A brief message on the topic of the Soviet-Finnish War. Soviet-Finnish War

It was fleeting. It began in November 1939. After 3.5 months it was completed.

Soviet-Finnish War, the reasons for which are still in doubt, was provoked by the Mainila incident, when Soviet border guards were fired at from Finnish territory in the village of Mainila. claimed that this event took place. The Finnish side denied its participation in the shelling. Two days later, the Soviet Union unilaterally canceled the non-aggression pact with Finland and unleashed fighting.

The real reasons for the war lay somewhat deeper than the shelling on the border. Firstly, the Soviet-Finnish War was a continuation of Finnish attacks on Russian territory in the period from 1918 to 1922. As a result of these clashes, the parties came to peace and formalized an agreement on the inviolability of the border. Finland received the Pecheneg region and part of the Sredny and Rybachy Islands.

Since then, relations between the countries have remained strained, despite the non-aggression pact. Finland feared that the USSR would try to return its lands, and the USSR assumed that the opponent would allow the forces of another unfriendly country into its territory, which would carry out an attack.

In Finland, during this period, the activities of the Communist Party were banned, and they were also actively preparing for war, and the Soviet Union took this country into its zone of influence under the secret protocols of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

During the same period, the USSR sought to have part of the Karelian Isthmus exchanged for Karelian territory. But Finland does not agree with the conditions put forward. Negotiations made virtually no progress, descending to mutual insults and reproaches. When they reached a stalemate, Finland announced general mobilization. Two weeks later, the Baltic Fleet and the Leningrad Military District began preparing for hostilities.

The Soviet press launched active anti-Finnish propaganda, which instantly found an appropriate response in the enemy country. The Soviet-Finnish war has finally come. It's less than a month away.

Many believe that the shelling on the border was an imitation. It is possible that the Soviet-Finnish war, the causes and reasons for which were reduced to this shelling, began with unfounded allegations or provocation. No documentary evidence was found. The Finnish side insisted on a joint investigation, but the Soviet authorities sharply rejected this proposal.

Official relations with the Finnish government were interrupted as soon as the war began.

The attacks were planned to be launched in two directions. Having made a successful breakthrough, the Soviet troops could take advantage of their undeniable force superiority. The Army command expected to carry out the operation within two weeks to a month. The Soviet-Finnish war should not have dragged on.

Subsequently, it turned out that the leadership had very poor ideas about the enemy. The fighting, which had begun successfully, slowed down when the Finnish defenses were broken through. There was not enough combat power. By the end of December it became clear that further offensive according to this plan was hopeless.

After significant changes, both Armies were again ready for battle.

The offensive of Soviet troops continued on the Karelian Isthmus. The Finnish army successfully repulsed them and even attempted counterattacks. But unsuccessfully.

In February, the retreat of Finnish troops began. On the Karelian Isthmus, the Red Army overcame the second line of defense. Soviet soldiers entered Vyborg.

After this, the Finnish authorities put forward a request to the USSR for negotiations. was marked by peace, according to which Karelian Isthmus, Vyborg, Sortalava, the islands of the Gulf of Finland, the territory with the city of Kuolajärvi and some other territories came into possession Soviet Union. The territory of Petsamo was returned to Finland. The USSR also received a lease of territory on the Hanko Peninsula.

At the same time, the trust of Western countries in the USSR was completely lost. The cause was the Soviet-Finnish War. The year 1941 began in extremely difficult conditions.

Soviet-Finnish War 1939-1940 or, as they say in Finland, the Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union is one of the most significant episodes of the Second World War. Timo Vihavainen, a professor of Russian studies at the University of Helsinki, shares his point of view on this issue.

The battles of the Soviet-Finnish War, which lasted 105 days, were very bloody and intense. The Soviet side lost more than 126,000 people killed and missing, and 246,000 wounded and shell-shocked. If we add to these figures Finnish losses, 26,000 and 43,000 respectively, then we can safely say that in terms of its scale, the Winter War became one of the largest battlefields of the Second World War.

For many countries, it is quite common to evaluate the past through the prism of what happened, without even considering other options for the possible development of events - that is, history turned out the way it did. As for the Winter War, its course and the peace treaty that ended the fighting were unexpected results of a process that initially, as all parties believed, would lead to completely different consequences.

Background of events

In the fall of 1939, Finland and the Soviet Union negotiated high level By territorial issues, within the framework of which Finland was supposed to transfer to the Soviet Union some areas on the Karelian Isthmus and islands in the Gulf of Finland, as well as lease the city of Hanko. In return, Finland would receive twice the size but less valuable territory in Soviet Karelia.

Negotiations in the fall of 1939 did not lead to results as acceptable to the Soviet Union as happened in the case of the Baltic countries, despite the fact that Finland was ready to make some concessions. For example, the lease of Hanko was considered a violation of Finnish sovereignty and neutrality.

Finland did not agree to territorial concessions, maintaining its neutrality along with Sweden

Earlier, in 1938 and later in the spring of 1939, the Soviet Union had already unofficially recognized the possibility of transferring the islands in the Gulf of Finland, or leasing them. IN democratic country, such as Finland, these concessions were unlikely to be feasible in practice. The transfer of territories would mean the loss of homes for thousands of Finns. No party would probably want to take on political responsibility. There was also fear and antipathy towards the Soviet Union, caused, among other things, by the repressions of 1937-38, during which thousands of Finns were executed. On top of that, by the end of 1937, the use of Finnish language. Finnish-language schools and newspapers were closed.

The Soviet Union also hinted that Finland would be unable, or perhaps unwilling, to remain neutral if Germany, now an international troublemaker, violated Soviet border. Such hints were not understood or accepted in Finland. To ensure neutrality, Finland and Sweden planned to jointly build fortifications on the Åland Islands, which would quite effectively protect the neutrality of the countries from a possible German or Soviet attack. Due to a protest filed by the Soviet Union, Sweden abandoned these plans.

Kuusinen's "People's Government"

After negotiations with the official Finnish government, Risto Ryti, stalled, the Soviet Union formed the so-called " people's government» Finland. The “People's Government” was headed by the communist Otto Ville Kuusinen, who fled to the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union announced its recognition of this government, which provided an excuse not to negotiate with the official government.

The government asked the Soviet Union for “help” in creating the Republic of Finland. During the war, the government's task was to prove that Finland and the Soviet Union were not at war.

Apart from the Soviet Union, no other country recognized the people's government of Kuusinen

The Soviet Union concluded an agreement on territorial concessions with the self-formed “people's government”

Finnish communist Otto Ville Kuusinen fled to Soviet Russia. His government was said to represent the broad masses of the Finnish people and the rebellious military units that had already formed the Finnish “people's army.” Finnish communist party stated in her address that there is a revolution going on in Finland, which, at the request of the “people's government,” should be helped by the Red Army. Thus, this is not a war and certainly not an aggression of the Soviet Union against Finland. According to official position Soviet Union, this proves that the Red Army entered Finland not to take away Finnish territories, but to expand them.

On December 2, 1939, Moscow announced to the whole world that it had concluded an agreement on territorial concessions with the “people's government.” Under the terms of the agreement, Finland received huge areas in Eastern Karelia, 70,000 square kilometers of old Russian land that never belonged to Finland. For its part, Finland transferred to Russia a small area in the southern part of the Karelian Isthmus, which reaches Koivisto in the west. In addition to this, Finland will transfer some islands in the Gulf of Finland to the Soviet Union and lease the city of Hanko for a very decent amount.

It was not about propaganda, but about a state treaty that was announced and put into effect. They planned to exchange documents on ratification of the treaty in Helsinki.

The cause of the war was the struggle between Germany and the USSR for spheres of influence

After the official Finnish government did not agree to territorial concessions, the Soviet Union began the war by attacking Finland on November 30, 1939, without declaring war, and without any other ultimatums to Finland.

The reason for the attack was the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact concluded in 1939, in which Finland was recognized as a territory within the zone of influence of the Soviet Union. The purpose of the attack was to implement the pact on this part.

Finland and Germany in 1939

Finnish foreign policy was cool towards Germany. Relations between the countries were rather unfriendly, which was confirmed by Hitler during the Winter War. In addition, the division of spheres of influence between the Soviet Union and Germany suggests that Germany was not interested in supporting Finland.

Finland sought to remain neutral until the outbreak of the Winter War and for as long after it as possible.

Official Finland did not follow friendly German policies

Finland in 1939 in no way pursued a policy friendly to Germany. The Finnish parliament and government were dominated by a coalition of farmers and social democrats, which relied on an overwhelming majority. The only radical and pro-German party, the IKL, lost in the summer elections of 1939. crushing defeat. Its representation was reduced from 18 to 8 seats in the 200-seat parliament.

German sympathies in Finland were an old tradition, which was primarily supported by academic circles. At the political level, these sympathies began to melt in the 30s, when Hitler's policy towards small states was widely condemned.

Sure victory?

With a high degree of confidence we can say that in December 1939 the Red Army was the largest and best equipped army in the world. Moscow, confident in the fighting ability of its army, had no reason to expect that Finnish resistance, if any, would last many days.

In addition, it was assumed that the powerful leftist movement in Finland would not want to resist the Red Army, which would enter the country not as an invader, but as an assistant and give Finland additional territories.

In turn, for the Finnish bourgeoisie, the war, from all sides, was extremely undesirable. There was a clear understanding that no help should be expected, at least not from Germany, and the desire and ability of the Western allies to conduct military operations far from their borders raised great doubts.

How did it happen that Finland decided to repel the advance of the Red Army?

How is it possible that Finland dared to repel the Red Army and was able to resist for more than three months? Moreover, the Finnish army did not capitulate at any stage and remained in combat capability until the last day of the war. The fighting ended only because the peace treaty came into force.

Moscow, confident in the strength of its army, had no reason to expect that Finnish resistance would last many days. Not to mention that the agreement with the “people's government” of Finland will have to be canceled. Just in case, strike units were concentrated near the borders with Finland, which, after an acceptable waiting period, could quickly defeat the Finns, who were armed primarily with only infantry weapons and light artillery. The Finns had very few tanks and aircraft, and actually had anti-tank weapons only on paper. The Red Army had a numerical superiority and almost a tenfold advantage in technical equipment, including artillery, aviation and armored vehicles.

Therefore, there was no doubt about the final result of the war. Moscow no longer negotiated with the Helsinki government, which was said to have lost support and disappeared in an unknown direction.

For the leaders in Moscow, the planned outcome was finally decided: the larger Finnish Democratic Republic was an ally of the Soviet Union. They even managed to publish an article on this topic in Brief political dictionary"from 1940.

Brave Defense

Why did Finland resort to armed defense, which, soberly assessing the situation, had no chance of success? One explanation is that there were no other options other than surrender. The Soviet Union recognized the puppet government of Kuusinen and ignored the Helsinki government, which was not even presented with any ultimatum demands. In addition, the Finns relied on their military skills and the advantages that the local nature provided for defensive actions.

The successful defense of the Finns is explained by the high fighting spirit Finnish army, and the great shortcomings of the Red Army, in the ranks of which, in particular, major purges were carried out in 1937-38. The command of the Red Army troops was carried out unqualified. On top of everything else, she acted poorly military equipment. The Finnish landscape and defensive fortifications turned out to be difficult to pass, and the Finns learned to effectively disable enemy tanks using Molotov cocktails and throwing explosives. This, of course, added even more courage and bravery.

Spirit of the Winter War

In Finland, the concept of the “spirit of the Winter War” has been established, which means unanimity and willingness to sacrifice oneself for the defense of the Motherland.

Research supports claims that already in Finland on the eve of the Winter War there was a prevailing consensus that the country must be defended in the event of aggression. Despite heavy losses, this spirit remained until the end of the war. Almost everyone, including the communists, was imbued with the “spirit of the Winter War.” The question arises as to how this became possible when the country went through a bloody civil war in 1918 - just two decades ago - in which the right fought against the left. People were executed en masse even after the main battles had ended. Then at the head of the victorious White Guard was Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim, a native of Finland, former lieutenant general Russian army, who was now leading Finnish soldiers against the Red Army.

The fact that Finland decided on armed resistance at all, purposefully and with the support of the broad masses, quite likely came as a surprise to Moscow. And for Helsinki too. The “Spirit of the Winter War” is not a myth at all, and its origins require explanation.

An important reason for the appearance of the “Spirit of the Winter War” was deceitful Soviet propaganda. In Finland they treated with irony Soviet newspapers, who wrote that the Finnish border is “threateningly” close to Leningrad. Just as absolutely incredible were the allegations that the Finns were staging provocations on the border, shelling the territory of the Soviet Union and thereby starting a war. Well, when, after such a provocation, the Soviet Union broke the non-aggression treaty, which Moscow did not have the right to do under the treaty, distrust grew more than before.

According to some estimates of that time, trust in the Soviet Union was largely undermined by the formation of the Kuusinen government and the gifts it received. huge territories. Although they assured that Finland would remain independent, Finland itself had no special illusions about the veracity of such assurances. Trust in the Soviet Union fell further after urban bombings that destroyed hundreds of buildings and killed hundreds of people. The Soviet Union categorically denied the bombings, although the people of Finland witnessed them with their own eyes.

The repressions of the 1930s in the Soviet Union were fresh in my memory. For the Finnish communists, the most offensive thing was to watch the development of close cooperation Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, which began after the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

World

The result of the Winter War is well known. According to the peace treaty concluded in Moscow on March 12, eastern border Finland moved to where it is to this day. 430,000 Finns lost their homes. For the Soviet Union, the increase in territory was insignificant. For Finland, the territorial losses were enormous.

The prolongation of the war became the primary prerequisite for the peace agreement concluded in Moscow on March 12, 1940 between the Soviet Union and the bourgeois government of Finland. The Finnish army put up desperate resistance, which made it possible to stop the enemy advance in all 14 directions. Further prolongation of the conflict threatened the Soviet Union with severe international consequences. The League of Nations on December 16 deprived the Soviet Union of membership, and England and France began negotiating with Finland on providing military assistance, which was supposed to arrive in Finland via Norway and Sweden. This could lead to full scale war between the Soviet Union and Western allies, who, among other things, were preparing to bomb from Turkey oil fields in Baku.

Difficult truce conditions were accepted due to despair

It was not easy for the Soviet government, which had entered into an agreement with the Kuusinen government, to re-recognize the Helsinki government and conclude a peace treaty with it. Peace, however, was concluded and conditions for Finland were very difficult. Finland's territorial concessions were many times greater than those negotiated in 1939. The signing of the peace agreement was a bitter ordeal. When the terms of peace were made public, people cried in the streets and flags were lowered in mourning over their houses. The Finnish government, however, agreed to sign a difficult and intolerable “dictated peace” because the situation militarily was very dangerous. The amount of assistance promised by Western countries was insignificant, and it was clear that from a military point of view it could not play a decisive role.

Winter War and its aftermath hard world are one of the most tragic periods Finnish history. These events leave their mark on the interpretation of Finnish history in a broader perspective. The fact that this was an unprovoked aggression, which was carried out vilely and without a declaration of war, remained a heavy burden in the Finnish consciousness eastern neighbor, and which led to the rejection of the historical Finnish province.

Having put up military resistance, the Finns lost a large territory and tens of thousands of people, but retained their independence. This is the difficult image of the Winter War, which resonates with pain in the Finnish consciousness. Another option was to submit to Kuusinen's government and expand the territories. For the Finns, however, this was tantamount to submission to the Stalinist dictatorship. It is obvious that, despite all the officiality of the territorial gift, it was not taken seriously at any level in Finland. In today's Finland, if they remember that state treaty, it is only that it was one of the insidious, lying plans that the Stalinist leadership was in the habit of proposing.

The Winter War gave birth to the Continuation War (1941-1945)

As a direct consequence of the Winter War, Finland joined Germany in attacking the Soviet Union in 1941. Before the Winter War, Finland adhered to the Northern European policy of neutrality, which it tried to continue after the end of the war. However, after the Soviet Union prevented this, there were two options left: an alliance with Germany, or with the Soviet Union. The latter option enjoyed very little support in Finland.

Text: Timo Vihavainen, Professor of Russian Studies, University of Helsinki

Soviet-Finnish War of 1939-1940 (Soviet-Finnish War, known in Finland as the Winter War) - armed conflict between the USSR and Finland in the period from November 30, 1939 to March 12, 1940.

Its reason was the desire of the Soviet leadership to move the Finnish border away from Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) in order to strengthen the security of the northwestern borders of the USSR, and the refusal of the Finnish side to do this. The Soviet government asked to lease parts of the Hanko Peninsula and some islands in the Gulf of Finland in exchange for a larger area of Soviet territory in Karelia, with the subsequent conclusion of a mutual assistance agreement.

The Finnish government believed that accepting Soviet demands would weaken the state's strategic position and lead to Finland's loss of neutrality and its subordination to the USSR. The Soviet leadership, in turn, did not want to give up its demands, which, in its opinion, were necessary to ensure the security of Leningrad.

The Soviet-Finnish border on the Karelian Isthmus (Western Karelia) passed just 32 kilometers from Leningrad, the largest center Soviet industry and the second largest city in the country.

The reason for the start of the Soviet-Finnish war was the so-called Maynila incident. According to the Soviet version, on November 26, 1939 at 15.45 Finnish artillery in the Mainila area fired seven shells at the positions of the 68th rifle regiment on Soviet territory. Three Red Army soldiers and one junior commander were allegedly killed. On the same day, the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs of the USSR addressed a note of protest to the Finnish government and demanded the withdrawal of Finnish troops from the border by 20-25 kilometers.

The Finnish government denied the shelling of Soviet territory and proposed that not only Finnish, but also Soviet troops be withdrawn 25 kilometers from the border. This formally equal demand was impossible to fulfill, because then Soviet troops would have to be withdrawn from Leningrad.

On November 29, 1939, the Finnish envoy in Moscow was given a note about the break diplomatic relations USSR and Finland. On November 30 at 8 a.m., troops of the Leningrad Front received orders to cross the border with Finland. On the same day, Finnish President Kyusti Kallio declared war on the USSR.

During “perestroika” several versions of the Maynila incident became known. According to one of them, the shelling of the positions of the 68th regiment was carried out by a secret unit of the NKVD. According to another, there was no shooting at all, and in the 68th regiment on November 26 there were neither killed nor wounded. There were other versions that did not receive documentary confirmation.

From the very beginning of the war, the superiority of forces was on the side of the USSR. The Soviet command concentrated 21 rifle divisions near the border with Finland, one tank corps, three separate tank brigades(a total of 425 thousand people, about 1.6 thousand guns, 1,476 tanks and about 1,200 aircraft). To support the ground forces, it was planned to attract about 500 aircraft and more than 200 ships of the Northern and Baltic fleets. 40% Soviet forces was deployed on the Karelian Isthmus.

The group of Finnish troops had about 300 thousand people, 768 guns, 26 tanks, 114 aircraft and 14 warships. The Finnish command concentrated 42% of its forces on the Karelian Isthmus, deploying the Isthmus Army there. The remaining troops covered certain directions from Barents Sea before Lake Ladoga.

The main line of defense of Finland was the “Mannerheim Line” - unique, impregnable fortifications. The main architect of Mannerheim's line was nature itself. Its flanks rested on the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga. The shore of the Gulf of Finland was covered by large-caliber coastal batteries, and in the Taipale area on the shore of Lake Ladoga, reinforced concrete forts with eight 120- and 152-mm coastal guns were created.

The “Mannerheim Line” had a front width of 135 kilometers, a depth of up to 95 kilometers and consisted of a support strip (depth 15-60 kilometers), a main strip (depth 7-10 kilometers), a second strip 2-15 kilometers from the main one, and rear (Vyborg) defense line. Over two thousand long-term fire structures (DOS) and wood-earth fire structures (DZOS) were erected, which were united into strong points of 2-3 DOS and 3-5 DZOS in each, and the latter - into resistance nodes (3-4 strong points point). The main line of defense consisted of 25 resistance units, numbering 280 DOS and 800 DZOS. Strong points defended by permanent garrisons (from a company to a battalion in each). In the gaps between the strongholds and resistance nodes there were positions for field troops. Strongholds and positions of field troops were covered by anti-tank and anti-personnel barriers. In the support zone alone, 220 kilometers of wire barriers in 15-45 rows, 200 kilometers of forest debris, 80 kilometers of granite obstacles up to 12 rows, anti-tank ditches, scarps (anti-tank walls) and numerous minefields were created.

All fortifications were connected by a system of trenches and underground passages and were supplied with food and ammunition necessary for long-term independent combat.

On November 30, 1939, after a lengthy artillery preparation, Soviet troops crossed the border with Finland and began an offensive on the front from the Barents Sea to the Gulf of Finland. In 10-13 days they are on in certain directions crossed the zone of operational barriers and reached the main strip of the “Mannerheim Line”. Unsuccessful attempts to break through it continued for more than two weeks.

At the end of December, the Soviet command decided to stop further offensive on the Karelian Isthmus and begin systematic preparations for breaking through the Mannerheim Line.

The front went on the defensive. The troops were regrouped. The North-Western Front was created on the Karelian Isthmus. The troops received reinforcements. As a result, Soviet troops deployed against Finland numbered more than 1.3 million people, 1.5 thousand tanks, 3.5 thousand guns, and three thousand aircraft. By the beginning of February 1940, the Finnish side had 600 thousand people, 600 guns and 350 aircraft.

On February 11, 1940, the assault on the fortifications on the Karelian Isthmus resumed - the troops of the North-Western Front, after 2-3 hours of artillery preparation, went on the offensive.

Having broken through two lines of defense, Soviet troops reached the third on February 28. They broke the enemy's resistance, forced him to begin a retreat along the entire front and, developing the offensive, captured the Vyborg group of Finnish troops from the northeast, captured for the most part Vyborg, crossed the Vyborg Bay, bypassed the Vyborg fortified area from the north-west, cut the highway to Helsinki.

The fall of the Mannerheim Line and the defeat of the main group of Finnish troops put the enemy in difficult situation. Under these conditions, Finland turned to the Soviet government asking for peace.

On the night of March 13, 1940, a peace treaty was signed in Moscow, according to which Finland ceded about a tenth of its territory to the USSR and pledged not to participate in coalitions hostile to the USSR. On March 13, hostilities ceased.

In accordance with the agreement, the border on the Karelian Isthmus was moved away from Leningrad by 120-130 kilometers. The entire Karelian Isthmus with Vyborg, the Vyborg Bay with islands, the western and northern coasts of Lake Ladoga, a number of islands in the Gulf of Finland, and part of the Rybachy and Sredny peninsulas went to the Soviet Union. The Hanko Peninsula and the maritime territory around it were leased to the USSR for 30 years. This improved the position of the Baltic Fleet.

As a result of the Soviet-Finnish war, the main strategic goal pursued by the Soviet leadership was achieved - to secure the northwestern border. However, it got worse international situation The Soviet Union: it was expelled from the League of Nations, relations with England and France worsened, and an anti-Soviet campaign unfolded in the West.

The losses of Soviet troops in the war were: irrevocable - about 130 thousand people, sanitary - about 265 thousand people. Irrevocable losses Finnish troops - about 23 thousand people, sanitary troops - over 43 thousand people.

WINTER WAR. AS IT WAS

1. Evacuation in October 1939 of residents of border areas deep into Finland.

2. The Finnish delegation at the negotiations in Moscow. October 1939 “We will not make any concessions to the USSR and will fight at all costs, since England, America and Sweden promised to support us” - Errko, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

3. The engineering part of the White Finns is sent to install the dowels. Karelian Isthmus. Autumn 1939.

4. Junior sergeant of the Finnish army. October - November 1939. Karelian Isthmus. The countdown to the last days of the world has begun.

5. Tank BT-5 on one of the streets of Leningrad. Finlyandsky Station area

6. Official announcement of the start of hostilities.

6. First day of the war: the 20th heavy tank brigade receives a combat mission.

8. American volunteers sail from New York on December 12, 1939 to fight the Russians in Finland.

9. Submachine gun "Suomi" - the Finnish miracle weapon of Aimo Lahti, a self-taught engineer. one of the best gunsmiths of his time. Trophy Suomis were highly valued.

10. Rally of conscripts in Naryan-Mar.

11. Getmanenko Mikhail Nikitich. Captain. Died of wounds on December 13, 1939, Karelian Isthmus

12. The Mannerheim Line began to be built in 1918, with Finland gaining independence.

13. The Mannerheim Line crossed the entire Karelian Isthmus.

14. View of the Mannerheim Line bunker from the advancing Soviet troops.

15. The losses of the dashing Finnish tank destroyers reached 70%, but they also burned a lot of tanks.

16. Demolition anti-tank charge and Molotov cocktail.

Meeting at the front.

19. Soviet armored cars on the march. Karelian Isthmus.

13. White Finns near a captured flamethrower tank. January 1940

14. Karelian Isthmus. January 1940 Red Army units are moving towards the front.

Intelligence service. Three left, two returned. Artist Aukusti Tuhka.

15. The spruce trees spread out wide, standing in the snow as if in robes.
A detachment of white Finns sat down at the edge of the forest, deep in the snow.

Finnish pilots and aircraft technicians at the French fighter Morand-Saulnier MS.406. During December 1939 - April 1940, the Finnish Air Force received: from England - 22 of the most modern twin-engine Bristol-Blenheim bombers, 42 Gloucester-Gladiators and 10 Hurricanes; from the USA - 38 Brewster-B-239; from France - 30 Morand-Saulnier; from Italy - 32 Fiats. The newest Soviet fighter of that period, the I-16, was inferior to them in speed by about 100 km, and they easily caught up with the main SB bomber and burned it.

Lunch for Red Army soldiers at the front.

View from the bunker of wire fences and minefields, 1940.

Acoustic locator air defense White Finns.

Snowmobile of the White Finns. They have used the swastika to designate military equipment since 1918.

From a letter found on a killed Red Army soldier. “... You write to me if I need some kind of parcel or money transfer. I’ll tell you straight, money is of no use here, it can’t buy anything here, and parcels are arriving too slowly. We live here in snow and cold, with only swamps and lakes around. You also wrote that you started selling my things - for obvious reasons. But it still affected me, as if I no longer existed. You probably have the feeling that we are never destined to see each other again, or you will only see me as a cripple...”

In total, during the 105 days of the war, “poor” white Finland issued more than two hundred (!) different leaflets. There were leaflets addressed specifically to Ukrainians and the peoples of the Caucasus.

Leaflet addressed to Soviet pilots.

English volunteers came to fight the Russians.

The feat of the head of the outpost Shmagrin, December 27, 1939. Artist V.A. Tokarev.

Heroic defense of the garrison. Artist V.E. Pamfilov.

The battle of thirteen border guards with a sabotage detachment of White Finns on the night of January 24-25 on the border in Murmansk region. The last message from signalman Alexander Spekov, who blew himself up with a grenade along with his enemies: “I’m fighting alone, ammo is running out.”

The tank fires at a long-term firing point.

Road to Raate. January 1940

Frozen Red Army soldiers. Road to Raate. December 1939

White Finns pose with a frozen Red Army soldier.

Downed DB-2 bomber. The war in the air, having dispelled blissful illusions, was extremely difficult for the Red Army Air Force. Short daylight hours, difficult weather conditions, and poor training of the bulk of the flight personnel reduced the number of Soviet aircraft.

Finnish wolves from Russian bears. Stalin's sledgehammer "B-4" against the Mannerheim Line.

View of height 38.2 taken from the Finns, on which the bunker was located. Photo by Petrov RGAKFD

The White Finns fought hard, stubbornly and skillfully. In conditions of complete hopelessness until the last bullet. Breaking such an army is COSTLY.

Red Army soldiers inspect the armored dome on the taken bunker.

Red Army soldiers inspect the taken bunker.

The commander of the 20th heavy tank brigade Borzilov (left) congratulates the soldiers and commanders, awarded with orders and medals. January 1940.

Attack of a White Finnish sabotage detachment on a rear warehouse of the Red Army.

"Bombing of the Belofinsky station." Artist Alexander Mizin, 1940

The only one tank battle On February 26, during an attempt by the White Finns to recapture the Honkaniemi stop. Despite the presence of brand new British Vickers tanks and numerical superiority, they eventually lost 14 vehicles and retreated. There were no losses on the Soviet side.

Ski squad of the Red Army.

Ski cavalry. Horseback skiers.

“We let Finnish bunkers go to hell!” Soldiers of the engineering detachment special purpose on the roof of the bunker Ink6.

“The Capture of Vyborg by the Red Army”, A.A. Blinkov

“Storm of Vyborg”, P.P. Sokolov-Skalya

Kuhmo. March 13. The first hours of the world. Meeting recent enemies. In Kuhmo, the White Finns in the last days and even hours of hostilities tried to destroy the encircled Soviet units.

Kuhmo.Saunajärvi. Venäl.motti. (3)

12. Residents of Helsinki near a map of the territories ceded to the Soviet Union.

IN Finnish captivity in 4 camps there were from 5546 to 6116 people. The conditions of their detention were extremely cruel. 39,369 missing persons indicates the scale of executions by the White Finns of seriously wounded, sick and frostbitten Red Army soldiers.

Kh. Akhmetov: “... I personally saw five cases when in a hospital seriously wounded people were taken out into the corridor behind a screen and given a lethal injection. One of the wounded shouted: “Don’t carry me, I don’t want to die.” The hospital repeatedly used the killing of wounded Red Army soldiers by infusion of morphine; this is how prisoners of war Terentyev and Blinov were killed. Finns especially hated Soviet pilots and they were mocked, the seriously wounded were kept without any medical care, which is why many died.”- “Soviet-Finnish captivity”, Frolov, p.48.

March 1940 Gryazovets camp of the NKVD ( Vologda Region). A political instructor talks with a group of Finnish prisoners of war. The camp held the vast majority of Finnish prisoners of war (according to different sources from 883 to 1100). “We would like work and bread, but it doesn’t matter who will run the country. Since the government orders war, that’s why we fight.”, - this was the mood of the majority. And yet twenty people wished to voluntarily remain in the USSR.

April 20, 1940 Leningraders greet the Soviet soldiers who defeated the Finnish White Guard.

A group of soldiers and commanders of the 210th Separate Chemical Regiment awarded orders and medals tank battalion, March 1940

There were such people in that war. Technicians and pilots of the 13th fighter regiment Baltic Fleet Air Force. Kingisepp, Kotly airfield, 1939-1940.

They died so that we could live...

1939-1940 (Soviet-Finnish War, in Finland known as the Winter War) - an armed conflict between the USSR and Finland from November 30, 1939 to March 12, 1940.

The Finnish government believed that accepting Soviet demands would weaken the strategic position of the state and lead to Finland losing its neutrality and its subordination to the USSR. The Soviet leadership, in turn, did not want to give up its demands, which, in its opinion, were necessary to ensure the security of Leningrad.

The Soviet-Finnish border on the Karelian Isthmus (Western Karelia) ran just 32 kilometers from Leningrad, the largest center of Soviet industry and the second largest city in the country.

The reason for the start of the Soviet-Finnish war was the so-called Maynila incident. According to the Soviet version, on November 26, 1939, at 15.45, Finnish artillery in the Mainila area fired seven shells at the positions of the 68th Infantry Regiment on Soviet territory. Three Red Army soldiers and one junior commander were allegedly killed. On the same day, the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs of the USSR addressed a note of protest to the Finnish government and demanded the withdrawal of Finnish troops from the border by 20-25 kilometers.

On November 29, 1939, the Finnish envoy in Moscow was handed a note about the severance of diplomatic relations between the USSR and Finland. On November 30 at 8 a.m., troops of the Leningrad Front received orders to cross the border with Finland. On the same day, Finnish President Kyusti Kallio declared war on the USSR.

During "perestroika" several versions of the Maynila incident became known. According to one of them, the shelling of the positions of the 68th regiment was carried out by a secret unit of the NKVD. According to another, there was no shooting at all, and in the 68th regiment on November 26 there were neither killed nor wounded. There were other versions that did not receive documentary confirmation.

From the very beginning of the war, the superiority of forces was on the side of the USSR. The Soviet command concentrated 21 rifle divisions, one tank corps, three separate tank brigades (a total of 425 thousand people, about 1.6 thousand guns, 1,476 tanks and about 1,200 aircraft) near the border with Finland. To support the ground forces, it was planned to attract about 500 aircraft and more than 200 ships of the Northern and Baltic fleets. 40% of Soviet forces were deployed on the Karelian Isthmus.

The group of Finnish troops had about 300 thousand people, 768 guns, 26 tanks, 114 aircraft and 14 warships. The Finnish command concentrated 42% of its forces on the Karelian Isthmus, deploying the Isthmus Army there. The remaining troops covered separate directions from the Barents Sea to Lake Ladoga.

The "Mannerheim Line" had a front width of 135 kilometers, a depth of up to 95 kilometers and consisted of a support strip (depth 15-60 kilometers), a main strip (depth 7-10 kilometers), a second strip 2-15 kilometers from the main one, and rear (Vyborg) defense line. Over two thousand long-term fire structures (DOS) and wood-earth fire structures (DZOS) were erected, which were united into strong points of 2-3 DOS and 3-5 DZOS in each, and the latter - into resistance nodes (3-4 strong points point). The main line of defense consisted of 25 resistance units, numbering 280 DOS and 800 DZOS. Strong points were defended by permanent garrisons (from a company to a battalion in each). In the gaps between the strong points and the nodes of resistance there were positions for field troops. Strongholds and positions of field troops were covered by anti-tank and anti-personnel barriers. In the support zone alone, 220 kilometers of wire barriers in 15-45 rows, 200 kilometers of forest debris, 80 kilometers of granite obstacles up to 12 rows, anti-tank ditches, scarps (anti-tank walls) and numerous minefields were created.

All fortifications were connected by a system of trenches and underground passages and were supplied with food and ammunition necessary for long-term independent combat.

On November 30, 1939, after a lengthy artillery preparation, Soviet troops crossed the border with Finland and began an offensive on the front from the Barents Sea to the Gulf of Finland. In 10-13 days, in separate directions they overcame the zone of operational obstacles and reached the main strip of the “Mannerheim Line”. Unsuccessful attempts to break through it continued for more than two weeks.

At the end of December, the Soviet command decided to stop further offensive on the Karelian Isthmus and begin systematic preparations for breaking through the Mannerheim Line.

On February 11, 1940, the assault on the fortifications on the Karelian Isthmus resumed - the troops of the North-Western Front, after 2-3 hours of artillery preparation, went on the offensive.

Having broken through two lines of defense, Soviet troops reached the third on February 28. They broke the enemy's resistance, forced him to begin a retreat along the entire front and, developing an offensive, enveloped the Vyborg group of Finnish troops from the northeast, captured most of Vyborg, crossed the Vyborg Bay, bypassed the Vyborg fortified area from the northwest, and cut the highway to Helsinki.

The fall of the Mannerheim Line and the defeat of the main group of Finnish troops put the enemy in a difficult situation. Under these conditions, Finland turned to the Soviet government asking for peace.

As a result of the Soviet-Finnish war, the main strategic goal pursued by the Soviet leadership was achieved - to secure the northwestern border. However, the international position of the Soviet Union worsened: it was expelled from the League of Nations, relations with England and France worsened, and an anti-Soviet campaign unfolded in the West.

The losses of Soviet troops in the war were: irrevocable - about 130 thousand people, sanitary - about 265 thousand people. Irreversible losses of Finnish troops are about 23 thousand people, sanitary losses are over 43 thousand people.

(Additional

After the signing of the Soviet-German non-aggression pact, Germany went to war with Poland, and relations between the USSR and Finland began to strain. One of the reasons - secret document between the USSR and Germany on delimiting spheres of influence. According to it, the influence of the USSR extended to Finland, the Baltic states, western Ukraine and Belarus and Bessarabia.

Realizing that big war inevitable, Stalin sought to protect Leningrad, which could be shelled by artillery from Finnish territory. Therefore, the task was to move the border further north. To resolve the issue peacefully, the Soviet side offered Finland the lands of Karelia in exchange for moving the border on the Karelian Isthmus, but any attempts at dialogue were suppressed by the Finns. They didn't want to come to an agreement.

Reason for war

The reason for the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940 was an incident near the village of Mainila on November 25, 1939 at 15:45. This village is located on the Karelian Isthmus, 800 meters from Finnish border. Mainila was subjected to artillery shelling, as a result of which 4 representatives of the Red Army were killed and 8 were wounded.

On November 26, Molotov summoned the Finnish ambassador in Moscow (Irie Koskinen) and presented a note of protest, stating that the shelling was carried out from the territory of Finland, and that the only thing that saved him from starting a war was that the Soviet army had an order not to succumb to provocations.

November 27 Finnish government responded to the Soviet note of protest. Briefly, the main provisions of the answer were as follows:

The shelling actually took place and lasted approximately 20 minutes.
The shelling came from the Soviet side, approximately 1.5-2 km southeast of the village of Maynila.
It was proposed to create a commission that would jointly study this episode and give it an adequate assessment.

What really happened near the village of Maynila? This important question, since it was as a result of these events that the Winter (Soviet-Finnish) War was unleashed. The only thing that can be stated unequivocally is that there really was shelling of the village of Maynila, but who carried it out is impossible to establish through documentation. Ultimately, there are 2 versions (Soviet and Finnish), and each needs to be evaluated. The first version is that Finland shelled the territory of the USSR. The second version is that it was a provocation prepared by the NKVD.

Why did Finland need this provocation? Historians talk about two reasons:

The Finns were a political tool in the hands of the British, who needed war. This assumption would be reasonable if we consider the winter war in isolation. But if you remember the realities of those times, then at the time of the incident it was already underway World War, and England has already declared war on Germany. England's attack on the USSR automatically created an alliance between Stalin and Hitler, and this alliance would sooner or later hit England itself with all its might. Therefore, to assume this is tantamount to assuming that England decided to commit suicide, which, of course, was not the case.
They wanted to expand their territories and influence. This is an absolutely stupid hypothesis. This is from the category - Liechtenstein wants to attack Germany. It's nonsense. Finland had neither the strength nor the means for war, and everyone in the Finnish command understood that their only chance of success in the war with the USSR was a long defense that would exhaust the enemy. With such situations, no one will disturb the den with the bear.

The most adequate answer to the question posed is that the shelling of the village of Mainila is a provocation of the Soviet government itself, which was looking for any excuse to justify the war with Finland. And it was this incident that was subsequently presented to Soviet society as an example of the treachery of the Finnish people, who needed help to carry out the socialist revolution.

Balance of forces and means

It is indicative how the forces were correlated during the Soviet-Finnish war. Below is summary table, which describes how the opposing countries approached the Winter War.

In all aspects except infantry, the USSR had a clear advantage. But conducting an offensive, superior to the enemy by only 1.3 times, is an extremely risky undertaking. In this case, discipline, training and organization come to the fore. The Soviet army had problems with all three aspects. These numbers once again emphasize that the Soviet leadership did not perceive Finland as an enemy, expecting to destroy it in the shortest possible time.

Progress of the war

The Soviet-Finnish or Winter War can be divided into 2 stages: the first (December 39th - January 7th 40th) and the second (January 7th 40th - March 12th 40th). What happened on January 7, 1940? Timoshenko was appointed commander of the army, who immediately set about reorganizing the army and establishing order in it.

First stage

The Soviet-Finnish war began on November 30, 1939, and the Soviet army failed to carry it out briefly. The USSR army actually crossed state border Finland. For its citizens, the justification was the following - to help the people of Finland in overthrowing the bourgeois government of the warmonger.

The Soviet leadership did not take Finland seriously, believing that the war would be over in a few weeks. They even mentioned a figure of 3 weeks as a deadline. More specifically, there should be no war. Plan Soviet command was something like this:

Send in troops. We did this on November 30th.
Creation of a working government controlled by the USSR. On December 1, the Kuusinen government was created (more on this later).
Lightning-fast attack on all fronts. It was planned to reach Helsinki in 1.5-2 weeks.
Declining the real government of Finland towards peace and complete surrender in favor of the Kuusinen government.

The first two points were implemented in the first days of the war, but then problems began. The blitzkrieg did not work out, and the army was stuck in the Finnish defense. Although in initial days war, until about December 4, it seemed that everything was going according to plan - Soviet troops were moving forward. However, very soon they stumbled upon the Mannerheim line. On December 4, the armies of the eastern front entered it (near Lake Suvantojärvi), on December 6 - central front(direction Amount), December 10 – western front (The Gulf of Finland). And it was a shock. A huge number of documents indicate that the troops did not expect to encounter a well-fortified defense line. And this is a huge question for the Red Army intelligence.

In any case, December was a disastrous month that thwarted almost all the plans of the Soviet Headquarters. The troops advanced inland slowly. Every day the pace of movement only decreased. Reasons for the slow advance of Soviet troops:

Terrain. Almost the entire territory of Finland is forests and swamps. It is difficult to use equipment in such conditions.
Application of aviation. Aviation was practically not used in terms of bombing. There was no point in bombing villages adjacent to the front line, since the Finns were retreating, leaving behind scorched earth. It was difficult to bomb the retreating troops, since they were retreating with civilians.
Roads. While retreating, the Finns destroyed roads, caused landslides, and mined everything they could.

Formation of the Kuusinen government

On December 1, 1939, the People's Government of Finland was formed in the city of Terijoki. It was formed on territory already captured by the USSR, and with the direct participation of the Soviet leadership. The Finnish people's government included:

Chairman and Minister of Foreign Affairs – Otto Kuusinen
Minister of Finance – Mauri Rosenberg
Minister of Defense - Axel Antila
Minister of the Interior – Tuure Lehen
Minister of Agriculture – Armas Eikia
Minister of Education – Inkeri Lehtinen
Minister for Karelia Affairs – Paavo Prokkonen

Outwardly it looks like a full-fledged government. The only problem is that the Finnish population did not recognize him. But already on December 1 (that is, on the day of formation), this government concluded an agreement with the USSR on the establishment of diplomatic relations between the USSR and the FDR (Finnish Democratic Republic). On December 2, a new agreement is signed - about mutual assistance. From this moment on, Molotov says that the war continues because a revolution took place in Finland, and now it is necessary to support it and help the workers. In fact, it was a clever trick to justify the war in the eyes of the Soviet population.

Mannerheim Line

The Mannerheim Line is one of the few things that almost everyone knows about the Soviet-Finnish war. Soviet propaganda They said about this system of fortifications that all the world generals recognized its impregnability. This was an exaggeration. The line of defense was, of course, strong, but not impregnable.

The Mannerheim Line (as it received this name already during the war) consisted of 101 concrete fortifications. For comparison, the Maginot Line, which Germany crossed in France, was approximately the same length. The Maginot Line consisted of 5,800 concrete structures. In fairness, it should be noted the difficult terrain conditions of the Mannerheim Line. There were swamps and numerous lakes, which made movement extremely difficult and therefore the defense line did not require a large number of fortifications.

The largest attempt to break through the Mannerheim Line at the first stage was made on December 17-21 in the central section. It was here that it was possible to occupy the roads leading to Vyborg, gaining a significant advantage. But the offensive, in which 3 divisions took part, failed. This was the first major success in the Soviet-Finnish war for the Finnish army. This success came to be called the “Miracle of Summa.” Subsequently, the line was broken on February 11, which actually predetermined the outcome of the war.

Expulsion of the USSR from the League of Nations

On December 14, 1939, the USSR was expelled from the League of Nations. This decision was promoted by England and France, who spoke of Soviet aggression against Finland. Representatives of the League of Nations condemned the actions of the USSR in terms of aggressive actions and the outbreak of war.

Today, the exclusion of the USSR from the League of Nations is cited as an example of the limitation of Soviet power and as a loss in image. In fact, everything is a little different. In 1939, the League of Nations no longer played the role it had been assigned following the First World War. The fact is that back in 1933, Germany left it, refusing to comply with the demands of the League of Nations for disarmament and simply left the organization. It turns out that at the time of December 14, the League of Nations de facto ceased to exist. After all, about what European system security can be discussed when Germany and the USSR left the organization?

Second stage of the war

On January 7, 1940, the Headquarters of the Northwestern Front was headed by Marshal Timoshenko. He had to solve all the problems and organize a successful offensive of the Red Army. At this point, the Soviet-Finnish war took a break, and until February active actions was not carried out. Started from February 1st to 9th powerful blows along the Mannerheim line. It was assumed that the 7th and 13th armies were to break through the defense line with decisive flank attacks and occupy the Vuoksy-Karkhul sector. After this, it was planned to move to Vyborg, occupy the city and block the railways and highways leading to the West.

On February 11, 1940, a general offensive of Soviet troops began on the Karelian Isthmus. It was crucial moment Winter War, since units of the Red Army managed to break through the Mannerheim Line and begin to advance deeper into the country. They advanced slowly due to the specifics of the terrain, the resistance of the Finnish army and severe frosts, but the main thing is that we moved forward. In the beginning of March Soviet army was already on west coast Vyborg Bay.

This actually ended the war, since it was obvious that Finland did not have great strength and means to contain the Red Army. From that time on, peace negotiations began, in which the USSR dictated its terms, and Molotov constantly emphasized that the conditions would be harsh, because the Finns forced the war to start, during which the blood of Soviet soldiers was shed.

Why did the war last so long

According to the Bolsheviks, the Soviet-Finnish war was supposed to end in 2-3 weeks, and the decisive advantage was to be given by the troops of the Leningrad district alone. In practice, the war dragged on for almost 4 months, and divisions were assembled throughout the country to suppress the Finns. There are several reasons for this:

Poor organization troops. This concerns bad work command staff, But a big problem- coherence between military branches. She was practically absent. If you study archival documents, then there are a lot of reports according to which some troops fired at others.
Poor security. The army was in need of almost everything. The war was fought in winter and in the north, where the air temperature dropped below -30 by the end of December. And at the same time, the army was not provided with winter clothing.
Underestimating the enemy. The USSR did not prepare for war. The plan was to quickly suppress the Finns and solve the problem without war, attributing everything to the border incident of November 24, 1939.
Support for Finland by other countries. England, Italy, Hungary, Sweden (primarily) - provided assistance to Finland in everything: weapons, supplies, food, airplanes, and so on. The greatest efforts were made by Sweden, which itself actively helped and facilitated the transfer of assistance from other countries. In general, during the Winter War of 1939-1940, only Germany supported the Soviet side.

Stalin was very nervous because the war was dragging on. He repeated - The whole world is watching us. And he was right. Therefore, Stalin demanded a solution to all problems, restoration of order in the army and a speedy resolution of the conflict. To some extent this was achieved. And quite quickly. The Soviet offensive in February-March 1940 forced Finland to peace.

The Red Army fought extremely undisciplinedly, and its management does not stand up to criticism. Almost all reports and memos about the situation at the front were accompanied by a postscript - “an explanation of the reasons for the failures.” I will give some quotes from Beria’s memo to Stalin No. 5518/B dated December 14, 1939:

During the landing on the island of Sayskari, a Soviet plane dropped 5 bombs, which landed on the destroyer "Lenin".
On December 1, the Ladoga flotilla was fired upon twice by its own aircraft.
When occupying the island of Gogland, during the advance of the landing forces, 6 Soviet aircraft appeared, one of which fired several shots in bursts. As a result, 10 people were injured.

And there are hundreds of such examples. But if the situations above are examples of the exposure of soldiers and troops, then next I want to give examples of how the equipment of the Soviet army took place. To do this, let us turn to Beria’s memo to Stalin No. 5516/B dated December 14, 1939:

In the Tulivara area, 529th rifle corps 200 pairs of skis were needed to bypass the enemy fortifications. This could not be done, since the Headquarters received 3,000 pairs of skis with broken points.
The new arrivals from the 363rd Signal Battalion include 30 vehicles in need of repair, and 500 people are wearing summer uniforms.
The 51st Corps arrived to replenish the 9th Army artillery regiment. Missing: 72 tractors, 65 trailers. Of the 37 tractors that arrived, only 9 are in good condition, out of 150 machines - 90. 80% personnel are not provided with winter uniforms.

It is not surprising that against the backdrop of such events there was desertion in the Red Army. For example, December 14 from the 64th rifle division 430 people deserted.

Help for Finland from other countries

In the Soviet-Finnish war, many countries provided assistance to Finland. To demonstrate, I will cite Beria’s report to Stalin and Molotov No. 5455/B.

Finland is helped by:

Sweden – 8 thousand people. Mainly reserve personnel. They are commanded by career officers who are on “vacation.”
Italy - number unknown.
Hungary – 150 people. Italy demands an increase in numbers.
England - 20 fighter aircraft are known, although the actual number is higher.

The best proof that the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940 took place with the support of the Western countries of Finland was the speech of Finnish Minister Greensberg on December 27, 1939 at 07:15 to the English agency Havas. Below I quote the literal translation from English.

The Finnish people thank the English, French and other nations for the assistance they provide.
Greensberg, Minister of Finland

It's obvious that Western countries opposed the USSR aggression against Finland. This was expressed, among other things, by the exclusion of the USSR from the League of Nations.

I would also like to show a photo of Beria’s report on the intervention of France and England in the Soviet-Finnish war.

Conclusion of peace

On February 28, the USSR handed over to Finland its terms for concluding peace. The negotiations themselves took place in Moscow on March 8-12. After these negotiations, the Soviet-Finnish war ended on March 12, 1940. The peace terms were as follows:

The USSR received the Karelian Isthmus along with Vyborg (Viipuri), the bay and islands.
Western and North coast Lake Ladoga, together with the cities of Kexholm, Suoyarvi and Sortavala.
Islands in the Gulf of Finland.
Hanko Island with its maritime territory and base was leased to the USSR for 50 years. The USSR paid 8 million German marks for rent annually.
The agreement between Finland and the USSR of 1920 has lost its force.
On March 13, 1940, hostilities ceased.

Below is a map showing the territories ceded to the USSR as a result of the signing of the peace treaty.

USSR losses

The question of the number of USSR soldiers killed during the Soviet-Finnish War is still open. Official story does not answer the question by speaking veiledly about “minimal” losses and focusing on the fact that the objectives have been achieved. There was no talk about the scale of the Red Army's losses in those days. The figure was deliberately underestimated, demonstrating the success of the army. In fact, the losses were huge. To do this, just look at report No. 174 of December 21, which provides figures on the losses of the 139th Infantry Division over 2 weeks of fighting (November 30 - December 13). The losses are as follows:

Commanders – 240.
Privates - 3536.
Rifles - 3575.
Light machine guns – 160.
Heavy machine guns – 150.
Tanks – 5.
Armored vehicles – 2.
Tractors – 10.
Trucks – 14.
Horse composition - 357.

Belyanov's memo No. 2170 dated December 27 talks about the losses of the 75th Infantry Division. Total losses: senior commanders - 141, junior commanders - 293, rank and file - 3668, tanks - 20, machine guns - 150, rifles - 1326, armored vehicles - 3.

This is data for 2 divisions (much more fought) for 2 weeks of fighting, when the first week was a “warm-up” - the Soviet army advanced relatively without losses until it reached the Mannerheim Line. And during these 2 weeks, of which only the last was actually combative, OFFICIAL figures– losses of more than 8 thousand people! A huge number of people suffered frostbite.

March 26, 1940 at the 6th session Supreme Council The USSR announced data on USSR losses in the war with Finland - 48,745 people killed and 158,863 people wounded and frostbitten. These are official figures and therefore greatly underestimated. Today historians call different numbers losses of the Soviet army. It is said that between 150 and 500 thousand people died. For example, the Book of Combat Losses of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army states that in the war with the White Finns, 131,476 people died, went missing, or died from wounds. At the same time, the data of that time did not take into account the losses of the Navy, and for a long time people who died in hospitals after wounds and frostbite were not taken into account as losses. Today, most historians agree that about 150 thousand Red Army soldiers died during the war, excluding the losses of the Navy and border troops.

Finnish losses are listed as follows: 23 thousand dead and missing, 45 thousand wounded, 62 aircraft, 50 tanks, 500 guns.

Results and consequences of the war

The Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940 even with brief study indicates both absolutely negative and absolutely positive aspects. The negative is the nightmare of the first months of the war and the huge number of victims. By and large, it was December 1939 and early January 1940 that demonstrated to the whole world that the Soviet army was weak. That's how it really was. But there were also positive point: the Soviet leadership saw real strength of his army. We have been told since childhood that the Red Army has been the strongest in the world almost since 1917, but this is extremely far from reality. The only major test of this army was the Civil War. We will not analyze the reasons for the victory of the Reds over the Whites now (after all, we are now talking about the Winter War), but the reasons for the victory of the Bolsheviks do not lie in the army. To demonstrate this, it is enough to just quote one quote from Frunze, which he voiced at the end of the Civil War.

All this army rabble needs to be disbanded as soon as possible.
Frunze

Before the war with Finland, the leadership of the USSR had its head in the clouds, believing that it had strong army. But December 1939 showed that this was not the case. The army was extremely weak. But starting in January 1940, changes were made (personnel and organizational) that changed the course of the war, and which largely prepared a combat-ready army for Patriotic War. This is very easy to prove. Almost the entire December of the 39th Red Army stormed the Mannerheim line - there was no result. On February 11, 1940, the Mannerheim line was broken through in 1 day. This breakthrough was possible because it was carried out by another army, more disciplined, organized, and trained. And the Finns did not have a single chance against such an army, so Mannerheim, who served as Minister of Defense, even then began to talk about the need for peace.

Prisoners of war and their fate

The number of prisoners of war during the Soviet-Finnish war was impressive. At the time of the war, there were 5,393 captured Red Army soldiers and 806 captured White Finns. Captured Red Army soldiers were divided into the following groups:

Political leadership. It was political affiliation that was important, without singling out rank.
Officers. This group included persons equated to officers.
Junior officers.
Privates.
National minorities
Defectors.

Particular attention was paid to national minorities. The attitude towards them in Finnish captivity was more loyal than towards representatives of the Russian people. The privileges were minor, but they were there. At the end of the war, a mutual exchange of all prisoners was carried out, regardless of their belonging to one group or another.

On April 19, 1940, Stalin orders everyone who was in Finnish captivity to be sent to the Southern Camp of the NKVD. Below is a quote from the Politburo resolution.

All those returned by the Finnish authorities should be sent to the Southern camp. Within three months, ensure all the necessary measures are taken to identify persons processed by foreign intelligence services. Pay attention to dubious and alien elements, as well as those who voluntarily surrendered. In all cases, refer cases to court.
Stalin

Southern camp, located in Ivanovo region, started work on April 25. Already on May 3, Beria sent a letter to Stalin, Molotov and Timoschenko, informing that 5277 people had arrived at the Camp. On June 28, Beria sends a new report. According to it, the Southern camp “receives” 5,157 Red Army soldiers and 293 officers. Of these, 414 people were convicted of treason and treason.

The myth of war - Finnish “cuckoos”

“Cuckoos” is what Soviet soldiers called snipers who continuously fired at the Red Army. It was said that these are professional Finnish snipers who sit in trees and shoot almost without missing. The reason for such attention to snipers is their high efficiency and the inability to determine the point of the shot. But the problem in determining the point of the shot was not that the shooter was in a tree, but that the terrain created an echo. It disoriented the soldiers.

Stories about “cuckoos” are one of the myths that the Soviet-Finnish war gave rise to in large numbers. It’s hard to imagine in 1939 a sniper who, at air temperatures below -30 degrees, was able to sit on a tree for days, while firing accurate shots.