Product Description

On 30 November 1939, Soviet bombers unloaded their bombs on Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Stalin’s ultimatum, demanding the cession of huge tracts of territory as a buffer zone against Nazi Germany, had been rejected by the Finnish government, and now a small Baltic republic was at war with the giant Soviet military machine.

But this forgotten war, fought under brutal, sub-arctic conditions, often with great heroism on both sides, proved one of the most astonishing in military history. Using guerrilla fighters on skis, even reindeer to haul supplies on sleds, heroic single-handed attacks on tanks, and with unfathomable endurance and the charismatic leadership of one of the twentieth century’s true military geniuses, Finland not only kept at bay but won an epic, if short-lived, victory over the hapless Russian conscripts. Its surreal engagements included the legendary "Sausage Battle", when starving Soviet troops who had over-run a Finnish encampment couldn’t resist the cauldrons of hot sausage soup left behind by their opponents – and were ambushed as they stopped to sup. Although by sheer attritional weight of numbers Stalin eventually prevailed over the Finns, their pointed resistance enabled their country to remain free, even as other countries fell one by one.

Undoubtedly the definitive account of this spectacular, often horrifying conflict, fought among the freezing, eerie white forests of the Finnish interior, The Winter War is a superbly evocative and utterly compelling narrative of military history.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #223237 in Books
• Published on: 2003-11-20
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 284 pages

New York Times Book Review
We will not often find a book written with such authority as this one ... we are fortunate to have it.

New York Times Book Review
We will not often find a book with such authority as this one... We are fortunate to have it.

Toby Clements, Daily Telegraph, 26 October 2002
Full of colourful stories, strong characters and astonishing feats of arms... A well-organised, lively, fascinating history.

Customer Reviews

Outstanding!
I wish that every history book was written like this.
Very well researched, easy to read. It examines the war
from different points of view: the battles, the everyday
life of soldiers, the war seen from abroad, the air battles,
plus a multitude of every day facts and curiosities that
give color and make this book as readable as a fiction book.
Sometimes ironic, sometimes serious always to the point.
Six stars for this one.

Eye opener
This book plunges anyone who likes heroic tales and exciting epics of battle as well as emotional descriptions of miserable conditions in times of war into a new world - the little known world of the Finns and even less known story of the Winter War. How much of a major role it took in deciding the outcome of WW2 is staggering when compared to how little known it's story is. In fact, I guess the Soviets could have thanked the whole campaign for initiating a thorough shakedown and reformation in the Red ranks JUST in time for opposing the Wehrmacht. This is one of those books the description of which had me tied down and I found myself speed reading sections that told of key battles and events just so I could get to the end. Even whilst achieving a definite air of battlesome excitement, Willian Trotter stays fair and the lack of bias really makes this book an enjoyable eye opener, especially for those interested in either Finland or warefare of that era.

excellent account of a little known war
This book should be read by anyone interested in Finland. You cannot understand the country without knowing what happened to it during the Second World War.

It is scarcely believable that a country with a population the same as Scotland was able to defy the Soviet Union and remain free. In 1939 Stalin presented the Finns with an ultimatum. They had to hand over a large part of the country so that the Soviet Union could push the frontier back an acceptable distance from Leningrad. The Finns refused and the Soviets invaded.

The Finns fought heroically and skillfully, inflicting massive casualties on the Soviets. Eventually weight of numbers told, and the Finns were forced to surrender. However, their skill and ferocity in the field had persuaded the Soviets that an occupation would be a costly nightmare and the Finns were able to keep their freedom, in spite of the fact that a puppet regime of Finnish Communist exiles had been set up, ready to take power once the Finns were defeated.

The Finns were able to retain their independence even after they attacked the Soviet Union in 1941, trying to regain their lost land. Again, they were ultimately defeated but the Soviets had no wish to try and tame the Finns by occupation. However, that is another story, covered only in a postscript to this book.

The Winter War had huge later significance in the Second World War. Hitler was convinced that the appalling performance of the Red Army meant that it would be no match for the Wehrmacht. The Soviet troops were badly trained, hopelessly equipped, and led by disgracefully incompetent generals who sacrificed huge numbers of men by their callous and inept tactics.

Stalin, meanwhile was forced to realise that the much vaunted Red Army had been rendered feeble and brainless by his purge of the office corps. The fifteen months between the end of the Winter War and the German invasion of the Soviet Union were well spent desperately reforming and strengthening the army.

This book is engrossing and very readable. I recommend it enthusiastically.