Winter War in real time

[Lordhen]

Day 100 of Winter War, March 8th 1940

The French government states that they are sending large quantities of arms (including French Renault FT-17 tanks), ammunition and 175 airplanes to Finland even without any requests for aid. The British offer to send 50 planes and also an expeditionary force, but Norway and Sweden must agree - and they don't. The Finns promise that they will not accept a "peace of defeat."

Finnish Marshal Carl Mannerheim, who was against the war, sees the military situation deteriorating presses for the government to accept the offer of assistance from the Allies. Foreign Minister Väinö Tanner feels this will sabotage the negotiations proceeding in Moscow.

The Soviets reject a Finnish request for an immediate cease-fire while negotiations proceed.

Winter War Army Operations

The Soviets edge further into Viipuri. There is fighting in the suburb of Tali. The weakest spot in the Finnish line, aside from the foothold the Soviets have established on the western shore of Viipuri Bay, is to the northeast of the city.

The Finns in the bay capture more islands in Viipurinlahti Bay.

The T-Line is holding, but barely. The Soviet 7th and 13 Armies continue assaulting it.

Further north, at Kuhmo, some remaining elements of the Soviet 54th Rifle Division of 9th Army that has been trapped in a dwindling pocket are eliminated by the Finns.

Winter War Peace Talks

Finnish delegates in Moscow begin negotiations in the evening with Molotov, Zdanov and General Vasilevski but not Stalin, to their disappointment. Finns ask for a ceasefire during negotiations. The Soviets know that they are about to take Viipuri and refuse, preferring to negotiate from a position of strength.

 

[Lordhen]

Day 101 of Winter War, March 9th 1940

The Finns admit in a communique that the Soviets have established a beachhead on the far (northwestern) shore of Viipuri Bay. However, they are quick to add that everywhere else the line is holding.

The British and French still promise assistance, but they want a formal request for assistance. Their offers are cynical: while they promise 12,000 troops, only 4,000 are allocated to Finland; the rest would be to seize control of iron ore mines in Norway and Sweden.

Winter War Army Operations

While there are no major breakthroughs, the Finnish positions are deteriorating. They evacuate key positions in the Gulf of Viipuri.

Winter War Air Operations

The Finns perform strafing missions with nine Moranes and a Fiat, destroying 6 trucks, and also shoot down 2 Soviet I-153 and a Tshaika. Ten new Hawker Hurricanes, much more advanced than current planes on either side, arrive at the Sakyla base, but must be worked up and pilots trained on them.

Winter War Peace Talks

The Soviets are demanding a huge slice of Finnish territory to the west of Lake Ladoga, including Salla in Lapland. The Finns are aghast, because they never expected to lose all access to Lake Ladoga. Marshal Mannerheim calls at 17:00, and he tells PM Ryti that General Heinrichs, in charge of the most sensitive area of defense on the Karelian Isthmus, says that there is no military hope. Mannerheim thus urges acceptance of the Soviet terms, draconian as they may be perceived.

 

[Lordhen]

Day 102 of Winter War, March 10th 1940

Winter War Army Operations

The Finnish position on the Karelian Isthmus continues disintegrating.

They lose Repola and nearby territory on the northeast of Viipuri, and also Karppila and Ruhela on the other side of the city along the shoreline. The massive Soviet pincer around Viipuri is wide open and getting ready to close. There is hand-to-hand fighting deep in the city itself. The city is the linchpin of the defense, once it is lost the Soviets will have multiple avenues into the heart of the country.

Finnish General Öhqvist:

This is an awful gamble. We might hold Viipuri until tomorrow night. After that, either city or army is doomed.

Winter War Peace Talks: The government in Helsinki realizes the peril of the military situation - it could hardly be more perilous - and messages Ryti in Moscow:

Headquarters not sanguine about carrying on fighting- we authorise you to accept any terms.

Stalin still does not feel this negotiation is of sufficient importance for him to attend - another sign of how perilous it is for the Finns.

The Finnish negotiating team meets with Molotov at the Kremlin for two hours. Molotov says that the offer is take-it-or-leave-it, there can be no alterations. As Rytie puts it, they will alter "not a single comma."

Winter War Air Operations

Three Finnish planes strafe Soviet columns, destroying vehicles.

 

[Lordhen]

ay 103 of Winter War, March 11th 1940

Winter War Peace Talks:

The two sides meet at 18:00 on 11 March 1940 with the end of the process a foregone conclusion. With little real choice in the matter, the Finnish negotiators agree to the Soviet terms. The key provisions:

- The Soviets get the entire Karelian Isthmus;

- Petsamo (occupied during the war) is returned to the Finns, but the Soviets keep the nearby Rybachiy Peninsula;

- The Soviets get extensive territory, mostly forested, in the "waist of the country, including Salla;

- The Soviets get a lease on the port of Hango.

- While the terms give the Soviets all of their war aims, the losses are acceptable given the alternative of complete and utter defeat and occupation. The Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes a bulletin telling the public of the peace talks.

Thirteen members of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Finnish Parliament vote for the peace terms. There are only four votes against. The success of the vote is leaked to the media in time for publication in Swedish evening newspapers. This news is published even before the negotiators meet at 18:00, causing a major embarrassment for the Finnish government.

Chamberlain and Daladier, obviously informed of the proceedings, try to prevent the Finnish capitulation by announcing that they will send help to Finland despite the lack of a formal Finnish request. This comes to naught with the announcement of the peace deal. However, the original idea to send troops to Narvik remains on the minds of the British and French. The entire idea all along, in fact, was a cynical use of the Finnish difficulties as a pretext to occupy the iron ore mines so that Hitler could not use them.

Winter War Army Operations

Soviet forces score breakthroughs against the Finnish forces which are learning about the peace deal. There are Soviet attacks all around Viipuri, and five Soviet tanks reach Tammisuo station in the northeast.

The Soviets launch an offensive at Vuosalmi that the Finns stop with great difficulty and heavy loss of life.

Finnish fighters engage a flight of five DB-3 Soviet bombers near Kouvola and shoot one down near Loviisa. This is the final aerial victory of the war. The Finns lose a Fiat flown by an Italian volunteer who perishes, SSgt Diego Manzocchi, on the ice of Ikolanjarvi. He was shot in the chest and then hangs upside down in his crashed plane for six hours before expiring.

 

[Lordhen]

Day 104 of Winter War, March 12th 1940

At 09:00, Finnish President Kyösti Kallio authorizes the peace delegation in Moscow to sign an agreement ending the war. There is no further negotiation, the Soviet terms have not changed throughout the meetings and agreement is a formality. The Finns meet with Molotov at 22:00 to formalize the document. They capitulate and sign the Moscow Peace Treaty around midnight on the 12th.

The Armistice goes into effect at 11:00 on 13 March. There is no ceasefire until that time. The treaty must be ratified within three days.

As demanded by the Soviets, the Finns give up the entire Karelian Isthmus where the bulk of the fighting took place and which contains their only defensive fortifications. The Finns lose all access to Lake Ladoga. They also surrender a long-term (30 years) lease on the naval base at Hango, a slice of the eastern portion of the country around battle-torn Salla, the major cities of Viipuri and Vuokis, and nearby towns of Sortavala and Käkisalmi. The surrendered territory is rich in natural resources, but more importantly, served as the only defensive buffer zone against the Soviet Union. As a consolation, they receive back the basically worthless port of Petsamo in the far north while the Soviets retain the nearby peninsula which is in a strategic location.

The end result is that Finland loses roughly 10% of the country, 35,000 square km. About 430,000 Finns are displaced, 12% of the population.

Kallio says:

This is the most awful document I have ever had to sign. May the hand wither which is forced to sign such a paper.
The Allies are hopelessly behind the curve. French Prime Minister Daladier still, on this final day, tells his Chamber of Deputies that an Anglo-French expeditionary force of 50,000 men is ready to go - all Finland has to do is ask. With the Moscow Peace Treaty signed, such a request will be a long time coming.

The Swedes add insult to injury by hinting that, finally, when it no longer matters, it might be open to a defensive alliance with Finland.

The British go even further. They actually load 20,000 men - five brigades - on ships at Rosyth in the Firth of Forth. The transports are ready to go to Trondheim, Bergen and Stavanger. Another brigade is on alert at Scapa Flow to head to Narvik and occupy the key port there. The troops are odds and ends from the Home Army, mostly reservists hastily called up recently, ill-equipped and lacking in training and morale. The most organized troops are serving with the BEF on the continent and thus unavailable.

However, the British War Cabinet is uncertain how to proceed. No agreement to a British military presence has been received from either Norway or Sweden, and such agreement would effectively violate their neutrality. Nobody knows what to expect, and how to handle armed opposition is up in the air. Prime Minister Chamberlain condemns the entire idea, but he is rapidly losing moral authority due to the deteriorating international situation that he helped create.

Winter War Army Operations

There is a blizzard in the southern and central sectors of Finland that halts most operations. The Soviet 7th Army continues assaulting Finnish defenses at Viipuri. There is fighting throughout the city's suburbs. The Finnish-American Legion, some 300 strong, reaches the city to help defend it.

Winter War Air Operations

The weather keeps most planes grounded. Before things close down, a Soviet Polikarpov I-16 "Ishak" fighter (the Finns call it Siipiorava ("Flying Squirrel")) wages a solitary battle against a lone Finnish anti-aircraft gunner located on a water tower at the city of Utti. The fighter makes numerous passes, obsessed with eliminating the gunner, but finally, the anti-aircraft gunner wins and shoots it down.

 

[WandererRTF]

The end result is that Finland loses roughly 10% of the country, 35,000 square km. About 430,000 Finns are displaced, 12% of the population.

Minor corrections. Every one who lived in the ceded area had a freedom to choose if they wanted to stay and become citizens of the Soviet Union or if they wanted to evacuate into the post-war Finland and become essentially internally displaced people. Only a tiny fraction remained. This meant that Finland faced massive evacuee problem having to find place for those 430 000 people to live in - 12% is a massive number. Additionally - and which relates to things to come - the land lost was highly arable (by Finnish standards) and it's loss meant that Finland had no chance what so ever to be self-sufficient by food production. This has quite severe consequences few years onward especially when sources of import & export get gradually closed (not the least the sources of fertilizers).

Kallio says:

This is the most awful document I have ever had to sign. May the hand wither which is forced to sign such a paper.

This is one of the most prophetic statements ever made.

 

[Lordhen]

Minor corrections. Every one who lived in the ceded area had a freedom to choose if they wanted to stay and become citizens of the Soviet Union or if they wanted to evacuate into the post-war Finland and become essentially internally displaced people. Only a tiny fraction remained. This meant that Finland faced massive evacuee problem having to find place for those 430 000 people to live in - 12% is a massive number. Additionally - and which relates to things to come - the land lost was highly arable (by Finnish standards) and it's loss meant that Finland had no chance what so ever to be self-sufficient by food production. This has quite severe consequences few years onward especially when sources of import & export get gradually closed (not the least the sources of fertilizers).

Found the deal, seems you are right.

The Treaty of Peace
between The Republic of Finland
and The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the one hand and The government of the Republic of Finland on the other hand, desiring to put an end to the hostilities which have arisen between the two countries and to create lasting peaceful relations between them, and being convinced that the creation of precise conditions for reciprocal security, including the security of the cities of Leningrad and Murmansk and the Murmansk Railway, corresponds to the interest of both contracting parties, have to this end found it necessary to conclude a peace treaty and have appointed as their representatives for this purpose
The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Socialist Republics:
Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov, chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs,
Andrei Aleksandrovich Zhdanov, member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics,
Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky, Brigade Commander.
The government of the Republic of Finland:
Risto Ryti, Prime Minister of the Republic of Finland,
Juho Kusti Paasikivi, Minister,
General Rudolf Walden,
Professor Väinö Voionmaa.

The above-mentioned representatives, after exchange of credentials which were found to be in due form and good order, have agreed upon the following:

Article 1

Hostilities between Finland and the USSR shall cease immediately in accordance with procedure laid down in the protocol appended to this treaty.

Article 2

The state frontier between the Republic of Finland and the USSR shall run along a new line in such fashion that there shall be included in the territory of the USSR the entire Karelian Isthmus with the city of Viipuri and Viipuri Bay with its islands, the western and northern shores of Lake Ladoga with the cities of Kexholm and Sortavala and the town of Suojärvi, a number of islands in the Gulf of Finland, the area east of Märkäjärvi with the town of Kuolajärvi, and part of the Rybachi and Sredni peninsulas, all in accordance with the map appended to this treaty.

A more detailed determination and establishment of the frontier line shall be carried out by a mixed commission made up of representatives of the contracting powers, which commission shall be named within ten days from the date of the signing of this treaty.

Article 3

Both contracting parties undertake each to refrain from any attack upon the other and to make no alliance and to participate in no coalition directed against either of the contracting parties.

Article 4

The Republic of Finland agrees to lease to the Soviet Union for thirty years, against an annual rental of eight million Finnish marks to be paid by the Soviet Union, Hanko Cape and the waters surrounding it in a radius of five miles to the south and east and three miles to the north and west, and also the several islands falling within that area, in accordance with the map appended to this treaty, for the establishment of a naval base capable of defending the mouth of the Gulf of Finland against attack; in addition to which, for the purpose of protecting the naval base, the Soviet Union is granted the right of maintaining there at its own expense the necessary number of armed land and air forces.

Within the days from the date this treaty enters into effect, the government of Finland shall withdraw all its military forces from Hanko Cape, which together with its adjoining islands shall be transferred to the jurisdiction of the USSR in accordance with this article of the treaty.

Article 5

The USSR undertakes to withdraw it troops from the Petsamo area which the Soviet state voluntarily ceded to Finland under the peace treaty of 1920.

Finland undertakes, as provided in the peace treaty of 1920, to refrain from maintaining in the waters running along its coast of the Arctic Ocean warships and other armed ships, excluding armed ships of less than one hundred tons displacement, which Finland shall be entitled to maintain without restriction, and also at most fifteen warships or other armed ships, the displacement of none of which shall exceed four hundred tons.

Finland undertakes, as was provided in the same treaty, not to maintain in the said waters any submarines or armed aircraft.

Finland similarly undertakes, as was provided in the same treaty, not to establish on that coast military ports, naval bases, or naval repair shops of greater capacity than is necessary for the above-mentioned ships and their armament.

Article 6

As provided in the treaty of 1920, the Soviet Union and its citizens are granted the right of free transit across the Petsamo area to Norway and back, in addition to which the Soviet Union is granted the right to establish a consulate in the Petsamo area.

Merchandise shipped through the Petsamo area from the Soviet Union to Norway, and likewise merchandise shipped through the same area from Norway to the Soviet Union, is exempted from inspection and control, with the exception of such control as is necessary for the regulation of transit traffic; neither customs duties nor transit or other charges shall be assessed.

The above-mentioned control of transit merchandise shall be permitted only in the form usual in such cases in accordance with established practice in international communications.

Citizens of the Soviet Union who travel through the Petsamo area to Norway and from Norway back to the Soviet Union shall be entitled to free transit passage on the basis of passports issued by the appropriate officials of the Soviet Union.

Observing general directives in effect, unarmed Soviet aircraft shall be entitled to maintain air service between the Soviet Union and Norway via the Petsamo area.

Article 7

The government of Finland grants to the Soviet Union the right of transit for goods between the Soviet Union and Sweden, and, with a view to developing this traffic along the shortest railway route, the Soviet Union and Finland consider it necessary to build, each upon its own territory and insofar as possible in the year 1940, a railway which shall connect Kantalahti (Kandalaksha) with Kemijärvi.

Article 8

Upon the coming into force of this treaty economic relations between the contracting parties shall be restored, and with this end in view the contracting parties shall enter into negotiations for the conclusion of a trade agreement.

Article 9

This treaty of peace shall enter into effect immediately upon being signed, and shall be subject to subsequent ratification.

The exchange of instruments of ratification shall take place within ten days in the city of Moscow.

This treaty has been prepared in two original instruments, in the Finnish and Swedish languages and in Russian, at Moscow this twelfth day of March, 1940.

 

[Lordhen]

The last post in this thread related to the Winter War combat.

Day 105 of Winter War, March 13th 1940

The Winter Wars ends at 11:00 Finnish time on the morning. Fighting continues in numerous areas past that deadline due to communication issues or sheer indifference, but also in cases out of spite. There are Soviet bombing missions to Vuosalmi, Koivisto, and Iso Kalastajasaarento. Soviet artillery gunners, many if not all aware of the deal, empty their loads during the morning, killing hundreds of Finns. To be fair, the Finnish gunners also fire, but they do not have nearly the firepower.

Photo: Finnish territorial concessions from the Winter War.

Red Army signalman Anatoly Derevenets:

The entire earth started vibrating- all weapons on both sides. 2 days' ammunition spent in minutes.

The final order of the day from Marshal Mannerheim:

Peace has been concluded between our country and the Soviet Union, an exacting peace which has ceded to Russia nearly every battlefield on which you have shed your blood on behalf of every thing we hold dear and sacred. You did not want war. You loved peace, work and progress; but you were forced into a struggle in which you have done great deeds, deeds that will shine for centuries in the pages of history.

Estimated total losses from the 105-day Winter War:

- Dead: Finns have 25,904 dead or missing, Soviets have 126,875–167,976 dead or missing.

- Wounded: 45,557 Finns, Soviets have 188,671–207,538 wounded or sick.

- Tanks Lost: 3 Finns, 1600+- Soviets

- Planes Lost: 61 Finns, 750-900 Soviets

- Guns Lost: unknown Finns, 300+ Soviets

- Civilian Dead: 637 Finns, 0 Soviets

- Civilians Wounded: 1,400 Finns, 0 Soviets

- Buildings destroyed: 4,500 Finns, 0 Soviets.

The Soviets had 425,000–760,000 soldiers men committed to the conflict. The Finns had 300,000–340,000 soldiers. The official Soviet summary states that they lost 48,000 dead and 158,000 wounded, but most historians believe those figures are vastly understated. There were tremendous numbers of death and injuries, overwhelmingly among the Soviet forces, from frostbite and starvation. Some Soviet dead were due to NKVD blocking detachments.

The subject of Soviet casualties has been the subject of wild guesses that often are influenced by the political environment of the moment - extremely typical in the USSR. Molotov, immediately after the war, gave an estimate of 200,000 Soviet killed and wounded. In the post-Stalin era, though, Nikita Khrushchev ratchets that figure up to 1,000,000 in his memoirs. The first figure appears low, the latter high - but nobody knows.

The war is a Soviet victory, but at a tremendous cost to its reputation. Its failure to overcome Finnish resistance despite massive numerical superiority in all areas of warfare betrays incompetence at all levels. This results partly from the Stalin purges of the 1930s, but also from unrealistic communist principles applied to the military, lack of proper training in all ranks and weaponry that is unsuited to the conditions faced and, in many cases, of mediocre quality for the era. Many Soviet soldiers of all ranks are disgusted at the casualties and the small gains attained.

Finnish Foreign Minister Väinö Tanner broadcasts news of the Armistice at 12:00. Later in the day, he also states that Finland is looking into the possibility of creating a defensive alliance with Norway and Sweden. Swedish Foreign Minister Guenther, Lord Halifax and Prime Minister Chamberlain all address their legislatures. The British troops on board ships for transport to Norway disembark.

While the pretext to send Allied troops to Norway has evaporated, the idea remains very much alive in the Supreme War Council. As First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, a notorious hawk, puts it in a letter to Foreign Minister Halifax:

Whether they [the Germans] have some positive plan of their own [for Norway]… I cannot tell. It would seem to me astonishing if they have not.

Photo: Helsinki celebrating peace. On the right, entrance to Hotel Kämp at address Pohjoisesplanadi 29.

 

[WandererRTF]

Awesome work getting all that posted!!

The loss data changes especially in foreign sources quite a bit. For example the armor losses for the Finns were in reality 7 or 8 (depending on if 'salvaged for components' is counted as combat loss). Also as was discussed previously in this war there were very few POWs in comparison to other losses. Finns had around 800 - 1 000 and Soviets around 5 000. Claiming that either army was defeated in a sense of losing cohesion or willingness to fight certainly does not apply in the Winter War.

And few other things which i think ought to be made clearer. Mannerheim's order of the day for 14 March 1940 can be found for example from here: https://histdoc.net/history/mheim.html

You can almost taste the bitterness when you read especially that very last paragraph. It is oozing of it.

'We are proudly conscious of the historic duty which we shall continue to fulfill; the defense of that Western civilization 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.'

Also when i wrote about the prophetic nature of president Kallio's statement that 'may the arm which signs this treaty wither' is that on the following summer as a result of a stroke that very arm of president Kallio was paralyzed, enough that he had to learn to write on his other arm until his death. He resigned due to health issues in November 1940 but perished - also due to a stroke - on 19th December 1940 at the Helsinki Central Railway Station - where he died on the arms of Mannerheim while the military band was playing patriotic music.

 

[Lordhen]

Awesome work getting all that posted!!

Now we have to wait a year for the second round to begin, Finland will not be sitting still i guess in the inter-war period.

 

[Kovax]

Thank you for posting this excellent historical daily progress report.

 

[Jopa79]

A sober, properly written, an exact view.

 

[Lordhen]

A sober, properly written, an exact view.

Thanks.

So while the Winter War is over, things are still happening on March 14th 1940.

The terms must be implemented beginning on 14 March 1940. The Finnish government begins evacuating 410,000 citizens from areas being ceded to the Soviet Union in Karelia. Many evacuees burn their homes, villages and other property.

The Finns also evacuate Viipuri. Photo of Viipuri Castle on fire just after the cease fire which ended the Winter War is declared at 11.00. The tower still flies the Finnish flag, which was lowered at 14.00 that day.

The Finnish negotiators return to Helsinki with the signed Moscow Peace Treaty. The Finnish Parliament begins debating ratification.

Lord Halifax requests return of British war matériel from the Finns. Finnish ambassador to the Court of St. James G.A. Gripenberg refuses, stating that Finland properly bought it.

UK General Pownall notes the cynical nature of the "aid" being offered to the Finns: "Of 4 or 5 division that were to be sent, not 1 was meant for Finland- maybe a brigade or 2. A most dishonest business"

Finnish sniper Simo Hayha awakens from a coma after being shot and learns that the war is over.

The Soviet rank and file are frustrated and angry at the war and its outcome. They are in no mood to celebrate. One Soviet soldier, Lt. Viktor Iskrov: "Finns walked out of their trenches with vodka bottles, shouting: 'Russkies, come drink with us!' But we just sat in our trench."

The New York Times contributes to the vitriol being launched at the Allied powers for the Finnish capitulation: "Once again a small nation relied on the help of the Western powers and paid dearly for her trust."

 

[Henry IX]

Thank you doing this. Interesting and with an attempt at balance (something direly lacking in many descriptions of the Winter War). I learned many details.

 

[Lordhen]

Thank you doing this. Interesting and with an attempt at balance (something direly lacking in many descriptions of the Winter War). I learned many details.

Thanks, was a pleasure and a honor of being allowed to post it, next project i might do is the Falklands War.

 

[Lordhen]

Winter War, the Aftermath, March 15th 1940

The Finnish Diet ratifies the Moscow Peace Treaty 145-3 (52 abstentions) after Prime Minister Risto Ryti states:

Finland, as well as the whole of Western civilization, is still in the greatest danger, and no one can say what tomorrow may bring. We believe that by choosing peace we have acted in the best way for the moment.

The Soviet troops receive a different message:

The mighty force of the Red Army has again secured safety and a lasting peace!

 

[pharaomatic]

Agree with all of the above, great job here.