Soviet Invasion of Finland: Winter War 1939-40 (Documentary)

[@realtimehistory]

Get Winter War by Wargame Design Studio for 25% off: wargameds.com/pages/realtimehistory

[@eugenlitwin5887]

i have a short question, has Finland been in contact with UN on subject of decolonization of South Karelia (occupied parts) ? looks like you can easily have it back, using Chagos Archipelago as a precedent, you can contact James Ker-Lindsay , he knows the drill . South Karelia is Finland!

[@CoreyIsTheName]

@@eugenlitwin5887 I'm sure they've never thought of that. If only they watched youtube.

[@Therealfrazer]

@@eugenlitwin5887 Hi, Finn here. The thing is, the areas conquered by SU are no longer Finland, in the sense that there are no Finns left, no Finnish culture, nothing. Most people fled to other parts of Finland at the end of the war, and those who remained, well, got Russified or something (pretty much what Russia is doing in occupied regions in Ukraine now). In addition, the areas are really poor and rebuilding them to Finnish standards of living would be really expensive, so Finland and most Finns really have no interest in getting the areas back. The only sort of major benefit that I could easily see is getting the Saimaa canal back.

[@trikyy7238]

"We have no allies, no men, no tanks, no planes, no guns, no ammunition, no hope of victory. But we will fight nevertheless."

[@Finnmark4]

Sisu

[@RR-jz2up]

Finns have balls of steel

[@matshansson7915]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_intervention_in_the_Winter_War

[@Mr.Funnyman273]

they lost miserably lmao

[@trikyy7238]

Yeah ivan, you totally conquered and annexed Finland, twice.

[@wicNKWD37]

My great grandfather fought in the war while my grandfather and his siblings were sent to Sweden as refugee children to be taken care of. A young man that saved my toddler grandfather from drowning died fighting the Russians.

[@Andy_Sidaris]

I've served there many times too. Always tough holding off the ussr in hoi 4

[@scottparker1741]

No he didn’t

[@Cronin_]

@@scottparker1741 Why do you say that? Finnish kids, so called "War children" WERE sent over to Sweden for the duration of the wars (in some cases even longer. Some didn't go back at all).

[@extragoogleaccount6061]

@@Cronin_ The guy is just a jaded cynic who thinks that just because nothing ever happens in his own life, then nothing must ever happen. Pay no mind.

[@vitalyalx]

NKVD37?

[@retrieveri]

My grandfather was in JR7 (Army Regiment 7) in Winter War and in JR36/ErP 25 Separate Batallion 25 in Continuation War. He got wounded in Äyräpää bridgehead in 1944. Earlier he never talked about the war, but after he turned 80, he did talk a lot. He lived to be 91.

[@herptek]

JR stands for "jalkaväkirykmentti" or infantry regiment. JR7 was formed during the interim peace and took part in the continuation war as a part of the second division. I think you are confusing things about the winter war. A whole lot of people from the 2. Division were killed or wounded in Äyräpää in 1944. ErP 25 was among the defending force, but not a part of JR7 or JR49 which were mainline regiments of the division.

[@retrieveri]

@@herptek In his service card (kantakortti) Winter War part it says JR7 and in internet I found that JR17 was renamed to JR7 1.1.1940. He volunteered to Winter War in early 1940 when it already was JR7. Battles Summa, Majajoki, Rajakorpi and Viipuri are mentioned. In Continuation War he was in JR36 and transferred to ErP25 (seems like 4.4.1944).

[@herptek]

@@retrieveri Okay, I thought you were confusing the events or units of the separate wars. There was such a renaming of JR17 which was mobilized for the winter war. The "real" (that I thought you meant) JR7 as formed during the interim peace, a different regiment, was indeed also present in the battle and responsible for the front in the Äyräpää bridgehead position in 1944.

[@egertroos-qh7hw]

​@@herptekGreetings from Viro

[@Mal0Imperzia]

My great grandfather served on the Eastern Front for Italia before being called back to defend Sicilia. We both fought socialism

[@jeffbosworth8116]

I am not Finnish, but I did live there for just under 2 years and learned the language a long time ago. Nothing but respect and admiration for the Finns. They more than earned their right to be free. And it's nice to see someone bother to pronouce the Finnish correctly.

[@northernerfromfaraway]

What freedom are you talking about? Were they not free? Were they free when they were part of Sweden?

[@pekkaollila8505]

​@@northernerfromfaraway ruzia has not earned to be free. Ruzia belongs to Mongolia.

[@SenSirpale]

@@northernerfromfaraway Of course Finns were not free under Russian rule.

[@northernerfromfaraway]

@@SenSirpale the Russians freed fins from Sweden.

[@timowallin278]

My country is Finland.

[@Karpaneen]

2:17 Placement of Leningrad is waaaay off.. Like almost 80 kilometers. The place where the video points, is a small village called Dusevo.

[@realtimehistory]

thanks we will fix that for the combined version of our 1939/1940 videos

[@lordski1981]

Nerd!! 🤓 Seriously though, impressive! I didn't even notice that at all.

[@samarkand1585]

Okay so there was a reason why I felt puzzled when I saw it. I just assumed it was me who remembered wrong

[@joenarbronarsson1347]

yep wow.

[@kollo3869]

@@lordski1981 I get that you're being a bit sarcastic but it's not really that nerdy. Even on the map they're using they have Leningrad/St. Petersburg appear as an actual city with buildings while placing the dot nowhere near the place. Also it's a big and especially very important city even today, so to miss the mark by how much they did is not a small mistake

[@archiesmile6639]

“We are so few and they are so many. Where will we find the room to bury them all?” - Finnish soldier 5:48 I feel honored by just reading this

[@nuoksu]

The other, rhyming version is "We are so few and our country so small, where will we find the space to bury them all". Both are very likely an American invention, not something said by the Finns.

[@mojewjewjew4420]

A soviet officer/General said they won enough land to bury their dead.

[@gerryhouska2859]

As do I. The same could be said by Ukraine today.

[@harrikuusjarvi3795]

@@nuoksu No. This same phrase was used before us for sure. Nobody know exatlty where it came but it even dont suit America and was used before America was founded in Europeans.

[@АлександрИванов-ч4б3с]

@@mojewjewjew4420 Tell me the name of this general or admit that it's a lie. Like a lot of things about the "Winter War" is a blatant lie.

[@Stroocker]

Use of the Word *PERKELE* increases by 5000%

[@TheAxeaman]

Cringe

[@Stroocker]

@@TheAxeaman Perkele

[@Karpaneen]

19:03 It is true that Finland was in dire situation at the final days of the Winter War but Viipuri was not taken by the Soviets before the armistice. Red Army reached Viipuri area yes, but they didn't manage to take it.

[@herptek]

That is correct.

[@tedmccarron]

You are right. They were fighting in the southern suburbs and started to flank them from the east as well but they never got into Viipuri and never surrounded it before the peace treaty took effect.

[@burimfazliu3102]

They did not. When the war was over, the Finnish flag was still flying.

[@Vlad79500]

Aren't you surprised that after passing the Mannerheim Line the Red Army suddenly "couldn't" take Vyborg, which there was no one to defend? Maybe they achieved what they asked for in order to avoid war?

[@herptek]

@@Vlad79500 It wasn't like they didn't try. Viipuri was the most stubbornly defended and harshly contested point on the western Isthmus near the end of the winter war. If the Soviets had been under the belief that they could have taken it easily by force they would have kept on trying to do just that in an attempt to clear a way to Helsinki. The closest location of the Mannerheim line was not far from Viipuri anyway and there were secondary defence lines in depth that had been fought over after it.

[@mhh7544]

When you Google Winter War you get a photo of Finnish MG post in winter . Its my grandad behind the gun. Photo is from Lemetti motti .

[@TacticalCatAirsoft]

onko hän viellä hengissä

[@mhh7544]

@@TacticalCatAirsoft Ei , kuoli kun mä olin pikkupoika

[@crazyfinn66]

@@mhh7544 Valitan surun

[@TacticalCatAirsoft]

@@mhh7544 rip

[@Chiwula]

Mun pappa oli samoissa hommissa koko 5 vuotta, miinus kranaatin aiheuttamien vammojen takia jonkin aikaa välissä sairaalassa.

[@Alien.Musk666]

Both of grandfathers fought in Winterwar. My grangranfaters in civilwars. My father worked in Sodankylä jägerbrigade as Sotilasmestari. I did my service in Sodankylä also in 1st jägercompany. Army is big part of culture in Finland.

[@Mr.Funnyman273]

Your army is a joke.

[@toinenosoite3173]

This probably is the best video about the Winter War that I have ever seen. Kudos!

[@juhaleskinen7383]

No löytyy useitakin parempia. Tässä on todella paljon väärää infoa.

[@amogusenjoyer]

A detailed series about this war would be awesome, especially the lessons the soviets learnt from the war, etc.

[@realtimehistory]

The Finnish archives have tons of photographs available for this and the Continuation War. From the Russian site, we didn't find much, so we couldn't really illustrate specifically the Red Army.

[@tabull8180]

@@realtimehistory Thats interesting but maybe also expected. russians don't want to go recording their mistakes too detailed.

[@jmirsp4z]

looking at ukraine they learned absolutely nothing..

[@sethhanson6412]

Go to the World War 2 channel Indy did it back 6 years

[@jarisaarelainen5086]

@@realtimehistory Sniper Simo Häyhä did not use any optical scope . And after the end of this war the continuation war started on June -41, not in less than a year after the winter war. Too much of these pics and clips were not taken from the winter war.

[@stefanholmstrom68]

My grandparents told me how crazy it was to evacuate Hanko in 1940. My grandfather worked at the munitions factory (the "Dynamite factory", nowadays Forcit) and the whole production line was moved far north, to Ostrobothnia (the factory actually moved back after the war). My grandparents (with a 2 year old son, their first child) tried to save as many belongings as they could, even the boat was dragged over the ice to Bromarv, just north of Hanko. Much was lost in the chaos, as stuff was just dumped from the trains in the snow in Tammisaari so the trains could return as fast as possible to Hanko. My great grandfathers' house was in ruins when they returned. My father now lives in a house where there was a a machine-gun nest in the cellar during the occupation. As a kid it was easy to still find shrapnels and cartrigdes in the terrain, you can still see the trenches the Russians digged and there are quite many bunkers left (exciting places to play in as a kid, of course). I recently visited a friends' home in Hanko, they had repaired one of their walls and found out a big shrapnel embedded in the timber wall.

[@herptek]

The Soviets had it worse during their evacuation of Hanko, if that pleases you. Most of them perished.

[@timoterava7108]

​@@herptek Too many of them survived.

[@TheAxeaman]

⁠@@timoterava7108oh nice, calling for death for civilians are we?

[@TheAxeaman]

Spännande ti si en annan finlandssvensk här.

[@cassu6]

@@timoterava7108 Bruh. You think the normal troops there had anything to do with the war? Get your head straight boy

[@captaincentury]

My grandfather Aleksi fought in the Winter War. He told me later how winter itself was their ally. "First it was minus 30 degrees, then minus 40 and finally even minus 50. But it did not bother us so much, since we knew it would bother the enemy more."

[@northernerfromfaraway]

Why would in bother the enemy more? Russia has much more harsh climate in some places. Even the russian region Karelia witch borders with Finland has more cold climate. P.S. And not once during the entire war did the temperature drop to -50 degrees Celsius.

[@deleon129]

​@@northernerfromfarawaythere was no Russia, it was a soviet union back then and Karelia belonged to Finland. But to answer your question, soviets had much worse winter gear than finnish and little of shelter or food which we denied from the enemy.

[@yayaya4345]

@@northernerfromfaraway It being -40 in some remote uninhabited place in siberia doesn't do much when most of the troops were pulled from south like ukraine and given warm thoughts for equipment.

[@captaincentury]

@@northernerfromfaraway Finns had proper winter gear, often their personal gear from home, including skies and white snow costumes. Soviets were poorly prepared for winter conditions; they anyway believed the war would be short parade to their victory. Their troops were often not from northern areas; for example the 44. Division completely destroyed at Raate Road was Ukrainian. Finland was agrarian country; practically all men were used to operate in winter forest (hunting, logging etc.) And finally, our military tactics and training emphasized forest and winter conditions.

[@northernerfromfaraway]

@@deleon129 Yes, it was the union, but why don't you look ate the soviet map and look for the Karelo-Finnish SSR wich was part of the USSR.

[@jl88570]

Large respect to the Finns. Their tactics on the Winter War can really be a great lesson of war strategy for smaller ccountries.Excellent work friend. Make a video and for the Greco-italian war please.

[@TommiSRP]

My grandfather fought as a messenger in both the Winter and the Continuation War. The war cost him his hearing, but he lived relatively healthy to the ripe age of 94. The last years Altzheimers took his ability to speak, but the years before were filled with stories from the war. The Independence day means a lot to me. It gives me a chance to appreciate the freedom and the country he fought for and to remember him for his heroism.

[@spudeism]

There's a (tragic) story of about my grandfathers uncle in Winter War. The story goes the that he was wound fatally in around 9am on the last day of Winter War, around 10pm he was treated on his wounds, around 11am on that same that day ceasefire was drawn and shortly after the said ceasefire that said relative died even after all the treatment he got.

[@MilitarySummaryChannel2024]

*“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.”*

[@TheAxeaman]

Except for the Palestinians, right?

[@FerretCuddles]

Ok pseud reddit is thataway

[@looinrims]

No, the most effective soldiers are those with a severe hatred for their enemy, soldiers fight harder and more effectively.

[@markknivila8383]

@TheAxeman chillout, roscoe! Wrong part of the world, for that!

[@TheAxeaman]

@@markknivila8383 The argument still stands.

[@juhokuusisto9339]

Molotov cocktails weren't the cloth ones, they used bengal matches (storm matches) taped on the side of the bottle.

[@remu63]

Both were used!

[@juhokuusisto9339]

@@remu63 Paskat.

[@Maininki1]

My father had to go that war when he was 17 old and fighting 4 years and survived there to come back home. He didn't tell much about that time, but things that he told was....and i had nothing to say, that was so beyond belief to me . War is terrible.

[@artohaane2009]

At 17 he did not have to go.

[@1joshjosh1]

I remember one finish commander saying that 1 thing about the soviet forces was inexhaustible supply of artillery shells.

[@RubberToeYT]

Great doc, the background footage and photos were class

[@jtukko]

Against all odds but with the "spirit of the winter war" Finland stayed independent.

[@CootieCommando]

SISU

[@RestlessBogatyr]

"Independent" is a really strong word. Read a detailed list of Reparations the Finnish had to pay. It was incredibly heavy handed. And the Soviets very likely had to answer for it in the Potsdam Agreement.

[@butterflies655]

Finland retained its independence and freedom. Finland was never a part of the Soviet union. Never under communism and never an eastern bloc country. ​@@RestlessBogatyr

[@RestlessBogatyr]

@@butterflies655 "Erm. It was never part of the Soviet Union" (Gets economically buttfucked by the USSR) But atleast Finland remained independent (Forced to fight germany in the Lapland War) And Finland lived happily ever after (As per the treaty the Soviets banned most political parties they didn't agree with and imprisoned the President of Finland and high ranking personal) But hey. Hey retained their "Independence"

[@RestlessBogatyr]

@@butterflies655 Again. Read a detailed list of Reparations. They were given a heavy handed letter.

[@CalinGilea]

2:18 Leningrad is not on the banks of Lake Ladoga but a little to the west on the banks of the Gulf of Finland 🇫🇮. More like 60 km from the former border with Finland 🇫🇮.

[@WhiskyandBacon]

From the old Finnish border its 32 km to Leningrad.

[@egertroos-qh7hw]

​@@WhiskyandBaconLeningrad aka Petersburg is also finnic

[@zombieatdt1230]

I guess that the distrust toward Russians go far beyond Winter and Continuation War. Great Northern War had definitely put the great distrust and hatred toward Russians to the Finnish DNA. As well as two russification periods 1899-1905 and 1908-1917 affected that as well. Winter and Continuation War just added to that and now we see in Russian aggression in Ukraine that nothing has really changed in that country.

[@user-ce6iy2nw5o]

The tavastians were at war with novgorod already during the viking age. That is why the western finnish tribes allied with the swedish crown and converted to catholicism for military support

[@x-wing8785]

@@user-ce6iy2nw5o Biggest nonsense I've read in a long time.

[@willydawiller]

@@x-wing8785 biggest nonsense? Most of that was factual, you can debate the conversion to catholicism and the motives, but the tribal wars between finns, swedes, and tribes in Russia are surprisingly well documented

[@x-wing8785]

@@willydawiller It's all BS. Tribal wars were raids. They weren't real wars. Rest of the comment was just a hilarious fairytale.

[@willydawiller]

@@x-wing8785 i think you'll find most wars in history can be described as "raids" And these raids between finns, russian tribes, and swedes, ended with peace treaties when one side got beaten hard enough

[@_ArsNova]

The name "Molotov cocktail" originates from this conflict, it was the Finns ad hoc response to a need for infantry anti-tank weapons. Bit of pointed humor towards the much loathed Soviet foreign minister.

[@raksanrambo1230]

It came from when the soviet union denied bombing civilians and instead said they were dropping food packages. So the finns also started giving the soviets food in the form of molotov cocktails

[@pekkasiren4532]

No from Spanish civilwar.

[@eeros4192]

@@pekkasiren4532 No the NAME originates from Winter War. And Finnish version was different, Better.

[@wolfgangemmerich7552]

The zivilian population of helsinki got first time in war history bombed with cccp clusterbombs . They called them ,, Molotovs Bread Baskets " .

[@eeros4192]

@@wolfgangemmerich7552 Yes. My mother remember those Russian "bread baskets" . They did kill...

[@jarihusso1750]

Never forget, never forgive.

[@wolfgangemmerich7552]

One reason more to keep simo häyhä in mind and spirit of all suomi population.

[@pekka1900]

Never forget, but you'd think at some point you can surely forgive?

[@Tespri]

@@pekka1900 Only when the Ruz Empire had collapsed to the ruins.

[@pekka1900]

@@Tespri Jesus commands us to forgive those who trespass against us, for an eye for an eye makes only the whole world blind. And non of those who made the decision to attack Finland are alive anymore, nor those who defended us. Let us remember, but harbor no ill to anyone who isn't at fault for this particular crime.

[@gerryhouska2859]

I really liked the Finns I met here in Australia. Splendid mates.

[@franklinclinton4539]

My great grandpa fought in the 8th separate battalion. He was wounded in late January and died of his wounds 3 days after the war ended.

[@Juhkusworld]

USSR is going at it again. For some strange reason people tend to think modern USSR will somehow behave differently than in 1940's.

[@Suburp212]

Europe can be so happy that Finland defended and keeps defending Europe.

[@Keinapappa]

Ylmari Kihanto is actually Ilmari Kianto.

[@A_Casual_Observer]

It seems they used a Russian translation of a book by a Finnish author (Keskisarja, credited as Кескисарья) as a source, and just transliterated the name the best they could.

[@Keinapappa]

@@A_Casual_Observer That explains it. Thx for the info.

[@rathchain3287]

Great stuff. I have a pair of skis supposedly worn by a great uncle during the war, but I know little about him other than he served. Really appreciate learning anything I can about this part of history.

[@noreply-7069]

The new thumbnail picture is from the Continuation War (1941-44) and not Winter War. The soldier isn't even wearing snow suit since it isn't winter and has a Swedish helmet that was used later.

[@OscarLikesArt]

My then 11 year old great grandmother was one of the over 400 000 who fled their homes because of the war. She never forgave and I don't blame her.

[@RiasSenpaiTheWallet]

same, but my grandma was 12, turning 13. Now she's 98 and wondering why Russia always has shitty leaders.

[@Vlad79500]

Didn't she forgive the Finnish government that chose war?

[@misterserious3522]

@@RiasSenpaiTheWallet Kremlin is cursed with devils.

[@misterserious3522]

@@Vlad79500 Idi, k chort, trupe

[@viikinki8204]

4:57 I would like to point that despite of having big shortage of guns, many finnish people had still own gun for hunting for example, and used it in war. The biggest and most severe shortage was ofc in artillery, anti-tank and anti-air weapons, also not having the needed equipment like uniforms for common soldier and many finnish soldiers used own clothes in war for example.

[@taahaseois.8898]

The word "gun" was indeed a term for artillery, at, aa etc. Not small-arms.

[@mrfivethumbs]

"Finland-Soviet relations have been rocky since Finland declared independence in 1917." - What? I believe they have been rocky since medieval times for what Novgorod did to us. Not to mention that Russia also invaded Finland (then under Swedish rule) twice in 1700's, and murdered and pillaged the country to brink of existence. When Sweden lost Finland to Russia, the Russians finally went too far trying to "russify" us, eventually leaving no choice but declare independence. The Russians have always been known to Finns to be the Enemy. This distaste for Russia is inherently in our DNA at this point. Anyway, to think the relations started being rocky in 1917 is just ignorant on so many levels.

[@tabull8180]

The relationships went to awful at 1899 at the start of russification period. Before that for some time the relationship was better than long average. But saying that the relationship went bad after 1917 is misleading.

[@caballeroarepa9223]

Its not meant as a ethnical stance, but as a diplomatic one, because your people can hate each other, but the governments can keep it neutral.

[@TheAxeaman]

Saying that we have distaste for a certain group of people in our DNA sounds like some sort of twisted race biology.

[@_ArsNova]

He meant specifically between the USSR and Finland as nation states. The Bolsheviks were not in power prior to 1917. Obviously yes, Finnish - Russian enmity goes back much further.

[@Kenruli]

Russians were quite kind to Finn's when they initially took Finland from Sweden. After new rulers came to power in Russia then it started to go downhill. But yeah they have mostly just done awful things to us

[@Eralun]

The similarities between this and Russias invasion of Ukraine is striking.

[@cinderellaandstepsisters]

The difference is that Finland was never a communist country and not an eastern bloc country.

[@cinderellaandstepsisters]

@@pbradics3670 a lot.

[@looinrims]

@@cinderellaandstepsistersso no difference? Just nonsense rhetoric you put out? Ok

[@eugenabelb1492]

"we don't need an inch of foreign land" proceeds invading the neighbor. Same lies.

[@butterflies655]

​@@looinrims No nonsense at all.

[@danielkarlsson9326]

That was 33% of the Swedish Airforce at that time. Sweden itself was under immense pressure by Germany which had threatened with invasion if Sweden went to war by Finlands side. So Sweden went around that by calling itself a nonbelingurent or non battling party in the conflict. This meant that the over 9000 Swedish volunters which almost all was from the Swedish Army and Swedish Airforce was not officially approved by the state of Sweden but inofficially they was given paid leave and some other benefits from the state, and most importantly they were not deemed as Desertors from the Swedish forces. USA and Great britain and France did offer Finland to put their troops in Northern Finland to aid, but that was sadly not true as the allied forces wanted to take Control of Norther Norway especially Narwik with its important Port, Northern Sweden with all the Iron mines and the very Artic Port in finland which Stalin wanted. After the plans had been leaked Finland refused together with Sweden as this was nothing more than an Invasion force. this play by France, USA and Britan is a big part in Why Sweden was forced to play nicely with all sides during the war. Why Finland later on had to accept a shaky alliane with Germany and why Norway and Denmark was invaded. This important part of why the Second World War became what it became is often not spoken about especially not in USA, France and G.B and that is quite sad as it points out the Allieds own mistakes quite well.

[@henrikg1388]

But... the USA was not involved at that point, iirc.

[@mst3rfox]

Just like now, the West is buying Ukraine. Only Finland was smart enough to understand this. People don't want to learn and don't want to understand this.

[@adifreitag8579]

@@henrikg1388 That's not entirely true. The USA was already indirectly involved in the war in 1939. They massively supported the British with money and weapons. After the outbreak of the German-Soviet war, they also supported the Soviet Union materially. For example, they supplied more than a hundred thousand trucks. The chassis on which the so-called Stalin organ was mounted also came from the USA. When the German-Polish war began in 1939, the French and British declared war on the German Reich. However, the Soviet Union was spared a declaration of war, although it also attacked Poland. Later, when the Soviets invaded and annexed the Baltic states and committed their aggression against Finland, the Western powers also remained calm. So why only start the war against Germany? Later, they even made a pact with the devil Stalin with the aim of conquering and destroying Germany. The late American politician Henry Kissinger summed up the Western powers' motivation for war: "Ultimately, two world wars were fought to prevent Germany from playing a dominant role."

[@adifreitag8579]

I consider it an unproven claim that Sweden wanted to give up its neutrality and officially enter the war on Finland's side. Hitler certainly knew that Swedish volunteers were fighting on Finland's side and that Sweden was secretly supplying Finland with weapons, but he did nothing about it. I think he even had sympathy for it. The pact between Ribbentrop and Molotov was not a matter close to Germany's heart. The pact was only intended to forestall an alliance between the Western powers and the Soviet Union, which was being negotiated in parallel. The German invasion of Denmark and Norway was not an attack, but a military necessity to secure the delivery of Swedish iron ore via the Norwegian port of Narvik. I would like to remind you that a British invasion army was already on its way to occupy Norway. Relations between Germans and Finns had been friendly since the First World War. After all, the Germans fought for Finland's freedom from Russia with the blood of their soldiers. The Balts also owe their independence from Russian rule to the Germans after the First World War Songs about Finland's freedom from Russian rule Song about the liberation of Helsinki 1918 kzbin.info/www/bejne/b5q1e6JmirWirtU Finnish White Guard Song about Kaiser Wilhelm II kzbin.info/www/bejne/iWG9p2mMgt9-d7c Songs about the freedom of the Baltic nations from Russian rule The flag crackles towards the enemy kzbin.info/www/bejne/hn_bnIt7mr2pjpY On Baltic watch kzbin.info/www/bejne/faOtqoZ7bq2Wqqs

[@henrikg1388]

@@adifreitag8579 I don't disagree totally. My point was simply that there was not an official state of war between the USA and Germany at that time. Aid was being sent to the UK, but not directly to the Soviets. There were American volunteers in Finland, but they were not allowed to engage in battle like Nordic volunteers could. Later on, is a different ballgame.

[@henkkatin]

Leningrad is in wrong place in the map at 2:25! Ffs, get your maps right

[@wolf2912]

My grandma family knew of one swedes that went to Finland to fight Finland sak är vår

[@northernerfromfaraway]

I believe Finland was part of Sweden for some time?

[@wolf2912]

for 700 years yes until the finnish war of 1809

[@Silveirias]

@@wolf2912 Not entirely true. Sweden lost parts of eastern Finland to Russia earlier already.

[@pasilehtola4365]

If you check names???...Ylmari Kihanto...Right name is Ilmari Kianto.

[@NikKauFilms]

My great grandfather fought in the Winter War, and as said in the video; granades were dangerous. He lost his right arm after tossing a granade which exploded immediately after he let go. He lived to be 90 years old, and told me many stories. My mom wasn’t quite happy about it as I was still around 8 haha.

[@Ishjaerta_Nordic]

My father's grandfather fought in Finland and Norway plus was a "underrättelse officer" for Great Britain, but he was Swedish. But on the other side my mom's side: Mom's grandmother was from Wasa (finlandssvenska) she was involved in the freedom fight before this in Finland. After that she moved to Sweden.

[@Ernn321]

christopher lee, fights in the most destructive bloody war ever and later proceeds to play one of the most iconic and recognizable sith lords, what a legend

[@yo388]

You know bodies are gonna get stacked when Christopher Lee shows up

[@ANJING_SITUMORANG]

Why these maps have Leningrad in wrong place?

[@claykkari]

By far the best overview of Winter War, amazing work

[@l.f.bittaker.6182]

My great grandfather was a Swedish volunteer. My grandfather had his dad's "Finlands sak är vår" (Finlands cause is ours) poster until his death, now it's framed and sitting on my bookshelf. If it ever happens again, just know that Swedes will honour our past commitments and pass over the Swedish/Finnish border once again. Forever brothers! (Except when it comes to Hockey and skiing 😉)

[@Vlad79500]

Should I remind you how the Finns loved you when the "Finnish" territories were part of Sweden? Some Karelian tribes moved as far as Tver or further into Siberia from the strong loving embrace of the Swedes... Lol And the same Karelians fought against the Finns in the 1940s or escaped from military units created by the Finns from prisoners For some strange reason, you did not create for them a Finnish autonomous administrative-territorial entity, statehood, did not introduce the Finnish language, but forced them to use Swedish. Finnish was the language of the peasants. You did not create traditions for them so that they could be different from you)). You persecuted Orthodoxy - which became the reason for the exodus of the tribes. And protecting them from you, it was the Russians who were in your grandfather's place...

[@CootieCommando]

My pampa and a few of his brothers fought in the war, and he met my mummi shortly after it was over for Finland. If it wasn't for that, and Finland's heroic victory at the Battle of Tali-Ihantala, I wouldn't be here today 🇫🇮

[@panza.]

That famous finnish writer's name was Ilmari Kianto, not Ylmari Kihanto :) He also made this poem called "Nälkämaan laulu/Song Of The Hunger Land" And Oskar Merikanto composed it to song. It's pretty famous song in here and used in lots of tv movies/series. Ilmari got into trouble when the war started once he leave a note to ruskies.. :o But that's a different story. In Molotov's cocktail what we used had tar, kind of a diesel (petrol) and alcohol.

[@Jarmo60]

Father's father reportedly wore a military uniform for 7 years. He lived through all three wars, i.e. the Winter, Continued and Lapland wars.

[@kymensotaveteraanit]

Welcome to our channel for interviews of Finnish war veterans. Several videos have subtitles, more to come.

[@vjbd2757]

Finland: "You won!" USSR: "Yes." Finland: "But at what cost?" USSR: "Four times your men"

[@aarolamsa2756]

My great grandfather fought in the battle of Suomussalmi in the Er.P 16(Seperate batallion 16) during the winter war. He went on to fight in the continuation war and the Lapland war.

[@grf15]

Really fond of this narrator. A wonderful, concise, presentation.

[@ClassicFormulaOne1]

Perfect video again Jesse & Team! ❤

[@GregorydavidMck]

Another great episode. Well done.

[@Kalleri13]

This was must have been an utter nightmare to fight. Poor people who had to do it.

[@Dave1-08]

The world will know that free men stood against a tyrant, that few stood against many.

[@robertjarman3703]

That would be like if the US attempted to fight a Canada with approximately 20% of its present population, taking 4 months to do so, and for all that effort, gained about half of NW Ontario and the part of Canada below the TransCanada highway in Alberta and BC east of Abbotsford and below the Yellowhead Highway in Saskatchewan and Manitoba (with the line connecting the two highways being SK Highway 11 between Regina and Saskatoon), and took about twice the losses the USSR experienced in this video in all categories (given that 335 is roughly twice the USSR population back then of 170 million). Rather pathetic. You know well Jesse about the magnitude of those estimates I just gave and the shape of the outline I used here would be.

[@MM22966]

Ironically, what you described is almost exactly what happened in Harry Turtledove's Great War book series.

[@Alfonse-dm6ht]

​​@@Lenn869 Isn't Your Pfp The One That Got Shot By The Partisans ?

[@alexp7579]

Finland population was 3.5 million and USSR 170 million so it was actually about 2% but I get the point

[@robertjarman3703]

@@alexp7579 I meant 20% of Canada's population. So about 10 million. Divide that by 335 million.

[@alexp7579]

@@robertjarman3703 True my bad. Apparently the nuance was too tricky for my English skills lol

[@user-yu1zp2vu9x]

Thanks for sharing this video. I love when the underdog has success. The Finn warriors used what little equipment they had available to survive and have much success. They made up for the material shortages with intelligence, skill, and determination. Similar to the Vietcong fighting the French and USA in my mind. Large superpower countries need to respect the small isolated countries. Much respect and admiration for the Finn warriors from Texas in the USA.

[@timw5358]

This was nothing like Vietnam. The Finns inflicted more casualties on the soviets than they suffered. The US inflicted for more casualties on the north Vietnamese than they suffered. The American people however werent behind the war and political pressure from citizens caused the US to withdraw. If the country were in support, it would have been a different outcome.

[@MsZeeZed]

10:20 - When anyone tells you that 1941/2 was the worst winter in decades and did for Operation Barbarossa, just remember that winter 1940 was exactly the same and the Soviets blame it for slowing them up this time in Finland. It’s often 40 below in a Baltic winter.

[@Vlad79500]

It is interesting to read unsubstantiated things. At least look at the map of Finland in Google Maps, if the school curriculum does not include geography lessons. I will not explain that the Finns are not a problem at all - the problem is the landscape - hills and forests. Hitler wrote that it is impossible to fight in the forests, meaning the Ardennes - a virtually flat surface. The commander of the Norway group wrote that it is impossible to fight and move around the territory of Finland. In the end, the Finns and Germans together were unable to capture Karelia or Murmansk without the Mannerheim Line in their path for 4 years. Unlike them, the Red Army achieved its goal.

[@chriskoort5717]

"Don't worry, comrade. It's gonna take us 3 days, tops. We don't even have to call it a war, it's gonna be more like a special military operation where we take Helsinki..." You russkies really didn't learn from the first lesson, did you?

[@КолтуновСерёга]

English Wikipedia "Winter War" =Negotiations= The meetings began on 12 October, with Molotov's offer of a mutual assistance pact, which the Finns immediately refused. To the Finns' surprise, Molotov dropped the offer and instead proposed an exchange of territory.[68] The offer stipulated that the Finnish-Soviet border on the Karelian Isthmus be moved *westward to a point only 30 km (19 mi) east of Viipuri* (Russian: Vyborg) and that Finland destroy all existing fortifications on the Karelian Isthmus. Likewise, the delegation demanded the cession of islands in the Gulf of Finland as well as Rybachy Peninsula (Finnish: Kalastajasaarento). The Finns would also have to lease the Hanko Peninsula for 30 years and to permit the Soviets to establish a military base there. In exchange, the Soviet Union would cede Repola and Porajärvi from Eastern Karelia (2120 square miles), an area twice the size as that of the territory demanded from Finland (1000 square miles).[65][70][71] *westward to a point only 30 km (19 mi) east of Viipuri* What makes you think that the Soviets were going to take control of Helsinki???

[@perkele2802]

​@@КолтуновСерёга 😂 They did same bs with Baltic countries and what happened to them? They also wanted us destroy our fortifications like Mannerheim line. But sure Ivan, there was nothing tricky in that 😂

[@КолтуновСерёга]

@@perkele2802 "They did same bs with Baltic countries and what happened to them? " ( The Soviet Union banned the swastika in the Baltic countries. Apparently this upsets you??? ) Finnish Wikipedia address "Hakaristi" =In the 19th and early 20th centuries= The Vilnius Commission of the League of Nations chose the swastika as a symbol of peace in the 1920s. In the following decade, Estonia, Finland, and Latvia adopted it as their national symbols.

[@markohuttunen8625]

​@@КолтуновСерёгаone thing that makes me think they really were going to take Helsinki is... That they said that they are going to take Helsinki? Ever heard of Otto Wille Kuusinen, a finnish traitor and quisling, and the Terijoki government? Stalin backed puppet who declared the red flag will fly in Helsinki in two weeks? Rings a bell? Of course Stalin was about to take whole of Finland. He just couldn't.

[@RedOneM]

I'm being really sentimental right now, so many men (realistically generalized) had to give up their lives for both sides. To think that so many souls end up in bad situation and have the same depth as me today just die over political battles is bleak. I'm honored to live in the current world, even though unfortunate conflict continues in many corners of the world. War really is an endless plague of human nature.

[@rollinaattori7182]

The video is about winter war, however, all the videos shown before 10 minutes are from the continuation war (1941-1944)

[@SuperEsseesse]

Umm 2:24 that is not where Leningrad ( nowadays St. Petersburg ) is located

[@CaptCanuck4444]

Finns spanked the Soviets. The difference is that Stalin didn't care about Soviet casualties, and the Finnish leadership did. Very reminiscent of the current Russian invasion of Ukraine.

[@joebush1663]

I always admired the Finns. They were caught between a rock and a hard place yet still maintained their independence. They fought alongside our sworn enemy because they had no choice.

[@Vlad79500]

Who are you trying to fool, yourself?

[@jaripaananen1363]

@@Vlad79500 Sure your trying To fool yourself.... As an DENIAL.. Thats Why now fasist imperialist russia repeats its Fasist imperialist history again

[@answerman9933]

2:20 Leningrad's location on the map is way off. It is much further west, essentially located on the Gulf of Finland.

[@hlynnkeith9334]

I applaud your hook up with the wargame company.

[@marceldavis5600]

Why is Leningrad so out of place? It is almost at schlissleburg at 2:25

[@franklinclinton4539]

*The road and border of Raate, there now is written "EU and Finland". An unkept winter road and forests all around. "Here we remained, the whole lot, not a soul came back."*

[@parvuspeach]

Imperial Russia: uses own soldiers as meat puppets. Soviet Russia: uses own soldiers as meat puppets. Putin's Russia: uses own soldiers as meat puppets. What a depressing culture.

[@catlover-banana24]

Roger Waters admires them

[@tonymastro42]

Refusing to learn from history causes it to repeat. Total collapse incoming

[@WENDIGO0]

Пропаганда это не культура,стоит знать.

[@JonDoe-ln6nl]

@@WENDIGO0 What was said about Imperial Russia + Soviet Russia + Putin Russia using soldiers as meat puppets is TRUE and ACCURATE. What is "propaganda" about the truth?? Is it the Russian 'culture'? or better defined as the Russian 'psyche'? Either word you choose doesn't change the FACT that a Russian soldier's life is worth ZERO.

[@Markov16]

The old grandpa is mocking Zelensky as a dictator though when they were caught in Kursk😅.

[@raimohaajanen2782]

Huh! - Where you put Leningrad - Absolute wrong place!

[@mitah4]

My family lost our "tribes" lands (one big island) that we owned so long that nobody can even remember. It was called koivisto and it is leningrad oblast these days.

[@Alfonse-dm6ht]

So You Guys Got Assimilated To The Greater Ethnic Group Of The Europeans There Or Are You Just Became One Of Minorties Of The Nation There

[@herptek]

@@Alfonse-dm6ht The Karelian Isthmus had been populated by Finns as a majority before the winter war. Finland evacuated most its population from finnish Karelia during the war and the Russians brought in all kinds of less European populations among them when they repopulated the areas that fell into their hands. The newcomes would too would have leave quicly soon after, however, because the area was fought over again in 1941.

[@Alfonse-dm6ht]

@@herptek Then Afte The Continue War ?

[@herptek]

@@Alfonse-dm6ht It was evacuated again during the war. It was interesting how uncivilized and uncultured the Russians had been during the interim peace. The whole place was found totally in disrepair in 1941 and the buildings had been misused in comical ways, as if the Soviets didn't know how to live in a city. There were instances where they used apartment blocks in Viipuri to house livestock with the people as if they had come directly from some backwards third world country to populate an abandoned first world city, not having seen one before.

[@adskafjrufhauäšhlklöjlllhhhui]

​@@Alfonse-dm6htsome 420000 were evacuated, officially 9stayed, and 17went back.

[@JarmoNurmiainen]

As a finnish history nerd, I approve this dokument. One mistake I found though: In the intro maps Leningrad is located too far east, Thank you for fine dokument.

[@jaripaananen1363]

Tuo "Olavi siippaisen sanonta..." ollako punaisia vai fasisteja suomalaisia".... EI kuitenkaan tunnu oikealta... OLLI VEHVILÄISEN KIRJASTA LAINAUS.

[@VisciousPhishes]

Another fantastic video! Thanks!

[@FrankThings-t2c]

Shaposhnikov also came up with the original plan to invade Finland aka "look helsinki is right there we just drop everyone in that direction", but Stalin didn't think it was grandiose enough

[@seneca983]

2:00 Why is Leningrad located in the Kirovsky district?

[@Petteri_FIN]

Superb documentary, thanks. Kiitos

[@Jaggaraz218]

Leningrad is way too east on this map, which is weird because I've seen this mistake in one other video as well

[@90Pekkis]

Osaako joku muu suomalainen sanoa, että kuinka paljon videomateriaalia jatkosodasta on tässä dokkarissa? Omasta mielestäni kuvamateriaali on aika kesäistä, ottaen huomioon että tässä aiheena on Talvisota.

[@jaripaananen1363]

Paljon.... Kesällä ei ole Lunta... Ja talvella on Lunta.

[@tederikon8960]

2:17 thats not Leningrad?

[@jussim.konttinen4981]

Funnily enough, there is a dirt road at that point. Lavrovo is 100km from the Hermitage Museum.

[@bigsarge2085]

Fascinating!

[@antoniofernandesmarchetti1097]

Great documentarie has always!

[@MM22966]

"History rarely repeats but it often rhymes..." and then sometimes it just repeats. At least the Ukrainians are getting more help than the Finns did.

[@yaroslavmyhero]

what kind of help, don't be ridiculous. 10 tanks in half a year.

[@realtsarbomba]

​​​@@yaroslavmyhero Patriot, NASAMS, IRIS-T, SAMP-T, Brimstone air defense systems... Thousands of different varieties of IFV's & AFV's. F-16, Mirage 2000 and JAS Gripen fighter jets of which F-16's are now getting transported to Ukraine. Thousands of guided & unguided anti tank missile systems and thousands of Mistral, Starstreak, Stinger MANPADS. Hundreds of HIMARS and comparable MRL systems. Hundreds of modern towed artillery systems as well as hundreds of SPG's plus steady supply of shells. Radar systems, EW-systems, tens of thousands of assault rifles and sidearms plus millions of rounds of ammunitions, grenades, air-to-air missiles, hundreds of thousands of medium caliber ammo... Oh yeah...and *MORE THAN 800 TANKS.* Let's start with these, now go touch grass since you obviously aren't capable of using internet search engines and instead opted to try (and miserably failed) to troll with such an asinine question.

[@peketee2278]

@@yaroslavmyhero yes, but they have been quite expensive tanks, when the USA has paid 150 billion for them and Europe 200 billion...

[@OptimusWombat]

@@yaroslavmyhero Putin's SMO is approaching 3 years. The Winter War ended after 3.5 months.

[@0Letten0]

​@@yaroslavmyherohow many tanks did Findland get?

[@DrMattBug]

My grandfather fought in the continuation war, and his brother was MIA, never recovered. I curse Russia for what it did to him, and the damage it caused to the rest of his life. No support was given to him for trauma of his experiences, and his inability to express himself emotionally except through hidden grief and frustration took its toll on our family. I understand why Finns generally might still hold a grudge, and why, especially now, we don't trust anything that comes out of the Russian mouthpiece. We've spent generations preparing for the Russian threat, and nothing has changed.

[@xjuliussx]

great video! i need to ask - do you consider to sell your digital maps used in your videos? We would like to buy them!

[@MrDaviyd]

As always excellent doc, thank you!

[@Crocodylan]

History repeating itself

[@pomicultorul]

thank you for your continuous efforts!

[@zulubeatz1]

'Greet the Russians as liberators' where have we heard that before ?

[@kanzlerjager2943]

Just a small note, im pretty sure the graph at 14:37 is missing a "0" on the y-axis.

[@Saksikoipi]

The name Ylmari Kihanto is wrong, the writer's name is Ilmari Kianto. It's also strange that you write the source in cyrillic, as it is a Finnish source. From Teemu Keskisarja, called "Raaka tie Raatteeseen: Suurtaistelun ihmisten historia".

[@jussim.konttinen4981]

Ilmari did not baptize his children, but one of his sons became a military chaplain. Otso Tähtivalo Kianto was a stud. "Sotilaiden äänet 4: Pois pyyhitty pataljoona"

[@indianajones4321]

Another epic documentary RTH!

[@TheTePeHa]

@2:20 How, just how can you place Leningrad there?

[@DominikFleury]

Another very informative and entertaining piece Keep it up!

[@theplayerofus319]

thx for the upload