A Frozen Hell

“Helsinki, 10:30 a.m., November 30, 1939. Soviet bombers drop from a cloud bank to unload their bombs on the capital city of Finland.

In the weeks to come the world will watch admiringly as the tiny army of a small Baltic republic wages the kind of war that inspires legends against the invading military might of the Soviet Union.”  

The Winter War between Finland and Russia flies under the radar of most general readers mainly because Finland, alone up in a cold, dark corner of Europe, got almost no help, so that its five million people had to face the mighty Red Army… show more.

When Russia invaded in November of 1939, Stalin predicted the war would last a week or perhaps ten days. However, the genius of Field Marshal Mannerheim and the courage of the Finnish soldiers, allowed them to resist for 105 days through one of the coldest winters in Finnish history. Soldiers used cross-country skis to move quickly. And they often employed “motti” tactics, cutting the Russian columns into smaller units that they could isolate and attack. Also, having few anti-tank guns, they used Molotov cocktails with deadly effect on Russian tanks. These clever battle strategies, combined with the incredible endurance of… show more.