Winter War 1939–1940

Timeline

August 23, 1939 The Soviet Union and Germany sign a non-aggression pact.

September 1, 1939 Germany invades Poland.

September 3, 1939 Britain and France declare war on Germany.

September 17, 1939 The Soviet Union invades Poland.

October 7 to Nov 9, 1939 A Finnish delegation negotiates in Moscow.

October 6, 1939 Finland declares mobilization.

November 30, 1939 The Soviet Union invades Finland. Soviet aircraft bomb Helsinki. The Winter War began

March 13, 1940 The Moscow Peace Treaty ends the war after 105 days of fighting.

Background

The German annexation of Austria in 1938 was followed by the occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1939.

On August 23, 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact, also referred to as the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. The pact included a secret protocol that defined the borders of certain European countries, leaving Finland and the Baltic countries, i.e., Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, within the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union.

German forces crossed the border into Poland on September 1, 1939. Britain and France declared war on Germany. The Soviet Union, which had agreed with Germany on the partition of Poland, invaded the eastern part of the country on September 17.

Talks Come to Dead End

In early October, the Soviet Union invited a Finnish delegation to Moscow to discuss current political issues. Upon the receipt of the invitation, Finland immediately mobilized 300,000 reservists under the guise of “additional refresher training.”

The delegation returned from Moscow on October 16 bearing the news that the Soviet Union wanted Finland to cede terrain on the Karelian Isthmus and around Petsamo on the shore of the Arctic Ocean. The Soviets also demanded control over several islands in the Gulf of Finland and wanted to sign a 30-year lease for Hanko Peninsula on the southern coast of mainland Finland.

The chairman of the Defense Council, Marshal Gustaf Mannerheim, opined that Finland was not ready for a war. It was therefore decided to continue negotiations, but an agreement proved elusive.

Concerns of Local Military Commanders

Throughout the summer and early fall of 1939, Finnish border guard units in Ilomantsi had notified higher command echelons of worrisome developments across the border. Men had heard explosions, sounds of logging, rumble of trucks and tracked vehicles, and gun firing they concluded came from sight alignment shooting. Smokes from hundreds of campfires were also visible on the Finnish side.

However, the staff of the IV Army Corps, which was responsible for the defense of North Karelia, did not expect the Russians to unleash a massive, motorized force in the direction of Ilomantsi, due to the poor condition of the roads on the Soviet side of the border.

On November 26, the Russians reported seven explosions near the Soviet village of Mainila on the Karelian Isthmus, claiming they were caused by Finnish artillery shells. However, this was a false flag operation staged by the Soviet Union, and the Russians used it to unilaterally renounce the non-aggression pact then in force with Finland.

Major Viljo Nikoskelainen and Captain Viljo Kivikko, both serving in Ilomantsi Border Guard Company of Joensuu Frontier Guard District, realized that a war was imminent, and on November 27, they ordered the evacuation of the civilian population of the settlements situated close to the border. This decision, which was contrary to the policy and orders of higher headquarters, proved to be right. Thanks to Nikoskelainen and Kivikko’s action, after the war broke out three days later, civilian losses in Ilomantsi were below those sustained by the inhabitants of the border settlements in the neighboring municipalities.

The Red Army's lines of attack in Ilomantsi in 1939.

Red Army Attacks

Brigade Commander P. A. Aleksandrov's 155th Division of 18,000 men crossed the border into Ilomantsi in the morning of November 30, 1939, and initially advanced along three axes practically unopposed.

The attacker’s overwhelming numerical superiority and quality of equipment were a complete surprise to the defenders. The enemy force was supported by a large number of armored cars, tanks and other motorized equipment, of which the defenders had none, and powerful artillery. The division also had thousands of horses.

Against this onslaught the Finns had only Nikoskelainen’s 11th Independent Battalion composed predominantly of men from Ilomantsi Border Guard Company, members of Ilomantsi Civil Guard, and local reservists. The battalion was augmented by Lieutenant Julkunen’s detachment of young volunteers who had not yet completed their military service. The defending force consisted of 900 combat-ready men all told.

During the early days of the war, evacuees from borderland settlements trudged toward the west with the retreating military units. After the defense of Ilomantsi was reinforced during the second week of fighting, the relative numerical strength of the opposing forces was evened out to about one to four, but the Finns remained as underdogs.

The Russian attack routes in Ilomants are shown in red. The blue colour shows the movements of the Finnish troops.

Moscow Peace Treaty

Fighting ended on the Finnish front at 1100 hours on March 13, 1940. In the early morning in Moscow, a Finnish delegation had signed a peace treaty that marked the end of the 105-day Winter War.

Agreeing to an armistice was a touch-and-go decision. The Finns were at the end of their tether, they had been forced to abandon their strongest defensive positions, and their artillery was practically out of ammunition. Even though Joseph Stalin had to relinquish his plan for the occupation of the entire Finland, the Soviets dictated harsh conditions for peace. Finland had to cede extensive areas to the Soviet Union, including one third of the land area of the municipality of Ilomantsi.

A visitor to the easternmost point of continental European Union sees two stretches of the Finnish-Russian border, dating from different eras. From the border markers to the northwest, the border follows the line drawn between Russia and Sweden in the 1617 Treaty of Stolbovo, while to the southwest, the course of the border was established in the Moscow Peace Treaty.

Reconstruction

Finnish troops that fought delayed action along the enemy's axes of advance burned down hundreds of houses and other buildings as they retreated toward the west. After the war, most of the evacuated population returned home and embarked on an extensive reconstruction effort.

Twenty-five small, prefabricated houses donated by Sweden were erected in the settlements of Lehtovaara and Korentovaara. They alleviated the lack of accommodation significantly and remain in use to this day. They remind us of Ilomantsi's unique wartime history.

Evacuees from the occupied areas were resettled in all corners of Finland. No Finnish population remained in the Russian-occupied territory.