Transcript Phoney War and Winter War

Sisir Gudipati, Liam Paup, Kristine Chen, Sarah Chu
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.
September 1, 1939Germany invades
Poland, Soviet Union
September 4-5, 1939
follows b/c of the
U.S. and Japan
Molotov-Ribbentrop
declare neutrality in
Pact
the war
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 27- 1939
Poland surrenders to
Germany and
partitioned by
Germany and Russia
November 30- 1939
Soviet Union invades
Finland, Winter War
begins
March 13, 1940Winter War ends;
Finland accepts
defeat and signs
Treaty of Moscow
April 9, 1940Germany invades
Denmark and Norway →
Phoney War ends
 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
 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
- 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
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
Soviet Tanks
Finnish troops on skis
The Finnish threw
Molotov Cocktails
into Soviet tanks
 Finnish Commander in Chief during the Winter War
and the course of World War II
 Allied with Hitler (who visited him secretly)
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