Units of History - Finnish Ski Troops of the Winter War (1939) (Part 1 of 2) DOCUMENTARY
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In this history documentary we turn our attention to Winter War of 1939 which saw the Red Army invade Finland. While the conflict appeared one sided at the outset, the Finnish defenders stunned their world by holding the Soviet juggernaut at bay. In this Units of History series we will explore the soldiers who made this feat of arms possible in the face of the Russian Invasion of Finland.
In this first episode we explore the roots of the conflict between Finland and Russia and how this would inform the evolution of the Finnish Army in the lead up to the Winter War. We then cover the defensive doctrine which was to characterize the war and the nature of the soldiers who would conduct it. This includes a focus on the equipment of the Finnish Ski Troops responsible for manning the front lines and carrying out the defense in depth. In comparison Red Army troops had more numbers and equipment but lacked the specialized gear necessary to operate in winter conditions. In our next episode we will focus on the organization, tactics, and service history of these Finnish ski troops.
Sources:
Vesa Nenye, with Peter Munter and Toni Wirtanen: Finland at War: The Winter War 1939-40 (Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2015)
Pasi Tuunainen: Finnish MIlitary Effectiveness in the Winter War 1939-1940 (Helsinki: Palgrave MacMillan, 2016)
Philip Jowett, Brent Snodgrass, Raffaele Ruggeri: Finland at War 1939-45 (Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2006)
Credits:
Research = Mark Evans
Script = Mark Evans
Narration = Guy Michaels
Production = Penta Limited
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:13 Finnish-Soviet Geopolitics
04:27 The Jaeger Movement
06:09 Finnish Civil War
08:05 Interwar Period
09:51 Defensive Doctrine
11:46 Start of the Winter War
14:32 Equipment of Finnish Soldiers
16:23 Weaponry of Finnish Soldiers
20:23 Conclusion
#history
#military
#documentary