Sisir Gudipati, Liam Paup, Kristine Chen, Sarah Chu

Phoney War and Winter War

In an attempt for the violent annexation of Finland, Joseph Stalin led the unprepared Soviet army into unknown Finnish territory. However, the Soviets’ vast army was eventually able to overwhelm Finland and win the war- but not without consequences. Due to a combination of Finland’s stellar defense and the incompetent offense of the Reds, the Soviets suffered five times more casualties than Finland, culminating in an overall atrocious perception of the might of the Soviet Union. This encouraged Hitler to pursue Operation Barbarossa in an attempt to wipe the Soviets out as a world power. In the meantime, the lack of military action during the Phoney War in Western Europe was falsely easing people’s minds, decreasing their wariness and allowing Hitler to strike while his opponents were unprepared.

Thesis

September 1, 1939- Germany invades Poland, Soviet Union follows b/c of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

September 3, 1939 Britain and France declare war on Germany (honor treaty with Poland), but nothing happens on the Western Front for 6-7 months

September 4-5, 1939U.S. and Japan declare neutrality in the war

September 27- 1939Poland surrenders to Germany and partitioned by Germany and Russia

November 30- 1939Soviet Union invades Finland, Winter War begins

March 13, 1940- Winter War ends; Finland accepts defeat and signs Treaty of Moscow

April 9, 1940- Germany invades Denmark and Norway → Phoney War ends

Timeline

Who: Germany vs. France & Britain Background:

Other countries started to realize the tyrannical injustice occurring in Germany

Events: September: Germany invaded and defeated Poland Lack of military action in Western Europe People expected Hitler to use Blitzkrieg tactics, but nothing

happened

Importance: Neither Britain nor France attempted to attack Germany Britain was too weak to challenge Nazis Spring 1940: Inactivity for 6-7 months led to bad mentality and

lost opportunity to strengthen defensive April 09, 1940: Germany took advantage of their weak state and

attacked Denmark & Norway and low countries

Phoney War (1939-40)

Who: Finland vs. Soviet Union (also known as Russo-Finnish War)

Background: Countries on Eastern Front (Scandinavia) actively

fighting Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact Bloodlands divided into

spheres of influence controlled by Nazis and Soviet Union

Events:- Finland part of Soviet Union sphere of influence- Finland = potential buffer zone against Germany +

military base- Finnish Advantage- knowledge of geography - Russian Advantage- vast army

-Poor offensive, but still able to overwhelm Finnish

Winter War (1939-1940)

- Treaty of Moscow- Finland = ally of Germany - USSR expelled from League of Nations- Made Hitler think the Soviets could be

easily defeated- Raised reputation of Finland- had stood up

against USSR

Winter War- Importance

Finnish Tactics:- Used guerilla tactics- Defensive Mannerheim Line - Winter weather used to advantage (frozen Baltic Sea,

snowy terrain)Soviet Tactics:- Aircrafts (outnumbered Finnish by almost 25x) used for

bombing- Vast number of men in army could afford to lose men in

risky maneuvers- Used tanks and heavy military equipment to break

through Mannerheim Line -Soldiers lacked military strength needed

Tactics

The Finnish threw Molotov Cocktails into Soviet tanks

Finnish troops on skisSoviet Tanks

Finnish Commander in Chief during the Winter War and the course of World War II

Allied with Hitler (who visited him secretly)

Mannerheim

"Blitzkrieg (Lightning War)." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States

Holocaust Memorial Council, 10 June 2013. Web. 10 May 2014.

Clancey, Patrick. "HyperWar: The Soviet-Finnish War, 1939-1940 (USMA)." HyperWar: The

Soviet-Finnish War, 1939-1940 (USMA). Hyperwar Foundation, n.d. Web. 8 May 2014.

Hickman, Kennedy. "The Winter War - Soviet Union Finland The Winter War During World

War II - Russian Winter War." About.com Military History. About.com, n.d. Web. 8 May

2014.

Robinson, Bruce. "World War Two: Summary Outline of Key Events." BBC News. BBC, 30

Mar. 2011. Web. 7 May 2014.

"Timeline of World War Two." PBS. PBS, 1 Sept. 2007. Web. 12 May 2014.

"World War II: The Invasion of Poland and the Winter War." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media

Company, 26 June 2011. Web. 12 May 2014.

Works Cited