Reasons for the start of the winter war. Real losses of the USSR in the Soviet-Finnish war

After 1945, Soviet military historians came to grips with the issue of losses as a result of the bloody Soviet-Finnish conflict. At the same time, the losses of the Soviet military machine were considerable. Since this war, Soviet families have lost about 130 thousand soldiers.

About six thousand soldiers of the Red Army experienced the bitterness of Finnish captivity, among whom 5.5 thousand were returned to Soviet Union, a little more than a hundred people died, and several dozen people chose Finland as their place of residence.

Hit in air battles and about five thousand aircraft were hit by ground-based anti-aircraft weapons.

From the spring of 1940 until the spring of 1941, sappers of the Red Army blew up most of the famous Finnish fortifications. The leader of all the peoples of the USSR did not foresee the possibility in the future of any defensive actions against the advancing Finnish units. Moreover, he apparently planned to make a second attempt to invade Finnish territory. However, the Soviet victory on the Karelian Isthmus in the summer of 1944 had a high price. Soviet troops suffered significant losses. It was decided not to repeat the mistakes of the winter campaign of 1939-1940.

friend of your enemy

Today, wise and calm Finns can only attack someone in an anecdote. But three quarters of a century ago, when, on the wings of independence gained much later than other European nations, accelerated national building continued in Suomi, you would have had no time for jokes.

In 1918, Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim uttered the well-known “oath of the sword,” publicly promising to annex Eastern (Russian) Karelia. At the end of the thirties, Gustav Karlovich (as he was called during his service in the Russian Imperial Army, where the path of the future field marshal began) is the most influential person in the country.

Of course, Finland did not intend to attack the USSR. I mean, she wasn't going to do this alone. The young state's ties with Germany were, perhaps, even stronger than with the countries of its native Scandinavia. In 1918, when the newly independent country was in intense debate about the form government structure, by decision of the Finnish Senate, Emperor Wilhelm's brother-in-law, Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse, was declared King of Finland; For various reasons, nothing came of the Suoma monarchist project, but the choice of personnel is very indicative. Further, the very victory of the “Finnish White Guard” (as the northern neighbors were called in Soviet newspapers) in the internal civil war of 1918 was also largely, if not completely, due to the participation of the expeditionary force sent by the Kaiser (numbering up to 15 thousand people, despite the fact that the total number of local “reds” and “whites”, significantly inferior to the Germans in terms of combat qualities, did not exceed 100 thousand people).

Cooperation with the Third Reich developed no less successfully than with the Second. Kriegsmarine ships freely entered Finnish skerries; German stations in the area of ​​Turku, Helsinki and Rovaniemi were engaged in radio reconnaissance; from the second half of the thirties, the airfields of the “Land of a Thousand Lakes” were modernized to accept heavy bombers, which Mannerheim did not even have in the project... It should be said that subsequently Germany, already in the first hours of the war with the USSR (which Finland officially joined only on June 25, 1941 ) actually used the territory and waters of Suomi to lay mines in the Gulf of Finland and bombard Leningrad.

Yes, at that time the idea of ​​​​attacking the Russians did not seem so crazy. The Soviet Union of 1939 did not look like a formidable adversary at all. The asset includes the successful (for Helsinki) First Soviet-Finnish War. The brutal defeat of the Red Army soldiers from Poland during the Western Campaign in 1920. Of course, one can recall the successful repulsion of Japanese aggression on Khasan and Khalkhin Gol, but, firstly, these were local clashes far from the European theater, and, secondly, the qualities of the Japanese infantry were assessed very low. And thirdly, the Red Army, as Western analysts believed, was weakened by the repressions of 1937. Of course, the human and economic resources of the empire and its former province are incomparable. But Mannerheim, unlike Hitler, did not intend to go to the Volga to bomb the Urals. Karelia alone was enough for the field marshal.

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

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

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 the February Revolution, unrest began in 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.

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.

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.

this year a large number of communists were killed and arrested in Finland

In addition, local border conflicts between countries regularly took place. Just as the Soviet Union was not satisfied with such a border near the second largest city in the RSFSR, not all Finns were satisfied with the territory of Finland.

In some circles the idea of ​​creating a “ Greater Finland", which would unite the majority of Finno-Ugric peoples.

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 duration of the negotiations, the parties did not come to a mutually beneficial agreement and the USSR began preparations for 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 the headlines of Western news.

The causes of 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 thorough preparation, the beginning of the Finnish War (the date of the invasion had already been agreed upon political leadership country) happened 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 Soviet-Finnish war - it organizes a border conflict at Mainila on November 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 that 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.

Kuusinen himself was an old Bolshevik - he was one of the leaders of the Red Finns in 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 fighting things are not going as well as planned by the Soviet side.

Hard war of 1939

The original plan (developed by Shaposhnikov) included a kind of “blitzkrieg” - the capture of Finland was to be carried out within short term. 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 low-level armor, but also gasoline engines. This incendiary mixture was no less terrible for ordinary soldiers.

The Soviet army also turned out, surprisingly, not ready 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.

We should pay tribute to the designers - the terrain of the territory made it possible to actively use natural conditions- numerous dense forests, lakes, swamps. The key structure was the Enkel bunker - typical 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 at once - 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 Northwestern Front. 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, only many “Karelian monuments” were discovered.

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 a number of 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 the 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 the 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 ​​given land 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 towards supporting the Axis countries and ultimately participates in the Great Patriotic War. Patriotic War on the German side (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.

The return of Finnish prisoners to their homeland.

On March 13, 1940, the Finns signed a peace treaty, Finland decided give up and not go all the way, especially since the USSR refused to absorb this country.

USSR losses:

data on the outcome of treatment of the wounded, shell-shocked, burned, frostbitten and sick as of March 1, 1941, amounting to 248,090 people, of which:

172,203 people were returned to service. (69.4%);

46,925 people were dismissed with exclusion from military registration and were granted sick leave. (18.9%);

Killed and died from wounds during the sanitary evacuation stages 65 384 ;

Among the missing, 14,043 were declared dead;

Died from wounds, concussions and illness in hospitals (as of March 1, 1941) 15,921 (6.4%)

The number of wounded, shell-shocked, sick people whose treatment outcome was not determined by the specified date was 13,041 people. (5.3%)

The total number of irrecoverable losses was 95348 people

Those killed on the battlefield according to published data 48,475 people.

( RUSSIA AND THE USSR IN THE WARS OF THE XX CENTURY LOSSES OF THE ARMED FORCES Statistical research Under the general editorship of Candidate of Military Sciences, Professor of the Academy of Sciences, Colonel General G. F. Krivosheev).

Finland's losses remain a secret: 25,904 killed, 43,557 wounded, 1,000 prisoners. According to Wiki.

But earlier the Finns admitted the loss of 48.3 thousand soldiers killed, 45 thousand wounded and 806 prisoners in the “Winter War”.

And in 1940, the Finnish government announced in the Blue and White Book that 24,912 people died in the regular army.

And in the USSR they talked then about Finnish losses 85 thousand people killed and 250 thousand wounded.

By the way, only 26 thousand of the country’s military personnel are counted among the official irretrievable losses of Finland, without taking into account those killed from numerous paramilitary formations, such as Shutskor, Lotta Svärd and many others; they were not included in the general loss statistics.

In general, the exact number of Finns killed is unknown, but...

We examine the enemy tank.

The death of only 23.5 - 26 thousand soldiers looks unconvincing. It turns out that with such modest losses, Finland was on the verge of defeat, and the army abandoned its fortifications on the Karelian Isthmus because of such meager losses?
It is unlikely that such small losses would have forced the Finns to retreat. Most likely, the death toll was much higher.

Mannerheim stated big losses in manpower in the troops...

In addition, the author of Mannerheim's memoirs underestimated the size of the Finnish army below any limit, claiming that there were only 175 thousand troops in it and only later the army increased to 200 thousand people. Sokolov writes that after the pre-war mobilization, the Finnish army included 265 thousand military personnel (of which 180 were in combat units).. (Sokolov B. “Secrets of the Finnish War.” Page 40) By the end of the wars, 340 thousand served in the army. (ibid., p. 380) And this is not counting the forces of the Shutskor. Other researchers of the Soviet-Finnish war give much higher figures. Petrov: “After mobilization in October 1939, the Land Forces (in the text with a capital letter) of Finland, together with reserve formations and rear units, already numbered 286 thousand soldiers and officers (according to other sources - 295 thousand people).” (Petrov P.V. “The Soviet-Finnish War 1939-1940” Volume I page 123)

In general, we are not talking about any kind of littering with corpses!

Approximately 2 - 2.5 to 1 in terms of total Soviet losses to total Finnish ones, or even a more parity ratio.

The Soviet-Finnish or Winter War began on November 30, 1939, and ended on March 12, 1940. The reasons for the start, course and results of the war are still considered very controversial. The instigator of the war was the USSR, whose leadership was interested in territorial acquisitions in the Karelian Isthmus region. Western countries almost did not react to the Soviet-Finnish conflict. France, England and the United States tried to adhere to a position of non-interference in local conflicts, so as not to give Hitler a reason for new territorial seizures. Therefore, Finland was left without the support of its Western allies.

Reason and reasons for the war

The Soviet-Finnish war was provoked by a whole complex of reasons related, first of all, to the protection of the border between the two countries, as well as geopolitical differences.

• During 1918-1922 The Finns attacked the RSFSR twice. To prevent further conflicts, an agreement on the inviolability of the Soviet-Finnish border was signed in 1922; according to the same document, Finland received Petsamo or the Pecheneg region, the Rybachy Peninsula and part of the Sredny Peninsula. In the 1930s, Finland and the USSR signed a Non-Aggression Pact. At the same time, relations between the states remained tense; the leadership of both countries feared mutual territorial claims.
• Stalin regularly received information that Finland had signed secret agreements on support and assistance with the Baltic countries and Poland if the Soviet Union attacked one of them.
• At the end of the 1930s, Stalin and his circle were also concerned about the rise of Adolf Hitler. Despite the signing of the Non-Aggression Pact and the secret protocol on the division of spheres of influence in Europe, many in the USSR feared a military clash and considered it necessary to begin preparations for war. One of the most strategically important cities in the USSR was Leningrad, but the city was too close to the Soviet-Finnish border. In the event that Finland decided to support Germany (and this is exactly what happened), Leningrad would find itself in a very vulnerable position. Shortly before the start of the war, the USSR repeatedly appealed to the leadership of Finland with a request to exchange part of the Karelian Isthmus for other territories. However, the Finns refused. Firstly, the lands offered in exchange were infertile, and secondly, in the area that interested the USSR, there were important military fortifications - the Mannerheim Line.
• Also, the Finnish side did not give its consent to the Soviet Union leasing several Finnish islands and part of the Hanko Peninsula. The USSR leadership planned to place its military bases in these territories.
• Soon the activities of the Communist Party were banned in Finland;
• Germany and the USSR signed a secret non-aggression treaty and secret protocols to it, according to which Finnish territory was to fall into the zone of influence of the Soviet Union. To some extent, this agreement freed the hands of the Soviet leadership with regard to regulating the situation with Finland

The reason for the start of the Winter War was. On November 26, 1939, the village of Mainila, located on the Karelian Isthmus, was shelled from Finland. The Soviet border guards who were in the village at that time suffered the most from the shelling. Finland denied its involvement in this act and did not want the conflict to develop further. However, the Soviet leadership took advantage of the current situation and declared the start of war.

There is still no evidence confirming the guilt of the Finns in the shelling of Mainila. Although, however, there are no documents indicating the involvement of the Soviet military in the November provocation. The papers provided by both parties cannot be considered as unambiguous evidence of anyone’s guilt. At the end of November, Finland advocated the creation of a general commission to investigate the incident, but the Soviet Union rejected this proposal.

On November 28, the leadership of the USSR denounced the Soviet-Finnish non-aggression pact (1932). Two days later, active hostilities began, which went down in history as the Soviet-Finnish war.

In Finland, the mobilization of those liable for military service was carried out; in the Soviet Union, the troops of the Leningrad Military District and the Red Banner were brought into full combat readiness Baltic Fleet. A broad propaganda campaign was launched against the Finns in the Soviet media. In response, Finland began to carry out an anti-Soviet campaign in the press.

From mid-November 1939, the USSR deployed four armies against Finland, which included: 24 divisions (the total number of military personnel reached 425 thousand), 2.3 thousand tanks and 2.5 thousand aircraft.

The Finns had only 14 divisions, in which 270 thousand people served, they had 30 tanks and 270 aircraft.

Course of events

The Winter War can be divided into two stages:

• November 1939 - January 1940: the USSR advanced in several directions at once, the fighting was quite fierce;
• February - March 1940: massive shelling of Finnish territory, attack on the Mannerheim Line, Finnish surrender and peace negotiations.

On November 30, 1939, Stalin gave the order to advance on the Karelian Isthmus, and already on December 1 Soviet troops captured the city of Terijoki (now Zelenogorsk).

In the occupied territory Soviet army established contacts with Otto Kuusinen, who was the head of the Finnish Communist Party and an active participant in the Comintern. With Stalin's support, he proclaimed the creation of the Finnish Democratic Republic. Kuusinen became its president and began negotiations with the Soviet Union on behalf of the Finnish people. Official diplomatic relations were established between the FDR and the USSR.

The Soviet 7th Army moved very quickly towards the Mannerheim Line. The first chain of fortifications was broken through in the first ten days of 1939. The Soviet soldiers were unable to advance further. All attempts to break through following lines defenses ended in losses and defeats. Failures on the line led to the suspension of further advance into the interior of the country.

Another army - the 8th - was advancing in the north of Lake Ladoga. In just a few days, the troops covered 80 kilometers, but were stopped by a lightning attack by the Finns, as a result of which half of the army was destroyed. Finland's success was due, first of all, to the fact that Soviet troops were tied to the roads. The Finns, moving in small mobile units, easily cut off equipment and people from the necessary communications. The 8th Army retreated with casualties, but did not leave the region until the very end of the war.

The most unsuccessful campaign of the Red Army during the Winter War is considered to be the attack on Central Karelia. Stalin sent the 9th Army here, which successfully advanced from the first days of the war. The troops were tasked with capturing the city of Oulu. This was supposed to cut Finland into two parts, demoralize and disorganize the army in the northern regions of the country. Already on December 7, 1939, the soldiers managed to capture the village of Suomussalmi, but the Finns were able to encircle the division. The Red Army switched to a perimeter defense, repelling attacks by Finnish skiers. Finnish detachments carried out their actions suddenly, and the main striking force of the Finns were almost elusive snipers. The clumsy and insufficiently mobile Soviet troops began to suffer enormous human losses, and equipment also broke down. The 44th Infantry Division was sent to help the encircled division, which also found itself surrounded by Finnish forces. Due to the fact that the two divisions were under constant fire, the 163rd Rifle Division gradually began to fight its way back. Almost 30% of the personnel died, more than 90% of the equipment was left to the Finns. The latter almost completely destroyed the 44th division and returned to their control state border in Central Karelia. In this direction, the actions of the Red Army were paralyzed, and the Finnish army received huge trophies. The victory over the enemy raised the morale of the soldiers, but Stalin repressed the leadership of the 163rd and 44th rifle divisions of the Red Army.

In the area of ​​the Rybachy Peninsula, the 14th Army advanced quite successfully. Within a short period of time, the soldiers captured the city of Petsamo with its nickel mines and went straight to the border with Norway. Thus, Finland was cut off from access to the Barents Sea.

In January 1940, the Finns encircled the 54th Infantry Division (in the Suomussalmi area, in the south), but did not have the strength and resources to destroy it. Soviet soldiers were surrounded until March 1940. The same fate awaited the 168th Infantry Division, which tried to advance in the Sortavala area. Also, a Soviet tank division fell into Finnish encirclement near Lemetti-Yuzhny. She managed to escape from the encirclement, losing all her equipment and more than half of her soldiers.

The Karelian Isthmus became the zone of the most active military operations. But by the end of December 1939, the fighting here stopped. This was caused by the fact that the leadership of the Red Army began to understand the futility of attacks on the Mannerheim line. The Finns tried to use the lull in the war to maximum advantage and go on the attack. But all operations ended unsuccessfully with huge casualties.

By the end of the first stage of the war, in January 1940, the Red Army was in difficult situation. She fought in unfamiliar, practically unexplored territory; moving forward was dangerous due to numerous ambushes. In addition, the weather made planning operations difficult. The position of the Finns was also unenviable. They had problems with the number of soldiers and lacked equipment, but the country's population had enormous experience in guerrilla warfare. Such tactics made it possible to attack with small forces, inflicting significant losses on large Soviet detachments.

Second period of the Winter War

Already on February 1, 1940, on the Karelian Isthmus, the Red Army began a massive artillery shelling that lasted 10 days. The purpose of this action was to damage the fortifications on the Mannerheim Line and the Finnish troops, to exhaust the soldiers, and to break their morale. The actions taken achieved their goals, and on February 11, 1940, the Red Army began an offensive into the interior of the country.

Very fierce fighting began on the Karelian Isthmus. The Red Army first planned to deliver the main blow to the settlement of Summa, which was located in the Vyborg direction. But the USSR army began to get stuck on foreign territory, suffering losses. As a result, the direction of the main attack was changed to Lyakhde. In the area of ​​this settlement, the Finnish defenses were broken through, which allowed the Red Army to pass through the first strip of the Mannerheim Line. The Finns began to withdraw their troops.

By the end of February 1940, the Soviet army also crossed Mannerheim’s second line of defense, breaking through it in several places. By the beginning of March, the Finns began to retreat because they were in a difficult situation. Reserves were depleted, the morale of the soldiers was broken. A different situation was observed in the Red Army, the main advantage of which was its huge reserves of equipment, materiel, and replenished personnel. In March 1940, the 7th Army approached Vyborg, where the Finns put up stiff resistance.

On March 13, hostilities ceased, which was initiated by the Finnish side. The reasons for this decision were as follows:

• Vyborg was one of the largest cities in the country, its loss could have a negative impact on the morale of citizens and the economy;
• After the capture of Vyborg, the Red Army could easily reach Helsinki, which threatened Finland with a complete loss of independence and independence.

Peace negotiations began on March 7, 1940 and took place in Moscow. Based on the results of the discussion, the parties decided to cease hostilities. The Soviet Union received all the territories on the Karelian Isthmus and the cities: Salla, Sortavala and Vyborg, located in Lapland. Stalin also achieved that the Hanko Peninsula be given to him on a long-term lease.

• The Red Army lost about 88 thousand people killed, dying from wounds and frostbite. Almost 40 thousand more people were missing, and 160 thousand were injured. Finland lost 26 thousand people killed, 40 thousand Finns were injured;
• The Soviet Union achieved one of its key foreign policy objectives - ensuring the security of Leningrad;
• The USSR strengthened its position on the Baltic coast, which was achieved through the acquisition of Vyborg and the Hanko Peninsula, where Soviet military bases were moved;
• The Red Army gained vast experience in conducting military operations in difficult weather and tactical conditions, learning to break through fortified lines;
• In 1941 Finland supported Nazi Germany in the war against the USSR and let it pass through its territory German troops who managed to establish a blockade of Leningrad;
• The destruction of the Mannerheim Line was fatal for the USSR, since Germany was able to quickly capture Finland and enter the territory of the Soviet Union;
• The war showed Germany that the Red Army was unfit for combat in difficult weather conditions. The same opinion was formed among the leaders of other countries;
• Finland, under the terms of the peace agreement, had to build a railway track, with the help of which it was planned to connect the Kola Peninsula and the Gulf of Bothnia. The road was supposed to pass through the village of Alakurtia and connect with Tornio. But this part of the agreement was never implemented;
• On October 11, 1940, another agreement was signed between the USSR and Finland, which concerned the Åland Islands. The Soviet Union received the right to establish a consulate here, and the archipelago was declared a demilitarized zone;
• The international organization League of Nations, created following the First World War, excluded the Soviet Union from its membership. This was due to the fact that the international community reacted negatively to the USSR intervention in Finland. The reasons for exclusion were also the constant aerial bombing of Finnish civilian targets. Incendiary bombs were often used during raids;

Thus, the Winter War became the reason for Germany and Finland to gradually move closer and interact. The Soviet Union tried to resist such cooperation, restraining the growing influence of Germany and trying to establish a loyal regime in Finland. All this led to the fact that with the outbreak of World War II, the Finns joined the Axis countries in order to free themselves from the USSR and return lost territories.