Author: David Murphy
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
This book explores the Soviet invasion of Finland, detailing the events of the Winter War of November 1939 to March 1940. The invasion was expected to be swift and decisive, however, the fighting qualities of the Finnish Army blunted the Soviet advance and inflicted high numbers of casualties. A combination of difficulties caused by the weather, the terrain, the Mannerheim Line defences, and Finnish tactics resulted in a fascinating David vs Goliath type struggle.
On 23 August 1939, a secret protocol was appended to the German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact; as part of this, Finland was assigned to the Soviet sphere of influence. On 30 November that year, in an effort to protect against renewed German aggression in the East, the Soviet Union attacked Finland, beginning what became known as the Finnish-Soviet Winter War. This long-awaited addition to the Campaign series explores the events of the war of November 1939 to March 1940. Set against the background of the developing global conflict, the conflict saw the Finnish Army thwart the plans of the sizeable Soviet forces assembled against it, before finally being forced to concede. The major battles of the war, which took place in harsh winter conditions, are covered in detail, including the Mannerheim Line, the fighting in Ladoga Karelia and Kollaa, and the clashes in Finnish Lapland.
This is a great look at a conflict that’s often ignored or overlooked. It details the war between Finland and the USSR at the start of WW2. The author makes great use of photographs, illustrations and some excellent maps. This is obviously an overview of the conflict and there are other books that go into grater detail.
The author made use of the historical archives for both sides to provide a balanced look at the conflict. There are some excellent discussions by the author on the tactics and strategies used by both sides. It makes for a fascinating read on a much-ignored aspect of the Second World War.
As usual for Osprey this is a highly detailed book, well written and superbly illustrated throughout. This is definitely a book wargamers should grab if they’re planning to re-create the conflict. They’ll find the highly detailed maps in the book very useful, especially for campaign planning. There’s plenty of information for the wargamer without having to dive into more in-depth books. Add to this Osprey books on German or Finnish forces of the period and you’re set to go.
Those interested in just the history of the war, will probably want to go further in their research and this book should really be a first toe into the subject. It’ll provide an good overview before going deeper and looking for books that go into much more in-depth detail.
Musket, Sword and Paint 