The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland that began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peace Treaty on 13 March 1940. Despite superior military strength, the Soviet Union suffered heavy losses against determined Finnish resistance before the treaty forced Finland to cede about nine percent of its territory, including the Karelian Isthmus and Ladoga Karelia, while retaining its sovereignty. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
CombatantsFinland, with foreign volunteers, against the Soviet Union and its puppet Finnish Democratic Republic 2 OutcomeMoscow Peace Treaty; Finland ceded about nine percent of its territory, including the Karelian Isthmus and Ladoga Karelia, but retained its sovereignty 2 Classification
Death Toll Min Conflict Type Winter War
Filter Results1 entry
Connections
Associated With
Finnish troops coined the term Molotov cocktail for the improvised incendiary weapon they used against Soviet tanks in the Winter War
Commanders and Forces
Source Wikipedia: Finnish Defence Forces
The Soviet Red Army invaded Finland in the 1939-40 Winter War, suffering heavy losses against determined Finnish defense
Source Wikipedia: Soviet Armed Forces
Uses
Source Wikipedia: 7.63×25mm Mauser
Source Wikipedia: BT tank
Source Wikipedia: Carcano Rifle
Source Cluster munition, Wikipedia
Source Wikipedia: Degtyaryov machine gun
Source Wikipedia: KV tank family
Source Wikipedia: KV tank family
Source Wikipedia: Lahti L-35
Source Wikipedia: Lahti L-39
Source Wikipedia: Lahti-Saloranta M/26
Source Mosin-Nagant (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Nagant M1895
Source Wikipedia: QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss
Source Wikipedia: Renault FT
Source Wikipedia: RS-82 (rocket family)
Source Wikipedia: Satchel charge
Source Wikipedia: Suomi KP/-31
Source Wikipedia: Swedish Mauser
Source TT pistol, Wikipedia
Sources
1. Correlates of War Project: Correlates of War Inter-State War Data, version 4.0
Correlates of War ProjectBatDeath column, rows for this warQuote, BatDeath column, rows for this war
142,Russo-Finnish,1,375,Finland,2,11,30,1939,3,12,1940,-8,-8,-8,-8,-8,-8,-8,2,2,2,-8,24923,4 142,Russo-Finnish,1,365,USSR,1,11,30,1939,3,12,1940,-8,-8,-8,-8,-8,-8,-8,2,1,1,-8,126875,4
View the Source 2. Wikipedia: Winter War
Lead section, para 1
The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peace Treaty on 13 March 1940.
Lead section
It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peace Treaty on 13 March 1940.
Infobox: Belligerents
Finland (with foreign volunteers) ... Soviet Union (with puppet Finnish Democratic Republic)
Infobox: result
Moscow Peace Treaty
Lead text
The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland.
Lead section
The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peace Treaty on 13 March 1940.
View the SourceMosin-Nagant (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia: Renault FT
Wikipedia: Carcano Rifle
WikipediaUses: Carcano Rifle, infobox wars field: 'Winter War'View the Source Wikipedia: DShK
Wikipedia: 7.63×25mm Mauser
Uses: 7.63×25mm Mauser, LeadQuote, Uses: 7.63×25mm Mauser, Lead
During the Finnish-Soviet Winter War and World War II, the cartridge was issued by Finnish and German forces for use in captured Soviet submachine guns
View the Source Wikipedia: Nagant M1895
Uses: Nagant M1895 Revolver, Infobox: warsQuote, Uses: Nagant M1895 Revolver, Infobox: wars
Boxer Rebellion Russo-Japanese War World War I Russian Revolution of 1917 Russian Civil War Finnish Civil War Estonian War of Independence Polish-Soviet War Spanish Civil War Winter War World War II Chinese Civil War Hukbalahap Rebellion Korean War Vietnam War Tuareg rebellion (1990-1995)
View the Source Wikipedia: KV tank family
WikipediaUses: KV-1, Infobox: wars
Winter War, World War II
Uses: KV tank family, Infobox: wars
Winter War, World War II
View the Source S-mine, Wikipedia
Uses: S-Mine, Infobox: warsQuote, Uses: S-Mine, Infobox: wars
World War II, Winter War, Continuation War, Vietnam War
View the Source Wikipedia: Suomi KP/-31
Uses: Suomi KP/-31, Article textQuote, Uses: Suomi KP/-31, Article text
The Finnish Defence Forces were equipped with about 4000 Suomi KP/-31 submachine guns when the Winter War started.
View the Source Wikipedia: Swedish Mauser
Uses: Swedish Mauser, Infobox: warsQuote, Uses: Swedish Mauser, Infobox: wars
Winter War Continuation War
View the Source Wikipedia: SVT-40
Uses: SVT-40, Infobox: warsQuote, Uses: SVT-40, Infobox: wars
Winter War World War II Korean War Russo-Ukrainian War
View the Source Wikipedia: Lahti L-39
Uses: Lahti L-39, Infobox: warsQuote, Uses: Lahti L-39, Infobox: wars
Winter War Continuation War Lapland War
View the Source Wikipedia: PPD-40
Uses: PPD-40, Infobox: warsQuote, Uses: PPD-40, Infobox: wars
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View the Source Wikipedia: Lahti L-35
Uses: Lahti L-35, Infobox: warsQuote, Uses: Lahti L-35, Infobox: wars
Winter War World War II Continuation War Lapland War
View the Source Wikipedia: AVS-36
Uses: AVS-36, Infobox: warsQuote, Uses: AVS-36, Infobox: wars
Soviet-Japanese Border Wars Spanish Civil War Winter War World War II Korean War Lebanese Civil War
View the Source Wikipedia: BT tank
Uses: BT tank, Infobox: warsQuote, Uses: BT tank, Infobox: wars
Spanish Civil War Second Sino-Japanese War Soviet-Japanese border conflicts Invasion of Poland Winter War World War II
View the Source Wikipedia: BT-7
Uses: BT-7, Infobox: warsQuote, Uses: BT-7, Infobox: wars
Soviet-Japanese Border Wars World War II Winter War Continuation War Soviet-Japanese War
View the Source Wikipedia: Lahti-Saloranta M/26
Uses: Lahti-Saloranta M/26, Infobox: warsQuote, Uses: Lahti-Saloranta M/26, Infobox: wars
Winter War Second Sino-Japanese War Continuation War Lapland War
View the Source Wikipedia: Soviet Armed Forces
WikipediaCommanders and Forces: Soviet Armed Forces, Wikipedia article textQuote, Commanders and Forces: Soviet Armed Forces, Wikipedia article text
The Winter War began when the Soviet Union attacked Finland on 30 November 1939
View the Source Wikipedia: Finnish Defence Forces
WikipediaCommanders and Forces: Finnish Defence Forces, Wikipedia article textQuote, Commanders and Forces: Finnish Defence Forces, Wikipedia article text
When the Soviets invaded in November 1939, the Finns, led by Marshal Mannerheim, defeated the Red Army on numerous occasions
View the Source Wikipedia: Degtyaryov machine gun
Uses: DP-27 Machine Gun, Infobox: warsQuote, Uses: DP-27 Machine Gun, Infobox: wars
Spanish Civil War Winter War World War II Second Sino-Japanese War Korean War Chinese Civil War First Indochina War Vietnam War Hungarian Revolution of 1956 Laotian Civil War North Yemen Civil War Cambodian Civil War Cambodian-Vietnamese War Rhodesian Bush War Portuguese Colonial War Communist insurgency in Thailand Afghan Wars Sino-Vietnamese War Sri Lankan Civil War First Nagorno-Karabakh War Georgian Civil War Yugoslav Wars Somali Civil War Iraq War First Libyan Civil War Northern Mali conflict Syrian Civil War Russo-Ukrainian War
View the Source Cluster munition, Wikipedia
Uses: Cluster Munition, Wikipedia article textQuote, Uses: Cluster Munition, Wikipedia article text
One of the earliest examples is the so-called Molotov bread basket used by the Soviet Union in the Winter War of 1939-40.
View the Source TT pistol, Wikipedia
Uses: Tokarev TT-33 Pistol, Wikipedia article textQuote, Uses: Tokarev TT-33 Pistol, Wikipedia article text
While the TT-33 was used in small numbers during the Spanish Civil War, the first major use of the Tokarev pistol was during the Winter War against Finland.
View the Source Wikipedia: QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss
Uses: QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss, Wikipedia article textQuote, Uses: QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss, Wikipedia article text
Finland, a successor state to the Russian Empire, inherited a number of 6-pounders and used them throughout the Winter War and World War II in the coastal artillery role.
View the Source Wikipedia: RS-82 (rocket family)
Uses: RS-82 (rocket family), Wikipedia article textQuote, Uses: RS-82 (rocket family), Wikipedia article text
In the same year, as part of the attempted annexation of Finland, in the Winter War, six RS-132 rockets were fired, from Tupolev SB bombers, against Finnish ground targets.
View the Source Wikipedia: Satchel charge
Uses: Satchel charge, Article textQuote, Uses: Satchel charge, Article text
These charges, along with Molotov cocktails, were then used during the Winter War and the Continuation War, to compensate for the shortage of conventional anti-tank weapons.
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