Story of a Hero

[Dowly]

Read this last night from the book "Heroes of Winter War: 105 days of glory, 105 legends" and though to share it as I thought it was pretty amazing.

The story of August Saari, an MG gunner in JR 23, posted at Taipaleenjoki (river taipale) which was where the biggest losses on both sides were inflicted and Finns made their last stand before the peace.

12th of January, 1940

The russian artillery barrage was followed by russian counter-attack, as usual, with great force. Saari's machinegun was in position at the river, as he saw the russians "swarming like flies" he suggested to the nearby riflemen to fall back to a safer positions, so to avoid any unnecessary casualties. "I'll manage." Saari said.

The men left. Saari grabbed the handles of his MG and put his fingers on the triggerplate. He was peaceful, it was the attackers who would suffer soon, not him.

The russians tried to move in cover of the riverbank. Saari knew they'd try to get close enough to throw grenades into the finnish positions. Not one made it closer than 100 meters.

Saari fired belt after belt, when it got quiet, he left his position to check on the other nearby finnish positions. To his amazement, he found out he had been the only finn against the attack. Saari returned to his MG and held the position alone for few more hours before finnish relief force arrived.


11th of March, 1940

The ground shook and rocked, everywhere you looked there was artillery rounds exploding, then the russian infantry started to roll in. Saari fired for his life, Hakala crouched behind him as to take shelter. Saari didn't care, the most important thing on his mind was to keep the enemy away.

In the midst of this, an shellshocked finn rushed into the crater they were in. He was no use, nerves shattered. Saari told him to stay and keep as low as he could.

They heard the distinct whine of an shrapnel incoming, explosion went off next to them and Saari's eyes focused, as if thru a fog, to the decapitated head of Hakala in midair, before it fell back down to the crater.

Saari fastened his grib on the handles, even when he felt a powerful hit on his left hand and noticed his sleeve starting to turn red. He glanced at the shellshocked soldier laying on his feet. The pain started to get hold of him. I can't leave, he was thinking, if I leave he's going to die too, he can't survive alone.

Saari kept shooting despite the pain. The horizon started to rock, blood was rushing from the arm, the pain started to make everything hazy. He knew he couldn't last much longer.

The pressure from the enemy started to lessen and Saari turned to the soldier laying in the crater. "Listen!" The man looked at Saari with empty eyes. "Russkie hit me in the arm" Saari continued, "I have to go to the aid station, I'm starting to pass out. You keep shooting and don't leave the machinegun behind. That is an order, understood?" For a moment, he thought nothing would get thru to the soldier, but then his comrade stood up and nodded "Go... go. I think I'm ok again."

[AVGWarhawk]

Good stories. These are the storie I like to read.

[Dowly]

Good stories. These are the storie I like to read.

There's plenty from where that came from. From all fronts of Winter War.

JR23 is the regiment portrayed in the movie "Talvisota" (or Winter War), nice to read the real stories and recognise them from the movie.

[AVGWarhawk]

I remember reading one story. I do not recall the place or name of the individual but the story basically went as yours you have posted here. One guy and a large machine gun told to hold the road. This particular story as I recall took place at night. The Germans kept trying to advance on his position. All night he worked his postion killing the Germans attempting to take his position. He never saw them in the darkness. Just heard them coming. By day break he was surrounded by handfuls of dead enemy. He had not realized he had taken out so many.

[joegrundman]

"Out of every one hundred men, ten shouldn't even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back."
— Heraclitus

[Dimitrius07]

Russian patriots will "love" that story. That's for damn sure :). Who is your next hero?

[kiwi_2005]

"Listen!" The man looked at Saari with empty eyes. "Russkie hit me in the arm" Saari continued, "I have to go to the aid station, I'm starting to pass out. You keep shooting and don't leave the machinegun behind. That is an order, understood?" For a moment, he thought nothing would get thru to the soldier, but then his comrade stood up and nodded "Go... go. I think I'm ok again."

Did the gunner hold out - what happened to the guy ordered to stay :hmmm: :damn:

[UnderseaLcpl]

Great story, Dowly! Such acts should make you even more proud to be a Finn:yeah:

Please excuse me, I am suddenly posessed of the urge to watch "Winter War" again.:rock:

[ryanglavin]

There's plenty from where that came from. From all fronts of Winter War.

JR23 is the regiment portrayed in the movie "Talvisota" (or Winter War), nice to read the real stories and recognise them from the movie.

This sounds like a good book, Just wondering, is there anything on Simo Häyhä in the book? Because that would make a good book a great book :yeah:

[Dowly]

Did the gunner hold out - what happened to the guy ordered to stay :hmmm: :damn:

There is no mention about it. Saari survived the war and was recommended the Mannerheim's cross 4th class, no idea if he got it, the book only says the recommendations not if the soldier actually got it. :doh:

This sounds like a good book, Just wondering, is there anything on Simo Häyhä in the book? Because that would make a good book a great book :yeah:

Yes, there is an story about Häyhä. But it doesn't go in very deep, the stories are 2-3 pages long, usually portraying one or two occasions where the soldier did something courageous.

[Jimbuna]

Is the book available in English or only Finnish?

[Dowly]

Is the book available in English or only Finnish?

AFAIK, it's only available in Finnish.

You could try Frozen Hell by William Trotter, I've heard it's a good book about the Winter War. Review of it here: http://www.fireandicemovie.com/Frozen_hell.htm

[Jimbuna]

AFAIK, it's only available in Finnish.

You could try Frozen Hell by William Trotter, I've heard it's a good book about the Winter War. Review of it here: http://www.fireandicemovie.com/Frozen_hell.htm

Ah bugga....I was looking forward to the more peronalised/eye witness accounts :damn:

[Dowly]

Ah bugga....I was looking forward to the more peronalised/eye witness accounts :damn:

Ah right. Sadly, while there is tons of books about the wars here, not many of them have been translated to other languages. :shifty:

I'll see if I can be arsed to translate more stories from the book later.

EDIT: You might like the 'The Winter War' novel by Antti Tuuri, the movie is made after it. While it isn't an eye witness account, it has been stitched together from eye witness accounts and like I said earlier, the battles are real in it.

http://www.amazon.com/Winter-War-Antti-Tuuri/dp/097310533X/ref=pd_sim_b_5

The novel is apparantly based on actual war diaries, interviews with veterans and other first-hand sources, all of which, when combined with Tuuris terse writing style, combine to give the book a raw authenticity. Read this book and watch the movie and youll get an insight into what the war was like for the Finnish soldiers on the frontline. Its an insight that the histories and geo-political military-strategic overviews wont give you.

If you are interested in the Russo-Finnish War, I would highly recommend this novel for the look at what it was like at an individual level and for an insight into the personal sacrifices made by the many Finnish soldiers who died to preserve their countries independance and freedom from Soviet tyranny. Well worth the read.

[XabbaRus]

Well, what are you waiting for Dowly?

You just translated two of them, only a hundred and three left :) :salute:

Whose the chick in your sig? Looks like Lohan.

[Dowly]

Whose the chick in your sig? Looks like Lohan.

Keira.

[XabbaRus]

Digitally enhanced than I see...

[Jimbuna]

Ah right. Sadly, while there is tons of books about the wars here, not many of them have been translated to other languages. :shifty:

I'll see if I can be arsed to translate more stories from the book later.

EDIT: You might like the 'The Winter War' novel by Antti Tuuri, the movie is made after it. While it isn't an eye witness account, it has been stitched together from eye witness accounts and like I said earlier, the battles are real in it.

http://www.amazon.com/Winter-War-Antti-Tuuri/dp/097310533X/ref=pd_sim_b_5

I'll look into that...cheers :up:

[AVGWarhawk]

Glad I popped back into this thread. I finished "Clash of the Carriers" last night and need to head on over to Amazon to order new books. :yeah:

[kiwi_2005]

There is no mention about it. Saari survived the war and was recommended the Mannerheim's cross 4th class, no idea if he got it, the book only says the recommendations not if the soldier actually got it. :doh:


ahh well, thanks for that anyways. Is there a movie based on this story if so whats it named, is it Winter war some have mention here?. If so there should be one out with english subs I might see if i can grab.

[Dowly]

ahh well, thanks for that anyways. Is there a movie based on this story if so whats it named, will see if i can find it.

"Winter War" follows the JR23, there's no mention of this particular event in it, tho.

http://www.amazon.com/Winter-War-Talvisota-Pekka-Parikka/dp/B0000646UN

Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl98L6ZsX3A

[kiwi_2005]

"Winter War" follows the JR23, there's no mention of this particular event in it, tho.

http://www.amazon.com/Winter-War-Talvisota-Pekka-Parikka/dp/B0000646UN

Ah yep i changed my post same time you must of been answering it. Will try and find Winter war. :up:

[UnderseaLcpl]

Ah yep i changed my post same time you must of been answering it. Will try and find Winter war. :up:

Please do. It's great, if a bit slow at first. If you liked Stalingrad, you'll like Winter War.

[Dowly]

Please do. It's great, if a bit slow at first. If you liked Stalingrad, you'll like Winter War.

Hear the man. :DL

[Penguin]

Just like "Das Boot" you want to go with the long version of Talvisota which is over 3 hours. The character introduction/developement is much better in the long version. There is also a TV Version which is over 4 hours long, but I am not sure if you can get it with subtitles.

I have a copy of "Tali-Ihantala 1944" here, still haven't watched it though. The film didn't have a big budget, however it looks quite decent, it seems that the filmmakers valued authenticity: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tali-Ihantala_1944 (you can find a link to the movie site at the end of the article)
Plus you can get it for a bargain price here, I paid roundabout 5 Euros for it:up:.

[Dowly]

"Tali-Ihantala 1944" was pretty crap. The actors were from popular soap operas who couldn't act naturally. If I'd have to compare TI'44 to Talvisota, I'd say TI´44 is like U-571 and Talvisota is Das Boot. Very disappointed by the movie. :nope:

[Penguin]

oh, ok, that's a harsh judgement maybe I should only watch the battle scenes of TI 44. However I think that the movie doesn't rewrite history like U-571 - so no small group of Finns who win the war by themselves and convince Stalin to give up and dance to polkka... :yep:

[Dowly]

oh, ok, that's a harsh judgement maybe I should only watch the battle scenes of TI 44. However I think that the movie doesn't rewrite history like U-571 - so no small group of Finns who win the war by themselves and convince Stalin to give up and dance to polkka... :yep:

I think it takes an Finn to see the bad acting as when I watch movies in other languages than english or finnish, I can't tell how natural the acting is. It did have some great scenes to it, but forgetting the bad acting, the whole documentary style of portraying things didn't really work, atleast for me. Where Talvisota does better is that it makes you follow the war from one point of view instead of jumping around different units like TI'44 does.

Of course, this is just my opinion off it, if someone is thinking of getting it, I'd advice to read some reviews and decide yourself. Like you said, you can get it cheap nowadays, so no harm done if one decides to get it for 5€.

:salute:

[Penguin]

well, 99% of soap actors are crap, worldwide, easy to spot, easy to make fun of :03: - but trash movies are another thread... just a quick tip: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%BCnyay%C4%B1_Kurtaran_Adam

As the Winter/Continuation War is a unique piece of history and not covered very well in Central Europe, I am looking for any kind of info on it - even mediocre films are better than nothing - we have exactly 2 german books who cover this subject :cry:
If you happen to stumble upon the Talvisota TV-series with german,english or swedish subs, I would be happy if you let me know about - according to this shop there are no subs included: http://www.discshop.fi/shop/ds_produkt.php?lang=&id=71449〈=se&subsite=movies&&ref= (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/%C2%B4http://www.discshop.fi/shop/ds_produkt.php?lang=&id=71449&lang=se&subsite=movies&&ref=)

[Dowly]

Found this one from Amazon, uncut 195min version imported from S.Korea. Korean & English subtitles:
http://www.amazon.com/Winter-War-TALVISOTA-Slip-Case-ALL-REGIONS/dp/B002QP145C/ref=pd_cp_d_1

[kiwi_2005]

Please do. It's great, if a bit slow at first. If you liked Stalingrad, you'll like Winter War.

I loved Stalingrad, so no doubt will enjoy Winter War. Speaking of Stalingrad I see theres the film Attack On Leningrad (2009) which i need to see as well.

[UnderseaLcpl]

I loved Stalingrad, so no doubt will enjoy Winter War. Speaking of Stalingrad I see theres the film Attack On Leningrad (2009) which i need to see as well.

Just looked that up on Amazon and I'm ordering it. Thanks for the heads-up:salute:

[Dowly]

On a completely off-topic note:

My mom's grrreat! She brought me shirt like this the other day :rock: (Kiitos = Thank you)
http://www.prokarelia.net/ihantala/kiitos_i.jpg

[Jimbuna]

Why the German parading in front of the Finnish flag? :O:

[UnderseaLcpl]

Why the German parading in front of the Finnish flag? :O:

It beats having a Russian parading over a Finnish flag.

[Dowly]

Why the German parading in front of the Finnish flag? :O:

It is a Finn, we used german helmets. Also the rifle is clearly an finnish 'pystykorva', :yep:

[Jimbuna]

It is a Finn, we used german helmets. Also the rifle is clearly an finnish 'pystykorva', :yep:

GOTCHA!

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/6356/av129190fjwl3.gif