Continuation War

Continuation War
Part of Eastern Front of World War II
Finnish StuG III Ausf. G assault guns.
Date 25 June 1941 – 19 September 1944 Location Finland, Karelia and Murmansk Result Moscow Armistice
Belligerents
Finland Germany	Soviet Union
Commanders and leaders
C.G.E. Mannerheim	Kirill Meretskov Leonid Govorov
Strength
530,000 Finns 220,000 Germans (Finnish Lapland)	900,000–1,500,000
Casualties and losses
Finnish: 63,204 dead or missing 158,000 wounded 939 civilians in air raids 190 civilians by Soviet partisans 2,377–3,500 captured German: 14,000 dead or missing 37,000 wounded	200,000 dead or missing 385,000 wounded 190,000 hospitalized due to sickness 64,000 captured 4,000–7,000 civilian deaths
United Kingdom declared war on Finland.

The Continuation War (25 June 1941 – 19 September 1944) was the second of two wars fought between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II.

At the time of the war, the Finnish side used the name to make clear its perceived relationship to the preceding Winter War. The Soviet Union saw the war as a part of its struggle against Germany and its allies, the Eastern Front of World War II or, as it was known in the Soviet Union, the Great Patriotic War. Germany saw its operations in the region as a part of its overall war efforts of World War II. It provided critical material support and military cooperation to Finland. The United Kingdom declared war on Finland on 6 December 1941, followed by its dominions shortly afterwards. The British declaration of war on Finland during the Continuation War is a rare case of democracies declaring war on other democracies, although the British forces were not a major belligerent. The United States did not fight or declare war against either party, but sent substantial matériel to the Soviet Union for use in the war effort against Germany and its allies.

Acts of war between the two countries started the day the German invasion was launched. Open warfare began with a Soviet air offensive on 25 June 1941. Subsequent Finnish operations undid its post-Winter War cessations on the Karelian Isthmus and Ladoga Karelia and captured East Karelia by September 1941. A two and a half year standstill followed, during which Finland refused to actively participate in the siege of Leningrad and to cut the Murmansk railway while Soviet air forces conducted bombings of Helsinki. The Soviet strategic offensive in the summer of 1944 drove the Finns from most of the territories they occupied but later stalemated, leading to Moscow Armistice in September. The war was formally concluded by the ratification of the Paris peace treaty in 1947. Finland ceded a number of territories, including the Karelian regions, and paid reparations of $300,000,000 equalling half of its annual gross domestic product in 1939, while the nation retained its independence.

Background

Before World War II

Although East Karelia has never been part of a modern Finnish state, a significant part of its inhabitants were Finnic-speaking Karelians. After the Finnish declaration of independence, voices arose advocating the annexation of East Karelia to "rescue it from oppression." This led to a few incursions to the area (Viena expedition and Aunus expedition), but these were unsuccessful. Finland unsuccessfully raised the question of East Karelia several times in the League of Nations.

In non-leftist circles, Imperial Germany's role in the "White" government's victory over rebellious Socialists during the Finnish Civil War was celebrated, although most preferred British or Scandinavian support over that of Germany. The security policy of an independent Finland turned first towards a cordon sanitaire, whereby the newly independent nations of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Finland would form a defensive alliance against the USSR, but after negotiations collapsed, Finland turned to the League of Nations for security. Contacts with the Scandinavian countries also met with little success. In 1932, Finland and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact, but even contemporary analysts considered it worthless.

The 1920 peace agreement was broken by the Soviet Union in 1937 when it stopped Finnish ships traveling between Lake Ladoga and the Gulf of Finland via the Neva River. The free use of this route for merchant vessels had been one of the articles in the agreement.

Winter war

Main article: Winter War

Finnish ski troops in Northern Finland on 12 January 1940

The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in 1939 enabled the Soviet Union to threaten to invade Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland without German interference. The three Baltic countries soon were annexed to the Soviet Union. Demands were then made to Finland to cede territory north of Leningrad, lease Hanko peninsula and to give transit rights to Soviet troops in exchange for Soviet land from East Karelia. Finnish counter-proposal would have doubled the distance between Leningrad and Finnish border, but it was not enough for the Soviets. As Soviet part demanded to the end breach of the Mannerheim Line, Hanko and the transit rights, Finland refused and as a result, on 30 November 1939, the Soviet Union attacked. Condemnation by the League of Nations and by countries all over the world had no effect on Soviet policy. International help to Finland was planned, but very little actual help materialized.

The Moscow Peace Treaty, which was signed on 12 March 1940, ended the Winter War. The Treaty was severe for Finland. A fifth of the country's industry and 11% of agricultural land were lost, as was Viipuri, the country's second largest city. Some 12% of Finland's population had to be moved to its side of the border. Hanko was leased to the Soviet Union as a military base. However, Finland had avoided having the Soviet Union annex the whole country.

Interim peace

Main article: Interim Peace

The Moscow Peace Treaty, in 1940, was a shock to the Finns. It was perceived as the ultimate failure of Finland's foreign policy, which had been based on multilateral guarantees for support. Binding bilateral treaties were now sought and formerly frosty relations, such as with the Soviet Union and the Third Reich, had to be eased. Public opinion in Finland longed for the re-acquisition of Finnish Karelia, and put its hope in the peace conference that was assumed would follow World War II. The term Välirauha ("Interim Peace") became popular after the harsh peace was announced.

Although the peace treaty was signed, the state of war and censorship was not revoked because of the widening world war, the difficult food supply situation, and the poor shape of the Finnish military. This made it possible for president Kyösti Kallio to ask Field Marshal Mannerheim to remain commander-in-chief and supervise rearmament and fortification work. During 1940, Finland received material purchased and donated during and immediately after the Winter War. Military expenditures rose in 1940 to 45% of Finland's state budget. A war trade treaty with Britain had little effect due to Germany's occupation of Norway and Denmark on 9 April 1940 (Operation Weserübung). These occupations left Finland and Sweden encircled by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. From May 1940, Finland pursued a campaign to reestablish good relations with Germany. Finnish media not only refrained from criticism of Nazi Germany, but also took an active part in this campaign. Dissent was censored. After the fall of France, the campaign was stepped up.

On the other hand, the relations between Finland and the Soviet Union remained sour. The implementation of the Moscow Peace Treaty created a number of problems. The forced return of evacuated machinery, locomotives, and rail cars, disagreement on a number of issues created by the new border, such as fishing rights and the usage of the Saimaa Canal, heightened the distrust.

Unbeknownst to Finland, Adolf Hitler had started to plan an invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa). The German military had not been interested in Finland before the Winter War, but now they saw its value as a base of operations, and perhaps also the military value of the Finnish army. In the first weeks of August, German concerns of a likely immediate Soviet attack on Finland caused Hitler to lift the arms embargo. Negotiations were initiated concerning German troop transfer rights in Finland in exchange for arms and other material. For the Third Reich, this was a breach of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, as well a breach of the Moscow Peace Treaty for Finland. Soviet negotiators had insisted that the troop transfer agreement (to Hanko) should not be published making it easy for the Finns to keep a troop transfer agreement with the Germans secret until the first German troops arrived.

Despite the Soviet leadership having promised the Finns during the signing of the Moscow Peace treaty that it would not intervene in Finnish domestic policy, the reality of the interim peace period showed the opposite. After the ceasefire, the Soviets demanded the Finnish industrial town of Enso, which was on the Finnish side of the peace treaty border; the Finns accepted and handed over the town. The Soviet involvement in Finnish domestic politics continued with open Soviet support for the extreme left wing organization SNS Friendship Union Soviet-Finland, which was campaigning for Finland to join the Soviet Union. The Soviets also successfully demanded that the Finnish minister Väinö Tanner resign and that, during the Finnish presidential election of 1940, neither Mannerheim, Kivimäki, Tanner nor Svinhufvud were to be candidates. On a meeting with Mannerheim in 1940, Hitler claimed, that the Soviet foreign minister Molotov had asked Hitler for a free hand to 'solve the Finnish question', during one of his visits to Berlin.

Negotiations over Petsamo nickel mining rights had dragged on for six months when the Soviet Foreign Ministry announced in January 1941 that the negotiations had to be concluded quickly. On the same day, the Soviet Union interrupted its grain deliveries to Finland. Soviet ambassador Zotov was recalled home 18 January and Soviet radio broadcasts began an anti-Finnish campaign. Germans in northern Norway reported on 1 February that the Soviet Union had collected 500 fishing ships in Murmansk, capable of transporting a division. Hitler ordered troops in Norway to occupy Petsamo (Operation Renntier) immediately if the Soviet Union started attacking Finland.

Finland offered half of the mine to the Soviet Union in exchange for a guarantee that no anti-government agitation would be done in the mines. This was not enough for Soviets and when Mannerheim declared that any additional concessions would endanger the defence of the country and threatened to resign if those were done, the Finnish side decided to let the negotiations lapse when there was no movement from the Soviet positions.

After the failure of the nickel negotiations, diplomatic activities were halted for a few months.

Path to war

Finnish-German agreements

By May 1941, German troops surrounded Finland's northern frontier and were inside the country by virtue of a transit agreement. Furthermore, Finland had become economically dependent on Germany. Finland became a willing partner as its inner circle of leaders banked on a German victory, and did not consider any alternative policy.

In the spring of 1941, joint military plans were discussed with Germany. In May 1941, the Finns learned about Germany's planned attack of the Soviet Union. Between 3 and 6 June, details of military co-operation were discussed in Helsinki as were issues regarding communications and securing sea lanes. It was also agreed that the Finnish Army would start mobilisation on 15 June. The Finnish military leaders made following prerequisites: a guarantee of Finnish independence, at least the pre-Winter War borders, continuous grain deliveries, and that Finnish troops would not cross the border before a Soviet incursion. The Finnish commanders were willing to enter into a 'war of compensation' as co-belligerents of Germany. The Barbarossa plan envisaged a subordinate military role for Finland, and the Germans assumed that Finland would play that role when the time came. The Finnish leadership hoped to acquire a sizable share of the northern territory of the Soviet Union.

The Finnish government was informed of the negotiations for the first time on 9 June. Eleven days later, the authorities ordered the evacuation of 45,000 civilians from the Soviet border region. On 21 June 1941, Germany informed the Chief of General Staff of Finland of the beginning attack. By then, the Finnish Defence Forces were 400,000 strong, much larger and better equipped for war than it had been in 1939.

Deployments

Relative strengths of Finnish, German and Soviet troops at the start of the Continuation War in June 1941. Finnish borders before the Moscow Peace Treaty shown in light colour

The arrival of German troops for the attack of the Soviet Union begun 7 June 1941 when the German 6th SS Mountain Division Nord in Norway crossed the border on 7 June. Two more German divisions were shipped from Southern Norway and Stettin. The troops were transported to by trains to Rovaniemi. The 40,600 German troops started to advance eastwards to Salla on 18 June. The Luftwaffe landed its air divisions in Rovaniemi, Luonetjärvi and Utti.

Operation Barbarossa had already commenced in the northern Baltic by the late hours of 21 June 1941, when German minelayers, which had been hiding in the Archipelago Sea, laid two large minefields across the Gulf of Finland. Later the same night, German bombers flew along the Gulf of Finland to Leningrad and mined the harbour and the river Neva. On the return trip, these bombers landed for refuelling on an airfield in Utti. Finland was concerned that the Soviet Union would occupy Åland, so Operation Kilpapurjehdus ("Regatta") was launched in the early hours of 22 June to occupy the islands. The occupation of the demilitarized islands along with the arrest of the Soviet consulate's personnel there violated the Soviet-Finnish agreement on the islands. Soviet bombers launched attacks against Finnish ships during the operation inflicting no damage. Later Finnish submarines laid six small minefields between Suursaari and the Estonian coast according to prewar defensive plans of Finland and Estonia.

On 21 June, Finnish units began to concentrate at the Finnish-Soviet border, where they were arranged into defensive formations. Finland mobilised 16 infantry divisions, one cavalry brigade, and two jäger brigades, which were standard infantry brigades, except for an armoured battalion in the 1st Jäger Brigade. There were separate battalions, mostly formed from border guard units and used mainly for reconnaissance. Soviet military plans estimated that Finland would be able to mobilise only 10 infantry divisions, as it had done in the Winter War, but they failed to take into account of the material Finland had purchased between the wars and its training of all available men. Two German mountain divisions were stationed at Petsamo and two infantry divisions at Salla. On the morning of 22 June, the German Mountain Corps Norway began its advance from northern Norway to Petsamo. Finland did not allow direct German attacks from its soil to the Soviet Union. On the same day, another German infantry division was moved in from Oslo to face Ladoga Karelia.

The Soviet mobilisation had been underway since 18 June. The Karelian Isthmus was covered by the 23rd Army. Ladoga Karelia was defended by the 7th Army. In the Murmansk–Salla region, there was the 14th Army with the 42nd Corps. The Red Army also had around 40 battalions of separate regiments and fortification units present. Leningrad was garrisoned by three infantry divisions and one mechanized corps. As the initial devastating German strike against the Soviet Air Force had not affected air units located near Finland, the Soviets deployed 700 planes as well as some aircraft from the Navy against 300 Finnish planes.

Campaign of 1941

In the morning of 25 June, the Soviet Union launched an air offensive of 460 fighter bombers against 18 Finnish cities. The Soviet Union claimed the attack was directed against German targets, especially airfields, in Finland. However, the British embassy verified that only Finnish targets, mainly civilian ones, were hit while no German targets were met. At the same time, Soviet artillery stationed in the Hanko base began to shell Finnish targets, and a minor Soviet infantry attack was launched over the Finnish side of the border in Parikkala.

A meeting of the Finnish parliament was scheduled for 25 June, where Prime Minister Rangell had intended to present a notice about neutrality, but the bombings led him to observe instead, that Finland was at a continuation war with the Soviet Union.

The Soviet Union's war against Germany did not go as well as pre-war Soviet war games had envisioned, and soon the Soviet High Command had to call all available units to the rapidly deteriorating front line. Because of this, the initial air offensive against Finland could not be followed by a supporting land offensive, in the scale originally planned. Moreover, the 10th Mechanized Corps and the 237th Infantry Division were withdrawn from Ladoga Karelia, thus stripping reserves from defending units.

Reconquest of Ladoga Karelia

Finnish military parade in Viipuri on August 31, 1941, after its recapture.

The furthest advance of Finnish units in the Continuation War.

Main article: Finnish reconquest of Ladoga Karelia (1941)

Finnish offensive in Ladoga Karelia started on July 4 and by July 16 it had already reached the shore of Lake Ladoga and cut the defending Soviet army in two hindering the Soviet defense of the area. Finnish HQ stopped the offensive in Ladoga Karelia on July 25 after reconquering the area of Ladoga Karelia lost to Soviet Union in 1940 and advancing as far as Vitele and moved to offensive on other sections of the front.

Reconquest of the Karelian Isthmus

Main article: Finnish reconquest of the Karelian Isthmus (1941)

Finnish troops started their offensive in the region of Karelian Isthmus on July 31. Finnish troops reached shores of lake Ladoga on August 9 surrounding most of three defending Soviet divisions on the north-western coast of the lake from where they were evacuated across the lake. By August 23 Finns had reached Vuoksi waterway from the east and continued to surround Soviet forces defending the Viipuri. Soviet withdrawal order came too late and divisions lost of their equipment though sizable portion of the manpower was later evacuated from the Koivisto islands. The badly mauled defending Soviet army was unable to halt the Finnish offensive and by September 2 they had reached the 1939 border along its whole length. Finnish HQ ordered (on August 31) the offensive to halt at a straightened line just past the former border and by mid September the front had become quiet.

Conquest of East Karelia

Main article: Finnish conquest of East Karelia (1941)

Finnish offensive in East Karelia started in early July in the northern section of the front with other areas moved to offensive later on. In early September the attack in the northern section reached the Rukajärvi (Ругозеро, Rugozero) village and HQ halted the offensive there. In the southern area on August 27 Finnish HQ ordered the offensive to reach Svir river. Finnish troops cut the Kirov railroad on September 7 and crossed the Svir on September 15 and then halted the offensive. Advance troops reached shores of lake Onega on September 24 and the town of Petrozavodsk was captured on October 1 after Soviets withdraw from the town to avoid being encirclement. On November 6 Finnish HQ ordered the forces to capture Karhumäki and then move to defense. Finnish forces captured on the early December the area of Karhumäki and Povenets and halted the offensive.

Operation Silver Fox

Further information: Operation Silver Fox

The operational border between Finnish and German forces was located southeast from Lake Oulujärvi to the border, and then straight to the east. The Finnish 14.D controlled the southern part of the border, while the northern part was in the responsibility of AOK Norwegen (Col. Gen. von Falkenhorst). The Finnish III Corps (Maj. Gen. Siilasvuo) was southernmost, German XXXVI Corps (Gen. Feige) next and German Mountain Corps (Gen. Dietl) northernmost at Petsamo. Together, they had three infantry, two mountain and one SS ("Nord") divisions and two armoured battalions. Additionally, an infantry regiment and an artillery battalion from the German 163rd division were diverted there. Opposing them were the Soviet 14th Army (Lt. Gen. Frolov) at Murmansk, part of the 7th infantry division, together with the 6th infantry division, one armoured division, and another division strengthening the fortified area.

As the Finns had not allowed the Germans to attack across the Finnish border before 25 June, Soviet side had ample warning and used the available days to fortify the border region. Also, the concentration of the German forces to the border took longer than anticipated, so the start of the offensive was delayed until 29 June, a week later than the start of Operation Barbarossa, thus giving the Soviets more time to prepare their fortifications.

The Mountain Corps broke through the Soviet forces in the early hours of 29 June and managed to advance almost 30 km to the Litsa River, where the offensive was stopped by supply problems on 2 July. When the attack was continued a week later, the Soviets had managed to bring in reinforcements and prepare defensive positions, so the attack failed to gain ground.

Radio operator of Finnish long-range patrol

The XXXVI Corps attacked along the Rovaniemi–Kandalaksha railroad on 1 July, but after only a day, the SS division "Nord" had lost its fighting capability and it took a week before the German 169th division and Finnish 6th division managed to capture Salla, and only two days later, the whole offensive was halted by a new Soviet fortified line.

Soviet infiltrator being shot during the Continuation War.

The Germans had used all their forces in the offensive and did not have any reserves left, so these had to be transported from Germany and Norway. This caused a delay in operations, which the Soviets used effectively to reinforce their positions and improve their fortifications. OKW was only able to send two infantry regiments to von Falkenhorst, and their willingness to micromanage their usage lead to disagreements between OKW and von Falkenhorst, which hampered their effective usage. Because of this, the renewed offensive failed to gain any ground on 8 September at Litsa River, after which OKW ordered its forces to switch to the defensive.

At Salla, XXXVI Corps fared better from 19 August, as the Finnish 6th division had cut Soviet supply routes, forcing the Soviet 104th and 122nd divisions to abandon their fortified positions and heavy equipment on 27 August. This was followed by advancing the operation along the railroad until, after almost 50 km, the attack was stopped on 19 September. Von Falkenhorst had requested reinforcements from Germany twice to continue his offensive immediately, while Soviet forces were still disorganized, but he was denied.

The Finnish III Corps operated under the German AOK Norwegen and was located in the Kuusamo–Suomussalmi region. It was a very weak formation with only the 3rd Infantry Division and two separate battalions. It was commanded by Major Gen. Hjalmar Siilasvuo. Defending against them were the Soviet 54th Infantry Division, commanded by Major. Gen. I. V. Panin, reinforced by the 88th Infantry Division (Major Gen. A. I. Zelentsov) and the 1087th Infantry Regiment in August, and by the 186th Infantry Division and one border guard regiment in November.

The Finnish corps was ordered to attack towards Uhtua (now Kalevala) and Kiestinki (now Kestenga). When the offensive began on 1 July, the attack was slowed by a Soviet delaying defence and it took eight days to reach the Soviet defences at the Vuonnisenjoki River in the south, and 12 more days to reach the Sohjananjoki River in the north. In the south, the attack continued on 11 July with a flanking attack across lake Ylä-Kuittijärvi, but the Soviet defence was so successful that the attack was broken off in early September without reaching Uhtua, which was still 10 km away, as the attacking forces had to relocate two battalions to the northern group.

The northern group was reinforced with one infantry regiment from SS Division "Nord", and the attack continued on 30 July. A week later, Kiestinki was captured, and the attack continued along the road and railroad eastward. The Finnish 53rd infantry regiment advanced much faster along the railroad than other forces, which moved along the road. The commander of the newly arrived Soviet 88th infantry division recognized an opportunity, and the Soviet 758th infantry division attacked across the forest behind the Finnish infantry regiment, managing to encircle it on 20 August, making the 53rd infantry regiment the largest Finnish unit the Soviets managed to encircle during the war. Arne Somersalo, an important Finnish commander, was killed in the fighting.

The Finns managed to open a path through the forest next day, but the supply route via the railroad remained closed, so the 53rd infantry regiment retreated through the forest on 2 September, after destroying abandoned material. Finnish forces were reinforced with the 2nd infantry regiment from SS-Division "Nord", and the Soviet counterattack was haulted 10–15 km east of Kiestinki.

During October, the German–Finnish forces were supplied, rested and reinforced with the rest of the SS Division "Nord". Von Falkenhorst and Siilasvuo planned to start a new attack in November, but the OKW ordered the AOK Norwegen not to attack, but prepare for defence. However, von Falkenhorst and Siilasvuo started their offensive on 1 November anyway. The Finns managed to break through the Soviet defences and one Soviet infantry regiment was encircled between the Finns and Germans. The situation was threatening to the Soviets and they started to transfer the new 186th Infantry Division from Murmansk to Kiestinki. Mannerheim contacted Siilasvuo and ordered him to stop the attack, as it endangered Finland's relations with the United States. Also, OKW repeated its order to von Falkenhorst to stop the offensive, release the SS Division "Nord" and transfer it to Germany. When the order to move to defensive operations was given on 17 November, the last attempt to reach the Murmansk railroad had failed.

Naval campaign

Further information: Baltic Sea Campaigns (1939–1945)

Soviet troop transporter nearly sunk by German mines on 3 December 1941 in the Finnish Gulf during the Hanko evacuation

Though the Red Banner Baltic fleet started the war in a strong position the naval mine warfare, aerial supremacy and rapid changes on the land forces forced Soviet Navy to evacuate its bases to Kronstadt and Leningrad. Evacuations from Tallinn and Hanko proved to be very costly operations. As the Soviet Navy withdrew to the eastern end of the Gulf of Finland it left the nearly the whole of the Baltic Sea as well as many of the islands to the Germans and the Finns. Though submarines caused some threat on German traffic on the Baltic the withdrawal of the Soviet Navy made the Baltic Sea a 'German lake' until the second half of 1944. Though the Soviet navy left in a hurry, the naval mines it had managed to lay before and during the evacuations caused casualties both the to Germans and to the Finns, including the loss of one of the two Finnish coastal defence ships, the Ilmarinen.

Political development

On 10 July, the Finnish army began a major offensive on the Karelian Isthmus and north of Lake Ladoga. Mannerheim's order of the day, the Sword scabbard declaration, clearly states that the Finnish involvement was an offensive one. By the end of August 1941, Finnish troops had reached the prewar boundaries. The crossing of the prewar borders led to tensions in the army, the cabinet, the parties of the parliament, and domestic opinion. Military expansionism might have gained popularity, but its support was far from unanimous.

Hitler, Marshal Mannerheim (Finnish Army chief) and Finnish President Ryti meet, Immola — June 1942

International relations were also strained — notably with Britain and Sweden, whose governments were confidentially informed in May and June by Foreign Minister Witting that Finland had absolutely no plans for a military campaign coordinated with the Germans. Finland's preparations were said to be purely defensive.

Sweden's leading cabinet members had hoped to improve the relations with Nazi Germany through indirect support of Operation Barbarossa, mainly channeled through Finland. Prime Minister Hansson and Foreign Minister Günther found however, that the political support in the National Unity Government and within the Social Democratic organizations turned out to be insufficient, particularly after Mannerheim's Sword Scabbard Declaration, and even more so after Finland had begun a war of conquest two months after assuring Sweden of its defensive intentions. A tangible result was that Finland became still more dependent on food and munitions from Germany.

The Commonwealth of Nations put Finland under blockade and the British ambassador was withdrawn. On 31 July 1941, British Royal Navy carrier aircraft conducted an air raid against the northern Finnish port of Petsamo. Damage was limited, since the harbour was almost empty of ships.

On 11 September, the US ambassador Arthur Schoenfeld was informed that the offensive on the Karelian Isthmus was halted at the pre-Winter War border (with a few "straightened curves" at the municipalities of Valkeasaari and Kirjasalo), and that under no conditions would Finland participate in an offensive against Leningrad, but would instead maintain a static defence and wait for a political resolution. Witting stressed to Schoenfeld that Germany, however, should not hear of this. Some scholars believe that Mannerheim's refusal to attack Leningrad ultimately saved the city, because a coordinated German-Finnish attack launched in September 1941 would have overwhelmed the Soviet defences.

On 22 September, a British note was presented (by Norway's ambassador Michelet) demanding the expulsion of German troops from Finland's territory and Finland's withdrawal from East Karelia to positions behind the pre-Winter War borders. Finland was threatened by a British declaration of war unless the demands were met. Finland did not comply and Britain declared war on it on 6 December. The declaration delayed the state of war until 12:00 GMT, 7 December. This timing, with respect to Japanese naval movements toward southeast Asian colonies, indicates that British declaration of war against Finland was expected to encourage a Soviet declaration against Japan.

In December 1941, the Finnish advance had reached the Svir River, which connects the southern ends of Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega and marks the southern border of East Karelia. By the end of 1941, the front stabilized, and Finland did not conduct major offensive operations for the following two and a half years. The fighting morale of the troops declined when it was realized that the war would not end soon, as initially expected. It has been suggested that the execution of the prominent pacifist Arndt Pekurinen in November 1941 was due to fear of army demoralization being exacerbated by such activism.

A major consequence of this move was that Finland's blockade significantly contributed to the complete encirclement and 900-day siege of Leningrad, which resulted in over a million civilian casualties, especially from starvation, in the 16-month period Sep 1941 - Jan 1943.

1942-1943: Trench Warfare

Military operations

See also: Baltic Sea Campaigns (1939–1945)

Though military operations during the 1942 - 1943 were limited the front did see some action. On early 1942 Soviet Karelian Front attempted to retake the Medvezhyegorsk which was lost to the Finns in late 1941. As the spring came the Soviet forces went also onto the offensive in the Svir front as well as in Kiestinki region. All Soviet offensives started promisingly but either due overextending their forces or by stubborn resistance the Soviet offensives were stopped and repulsed. After Finnish and German (in Kiestinki) counterattacks the eventual front lines had moved very little. On September 1942 Soviets tried again at Kriv near Medvezhyegorsk but despite of five days of fighting Soviets managed to push back the Finnish lines only 500 m on a roughly 1 km long stretch of the front.

Also some less conventional warfare was fought in both Finnish and Soviet wilderness. Finnish LRRPs organized both by Finnish HQ - 4th Separate Battalion (Er.P 4) - and by local units patrolled beyond Soviet lines. In the summer of 1942 Soviet Union had formed 1st Partisan Brigade. The unit was only 'partisan' in the name as it was essentially more than 600 men and women strong long range patrol. The 1st Partisan Brigade was able to infiltrate beyond Finnish patrol lines but was found out and largely destroyed.

On naval front the Soviet Baltic Fleet still operated from the besieged city of Leningrad. In early 1942 Soviet forces recaptured the island of Gogland but lost both Gogland and Bolshoy Tyuters to Finns later in the spring 1942. During the winter 1941 - 42 Soviet Baltic Fleet made a decision to use the large Soviet submarine fleet to carry the fight to the enemy. Though initial submarine operations in summer 1942 were successful the German Kriegsmarine and Finnish Navy soon stepped up their anti-submarine effort which made the Soviet submarine operations later in the 1942 very costly. The underwater offensive carried out by the Soviets convinced the Germans to lay anti-submarine nets as well as supporting minefields between Porkkala and Naissaar which proved to be insurmountable obstacle for the Soviet submarines.

Diplomatic maneuvers

Operation Barbarossa was planned as a blitzkrieg intended to last a few weeks. British and US observers believed that the invasion would be concluded before August. In the autumn of 1941, this turned out to be wrong, and leading Finnish military officers started to doubt Germany's capability to finish the war quickly. German troops in Northern Finland faced circumstances they were not properly prepared for, and failed to reach their targets, most importantly Murmansk. Finland's strategy now changed. A separate peace with the Soviet Union was offered, but Germany's strength was too great. The idea that Finland had to continue the war while putting its own forces at the least possible danger gained increasing support, perhaps in the hopes that the Wehrmacht and the Red Army would wear each other down enough for negotiations to begin, or to at least get them out of the way of Finland's independent decisions. Some may also have continued to hope for an eventual victory by Germany.

Finland's participation in the war brought major benefits to Germany. The Soviet fleet was blockaded in the Gulf of Finland, so that the Baltic was freed for the training of German submarine crews as well as for German shipping, especially for the transport of the vital iron ore from northern Sweden, and nickel and rare metals needed in steel processing from the Petsamo area. The Finnish front secured the northern flank of the German Army Group North in the Baltic states. The sixteen Finnish divisions tied down numerous Soviet troops, put pressure on Leningrad (although Mannerheim refused to attack it directly) and threatened the Murmansk railway. Additionally, Sweden was further isolated and was increasingly pressured to comply with German and Finnish wishes, though with limited success.

Despite Finland's contributions to the German cause, the Western Allies had ambivalent feelings, torn between residual goodwill for Finland and the need to accommodate their vital ally, the Soviet Union. As a result, Britain declared war against Finland, but the United States did not. With few exceptions, there was no combat between these countries and Finland, but Finnish sailors were interned overseas. In the United States, Finland was denounced for naval attacks made on American Lend-Lease shipments, but received approval for continuing to make payments on its World War I debt throughout the inter-war period.

Because Finland joined the Anti-Comintern Pact and signed other agreements with Germany, Italy and Japan, the Allies characterized Finland as one of the Axis Powers, although the term used in Finland is "co-belligerence with Germany," emphasizing the lack of a formal military alliance treaty.

International volunteers and support

Like in the Winter War, Swedish volunteers were recruited. Until December, they were tasked with guarding the Soviet naval base at Hanko. When it was evacuated by sea in December 1941, the Swedish unit was officially disbanded. During the Continuation War, the volunteers signed for three to six months of service. In all, over 1,600 fought for Finland, though only about 60 remained by the summer of 1944. About a third of the volunteers had previously participated in the Winter War. Another significant group, about a quarter of the men, were Swedish officers on leave.

There was also an SS battalion of volunteers on the northern Finnish front from 1942 to 1944, that was recruited from Norway, then under German occupation, and similarly, some Danes. About 3,400 Estonian volunteers took part. On other occasions, the Finns received around 2,100 Soviet prisoners of war in return for those POWs they turned over to the Germans. These POWs were mainly Estonians and Karelians who were willing to join the Finnish army. These, as well as some volunteers from occupied Eastern Karelia, formed the Kinship Battalion (Finnish: "Heimopataljoona"). At the end of the war, the USSR requested members of the Kinship Battalion to be handed over. Some managed to escape before or during transport, but most of them were either sent to the labor camps or executed.

Finnish occupation policy

Main article: Finnish military administration in Eastern Karelia, 1941–1944

Finnish military personnel and non-Finnic people of East Karelia at a transfer camp in Petrozavodsk during the visit of a Swiss correspondent during the final phases of the war.

Russian children at a formerly Finnish-run transfer camp in Petrozavodsk; photo taken by photographer Galina Sanko on 29 June 1944, one day after the Finns had left the area. The sign reads, in Finnish and Russian: "Transfer camp. Entry to the camp and conversations through the fence are forbidden under the penalty of death."

A significant number of Soviet civilians were interred in concentration camps. These were Russian women, young children, and the elderly as almost all of the working age male and female population was either drafted or evacuated: only ⅓ of the original population of 470,000 remained in East Karelia when the Finnish army arrived, and a half of them were Karelians. About 30% (24,000) of the remaining Russian population were confined in camps, 6,000 of them were Soviet refugees captured when awaiting transportation over Lake Onega, and 3,000 from the southern side of the River Svir, allegedly to secure the area behind the front lines against partisan attacks. The first of the camps were set up on 24 October 1941 in Petrozavodsk. During the spring and summer of 1942, 3,500 detainees died of malnutrition. During the last half of 1942 the number of detainees dropped quickly to 15,000 as people were released to their homes or were resettled to the "safe" villages, and 500 more people died during the last two years of war, as the food shortages were alleviated. During the following years, the Finnish authorities detained several thousand more civilians from areas with reported partisan activity, but as the releases continued the total number of detainees remained at 13,000–14,000. The total number of deaths among the camp inmates is estimated at 4,000–7,000, mostly from hunger during the spring and summer of 1942.

Soviet partisans

Main article: Soviet partisans § Finland and Karelia

Soviet partisans conducted a number of operations in Finland and in Eastern Karelia from 1941 to 1944. The major one failed when the 1st Partisan Brigade was destroyed in the beginning of August 1942 at lake Seesjärvi. Partisans distributed propaganda newspapers "Pravda" in Finnish and "Lenin's Banner" in Russian. One of the leaders of the partisan movement in Finland and Karelia was Yuri Andropov.

Finnish sources state that partisan activity in East Karelia focused mainly on Finnish military supply and communication targets, but almost two thirds of the attacks on the Finnish side of the border targeted civilians, killing 200 and injuring 50, including children and elderly.

Jews in Finland

Main article: Jews in Finland

Finland refused to permit extensions of Nazi anti-Semitic practices within Finland. Finnish Jews served in the Finnish army and were generally tolerated in Finland. Most Jewish refugees were granted asylum (only 8 out of over 500 refugees were handed over to the Nazis).

The field synagogue in Eastern Karelia was one of the very few functioning synagogues on the Axis side during the war. There were even several cases of Jewish officers of Finland's army awarded with the German Iron Cross, which they declined. German soldiers were treated by Jewish medical officers who succeeded in saving their lives.

Finland and Western Allies

The Continuation War represents the only case of a genuinely democratic state participating in World War II on the side of the Axis powers, albeit without being a signatory of the Tripartite Pact. The United Kingdom declared war on Finland on 6 December 1941, Finnish Independence Day, with Canada and New Zealand declaring war on Finland on 7 December, and Australia and South Africa declaring war on 8 December. The United States Secretary of State Cordell Hull did congratulate the Finnish envoy on 3 October 1941 for the liberation of Karelia but warned Finland not to go in to Soviet territory; furthermore the US did not declare war on Finland when they went to war with the Axis countries and, together with UK, approached Stalin in the Tehran Conference to acknowledge Finnish independence. However, the US government seized Finnish merchant ships in American ports and in the summer of 1944 shut down Finnish diplomatic and commercial offices in the US as a result of President Ryti's treaty with Germany. The US government later warned Finland about the consequences of continued adherence to the Axis.

The best-known British action on Finnish soil was an aircraft carrier strike on German and Finnish ships in the Finnish harbour of Petsamo on 31 July 1941. This attack achieved little except the loss of three British aircraft, but it was intended as a demonstration of British support for its Soviet ally. Later in 1941, Hurricanes of No. 151 Wing RAF based at Murmansk provided local air cover for Soviet troops and fighter escorts for Soviet bombers. The British contribution to the war was occasional but significant.

Finnish radio intelligence is said to have participated effectively in German actions against British convoys to Murmansk. Throughout the war, German aircraft operating from airfields in northern Finland made attacks on British air and naval units based in Murmansk and Archangelsk.

1944: Soviet offensive

Destroyed IS-2 tank summer of 1944

Overtures for peace

Main articles: Bombing of Helsinki in World War II, Battle of Narva (1944), and Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive

Areas ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union following the Moscow Armistice

Finland began to actively seek a way out of the war after the disastrous German defeat at the Battle of Stalingrad in February 1943. Edwin Linkomies formed a new cabinet with peace as the top priority. Negotiations were conducted intermittently in 1943–44 between Finland and its representative, Juho Kusti Paasikivi, on the one side and the Western Allies and the Soviet Union on the other but no agreement was reached. Stalin decided to force Finland to surrender; a bombing campaign on Helsinki followed. The air campaign in February 1944 included three major air attacks involving a total of over 6000 sorties. Finnish anti-aircraft defences managed to repel the raids as only 5% of the dropped bombs hit their planned targets. Major air attacks also hit Oulu and Kotka but, because of radio intelligence and effective AA defences, the number of casualties was small.

Meanwhile, the lengthy German defence in Narva aided by Estonians denied a Soviet-occupied Estonia as a favorable base for amphibious invasions and air attacks against Helsinki and other Finnish cities. The tactical success of the army detachment "Narwa" from mid-February to April diminished the hopes of the Stavka to assault Finland and force it into capitulation from Estonia. Finland terminated the negotiations on 18 April 1944.

Destroyed T-34 at the battle of Tali-Ihantala

On 9 June 1944, the Soviet Union opened a major offensive against Finnish positions on the Karelian Isthmus and in the area of Lake Ladoga (it was timed to accompany D-Day). On the 21.7 km wide breakthrough point the Red Army had concentrated 2,851 45-mm guns and 130 50-mm guns. In some places, the concentration of artillery pieces exceeded 200 guns for each kilometer of the front (one for each 5m). On that day, Soviet artillery fired over 80,000 rounds along the front on the Karelian Isthmus. On the second day of the offensive, Soviet forces broke through the Finnish lines, liberating Petrozavodsk on 28 June 1944.

Recapture of the Karelian Isthmus

Finland especially lacked modern anti-tank weaponry, which could stop Soviet heavy tanks, and German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop offered these in exchange for a guarantee that Finland would not seek a separate peace again. On 26 June, President Risto Ryti gave this guarantee as a personal undertaking, which he intended to last for the remainder of his presidency. In addition to material deliveries, Hitler sent 122nd Infantry Division, half strength 303rd Assault Gun Brigade and a Luftwaffe Gefechtsverband Kuhlmey to provide temporary support in the most threatened defence sectors.

With new supplies from Germany, the Finnish army was able to halt the Soviet advance in early July 1944. At this point, Finnish forces had retreated about one hundred kilometres bringing them to approximately the same line of defence they had held at the end of the Winter War. This line was known as the VKT-line (short for "Viipuri–Kuparsaari–Taipale", running from Viipuri to River Vuoksi, and along the river to Lake Ladoga at Taipale), where the Soviet offensive was eventually stopped in the Battle of Tali-Ihantala in spite of their numerical and material superiority. By that time, Finland had already become a sideshow for the Soviet leadership, who now turned their attention to Poland and southeastern Europe. The Allies had already succeeded in their landing in France and were pushing towards Germany, and the Soviet leadership did not want to give them a free hand in Central Europe. The lack of Soviet reinforcements stalled the offensive and the Finnish front stabilized once again. A few major battles were fought in the later stages of the war. The last of them was the Battle of Ilomantsi, from July 26 to August 13, 1944.

Prisoners of war

Soviet prisoners of war in Finland

About 2,600–2,800 Soviet prisoners of war were handed over to the Germans in exchange for roughly 2200 Finnic prisoners of war. Most of the prisoners handed over to Germans (around 2,000) joined the Russian Liberation Army. Many of the rest were army officers and political officers, and based on their names, 74 of them were Jews, most of them dying in Nazi concentration camps. Sometimes these hand overs were demanded in return for arms or food.

Food was especially scarce in 1942 in Finland due to a bad harvest. This was the primary reason for the dramatic rise in the number of deaths in Finnish concentration camps on occupied Soviet territory during this time. Punishment for escape attempts or serious violations of camp rules included solitary confinement and execution. Out of 64,188 Soviet POWs, 18,318 died in Finnish prisoner of war camps.

After the war, based on the testimonies of the former prisoners of war, criminal charges were filed against 1,381 Finnish camp staff, resulting in 723 convictions and 658 acquittals. They were accused of 42 executions and 242 murders. There were 10 cases of death from torture, eight infringements of property rights, 280 official infringements and 86 other crimes.

Finnish prisoners of war in the Soviet Union

Main article: Finnish prisoners of war in the Soviet Union

There are two views of the number of Finnish prisoners of war. The Soviet and Russian view is that of 2,377 Finnish prisoners of war who reached the prison camps 1,954 were returned after Moscow Armistice. The Finnish view is that of original ~3,500 prisoners of war only ~2,000 were returned (more than 40% perished). Difference can be at least partially explained by Soviet method of counting only the prisoners who survived to a prison camp.

Armistice and aftermath

Main articles: Moscow Armistice and Lapland War

File:Lapp1.JPG

Memorial at Lappeenranta to the dead of the Winter and Continuation Wars. The wall in the background carries the names of Finnish dead buried inside Karelia. The figures are cleaners carrying out a daily cleaning and tidying of the memorial. May 2000

Mannerheim had repeatedly reminded the Germans that in case their troops in Estonia retreated, Finland would be forced to make peace even on extremely unfavourable terms. The territory of Estonia would have provided the Soviet army with a favourable base for amphibious invasions and air attacks against Finland's capital, Helsinki, and other strategic targets in Finland, and would have strangled Finnish access to the sea. The initial German reaction to Finland's announcement of ambitions for a separate peace was limited to only verbal opposition. However, the Germans arrested hundreds of sailors on Finnish merchant ships in Germany, Denmark and Norway.

President Ryti resigned, paving the way for a separate peace, and Finland's military leader and national hero, Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, was extraordinarily appointed president by the parliament, accepting responsibility for ending the war.

On 4 September, the cease-fire ended military actions on the Finnish side. The Soviet Union ended hostilities exactly 24 hours after the Finns. An armistice between the Soviet Union and Finland was signed in Moscow on 19 September. Finland had to make many concessions: the Soviet Union regained the borders of 1940, with the addition of the Petsamo area (now Pechengsky District, Russia); the Porkkala peninsula (adjacent to Helsinki) was leased to the USSR as a naval base for fifty years and transit rights were granted; Finland's army was to be demobilized with haste, and Finland was required to expel all German troops from its territory within 14 days. As the Germans did not leave Finland in time for the given deadline, the Finns fought their former allies in the Lapland War. Finland was also to clear the minefields in Karelia (including East Karelia) and in the Gulf of Finland. Retreating German forces had also mined northern Finland heavily. The demining was a long operation, especially in the sea areas, lasting until 1952. 100 Finnish army personnel were killed and over 200 wounded during this process, most of them in Lapland.

Nevertheless, in contrast to the rest of the Eastern front countries, where the war was fought to the end, a Soviet occupation of Finland did not occur and the country retained sovereignty. Neither did Communists rise to power as they had in the Eastern Bloc countries. A policy called the Paasikivi–Kekkonen line formed the basis of Finnish foreign policy towards the Soviet Union until its dissolution in 1991.

Analysis

File:DefenceOfTheSovietTransarcticMedal.jpg

353,240 Soviet personnel were awarded this medal for the defence of the Soviet Transarctic from 5 December 1944

Mannerheim Cross is the most distinguished Finnish military decoration and awarded to soldiers for extraordinary bravery; the achievement of extraordinarily important objectives by combat, or for especially well conducted operations.

Finland's main goal during World War II was, although it was nowhere openly stated, to survive the war as an independent democratic country, capable of maintaining its sovereignty in a politically hostile environment. Specifically for the Continuation War, Finland also aimed at reversing its territorial losses under the March 1940 Moscow Peace Treaty and by extending its territory further east, to have more non-Finnish land to defend before armies from the USSR could enter Finnish territories. Some small right-wing groups also supported a Greater Finland ideology. Finland's efforts during World War II were, as regards survival and with hindsight, successful, although the price was high in war casualties, reparation payments, territorial loss, bruised international reputation, and subsequent adaptation to Soviet international perspectives during the Cold War. The Finnish–German alliance was different from most of the other Axis relationships, an example of which is represented by the participation of Finnish Jews in the fight against the Soviet Union. The Finns did not take any anti-Jewish measures in Finland, despite repeated requests from Nazi Germany.. One remarkable aspect of the Finnish-German relationship was that Finland never signed the Tripartite Pact, which was signed by all de jure Axis countries.

Finland's supreme commander Field Marshal Mannerheim at his headquarters.

Finland adopted the concept of a "parallel war" whereby it sought to pursue its own objectives in concert with, but separate from, Nazi Germany.

Major events of World War II, and the tides of war in general, had a significant impact on the course of the Continuation War:

• Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa) is closely connected to the Continuation War's beginning.
• The Allied invasion of France (Battle of Normandy) was coordinated with the Soviet major offensive against Finland (9 June 1944 – 15 July 1944).
• The subsequent US/Soviet race to Berlin brought about the end of the Continuation War by rendering Northern Europe irrelevant.

Soviet war goals are harder to assess due to the secretive nature of the Stalinist Soviet Union. Soviet sources maintain that Soviet policies up to the Continuation War were best explained as defensive measures by offensive means: the division of occupied Poland with Germany, the occupation of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, and the attempted invasion of Finland in the Winter War are described as elements in the construction of a security zone or buffer region between the perceived threat from the capitalist powers of Western Europe and the Communist Soviet Union – as some see the post-war establishment of Soviet satellite states in the Warsaw Pact countries and the Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance concluded with post-war Finland. Western historians such as Norman Davies and John Lukacs dispute this view and describe the prewar Soviet policy as attempting to stay out of the war and regaining land lost after the fall of the Russian Empire.

See also

• List of Finnish corps in the Continuation War
• List of Finnish divisions in the Continuation War
• Finnish prisoners of war in the Soviet Union
• Co-belligerence
• Einsatzkommando Finnland
• Finlandization
• Finnish Waffen SS volunteers
• Paasikivi–Kekkonen line
• Salpalinja
• No. 151 Wing RAF
• Karelian question in Finnish politics

References

Bibliography

• Kirby, D. G. (2009). Finland in the Twentieth Century: A History and an Interpretation. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0-81-6658021.
• Kirby, D. G. (2006). A concise history of Finland. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-52-183225X.
• Leskinen, Jari; Juutilainen, Antti (ed.) (2005). Jatkosodan pikkujättiläinen (in Finnish) (1st ed.). WSOY. ISBN 951-0-28690-7. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)
• Raunio, Ari (ed.); Maanpuolustuskorkeakoulun Historian laitos (1994). Jatkosodan historia 1–6 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). WSOY. {{cite book}}: |first1= has generic name (help)

Further reading

• Vehviläinen, Olli (2002). Finland in the Second World War: Between Germany and Russia. New York: Palgrave. ISBN 0-333-80149-0.
• Wuorinen, John H. (editor) (1948). Finland and World War II 1939–1944. The Ronald Press Company. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
• Schwartz, Andrew J. (1960). America and the Russo-Finnish War. Washington, D.C.: Public Affairs Press.

Finnish

• Finnish National Archive Luovutukset: Research on prisoner-of-war deaths, extraditions and deportations from Finland between 1939–55, Research project, See
• Jokipii, Mauno (1987). Jatkosodan synty. Otava. ISBN 951-1-08799-1.
• Polvinen, Tuomo I. (1979). Suomi kansainvälisessä politiikassa 1941-1947, osa 1: 1941-1943: Barbarossasta Teheraniin. WSOY.
• Polvinen, Tuomo I. (1980). Suomi kansainvälisessä politiikassa 1941-1947, osa 2: 1944: Teheranista Jaltaan. WSOY.
• Polvinen, Tuomo I. (1981). Suomi kansainvälisessä politiikassa 1941-1947, osa 3: 1945-1947: Jaltasta Pariisin rauhaan. WSOY.
• Sana, Elina (1994). Luovutetut/ The Extradited: Finland's Extraditions to the Gestapo. WSOY. ISBN 951-0-27975-7.
• Seppinen, Ilkka (1983). Suomen Ulkomaankaupan ehdot 1939–1944. ISBN 951-9254-48-X.

Russian

• Platonov, S.P. (editor) (1964). Битва за Ленинград. Voenizdat Ministerstva oborony SSSR. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
• Хельге Сеппяля. Финляндия как оккупант в 1941–1944 годах Журнал "Север" ISSN 0131-6222, 1995.

External links

• Template:Ru icon Stavka directive of 24 June 1941 "on measures to foil a possible enemy strike from the territory of Finland against Leningrad", authorising the Soviet air offensive of 25 June 1941 (page 1, page 2)