The armistice that ended Finland’s Winter War with Russia was signed on March 12, 1940, and hostilities ended across the front on March 13th.
On November 30, 1939, the Soviet Union had attacked Finland by land, air and sea.
Stalin was confident that the “liberation operation” against the Finns would be a piece of cake.
However, the Finns did not collapse. The first month was a disaster for the Soviets, as the Finnish Air Force shot down Russian planes while white-clad Finnish ski troops decimated Red Army infantry. Some Western observers thought the Finns were winning.
But Carl Gustav Mannerheim, the Finnish commander-in-chief, knew better. He knew Finland’s only hope lay with aid from the West.
In February 1940, while the allies and America dithered, Stalin brought in a new commander, Semyon Timoshenko, for a new Soviet assault which ultimately included more than half a million men, plus 4,000 tanks and 3,000 aircraft. Timoshenko launched an offensive on the main Finnish defense line, the Mannerheim Line, with a massive artillery barrage, firing 300,000 shells in 24 hours.
Miraculously, the exhausted Finns held out for another month. In the meantime, their government had begun secret negotiations with Stalin.
The British and French were preparing an expeditionary force to help the Finns and at the same time secure Norwegian ports for Swedish iron ore, and open a Scandinavian front to draw Germany’s attention away from France. But by early March, the Finnish situation had become untenable.
An armistice was signed on March 12, 1940. On March 13, Finnish Foreign Minister Tanner announced its crushing terms to a traumatized nation. Finland had to give up 10 percent of its territory, leading to the evacuation of more than 400,000 Karelians.
But Finland was not occupied, or “liberated,” as the Soviets initially described their “special operation”. The Finns retained their independence and democratic way of life.
Comparisons with the war in Ukraine are inevitable, and there are many similarities.
How long the Ukrainians hold out against Russia remains to be seen. But even though the West–(today, NATO)– was not be able to provide direct military assistance to Finland in 1939–40, it should be remembered that what drove Stalin to the negotiating table was the threat of Western intervention.
Russia did not want a showdown with the West then, and it does not want one now.
ON DECEMBER 6, 1917, the Finnish parliament declared independence from Russia. After 700 years of Swedish rule and 100 years as a Russian Grand Duchy, the sovereign state of Finland was born.
The young nation fought hard for its independence, fending off the Soviet Union in the Winter War and the Continuation War at the cost of precious lives and precious ancestral lands. Finland emerged from World War II as an independent state and survived the Cold War Years despite its difficult geographical position between Russia and the West. In 1994 it joined the European Union and in 2023 it joined NATO. Today it is a thriving, modern democracy with a solid economy and solid democratic institutions, leading edge technology and world class educational systems, and of course, its saunas and sisu intact.
Suomen NeitoDecember 6, 1917Helsinki Lutheran CathedralSaami and reindeerEU President NiiniistoFinland Joins NATO April 4, 2023Trumpeter swanPeasant lifeHakkappelitatDeath of Lemminkainen – Gallen KallelaFinnish troops in camouflageFinnish ski troopsJean Sibelius, composerKullervo departs for warHelsinki OlympicsmidsummerKotka on the Gulf of FinlandOlavinlinnanorthern lightsOld Borga (Porvoo)Aalto vaseFinnsih coat-of-armsBirch forestModern bridgeFinnish high technology
On November 30th, Finland marks the 84th anniversary of the beginning of the Winter War. For the first time in its history, it does not stand alone. It can look back at that traumatic event as a full-fledged member of NATO.
If Finland had belonged to such an alliance in 1939, the Soviet Union would not have dared to invade. Stalin did not want a war with the West any more than Putin does.
The comparisons with the current war in Ukraine are inescapable. Today, Russia does not see Ukraine as a real country, but as part of greater Russia. In 1939, the Soviet Union saw Finland as a lost part of the Russian Empire that had to be recaptured.
In 1939, Moscow’s demands for territorial concessions from Finland and the Baltic states were the first steps in the plan to return these countries to the Soviet empire, as per the secret protocol to the Molotov-von Ribbentrop Pact between Germany and Russia.
On the morning of November 30, 1939, the Soviet Union attacked Finland by land, sea, and air, with no declaration of war.
Stalin set up a puppet regime in the border town of Terijoki and declared it to be the only valid Finnish government. The leader of the Leningrad Military District, Andrei Zhdanov, commissioned a celebratory piece from Dmitri Shostakovich entitled “Suite on Finnish Dreams” to be played by Red Army marching bands during the victory parade in Helsinki.
Despite being badly outnumbered and short of everything from shells to anti-tank guns, the Finnish army held on for 105 days. The Finns sought help from their Scandinavian neighbours and from Britain, France, and America. Help did arrive in the form of volunteers, medical personnel, and offers to take in Finnish children, but not the military aid the Finns desperately needed.
Finnish defenses tenaciously held out for over three months while inflicting stiff losses on the Soviets, but in February 1940 the final act of the war began. A new and massive Russian offensive was launched on the Karelian Isthmus. “Twelve Soviet divisions along with five Soviet tank brigades—approximately a quarter of a million men—were about to hurl themselves in the Viipuri area against two understrength, ammunition-poor, bone-tired Finnish divisions of less than twenty thousand.” (Gordon F. Sander, The Hundred Day Winter War, University of Kansas Press, 2013, p. 296)
For the first time, the Finns were forced to retreat from their main defense line, the Mannerheim Line.
Meanwhile, France and Britain had an expeditionary force ready to march to Finland, but neutral Sweden refused to grant transit rights. While negotiations continued, the situation of the Finns grew dire. Reluctantly bowing to the reality that Western aid would not arrive in time, the Finnish government signed an armistice with Russia on March 12, 1940. A ceasefire came into effect all along the front the next day, March 13.
The prospect of Western intervention had prodded Stalin into negotiating an armistice, but one which imposed extremely harsh terms on the Finns.
The ceded area included Finland’s second largest city of Viipuri (Vyborg) and much of Finland’s industrialized territory–11% of the territory and 30% of the economic assets of pre-war Finland. Twelve percent of Finland’s population, some 422,000 Karelians, had to be evacuated and re-settled.
The estimated number of Russian dead has changed over the years. The generally accepted figure is 230 000-270 000. ]Finnish dead numbered approximately 25 000.
The Finns had lost so much and paid such a great price that at first the peace felt more unbearable than the war. That was before they knew how desperate the military situation on the Isthmus had been, how close they had come to catastrophe. Gradually, they understood. The peace was cruel, but there had been no other choice; and they still had their country and their freedom. –from Lost Ground
The last word goes to the man who led Finland’s army through the war, Marshal C.G.E. Mannerheim, in his Order of the Day, dated March 14, 1940:
“Soldiers: I have fought on many battlefields, but never have I seen your like as warriors. I am as proud of you as though you were my own children; I am as proud of the sacrifice tendered by the child of a lowly cottage as of those of the wealthy.
We are proudly conscious of the historic duty which we shall continue to fulfill; the defence of that Westerncivilization which has been our heritage for centuries, but we know also that we have paid to the very last penny any debt we may have owed the West.”
The Winter War in photos (courtesy of SAKuva (Finnish Military Archives) unless otherwise noted).
Today Finland joins NATO as its 31st member. Its entry has been approved by all 30 member states..
The significance of this cannot be overstated.
The memories of fighting alone against the Soviet Union in 1939-40 can finally be laid to rest. For the first time in its history, Finland is not alone.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced the Finns to rethink their national security. Seventy years of non-alignment were re-evaluated in light of the actions of the eastern neighbor, the ancient enemy. Hopes nurtured over decades that Russia had become a trustworthy neighbor were dashed for good. The long-standing desire of the majority of Finns to stay neutral was no longer a safe option for the nation.
As a result, public opinion underwent a massive and unprecedented swing in favor of NATO membership. Under the skilled leadership of President Niinistö and Prime Minister Marin, Finland navigated its way to full NATO membership.
And now, in the words of the Finlandia Hymn by Jean Sibelius:
Oi nouse, Suomi, sinun päiväs koittaa (Oh Finland, rise, your new dawn is breaking)
Today this beloved hymn, sung throughout the dark days of the Winter War, rings true and clear in the voice of a sovereign nation free to join whatever alliances and agreements it chooses to join.
Long live the new Finland.
Today is a historic day for Finland.
BREAKING:
The Finnish flag has been raised in front of the NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Shortly after the beginning of the Winter War, some Finnish pilots were interviewed by Martha Gellhorn, renowned war correspondent and future wife of Ernest Hemingway.
One pilot declared, ‘They will not get us as a gift.”
On November 30, 1939, Joseph Stalin had attacked Finland with a massive land, air and sea assault.
Stalin was confident that the “liberation operation” against the Finns would be a piece of cake.
However, the Finns did not collapse. The first month was a disaster for the Soviets, as the Finnish Air Force shot down Russian planes while white-clad Finnish ski troops decimated Red Army infantry. Some Western observers thought the Finns were winning.
But Carl Gustav Mannerheim, the Finnish commander-in-chief, knew better. He knew Finland’s only hope lay with aid from the West.
While the allies and America dithered, Stalin brought in a new commander, Semyon Timoshenko, for a new Soviet assault which ultimately included more than half a million men, plus 4,000 tanks and 3,000 aircraft. In mid-February, Timoshenko launched his offensive on the main Finnish defense line, the Mannerheim Line, with a massive artillery barrage, firing 300,000 shells in 24 hours.
Miraculously, the exhausted Finns held out for another month. In the meantime, their government, recognizing the inevitable, had begun secret negotiations with Stalin.
The British and French were preparing an expeditionary force to help the Finns and at the same time secure Norwegian ports for Swedish iron ore, and open a Scandinavian front to draw Germany’s attention away from France. But by early March, the Finnish situation had become untenable.
An armistice was signed on March 12, 1940. On March 13, hostilities ended and Finnish Foreign Minister Tanner announced the crushing terms of the armistice to a traumatized nation. Finland had to give up 10 percent of its territory, leading to an evacuation of more than 400,000 Karelians.
But Finland was not occupied, or “liberated,” as the Soviets initially described their “special operation”. The Finns retained their independence and democratic way of life.
Comparisons with the war in Ukraine are inevitable, but Ukraine is not Finland. For one thing, with 43 million people, it is considerably larger and more populous than Finland in 1939, with its 3 million.
Still, there are many similarities. Like today, the West was outraged, and the David and Goliath struggle was the major story of the winter around the globe.
How long the Ukrainians hold out against Russia remains to be seen. But even though the West–today, NATO– may not be able to provide direct military assistance, it should be remembered that what drove Stalin to the negotiating table with Finland in 1940 was the threat of Western intervention.
Russia did not want a showdown with the West then, and it does not want one now.
This should be kept in mind regarding the situation in Ukraine. While the Ukrainians keep fighting, the West must keep providing its support.
On the road to Finland’s independence as a nation, the epic poem Kalevala played a central role in creating a sense of national culture and identity. The first edition of the Kalevala appeared in 1835, compiled by Elias Lönnrot from folk poems collected in Finland and East Karelia.
This poetic style had been part of the oral tradition of speakers of Balto-Finnic languages for two thousand years. Its unique poetic metre was subsequently used extensively by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Its stories revolve around the quest for the Sampo, a magical object that grants power on whoever possesses it.
The themes and language of the Kalevala also influenced J. R.R. Tolkien. In The Silmarillion, Tolkien transforms Kullervo into Turin Turambar, the warrior hero.
The independence movement that resulted in Finland’s declaration of independence in 1917 was strongly influenced by the emergence of the Kalevala as a symbol of national identity.
The Kalevala also inspired the great Finnish composer Jean Sibelius in his music, as well as generations of poets and artists to this day. It marked a new beginning for Finnish culture, and brought a small, unknown people to the attention of other Europeans.
A new English translation of the Kalevala is available from author Kaarina Brooks, Wisteria Publications.
Translated by Kaarina Brooks, these new updated versions use more modern language while still faithfully following the kalevala-metre, and upholding the integrity of the original Finnish verse.
As Finland waits, two countries (Hungary and Turkiye) continue to delay ratification of its accession to NATO. This is extremely disappointing for the Finns (and Swedes), who looked forward to a quick entry process and had every reason to believe it would happen.
As November 30 arrives again, Finns can only shudder at the memory of what took place 83 years ago, when the Russians attacked. The comparisons with the war in Ukraine are inescapable. Russia is acting as it has always acted. To the Russians, Ukraine is not a real country, it is part of greater Russia. To the Soviet Union in 1939, Finland was a part of the Russian Empire that needed to be brought back into the fold.
In 1939, the Soviet Union’s demands for territorial concessions from Finland and the Baltic states were a smokescreen for Moscow’s real intent: the return of these states to the Soviet empire, as intended by the Molotov-von Ribbentrop Pact between Germany and Russia. In the case of the Baltics, this was achieved in 1940.
Finland staved off the same fate by fighting to the death in the Winter War.
November 30, 1939, began like any other winter Thursday in Finland. For many families, it was pea soup and pancake day. The long northern nights had set in and people were planning for Christmas. Nevertheless, by the end of the day, Finland found itself in a life-and-death struggle for its existence.
On the morning of November 30, 1939, the Soviet Union attacked Finland by land, sea, and air, with no declaration of war.
Stalin set up a puppet regime in the border town of Terijoki and declared it to be the only valid Finnish government. The leader of the Leningrad Military District, Andrei Zhdanov, commissioned a celebratory piece from Dmitri Shostakovich entitled “Suite on Finnish Dreams” to be played by Red Army marching bands during the victory parade in Helsinki.
Martha Gellhorn, famed American war correspondent and wife of Ernest Hemingway, arrived in Helsinki on November 29, 1939. She awoke the next morning to the drone of bombers and the crash of bombs. From the window of her room at the Hotel Kämp, she looked down on the Esplanaadi and saw well-dressed citizens hurrying to the air raid shelters in the center of the boulevard.
A Soviet bomber was flying low at about 1000 meters, dropping not bombs but paper leaflets. The leaflets said, “Finnish comrades! Put down your arms. We come not as conquerors but as liberators. We have bread.” This brought sardonic quips from the Finns, who began to call the bombs “Molotov’s breadbaskets.”
Despite being badly outnumbered and short of everything from shells to anti-tank guns, the Finnish army held on for 105 days. The David-and-Goliath struggle caught the attention of the world and hundreds of foreign correspondents converged on Helsinki. The Finns sought help from their Scandinavian neighbours and from Britain, France, and America. Help did arrive in the form of volunteers, medical personnel, and offers to take in Finnish children, but not the military aid the Finns desperately needed.
Finnish defenses tenaciously held out for over three months while inflicting stiff losses on the Soviets, but in February 1940 the final act of the war began. A new and massive Russian offensive was launched on the Karelian Isthmus. “Twelve Soviet divisions along with five Soviet tank brigades—approximately a quarter of a million men—were about to hurl themselves in the Viipuri area against two understrength, ammunition-poor, bone-tired Finnish divisions of less than twenty thousand.” (Gordon F. Sander, The Hundred Day Winter War, University of Kansas Press, 2013, p. 296)
For the first time, the Finns were forced to retreat from their main defense line, the Mannerheim Line. Although victories continued north of Lake Ladoga and the eastern Isthmus stood firm, by early March the Russians stood at the gates of Viipuri in the west.
Meanwhile, France and Britain had an expeditionary force ready to march to Finland, but neutral Sweden refused to grant transit rights. While negotiations continued, the situation of the Finns grew critical. Reluctantly bowing to the reality that Western aid would not arrive in time, the Finnish government signed an armistice with Russia on March 12, 1940. A ceasefire came into effect all along the front the next day, March 13.
The prospect of Western intervention prodded Stalin into negotiating an armistice, but one which imposed extremely harsh terms on the Finns.
The ceded area included Finland’s second largest city of Viipuri (Vyborg) and much of Finland’s industrialized territory–11% of the territory and 30% of the economic assets of pre-war Finland. Twelve percent of Finland’s population, some 422,000 Karelians, had to be evacuated and re-settled.
The estimated number of Russian dead has changed over the years. The generally accepted figure is 230 000-270 000. ]Finnish dead numbered approximately 25 000.
The Finns had lost so much and paid such a great price that at first the peace felt more unbearable than the war. That was before they knew how desperate the military situation on the Isthmus had been, how close they had come to catastrophe. Gradually, they understood. The peace was cruel, but there had been no other choice; and they still had their country and their freedom. –from Lost Ground
The last word goes to the man who led Finland’s army through the war, Marshal C.G.E. Mannerheim, in his Order of the Day to his soldiers, dated March 14, 1940:
Soldiers: I have fought on many battlefields, but never have I seen your like as warriors. I am as proud of you as though you were my own children; l am as proud of the man from the Northern fells as of the son of Ostrobothnia’s plains, of the Karelian forests, the hills of Savo, the fertile fields of Häme and Satakunta, the leafy copses of Uusimaa and Varsinais-Suomi. I am as proud of the sacrifice tendered by the child of a lowly cottage as of those of the wealthy.
We are proudly conscious of the historic duty which we shall continue to fulfill; the defence of that Westerncivilization which has been our heritage for centuries, but we know also that we have paid to the very last penny any debt we may have owed the West.”
The Winter War in photos (courtesy of SAKuva (Finnish Military Archives) unless otherwise noted).
Finnish soldiers at Raate RoadAbrahamin- ja Lönnrothinkadun kulma Helsingissä.Sotilas auttaa evakuoituja vanhuksia Syväorosta eteläänEvacuees at PyhäjärviBomb damage in TampereSoviet attacks along the borderSoviet attacks on the IsthmusRaate Road 7Marshal C. G. E. MannerheimLutheran church in HelsinkiReadyAmerica wants to helpEvacuees in Kotka.Finnish troops in camouflageRaate road- Russian vehicles abandonedAustralian reporter in the Hotel Kämp press roomFlags at half-mast in March
The festival of Juhannus, or Midsummer, is second only to Christmas in importance in Finland. It has been observed since pagan times in many northern countries at the summer solstice. The early Christian Church designated June 24 as the feast day of St. John the Baptist, and its observation begins the evening before, on St. John’s Eve–(Juhannus Eve).
In Finland, summer officially begins with Juhannus. The longest day of the year is marked in many different fashions around the globe but in the north it is infused with a unique zest. Close to the Arctic Circle, the sun briefly flirts with the horizon but never surrenders its light. These are the magical white nights of the north.
In pagan times Juhannus was the night for driving away the evil ones with bonfires erected on lakeshores and islands, huge pyres of wood that tinted the hazy sky with a mad orange glow.
It was also a celebration of the reappearance of the anemone, the flowering of the chokecherry, the birthing of the young. And a celebration of the act that produces the young. Fertility rituals and supernatural omens for mate-finding traditionally played a large role. These traditions were varied and often regional.
Maypoles were part of the western Finnish culture while bonfires (kokkos) are found everywhere to this day. Vestibules and doorways were draped with birch boughs and rowan branches.
The Finns fortify themselves with homemade mead (sima), homemade ale (sahti), or other spirits before facing the social demands of the night. Sahti is a farmhouse ale with ancient origins. There is evidence that it has been brewed since the Viking era and perhaps long before. It was widely produced in the medieval period (the first written mention of it was in 1366) and being exported to Sweden by the 16th century.
Historically, sahti was enjoyed straight out of the wooden barrels with no added carbonation. It is still made in the traditional areas of origin–Häme, and some parts of Finland proper and Central Finland.
Juhannus was a time of mating rituals. The ancient spells of mate-finding were passed on through generations of women. On Juhannus Eve, a maiden had to place birch twigs on the path before her home so that in the morning they would point her in the direction where her true love would be found. A common belief that if she placed seven different kinds of wildflowers under her pillow on Juhannus Eve, she would have a dream in which her future husband would appear.
More daringly, if she went out on Juhannus Eve wearing nothing but a garland of hay around her waist, waded into the middle of a stream and sat on a rock, she would be instantly desirable.
Nowadays Juhannus typically involves the raising of the flag in the early evening, followed by the singing of patriotic anthems and songs about summer. Then everyone adjourns to the sauna, where fresh birch switches lie fragrant and green on the benches, and cool lake water sparkles in large pails. After the sauna, the guests gather around picnic tables as the hostess prepares the delicious crepes called lettus, to be eaten with whipped cream and strawberries. Drinks follow, along with toasts to friends and family, the summer, Juhannus, possibly the leaders of the nation and family forefathers, interspersed with snippets of song. The evening bubbles and ferments with hilarity, the fish still splash and jump, and bees still search for nectar in the daylight that refuses to die.
Later, the bonfire is lit and bursts into flames that lick the sky with insistent red tongues and feed the evening air with wave after wave of heat.
“The whole sky glows and the air itself seems to shimmer in the soft, gentle light…When the sun goes down briefly, the whole of nature settles into a strange dreamy mood. The bringer of day is gone, birds fall silent, humans and animals seek rest and plants wait for night that does not come. Instead, a dim, silvery light spreads over forests, waters and shores. It is not the light of the sun, the moon or the stars.”
Today is a historic day for Finland. The memories of standing alone against the Soviet Union in 1939 can finally be laid to rest. For the first time in its history, Finland is not alone–or will not be, when its application to join NATO is approved.
“Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay,” Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said in a joint statement on May 12, 2022, hoping steps to take the decision would “be taken rapidly within the next few days.”
In two recent polls, public support for NATO membership has risen to well above 70 per cent, a number unthinkable only months ago.
The president, governing parties and parliament are overwhelmingly in favor of membership.
On May 11, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Stockholm and Helsinki and signed written deals pledging to support both countries’ armed forces should they come under attack.
“What it says is that in the event of a disaster, or in the event of an attack on either of us, then we will come to each other’s assistance, including with military assistance,” Johnson said at a news conference in Helsinki. Both Nordic countries are worried they would be vulnerable while their applications are processed.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has forced a rethink of how Finland and Sweden safeguard national security.
Asked if Finland would be provoking Russia by joining Nato, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö said Russian President Vladimir Putin would be to blame for any decision to join the military alliance.
“My response would be that you caused this. Look in the mirror,” Niinistö said.
This was the voice of a new Finland, Nato-Finland. The voice of a sovereign nation free to express its opinions without fear and free to join whatever alliances and agreements it chooses to join.
Ulla Jordan 