Foreign support in the Winter War
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Foreign support in the Winter War consisted of materiel, men and moral support to the Finnish struggle against the Soviet Union in the Winter War. World opinion at large supported the Finnish cause. The Second World War had not yet begun in earnest and was known to the public as the Phoney War; at that time, the Winter War saw the only real fighting in Europe besides the
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
and Soviet invasion of Poland, and thus held major world interest. The Soviet aggression was generally deemed unjustified. Various foreign organizations sent material aid, such as medical supplies. Finnish immigrants in the United States and Canada returned home, and many volunteers (one of them future actor
Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimat ...
) traveled to Finland to join Finland's forces: 8,700 Swedes, 1,010 Danes (including Christian Frederik von Schalburg, a captain in the Danish
Royal Life Guards The Life Guards (LG) is the senior regiment of the British Army and part of the Household Cavalry, along with the Blues and Royals. History The Life Guards grew from the four troops of Horse Guards (exclusively formed of gentlemen-troopers un ...
and later commander of the
Free Corps Denmark Free Corps Denmark ( da, Frikorps Danmark) was a unit of the Waffen-SS during World War II consisting of collaborationist volunteers from Denmark. It was established following an initiative by the National Socialist Workers' Party of Denmark (DNS ...
, a volunteer unit created by Nazi Germany in Denmark during World War II), about 1,000 Estonians, 850 Ukrainians, 725 Norwegians, 372 Ingrians, 366 Hungarians, 346 Finnish expatriates, more than 20 Latvians and 190 volunteers of other nationalities made it to Finland before the war was over.
Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...
condemned the Soviet attack on 26 December 1939 in a speech at the Vatican and later donated a signed and sealed prayer on behalf of Finland.


Estonia

Estonia remained officially neutral, but 400–1000 Estonian individuals travelled clandestinely to Finland and volunteered to fight against the Soviet invaders. It is estimated that around 100 Estonian volunteers on the Finnish side saw military action before the end of the Winter War.


Hungary

The Hungarian government officially did not support Finland, but secretly started to search for ways to help. In addition, non-governmental organisations began to organize support for Finland. Hungary helped Finland by giving monetary donations, armaments and military volunteers. Nobel Prize winner Albert Szent-Györgyi offered all of his prize money to Finland. Count Pál Teleki's government sent armaments and war equipment valued at 1 million Hungarian pengős during the Winter War (with knowledge and accord of Regent
Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya Miklós () is a given name or surname, the Hungarian form of the Greek (English ''Nicholas''), and may refer to: In Hungarian politics * Miklós Bánffy, Hungarian nobleman, politician, and novelist * Miklós Horthy, Regent of the Kingdom of Hu ...
). The recruiting of volunteers started on 16 December. During the Winter War, around 25,000 Hungarian men applied to fight in Finland; finally, 350 applications were accepted. Their military training started at 10 January and it took almost a month. The volunteers formed a battalion what was commanded by Lieutenant
Imre Kémeri Nagy Imre is a Hungarian masculine first name, which is also in Estonian use, where the corresponding name day is 10 April. It has been suggested that it relates to the name Emeric, Emmerich or Heinrich. Its English equivalents are Emery and Henry. ...
. The ''Hungarian Volunteer Detached Battalion'' had 24 officers, 52
non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...
s, 2 physicians and 2
military chaplain A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. Although the term '' ch ...
s for a total of 346 officers and men. Travel to Finland was very difficult as the German Reich forbade transit of armaments and war equipment across its territory (including the occupied Polish territories). Therefore, volunteers had to travel across Yugoslavia, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Norway and Sweden to make their ways to Finland. They travelled without any weapons by a special train, officially classified as "tourists going to ski-camp". Finally the battalion arrived in Finland at 2 March after 3 weeks travelling. In Finland the battalion was quartered in Lapua, in the training center of the international volunteers. In Lapua they took a part in further
military training Military education and training is a process which intends to establish and improve the capabilities of military personnel in their respective roles. Military training may be voluntary or compulsory duty. It begins with recruit training, proceed ...
, learning skiing and winter warfare. Before the Hungarian battalion could see military action, the
Moscow Peace Treaty The Moscow Peace Treaty was signed by Finland and the Soviet Union on 12 March 1940, and the ratifications were exchanged on 21 March. It marked the end of the 105-day Winter War, upon which Finland ceded border areas to the Soviet Union. The ...
was signed, on 12 March in Moscow, leaving many volunteers frustrated. In the last days of March,
Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...
Mannerheim Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (, ; 4 June 1867 – 27 January 1951) was a Finnish military leader and statesman. He served as the military leader of the Whites in the Finnish Civil War of 1918, as Regent of Finland (1918–1919), as comma ...
visited Lapua where he met the Hungarian battalion. He expressed his thanks to the volunteers for coming to Finland and he promoted Lieutenant Imre Kémeri Nagy to
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
. From 17 April to 19 May, the Hungarian battalion served in
Karelia Karelia ( Karelian and fi, Karjala, ; rus, Каре́лия, links=y, r=Karélija, p=kɐˈrʲelʲɪjə, historically ''Korjela''; sv, Karelen), the land of the Karelian people, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for ...
, at the new state border in Lappeenranta. The Hungarian battalion was embarked at Turku at 20 May 1940, from where a
steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...
sailed to
Stettin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...
, German Reich (now
Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...
, in Poland). They traveled across the German Reich by a special train with a German guard. The volunteers arrived at Budapest on 28 May. Besides the ''Hungarian Volunteer Detached Battalion'', other Hungarian volunteers fought in the Winter War in the Finnish army, travelling to Finland individually.
2nd Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...
Mátyás Pirityi served in the Finnish Air Force and took part in more than 20 sorties. Warrant Officer Vilmos Békássy's plane disappeared over the
Gulf of Bothnia The Gulf of Bothnia (; fi, Pohjanlahti; sv, Bottniska viken) is divided into the Bothnian Bay and Bothnian Sea, and it is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea, between Finland's west coast ( East Bothnia) and the Sweden's east coast (West ...
. Géza Szepessy, along with four fellows from the Military Technical College of Berlin, went to Finland where he was wounded in action.


Italy

In violation of the Italo-Soviet Pact,
Fascist Italy Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...
had staunchly supported
Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...
during the Spanish Civil War in his fight against the Second Spanish Republic, which was supported by the Soviet Union in a proxy war. Italy violated the pact for the second time by promptly responding to requests by the Republic of Finland for military assistance and equipment for use against the Soviet government. The
Royal Italian Air Force The Italian Royal Air Force (''Regia Aeronautica Italiana'') was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was abolis ...
('' Regia Aeronautica Italiana'') sent thirty-five
Fiat G.50 The Fiat G.50 ''Freccia'' ("Arrow") was a World War II Italian fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by aviation company Fiat. Upon entering service, the type became Italy’s first single-seat, all-metal monoplane that had an enclosed co ...
fighters, while the Royal Italian Army (''Regio Esercito Italiano'') supplied 94,500 new M1938 7.35 mm rifles for use by Finnish infantry. However, the Soviet Union's new partner Germany intercepted most of Italy's aid and only released it once peace had been made. A handful of Italian volunteers also fought in the Winter War on the side of Finland.


Denmark

1,010 Danes volunteered to fight for Finland. Most were stationed in Oulu and never saw combat. An exception were Danish pilots that were stationed at various air bases. Among these were two marine pilots that deserted to join Finland, one of which were killed after having shot down four Soviet planes. A total of 4 Danes were killed - 3 of them pilots.


Norway

The Norwegian government prohibited officers or under-officers to volunteer for the war in Finland out of fear that this would aggravate the Germans (they wanted to remain neutral at all costs). Of the 725 Norwegians that volunteered to fight for Finland, only 125 made it to the relatively tranquil Salla front and then just three weeks before the war ended. None of the volunteers were killed or wounded. Many of the volunteers were unfit for combat and many ended up in rest homes and institutions for alcoholics during their stay in Finland. Several of the future leaders of the Norwegian resistance movement such as Max Manus and Leif "Shetland" Larsen were among the volunteers. The most highly decorated Norwegian in the later resistance movement,
Gunnar Sønsteby Gunnar Fridtjof Thurmann Sønsteby DSO ( 1918 – 10 May 2012) was a member of the Norwegian resistance movement during the German occupation of Norway in World War II. Known by the nickname "Kjakan" ("The Chin") and as "Agent No. 24", ...
, spent his stay as an office clerk (like many of his countrymen in the Winter War). In addition to the military volunteers, 30 physicians and 40 nurses went to help the Finnish medical system, under the auspices of the Norwegian People's Aid. There were numerous nationwide collection campaigns of supplies and money in Norway to help the Finns. In all, the Finland collection ( no, Finlandsinnsamlingen, link=no) brought in some , the largest popular collection in Norwegian history. Six training aircraft were purchased for part of these funds. Initial flying training was given, close to Oslo, with these aircraft to students sent from Finland. An important venue for collections for Finland were sporting events, several of which were held for the benefit of Finland in Norway during the war. Some 50,000 backpacks filled with supplies were collected in Norway and dispatched to Finland. Collections of rifles (mostly Krag–Jørgensen models) and home knitted shooting gloves also took place. Sigrid Undset, Norwegian author and Nobel laureate, donated her Nobel medal to Finland on 25 January 1940. The Norwegian government secretly donated to the Finns 12 German-made 7.5 cm field gun m/01s (designated 75 K 01 in Finnish service) in February 1940. Included in the covert artillery transfer were 12,000 shells. Norway also allowed the transfer of aircraft to Finland via Sola Air Station, near
Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...
.Fighter Tactics Academy
Brewsters to the Finnish Air Force in 1940
Norwegian volunteers took part in the assembly of some of the aircraft at the Saab factory in Trollhättan, Sweden. One of the main reasons that the Franco-British plan—''Operation Avon Head''—to send troops to Finland never materialized was that Norway would not allow them to use their ports and territory for troops transfer in order to preserve a policy of neutrality. They explicitly threatened to fire upon any ship that came near Trondheim or Narvik on that mission, as it was correctly assumed that such a force would in reality be used to occupy those towns. The North Norwegian county of Finnmark received over 1,000 Finnish refugees from
Petsamo Petsamo may refer to: * Petsamo Province, a province of Finland from 1921 to 1922 * Petsamo, Tampere, a district in Tampere, Finland * Pechengsky District, Russia, formerly known as Petsamo * Pechenga (urban-type settlement), Murmansk Oblast, Russi ...
by 6 February 1940; as the Red Army advanced through that lightly defended area Finnish civilians sought shelter on the Norwegian side of the Pasvik/Paatsjoki River. By the end of the war, some 1,600 Finnish civilians had fled to Norway. Finnish soldiers of the independent Lapland Group that retreated across the border into Finnmark were transported south and interned at Hegra Fortress in the
Nord-Trøndelag Nord-Trøndelag (; "North Trøndelag") was a county constituting the northern part of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. The county was established in 1804 when the old Trondhjems amt was divided into two: Nordre Trondhjems amt and S ...
county of Central Norway. The internees were released and returned to Finland at the turn of the year 1939–1940. As the Finns had retreated in the northern areas, they had carried out a
scorched earth A scorched-earth policy is a military strategy that aims to destroy anything that might be useful to the enemy. Any assets that could be used by the enemy may be targeted, which usually includes obvious weapons, transport vehicles, communi ...
policy, destroying all housing and infrastructure to impede the Soviet advance. After the end of the war, Norwegian aid continued, shifting to reconstruction aid. When Norway was itself invaded by the Germans on 9 April 1940, the Finnish government immediately announced that the remaining money set off for Norwegian aid work in Finland could be diverted to use in Norway.


Poland

Poland's Prime Minister Władysław Sikorski, despite the ongoing occupation of Poland (since September 1939), had promised to send support in the form of the Polish Independent Highland Brigade to help the Finns in fighting. The help was organised late, however, and never reached Finland. Nevertheless, six volunteers from Poland fought with the Finns during the war.


Sweden

Sweden, which had declared itself to be a
non-belligerent A non-belligerent is a person, a state, or other organization that does not fight in a given conflict. The term is often used to describe a country that does not take part militarily in a war. A non-belligerent state differs from a neutral one in ...
rather than a
neutral country A neutral country is a state that is neutral towards belligerents in a specific war or holds itself as permanently neutral in all future conflicts (including avoiding entering into military alliances such as NATO, CSTO or the SCO). As a type of ...
(unlike for the rest of World War II wherein Sweden tried to uphold neutrality), contributed military supplies, cash, credits, humanitarian aid and some 8,700 Swedish volunteers prepared to fight for Finland. The Swedish Army, which had been downsizing its armed forces since the 1920s, transferred approximately 1/3 of its equipment to Finland, among them 135,000 rifles and 330 guns and large quantities of ammunition. A small number of aeroplanes was given to Swedish Voluntary Air Force, in action from 7 January, with 12 Gloster Gladiator II fighters, five Hawker Hart bombers, and eight other planes, amounting to one third of all the Swedish Air Force's fighters at that time. Volunteer pilots and mechanics were drawn from the ranks. The renowned aviator Count
Carl Gustaf von Rosen Count Carl Gustaf Ericsson von Rosen (19 August 1909 – 13 July 1977) was a Swedish pioneer aviator, humanitarian, and mercenary pilot. He flew relief missions in a number of conflicts as well as combat missions for Finland (whose first mili ...
, nephew of Carin Göring, Hermann Göring's first wife, volunteered independently. There was also a volunteer work force of about 900 workers and engineers. In March, the unit was to be reinforced with five
Junkers Ju 86 The Junkers Ju 86 was a German monoplane bomber and civilian airliner designed in the early 1930s, and employed by various air forces on both sides during World War II. The civilian model Ju 86B could carry ten passengers. Two were delivered to S ...
bombers; on 11 March, the bombers were in the Swedish town of Boden with all preparations completed but the end of hostilities on the 13th precluded their deployment. The Swedish Volunteer Corps, with 8,402 men in Finland—the only common volunteers who had finished training before the war ended—began relieving five Finnish battalions at Märkäjärvi in mid-February. Together with three remaining Finnish battalions, the corps faced two Soviet divisions and were preparing for an attack by mid-March but were inhibited by the peace agreement. Thirty-three men were killed in action, among them the commander of the first relieving unit,
Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
Magnus Dyrssen Lieutenant Colonel Magnus Peder Wilhelm Dyrssen (18 May 1894 – 1 March 1940) was a Swedish Army officer. Dyrssen is best known as one of the initiators of the Swedish Volunteer Corps during the Winter War in Finland where he was killed in acti ...
. The Swedish volunteers remain a source of dissonance between Swedes and Finns. The domestic debate in Finland had in the years immediately before the war given common Finns hope of considerably more support from Sweden, such as a large force of regular troops, that could have had a significant impact on the outcome of the war—or possibly caused the Soviets not to attack at all. However, the help from volunteers, especially the Scandinavian ones, was appreciated by the Finns. This is shown by the fact that during the Norwegian campaign against the German invasion in April 1940, a Finnish group of volunteers formed an ambulance unit and helped the defenders until forced to return home because of the success of the German armed forces. A group of Swedish and Finnish volunteers also fought alongside Norwegian soldiers against the German invaders near Os, on 2 May as well.


France and United Kingdom

The British government sold the Finnish air force 30 Bristol Blenheim bombers and Gloster Gladiator fighters. U.S.-made
Brewster B239 The Brewster F2A Buffalo is an American fighter aircraft which saw service early in World War II. Designed and built by the Brewster Aeronautical Corporation, it was one of the first U.S. monoplanes with an arrestor hook and other modifications ...
fighters came too late to participate in combat missions, and the same applied to ten Hawker Hurricane I fighters. The British government also provided small arms and ammunition, including a large number of
Boys anti-tank rifle The Boys anti-tank rifle (officially Rifle, Anti-Tank, .55in, Boys, and sometimes incorrectly spelled "Boyes"), is a British anti-tank rifle used during the Second World War. It was often nicknamed the "elephant gun" by its users due to its si ...
s in 1939 and 1940. France also sent aircraft, including the Morane Saulnier M.S.406 fighter. In 1940, it was decided to send a new fighter, the
Caudron The Société des Avions Caudron was a French aircraft company founded in 1909 as the Association Aéroplanes Caudron Frères by brothers Gaston and René Caudron. It was one of the earliest aircraft manufacturers in France and produced planes for ...
Renault
C.714 The C.710 were a series of light fighter aircraft developed by Caudron-Renault for the French Air Force just prior to the start of World War II. One version, the C.714, saw limited production, and were assigned to Polish pilots flying in France a ...
. Six C.714s previously marked for shipment to the
Polish Air Force The Polish Air Force ( pl, Siły Powietrzne, , Air Forces) is the aerial warfare branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 16,425 mil ...
were placed in containers and diverted to Le Havre harbour for shipment to Finland. On 12 March 1940, the first six aircraft were already on their way to Finland when news of the armistice between Finland and the Soviet Union was received. At the time deliveries were halted, ten aircraft were in containers at Le Havre waiting to be lifted to the ships and three more were on their way from Paris. The French Army also supplied small arms and ammunition, mostly of obsolete design.


Franco-British plans for intervention

Within a month, the Soviet leadership began to consider abandoning the operation, and on 29 January 1940, via intermediaries in Sweden, Finland's government was approached on the subject of preliminary peace negotiations. Until this point, Finland had fought for its existence as an independent and democratic country. However, at the news that Finland might be forced to cede its territory or sovereignty, public opinion in France and Britain, already favorable to Finland, swung in favor of intervention. When rumors of an armistice reached governments in Paris and London, both decided to offer military support. Although already at war with Nazi Germany, Britain and France put together a combined force of 100 000 troops and 62 bomber aircraft to go to Finland's aid. However this plan was thwarted on the 5th of March when Sweden refused passage, recognizing that defeat was now inevitable. On the 6th of March, President Kallio of Finland authorised a Finnish peace delegation.


United States

The Soviet attack outraged Americans, with some businesses refusing to sell supplies to the Soviet Union. Responding to a call from a manufacturer who refused to sell to the aggressor, the American-Russian Chamber of Commerce compared his objections to " efusingto sell to a man because he beats his wife". In December 1939, sympathetic Americans led by former President Herbert Hoover (who had previously formed the
Commission for Polish Relief The Commission for Polish Relief (CPR), also known unofficially as Comporel or the Hoover Commission, was initiated in late 1939 by former US President Herbert Hoover, following the German and Soviet occupation of Poland. The Commission provided r ...
and, in World War I, headed the Commission for Relief in Belgium) formed the
Finnish Relief Fund The Finnish Relief Fund was a humanitarian aid organization initiated by former U.S. President Herbert Hoover in December 1939. It was intended to support Finland during the Winter War. By March 1940, it had raised 2.5 million US dollar Th ...
to donate money to aid Finnish civilians and refugees. By the end of January, it had already sent more than two million dollars to the Finns.


See also

*
Operation Pike Operation Pike was the code-name for a strategic bombing plan overseen by Air Commodore John Slessor against the Soviet Union by the Anglo-French alliance. British military planning against the Soviet Union occurred during the first two years ...


References


Citations


Bibliography

* Andersson, Lennart ''B3 Junkers Ju86 i Sverige'' * Cox, Geoffrey (1941) ''The Red Army Moves'' (Victor Gollancz, London). * Engle, Eloise & Paananen, Lauri (1992). ''The Winter War: The Soviet Attack on Finland 1939–1940''. Stackpole Books. . *
Jakobson, Max Max Jakobson (September 30, 1923 – March 9, 2013) was a List of Finns, Finnish diplomat and journalist of History of the Jews in Finland, Finnish-Jewish descent. Jakobson was an instrumental figure in shaping Finland's policy of Neutral count ...
(1961). ''The Diplomacy of the Winter War: An Account of the Russo-Finnish War, 1939–1940''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. * Öhquist, Harald (1949). ''Talvisota minun näkökulmastani''. Helsinki: WSOY. (in Finnish) * Ries, Tomas (1988). ''Cold Will: Defence of Finland''. Brassey's. . * Schwartz, Andrew J. (1960). ''America and the Russo-Finnish War.'' Washington, D.C.: Public Affairs Press. * Tanner, Väinö (1957) ''The Winter War: Finland against Russia 1939–1940'' Stanford University Press, California; also London. * * Upton, Anthony F. (1974). ''Finland 1939–1940'' (University of Delaware Press, Newark: part of series ''The Politics and Strategy of the Second World War'') * Van Dyke, Carl (1997). ''The Soviet Invasion of Finland, 1939–40''. Frank Cass Publishers. . * Vehviläinen, Olli (2002). ''Finland in the Second World War: Between Germany and Russia''. New York: Palgrave. . * "Finland i Krig 1939–1940" – multiple authors. * Ruprecht, Antal (2003). ''Magyar önkéntesek a Téli háborúban'' ungarian volunteers in the Winter War Hadtörténeti Intézet és Múzeum, Budapest (text in Hungarian and Finnish). {{DEFAULTSORT:Foreign Support in the Winter War Winter War Volunteers in the Winter War 1939 in Finland 1940 in Finland Sweden in World War II