This harsh winter has not been 50 years already in November hit 30 degrees of frost, and in January, the temperature fell to 40-45 degrees below zero.And the weather held until March.Frozen ground was like concrete, and ancient pines from the burst of frost over the entire length with a sound like a shot gun.I do not regret the nature and the snow, which was almost every day.This inhospitable winter was in 1939-1940 in the north of the Soviet Union and Finland.It was then the Soviet leadership decided to punish the "presumptuous White Finns" hands of the Red Army.Since November 30 began "neznamenitaya" Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940, which was then called "the liberation campaign".
August 23, 1939 between Germany and the USSR was signed a nonaggression pact.And this document, there is also a secret supplement.According to him, the two great powers divided their spheres of influence, and under the "wing" of the Soviet Union, among other states came to Finland.Meanwhile, since March 1938 the Soviet government was negotiating with the Government of Finland on joint action to strengthen maritime and land borders of both states.The precondition for such negotiations was the occupation of Germany, Austria and the complication of the political situation in Europe.The Soviets wanted to first of all get the assurance that no enemy will pass through Finnish territory and can not threaten Leningrad from the other side.But the Finnish government has refused such offers, and thus take a step towards ensuring that the Finnish war was inevitable.
However, soon the Finns have understood how such a refusal was a short-sighted, and began feverishly to arm.Chairman of the Defence Council while they had Marshal Mannerheim.And with its supply of military-industrial complex of Finland earned "fullest".Particular attention was paid to Finnish military strengthening and modernization of fortifications that were built before the Karelian Isthmus.And after Germany occupied Czechoslovakia (April 1939), with the initiative of the Soviet Union began a new round of negotiations.At this time, the Soviet leadership offered Finland military aid in case of aggression.And in response to the Finns had to lease the Union several islands located in the Gulf of Finland.They are the military leadership of the Union planned to equip additional base to cover Kronstadt from the sea.Although Mannerheim urged politicians to accept the proposal of the Soviet Union, his opinion was ignored.After that, a peaceful solution to conflict between the parties has become impossible, and the Soviet-Finnish war was only a matter of time.
A non-aggression pact with Germany for some time untied the hands of the Soviet Union, and Moscow decided to occupy Finland.The formal grounds, after which the Finnish War began in 1939, was the shelling of the positions of the Red Army near the village Main.It happened on November 26, and carried out this provocation NKVD, acting under the guise of the Finnish troops.After that, between the two countries were broken off any diplomatic relations and 30 November launched a large-scale invasion of the Red Army on the territory of neighboring states.The military leadership of the Soviet Union was planning for three weeks to break the Finnish army and occupy Helsinki.
But the plans of the Soviet military commanders were not destined to lose.Frontal assault on the famous Mannerheim Line failed.Then Soviet propaganda wrote off this setback to the inaccessibility of the defense system.But in fact the Finnish fortifications built on the Karelian Isthmus, 10 times were weaker French Maginot Line on the number of bunkers, pillboxes and artillery weapons.And in fact, the Mannerheim Line was not an insurmountable obstacle for the then army.Nevertheless, the Red Army during the first three weeks is not even broke through the first line of the Finnish positions, not to mention the occupation, Helsinki.And 21 December this attack is completely stopped, and 26 of the same month, the Red Army moved to defense.Finnish war threatens to become protracted.
After this was an attempt to strike an auxiliary blow to the Finnish positions to the north of Lake Ladoga.But this attempt ended in failure, and as a result the two "red" division were encircled and completely routed.In general, the Finns in the area surrounded and destroyed the five divisions of the Red Army.And again, the advancing Soviet troops started only February 1, 1940, after they have received substantial reinforcements.Now, on the Mannerheim Line aimed Northwestern Front, commanded by SKTymoshenko.It included the 7 th and 13 th Army.Daily shelling weakened defenses Finns.Only February 11 Finnish defense faltered.A February 14, the Red Army took the city total.
Thus, the Red Army slowly moved forward, and in March, has already begun the battle for the city of Vyborg.Now the Finnish government, seeing the futility of further resistance, sent a delegation to Moscow to conduct peace talks.They took 4 days and 13 March were halted all military action.The Finnish war was over, and the government of that country has taken all the conditions that they offered to the Soviet leadership.As a result of the difficult victory of the USSR received the city of Vyborg, the entire Karelian Isthmus and the area situated to the north of Lake Ladoga, along with the city of Sortavala.Thus, we managed to push the border from Leningrad 150 kilometers, although attach Finland to the Soviet Union still did not happen.And the Finns as a result of this war have lost all their defenses and remained virtually defenseless.
