This Day in History: 30 November 2020
30 November 1939
81 years ago, today, the Winter War began when the Red Army crossed the Soviet-Finnish border with 465,000 men and 1,000 aircraft. Helsinki was bombed, and 61 Finnish people were killed in an air raid that boosted the Finn's resistance. The overwhelming forces of the Soviets convinced most Western nations that the invasion would end in Soviet victory. However, the Helsinki raid produced many casualties, and photographs of mothers holding dead babies and girls crippled by the bombing were hung up to motivate the Finn resistance. This resistance consisted only of small numbers of trained soldiers, but the nation's refusal to submit made headlines around the world.
President Roosevelt quickly extended $10 million in credit to Finland, noting that the Finns were the only people to pay back their World War I war debt to the US in full. However, by the time the Soviets had a chance to regroup, and send in massive reinforcements, the Finnish resistance was swept. By March 1940, negotiations with the Soviets began, and Finland soon lost the Karelian Isthmus, the land bridge that gave access to Leningrad, which the Soviets wanted to control. Nevertheless, Soviet losses were also heavy, and the country's international reputation suffered. The poor performance of the Red Army encouraged Adolf Hitler to believe that an attack on the Soviet Union would be successful and also confirmed negative Western opinions of the Soviet military.
Want to find out more about the Winter War? Click here for more information, or here for more about the significance of the Karelian Isthmus.
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