Eloise Paananen

Invading Finland in wintertime was one of Stalin's biggest blunders that cost the Russian soldiers dearly. Instead of securing the Soviet Union's northern flank with a neutral country, Stalin's demands for more defensive space around Leningrad and the resulting war weakened the Soviets.

The Soviets not only attacked during the wrong season, they attacked the wrong place. The limited Soviet war aims of conquering but part of Finland played a part in their defeat. Instead of going directly against the capital cities where the population lived (as did the Germans in Operation Weserübung against Norway), the Soviets executed a broad advance across difficult terrain. As long as the ski-borne Finns were able to stop the Soviet attacks, Mother Nature and the logistical constraints eliminated the Soviet forces.

This book offers a good but too short introduction to an exotic conflict, albeit from a stark Finnish point of view. A more detailed analysis what led the Soviets into this abyss might offer lessons to avert further cases of Imperial hubris.… (meer)