58 WORLD WAR II NEVER SEEN BEFORE HISTORICAL PICTURES THAT DEFINED IT | FINLAND MILITARY HISTORY

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Today I highlight Finland during world war 2 as the thumbnail photo captured my attention. Finland participated in the Second World War initially as an independent country battling the Soviet Union, followed by another battle with the Soviet Union as a co-belligerent with Nazi Germany and then finally switching sides to the Allies against Nazi Germany. As relations with the Soviet Union changed during the war, Finland was placed in the unusual situation of being for, then against, and then for the overall interests of the Allied powers.

The first two major conflicts in which Finland was directly involved were the defensive Winter War against an invasion by the Soviet Union in 1939, followed by the Continuation War, alongside Germany and the other Axis Powers against the Soviets, in 1941–1944. The third conflict, the Lapland War against Germany in 1944–1945, followed the signing of the Moscow Armistice with the Allied Powers, which stipulated the expulsion of Nazi German forces from Finnish territory.

By the end of hostilities, Finland had defended its independence but had to cede nearly 10% of its territory, including its fourth-largest city, Viipuri (Vyborg), and payout a large amount of war reparations to the Soviet Union. As a result of this territorial loss, all East Karelians abandoned their homes, relocating to areas that remained within the borders of Finland.

During World War II, Finland was in many ways a unique case: It was the only European country bordering the Soviet Union in 1939 which was still unoccupied by 1945. Of all the European countries fighting, only three European capitals were never occupied: Moscow, London, and Helsinki. It was a country which sided with Germany, but in which native Jews and almost all refugees were safe from persecution. It was the only co-belligerent of Nazi Germany which maintained democracy throughout the war. It was in fact the only democracy in mainland Europe that remained so despite being an involved party in the war.

According to the Finnish records, 19,085 Soviet prisoners of war died in Finnish prison camps during the Continuation War, which means that 29.6% of Soviet POWs taken by the Finns did not survive. The high number of fatalities was mainly due to malnutrition and diseases. However, about 1,000 POWs were shot, primarily when attempting to escape.
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The captivating photo from the thumbnail photo is number 32 in the video. A Finish soldier fires a liekinheitin M/40 flamethrower on the Eastern Front.

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Background The Flamethrower M/Kuusinen, aka Flamethrower M/40

During the initial months of the Winter War, Finnish troops were largely using two types of portable flame-throwers – the Liekinheitin M/39 and the Finnish designed and built Liekinheitin M/38. While the portable flame thrower is extremely lethal within its own limited envelope – like most with flame-thrower designs, M/38 and M/39 had similar basic limitations.

They could be only used at short range and due to being so large, heavy, and clumsy, the soldier operating them was unable to carry or use any secondary weapon larger than a pistol. As a result, soldiers using the flamethrower as a weapon were basically defenseless if they encountered enemy soldier(s) that were outside the effective range of the flame- thrower. Due to this the Finnish Army typically had another soldier equipped with a submachine gun assigned to protect the flame-thrower operator. Even with this the casualties amongst soldiers using the portable flame-throwers were not light.

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Make sure to watch my playlist of my World War Photos Playlist
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUFJKspPCM-Vjy-QT07MAaDCZKU4J1vfq

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Видео 58 WORLD WAR II NEVER SEEN BEFORE HISTORICAL PICTURES THAT DEFINED IT | FINLAND MILITARY HISTORY канала History Photos Gallery