Quote:
Originally Posted by Schroeder
Makes you wonder what would have happened if the Allied had joined Finland in the fight against the Soviet Union. Would Barbarossa have taken place and if so with Allied support? How would that have affected the state of war between Germany and France / UK?  |
My guess is that the USSR would have offered a 'white peace', if the Allies had started sending troops and much needed artillery and ATG hardware to Finland.
If the war would have continued, Sweden might have as well be dragged into it as the shipments of iron ore to Germany could have been hindered by the Allies had they been more involved in Scandinavia.
Interesting what-if scenario, no doubt.
***
9 March 1940 - DAY 101 of Winter War
The Soviet Union is continuing its massive offensive against the Finnish backline positions.
An attack in the morning by two Soviet divisions shatters the Finnish backline defences in Tali.
The defending Finnish battalion loses 44 per cent of its strength in the savage engagement.
Despite their heavy losses, the Finns still attempt a counterattack towards Tali at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, but without success. Tali village falls to the enemy.
In the evening the Finnish troops regroup in defensive formations on a line cutting through the southern head of Lake Leitimojärvi and the eastern head of Lake Kärstilänjärvi.
Some of the men are in a state of panic. Divisional staff is forced to ask for additional military policemen to pick up deserters from the front line.
In Taipale, the Finnish troops manage to evacuate the Terenttilä stronghold without the Russians realising what is going on.
The Finnish force in Viipurinlahti bay withdraws from Lihaniemi promontory and Hapenensaari and Piispansaari islands.
On the western side of the bay the Soviet troops sever the new trunk road from Viipuri to Säkkijärvi.
In the Kollaa sector in Ladoga Karelia the enemy offensive continues unabated, with strongholds changing hands several times during the course of the day.
One of Finland's leading gymnasts, Reserve Lieutenant Martti 'Make' Uosikkinen is killed in Kollaa.
By midnight the entire main defensive line is once again in Finnish hands.
Approximately 70 Finnish aircraft strafe enemy troops and columns in Viipurinlahti bay. In the resulting dogfight, the Finns shoot down three enemy fighters. One Finnish plane is lost and three damaged.
Finnish pilots spot over 400 enemy lorries carrying infantry and over 50 assault tanks on the roads to the south of Lake Suvanto on the eastern Isthmus.
The Finnish Government convenes at 5 o'clock in the afternoon to consider the telegrams sent by the delegation at the Moscow peace talks. The assembled ministers are shocked by the proposed loss of access to Lake Ladoga and the cession of the district of Salla in Lapland.
The session is interrupted by an important telephone call from Commander-in-Chief Mannerheim, and reconvenes at 10 p.m.
The Government is able to draw on an assessment of the military situation prepared by General Heinrichs, commander of the Army of the Isthmus.
Heinrichs' pessimistic assessment forces the Commander-in-Chief to conclude that there is no alternative but to accept the Soviet Union's peace terms.
(Click for larger photo)
Telefunken SE 499 A
Daily Finnish losses: 654