Fourth Geneva ConventionThe Geneva Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (French: Convention relative à la protection des personnes civiles en temps de guerre), more commonly referred to as the Fourth Geneva Convention or Geneva Convention IV (abbreviated as GCIV), is one of the four treaties of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. It was adopted on 12 August 1949, and came into force in October 1950.
Continuation WarBelligerentsFinlandGermanyNaval support:ItalySoviet UnionAir support:United KingdomCommanders and leadersRisto RytiC.G.E. MannerheimAksel AiroErik HeinrichsLennart OeschN.
FinlandFinland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, opposite Estonia. Its capital and largest city is Helsinki. Finland has a population of 5.7 million. The official languages are Finnish and Swedish, the mother tongues of 83.5 percent and 5.0 percent of the population, respectively.
Winter WarBelligerentsFinlandForeign volunteersSoviet UnionFinnish Democratic RepublicCommanders and leadersKyösti KallioC.G.E. MannerheimHugo ÖstermanHarald ÖhquistErik HeinrichsWoldemar HägglundWiljo TuompoJoseph StalinKliment VoroshilovSemyon TimoshenkoKirill MeretskovVladimir GrendalGrigori ShternMikhail DukhanovValerian FrolovStrength300,000–340,000 soldiers32 tanks114 aircraft425,000–760,000 soldiers 2,514–6,541 tanks3,880 aircraftCasualties and losses 25,904 dead or missing43,557 wounded800–1,100 captured20–30 tanks 62 aircraft1 armed icebreaker damaged Finnish Ladoga Naval Detachment ceded to the Soviet Union 70,000 total casualties 126,875–167,976 dead or missing188,671–207,538 wounded or sick (including at least 61,506 sick or frostbitten)5,572 captured1,200–3,543 tanks261–515 aircraft321,000–381,000 total casualtiesThe Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland.
Operation Barbarossa1941 Axis invasion of the Soviet Union during WWIIBelligerents Germany RomaniaFinland Italy Hungary SlovakiaSoviet UnionCommanders and leadersAdolf HitlerWalther von BrauchitschHermann GöringFedor von BockGerd von RundstedtWilhelm Ritter von LeebNikolaus von FalkenhorstIon AntonescuC.G.E. MannerheimJoseph StalinSemyon TimoshenkoMarkian PopovFyodor KuznetsovPyotr SobennikovPavel KurochkinDmitry Pavlov Ivan KonevGeorgy ZhukovMikhail Kirponos †Ivan TyulenevYakov CherevichenkoUnits involvedAxis armies:Army Group North16th Army18th Army4th Panzer ArmyLuftflotte 1Army Group Centre2nd Army4th Army9th Army2nd Panzer Army3rd Panzer ArmyLuftflotte 2Army Group South6th Army11th Army17th Army1st Panzer ArmyLuftflotte 43rd Army4th ArmyIndependent armies:Army of NorwayArmy of KareliaSoviet armies:Northern Front7th Army8th Army48th Army52nd Army54th Army55th ArmyNorthwestern Front11th Army27th Army34th ArmyWestern Front3rd Army10th Army13th Army16th Army19th Army20th Army22nd Army24th Army28th Army40th Army50th ArmySouthwestern Front5th Army6th Army12th Army21st Army26th Army37th ArmySouthern Front9th Army18th ArmyCoastal ArmyStrengthFrontline strength (22 June 1941)3.8 million personnel3,350–3,795 tanks3,030–3,072 other AFVs2,770–5,369 aircraft7,200–23,435 artillery pieces17,081 mortars600,000 horses600,000 vehiclesFrontline strength (22 June 1941)2.6–2.9 million personnel11,000 tanks7,133–9,100 military aircraftCasualties and lossesTotal military casualties:1,000,000+ BreakdownCasualties of 1941:According to German Army medical reports (including Army Norway): 186,452 killed40,157 missing655,179 wounded in action8,000 evacuated sick2,827 aircraft destroyed2,735 tanks destroyed104 assault guns destroyedOther involved country losses 114,000+ casualties (at least 39,000 dead or missing) 75,000 casualties(26,355 dead) in Karelia5,000+ casualties during Operation Silver Fox 8,700 casualties 4,420 casualtiesTotal military casualties:4,500,000 BreakdownCasualties of 1941:Based on Soviet archives: 566,852 killed in action (101,471 of whom died in hospital of wounds)235,339 died from non-combat causes1,336,147 sick or wounded via combat and non-combat causes2,335,482 missing in action or captured21,200 aircraft, of which 10,600 were lost to combat20,500 tanks destroyedOperation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II.
Military allianceA military alliance is a formal agreement between nations that specifies mutual obligations regarding national security. In the event a nation is attacked, members of the alliance are often obligated to come to their defense regardless if attacked directly. Military alliances can be classified into defense pacts, non-aggression pacts, and ententes. Alliances may be covert (as was common from 1870 to 1916) or public.
War crimeA war crime is a serious violation of the laws and customs applicable in armed conflict, known as international humanitarian law (IHL) and the law of war, which gives rise to criminal responsibility under international law.
DiplomacyDiplomacy is the communication by representatives of state, intergovernmental, or non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international system. Diplomacy is the main instrument of foreign policy which represents the broader goals and strategies that guide a state's interactions with the rest of the world.
WarIntense armed conflictClockwise from top-left:Ancient warfare: Stele of the Vultures, c. 2500 BCEMedieval warfare: Battle of Hastings, 1066Early modern warfare: Retreat from Moscow, 1812Industrial age warfare: Battle of the Somme, 1916Modern warfare: Normandy landings, 1944Nuclear warfare: Atomic bombing of Nagasaki, 1945War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organized groups.Non-belligerentA 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 that it may support certain belligerents in a war but is not directly involved in military operations. The term may also be used to describe a person not involved in combat or aggression, especially if combat or aggression is likely.
Casus foederisCasus foederis (or casus fœderis) is derived from the Latin for "case for the alliance". In diplomatic terms, it describes a situation in which the terms of an alliance come into play, such as one nation being attacked by another. Historical examplesWar of the PacificIn the War of the Pacific, Bolivia invoked casus foederis to bring Peru into the war after Chile reinvaded Bolivia's coast.
TreatyA treaty is an international agreement between sovereign states or other subjects of international law (including international organizations) that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention, pact, or exchange of letters, among other terms; however, only documents that are legally binding on the parties are considered treaties under international law.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.