations, a stunning example of cunning planning, or a simple case of driftwood going with the flow. All three interpretations have their merits.
There is probably very little Finland could have done to prevent the Winter War without losing independence. Several politicians, such as Paasikivi and Kekkonen, have argued that different foreign policies in Finland during the decade before World War II could have averted the Winter War. The fact that the country survived was more a matter of martial prowess than skillful diplomacy, as Finland was completely isolated from potential allies.
The Continuation War was either based on the assumption that Germany would triumph over the Soviet Union or that the two dictatorships would fight each other out giving the victory to the democratic western allies, an outcome that probably would have been the most beneficial to likewise democratic Finland. Although the outcome of the war was the victory of the Soviet Union, the other dictatorship, Finland managed to remain democratic and relatively independent. It's likely that refusal to join with Germany against the Soviets might have led to German occupation and subsequently to Soviet occupation and possible annexation in a manner similar to the Baltic States.
The Finnish ceasefire with the Soviet Union in 1944 required both hard fighting in the frontline (see Battle of Tali-Ihantala) and skillful diplomatic manoeuvres. Also timing was extremely important. An earlier ceasefire would have meant that Germany would have been able to retaliate. On the other hand, continuing to fight for too long would have risked Soviet occupation of Finland. In this respect the ceasefire was perfectly timed.
There were around 97,000 casualties including 2,000 civilian casualties. Territorial losses mounted to some 10% of the surface area of the country, and included Viipuri, the 'second city' after Helsinki. Finland retained a democratic form of government. Finland came out of the war with relatively minor damage to its then small industrial sector due to inefficiency of the Soviet bombing campaigns and the fact that fighting was limited up to Viipuri in South-Eastern Finland and to the least industrialized parts of the country along the Eastern border and Lapland, regardless of the reasons leading to this.
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See also
- Finland
- History of Finland
- Participants in World War II
- Finnish Air Force
- List of WWII Finnish Tanks and Armours
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References
- ^ The American Presidency Project: Franklin D. Roosevelt - XXXII president of the United States: 1933-1945. [1]
- ^ Jews in Finland During the Second World War - Vuonokari, Tuulikki; university paper at the Department of Translation Studies, University of Tampere, 2003.
- ^ The Simon Wiesenthal Center, press information. [2]
- ^ Ylikangas, Heikki, Heikki Ylikankaan selvitys Valtioneuvoston kanslialle, Government of Finland
- ^ Suur-Suomen kahdet kasvot - Laine, Antti; 1982, ISBN 951-1-06947-0, Otava
- ^ Hannu Rautkallio, Finland and Holocaust, New York, 1987
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External links
- An essay about Jews in Finland during WWII
- Axis History Factbook — Finland
- The Battles of the Winter War
- Jaeger Platoon: Finnish Army 1918-1945 Web Site
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