Page 175 - The Chief Culprit
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The Winter War: Finland
e Red Army will consider its Bolshevik mission complete when it achieves control of
the entire globe.
—J G, C P D R A,
N C
D USSR M ,
n October of 1939, immediately after the division of Poland between Germany and the
Soviet Union, Stalin’s diplomats addressed the government of Finland, demanding the
Icession of the Karelian Isthmus. In exchange, they offered the Finns a piece of territory
1
twice the size of the isthmus. Upon first glance, the proposition seems alluring—Finland
sacrifices 2,761 square kilometers, and receives 5,528 square kilometers in return. However,
the proposition was not alluring, but rather contemptuous. e Karelian Isthmus is a direct
gateway to the capital of Finland, the largest ports and most populated regions. e geo-
graphical disposition of Finland is such that any aggression could come only from the Soviet
Union, and only through the Karelian Isthmus. Precisely for this reason, the Finnish army,
starting in 1918 (after winning its independence fighting against Russian and local Bolshevik
troops during the Russian civil war), began an extensive buildup of defenses on the Karelian
Isthmus. Starting in 1929, the scope of the buildup expanded significantly. On the Karelian
Isthmus emerged a solid strip of fortifications and obstructions, which became known as the
Mannerheim Line, named for the country’s commander-in-chief, who had won the war of
independence in 1918. Finland spent practically all of her military budget for the ten years
preceding the war on the creation of this line of fortifications. Military experts from all
countries of the world unanimously agreed that no army, taking any amount of time, could
break through the Mannerheim Line. Nevertheless, Stalin’s envoys demanded from Finland
the cession of her main and only defense structure, meaning they wanted the Finns to put
down their arms and hand over to the Red Army, without a fight, the road to their country’s
unprotected internal regions—well developed and heavily populated. In exchange, they were
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