Chapter 7 The Big Picture: A Short History of World War II | 123 |
Russia Invades Finland
Finland, one of the countries apportioned to the Soviet Union as part of the pact with Germany, becomes the next battleground. When the Soviets invade Finland on November 30, 1939, the attacking Red Army forces dwarf the Finnish army; there is every reason to expect a quick Soviet victory.
However, the Finns quickly learn how to stymie Soviet advances. Tanks are allowed to penetrate the Finnish lines during the daytime, while the Soviet infantry is held at bay. When night falls, the Finns emerge from hiding places and pick off the trapped Soviet tanks one by one. In other places, the Finns use highly mobile ski units to surround Soviet columns as they pass through dense forests; entire Red Army divisions are surrounded and beaten by the lightly armed Finns. But, after weeks of fierce fighting, the sheer weight of Soviet numbers begins to tell. On March 13, 1940, Finland signs a peace treaty in Moscow.
The Finnish Army never has more than 200,000 men in the field compared to the Red Army’s 1,200,000; yet the Finns kill 48,000 and wound 158,000 Soviet soldiers. Because the Soviets have performed dismally given the disparity of resources, Allied and Axis observers see the Red Army as ineffective. Hitler decides Germany can defeat the Soviets; the Allies see no point in sending supplies to an army that will surely be beaten.
Events will prove both sides wrong.
Germany Blitzes West
After Germany’s success in Poland, Hitler looks west and sees the next victims if the blitzkrieg France, Belgium, Holland, and Denmark. Hitler believes the defeat of these countries, along with the defeat of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), will make Great Britain sue for peace. With England out of the war, he can focus Germany’s armies on his ultimate goal conquering Russia. Winston Churchill ultimately spoils Hitler’s plan; Great Britain refuses to negotiate a peace with Germany.
The German plan of attack calls for assaults by three army groups. The three group commanders, Field Marshals Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, Gerd
von Rundstedt, and Fedor von Bock achieve stunning success, although all will be dismissed from command within two years for failures on the Eastern Front.
