Cold Open

It’s November 26th, 1939, at an observation post in Karelia province, Finland, close to the border with the USSR.

A soldier in the Finnish Army trudges through the snow, trying to keep his legs and feet warm in the bitter cold. Although much of Europe is embroiled in World War Two, Finland has maintained a neutral stance—warily watching the happenings on the continent. But that’s what this soldier has to do, too. Every day, he must endure hours of tedious isolation to guard the border, while every sensible Soviet and Finn shelters indoors and stays warm.

But the monotony of today’s duty is broken by an unusual noise: the boom of artillery. The soldier snaps to high alert, his adrenaline surging.

He raises his binoculars and counts seven shells exploding in the nearby Soviet village of Mainila.

The Finnish soldier lifts his field telephone and reports the unusual incident to his superiors. But as he speaks, he notices plumes of smoke rising where the shells were fired from. The soldier’s brow furrows as he realizes the firing site is on the other side of the border too—meaning the shots came from within the USSR. The soldier doesn’t know why the Soviets are shelling their own territory, but he worries it spells trouble for Finland.

Over the next few hours, the Soviets will blame the Finnish Army for the attack on the village of Mainila, and the USSR will break off diplomatic relations. Despite evidence from three Finnish observation posts that the shells were fired from within the USSR, the Soviet leadership will only accept their version of events, and tensions mount. Four days later, Soviet troops will roll across the border in a full-scale invasion that begins what will later be known as the Winter War. But the Finns will grind the Soviets into a stalemate after beginning a tenacious counteroffensive at the Battle of Tolvajärvi on December 12th, 1939.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is December 12th, 1939: The Battle of Tolvajärvi.

Act One

It’s August 23rd, 1939 in Moscow, the capital of the USSR; four months before the Battle of Tolvajärvi.

Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov signs his name at the bottom of a piece of paper. Then Molotov rises and stands next to Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, as his German counterpart Joachim von Ribbentrop signs his name with a flourish to the same document.

After weeks of delicate behind-the-scenes negotiations, the Soviet and German foreign ministers have just signed a treaty that will stun the other major powers in Europe. Under the terms of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, as this agreement will come to be known, the USSR and Germany promise not to invade each other for the next ten years.

This pact dramatically alters the balance of power in Europe, bringing together two countries that previously regarded each other as enemies. But aside from Molotov and Ribbentrop, only a few people know that the treaty is far more than just a non-aggression pact. The USSR and Germany have a secret plan to carve up Eastern Europe and take the pieces for themselves. Among the countries Molotov and Ribbentrop covertly discussed is the USSR’s neighbor to the northwest, Finland.

The Soviets have a strained relationship with Finland. For more than 100 years, Finland was incorporated into the Russian Empire. But the Finnish region gained independence after the 1917 Russian Revolution, and Soviet leadership views a neutral Finland as a threat and a potential launching point for incursion into Soviet territory. To eliminate this danger, a secret protocol in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact has designated Finland in the Soviet sphere of influence, effectively giving the USSR a free pass to invade the country.

After the formalities of signing the treaty are completed, Molotov and Ribbentrop posed with Stalin for photographs. The three men shake hands one last time before Ribbentrop returns to Germany with a copy of the agreement.

Molotov knows what’s coming next. Eight days later, Adolf Hitler orders German troops to invade Poland. World War Two breaks out as Britain and France declare war on Germany in defense of Poland. But there’s no way the British and French can stop the Germans without Soviet help. And according to the terms of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, the USSR won’t just stand by while the Germans invade Poland—instead, the Soviets will join the invasion.

Sixteen days after the German Army crosses the Polish border, Stalin authorizes Soviet troops to invade Poland as well. In less than three weeks, the Polish government surrenders.

By the time Poland falls, Molotov and Stalin have already identified their next target. They want to conquer Finland. But even with the secret protocol of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, the USSR needs an excuse to invade. So, the Soviets invent one.

Six weeks after the fall of Poland, the Soviet Army fires on a village near the border with Finland. It soon becomes clear that the shelling of Mainila was deliberately staged by the USSR as a pretext for war. Soviet troops and armor had massed near the border in advance of the shelling, so the Soviet Army is able to race into Finland when war is declared. The Finnish armed forces are caught by surprise and offer little resistance to this first wave of invaders.

But the Soviet advance falters after a week when Finnish soldiers fall back to a hastily constructed line of defensive fortifications. As the Soviet Army grinds to a halt, Finnish generals realize that the Soviets’ superiority in manpower and weaponry is countered by their inability to move quickly in the freezing winter weather. So, Finnish generals come up with a plan to counterattack using their more nimble army, which is used to fighting in the cold.

On December 12th, 1939, the Finnish counterattack begins near the village of Tolvajärvi. Although the 4,000 Finnish soldiers are vastly outnumbered by 20,000 Soviet invaders, the Finns split into two groups and encircle the Soviets in a surprise assault over two frozen lakes. The Soviets are trapped by the pincer movement and take heavy casualties, forcing the Soviets to begin a tactical retreat, and the Finnish Army liberates Tolvajärvi. The Soviets leave behind twenty destroyed tanks and the bodies of thousands of soldiers. The Finns suffer only 100 men killed with a similar number wounded.

So, victory at the Battle of Tolvajärvi will be an important morale boost for the Finnish Army. But the war won’t be over. Over the next three months, the much larger Soviet Union will attempt to bring its superior manpower and weaponry to bear. But the ardent Finns will grind the Soviets into a stalemate, and the Soviet Army will suffer a blow to its reputation that will be felt beyond the border with Finland.

Act Two

It’s December 23rd, 1939, near the village of Suomussalmi, Finland; eleven days after the Battle of Tolvajärvi.

Lieutenant Hovinen and First Lieutenant Virkki ski along a lightly wooded trail on the town’s outskirts, skidding to a halt by a line of trees.

For the past few days, Hovinen and Virkki have tracked the movement of Soviet forces as they fight their way along a narrow road that leads to Suomussalmi. The invasion column is moving slowly. Soviet heavy armor has been bogged down in deep snowdrifts. Engines have seized as the temperature drops to minus 13 degrees Fahrenheit.

But the Finns, on the other hand, have used backwoods trails as supply routes, and their knowledge of local geography has allowed them to stay hidden from the enemy. The Finnish Army is faster and more mobile in the snow since every Finnish soldier has trained in ski warfare — including Lieutenant Hovinen and First Lieutenant Virkki. The two are experts at traversing the snow, allowing them to easily follow the Soviet invaders.

Staying hidden from view, they wait at the tree line and listen in silence. They exchange wary looks as they hear engines moving toward them and sure enough, two Soviet T-28 tanks rumble into view.

Lieutenant Hovinen knows that the tanks have a clear path into the village and he must stop them here, and now. Hovinen quickly explains his daring plan to First Lieutenant Virkki. Then, he puts it into action.

Hovinen tapes five grenades together, before crawling toward the two tanks. If he can get close enough to throw or plant the grenades, he can disable the vehicles’ tracks. But even his white camouflage suit can’t hide him from the Soviets. His heart sinks as the tanks stop, and their turrets slowly rotate toward him.

First Lieutenant Virkki spots the danger his partner is in and jumps to his feet, firing his pistol at the tanks. There’s no way his bullets will penetrate the thick armor, so First Lieutenant Virkki aims for the observation slits.

And after a few seconds of gunfire, one of the tank turrets turns toward Virkki and fires. He drops to the ground and loads another magazine into his pistol as the tank’s round lands frighteningly nearby. Then, Virkki pops up and resumes firing his pistol at the tanks.

But as the tank’s rounds land closer and closer to him, Virkki has little choice but to stop firing and scamper to safety. Still, he successfully distracts attention away from Lieutenant Hovinen, giving him enough time to crawl near to the tanks.

And for the Soviets inside, Hovinen has advanced far too close for comfort. The tanks’ engines roar and gearboxes crunch as the drivers put the tank in reverse and edge backward, away from Lieutenant Hovinen.

Emboldened by this success, Lieutenant Hovinen stands and feigns throwing his bundle of grenades. The tanks increase speed, retreating from the village of Suomussalmi. And as they disappear from view, Lieutenant Hovinen chuckles. Two heavily armored tanks have been repulsed by a two-man ski patrol firing only pistols and throwing imaginary grenades.

The guerilla tactics used by Lieutenant Hovinen and First Lieutenant Virkki are repeated across the region. Although the Finnish Army is heavily outnumbered and outgunned, the Finnish soldiers make use of their better winter combat skills to attack supply lines and field kitchens, while picking off Soviet companies that have become isolated thanks to the confusing network of woodland trails throughout the country.

And sixteen days after Lieutenant Hovinen and First Lieutenant Virkki stopped two tanks from entering the village, the Battle of Suomussalmi comes to an end. By the time the Soviets retreat, the month-long battle has cost the Finnish Army 900 men. But the Soviet losses are far higher, at around 25,000.

Unable to maintain such a high casualty rate, Soviet generals abandon their plans to take over the whole of Finland. They had hoped to make quick work of the country, but that no longer appears feasible. Instead, they concentrate their efforts on the border province of Karelia. Peace negotiations begin and a ceasefire is declared on March 13th, three months after the Winter War began.

On paper, the USSR will emerge the victor in the Winter War. The Moscow Peace Treaty will cede Karelia to the Soviets, and it will be incorporated into the USSR as a new Soviet republic. But the Soviets’ failure to conquer all of Finland as they hoped will stun the world—and the lack of a comprehensive victory will make Germany’s leaders realize that the USSR is not as strong and powerful as they thought.

Act Three

It’s the early hours of June 22nd, 1941, in Mariehamn, the capital of the Aaland Islands, just off the coast of Finland; fifteen months after the end of the Winter War.

A Finnish soldier walks down the gangplank of his warship, which has just docked at the city’s harbor. Thousands of other soldiers gather on the dockside, awaiting orders. There’s a buzz of anticipation in the air. The Aaland Islands are an autonomous region of Finland, but according to international law, Finnish soldiers shouldn’t be here.

Since 1921, the Aaland Islands have been demilitarized, with no soldiers or military bases allowed. But for the past few weeks, the Finnish government has been conducting clandestine negotiations with Germany. Under a strict vow of secrecy, German diplomats revealed that Hitler is about to double-cross Stalin and launch Operation Barbarossa — an invasion of the USSR. Now, the Finnish Army prepares to launch its own preemptive attack on the Soviets, on the same day that Nazi forces begin theirs.

So, as the Finish soldier joins the rest of the company, they begin to march away from the docks and through Mariehamn’s streets. Lights appear in houses as residents awaken to the noise of thousands of soldiers disembarking at the harbor. In less than ten minutes, the soldier’s company arrives at its destination: the consulate of the USSR. And there, they demand entry and arrest every person inside.

The incarceration of the Soviet Union’s diplomatic staff is effectively a declaration of war. And hostilities between Finland and the USSR resume in what becomes known as the Continuation War.

Over the next three years, Finland and Germany will each wage war against the USSR. And although the Soviet Union will emerge the victor in both conflicts, the USSR will treat Finland leniently in the postwar settlement. Aware that treating the Finns too harshly could provoke another conflict, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin will allow Finland to remain an independent nation, even as the Iron Curtain descends across Eastern Europe.

And for decades to come, the relationship between Finland and the Soviet Union and then Russia will remain frosty. The two countries will eye each other cautiously across the border that saw years of fighting in the Winter and Continuation Wars. But the Finns will maintain a unique pride and confidence in their ability to stand up to their much larger neighbor, thanks to their past successes, beginning with the Winter War’s turning point at the Battle of Tolvajärvi on December 12th, 1939.

Outro

Next on History Daily. December 13th, 2003. After a nine-month manhunt, American forces find and capture Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Mischa Stanton.

Music by Lindsay Graham.

This episode is written and researched by Scott Reeves.

Executive Producers are Alexandra Currie-Buckner for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.