The Finland’s winter war 1939

And what we can learn from.

 Finland
2018 Human Development Index 2018 GDP per Capita
1  Luxembourg 113,196
1  Norway 0.954
2   Switzerland 83,716
2   Switzerland 0.946
—  Macau 81,151
3  Ireland 0.942
3  Norway 77,975
4  Germany 0.939
4  Hong Kong 0.939 4  Ireland 77,771
6  Iceland 0.938 5  Qatar 69,687
6  Australia 0.938 6  Iceland 67,037
8  Sweden 0.937 7  United States 65,111
9  Singapore 0.935 8  Singapore 63,987
10  Netherlands 0.933 9  Denmark 59,795
11  Denmark 0.930 10  Australia 53,825
12  Finland 0.925 11  Netherlands 52,367
13  Canada 0.922 12  Sweden 51,241
14  New Zealand 0.921 13  Austria 50,022

15  United Kingdom 0.920 —  Hong Kong 49,334

14  Finland 48,868
15  United States 0.920
15  San Marino 47,279
17  Belgium 0.919
16  Germany 46,563
18  Liechtenstein 0.917
17  Canada 46,212
19  Japan 0.915
18  Belgium 45,175
20  Austria 0.914
19  Israel 42,823
20  France 41,760
130  Vietnam 2,740
 Propaganda
Hitler vs. Stalin

German-Soviet
Non-aggression pact
With secret agreements
to divide the sphere

4 divisions: 500k men

Entire army: 120k men

Thousand of:

Limited ammunition for:

 How the winter war became a symbol of
Finns?
1. Collective Goal = Individual spirits
They fight for their family, their
country, their independence
2. Know the battlefield and brave to
take unordinary strategies
Divided into small-units to cut enemy’s large
army into segments, defeat each one.
Invented the Molotov-cocktail and daredevil
foxholes to destroyed enemy’s tanks.
4. Individual are well-equipped for doing the right things
Wait patiently in frozen snowy dark until the main
target (commanding officers) to be identified by
3. Clear purpose-set to unit the camp-fire, one-shot-one-killed.
Gulf of Finland was defended only by a small Each unit is trusted to decide the right things to
number of Finish soldiers, their task: kill as do, as long as the defined mission is
many opposites as possible to reduce burden accomplished.
in the main frontiers (and be accepted that No
rescue would be given).
Soldiers in the foxhole and the
daredevil attack enemy’s tank.
Finnish’s anti-tank soldiers’ death
rate: 70%.
Molotov-cocktail (mixed of Russian officer was identified
gasoline & flammable in the light of camp-fires. If the
chemicals) Finnish soldier didn’t disciplinarily
shot the right man, his unit’d get
the severe counter-attack.
 A glimpse of their doctrine
Slowing the enemy’s momentum
• Synchronized collective goals & and maximum its damage, to buy
time finding assistance from the
individual spirit West
• Light & mobility units but very
Shot the only right target, not
disciplinary. combat-kill-reward
• Each unit has well-defined missions for
Hold back enemy as long as
the ultimate strategic goals. possible, no rescue would be given
• Innovative & creative
Molotov cocktail, wooden mines,
tactical small units.

Strong national identities Dialectic accepting the truth & deal with it

Language, Culture, Pride of Origin, No way to beat Soviet in traditional warfare. So

Flexibility, Self-appraisal. make them as painful as possible.
Buy time to find supports where-else.
 Can individual implant it?
• Set a personal story- board with
timing. • Be disciplinary & achieve
• Put in who gonna involve each timed milestone
• Put in your enemy/ competitor • Proactive in learning
• Expect some plot twists new things, move faster
• Define your happy ending (we all hate slow sleepy
Be realistic, movies, don’t we?)
• Be flexibility in the
Set the goal, Do things battle, but don’t
compromise
Draw the right
journey,

Do the right
Self-appraisal
things

• Expect the unexpected, • Regularly self-appraise &

• Try event harder to a better of our be critical
better-self • Improve the skillset for
• Be integrity, humble & innovative the next chapter.
• Revise the distance to
our happy ending.
It even has a operational-risk management version

Source:
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Application-of-P-D-C-A-cycl
e-in-the-risk-management-model_fig13_256713456
Or inspires to a business version
 Extra fact: Finland’s post-war dilemma
Early 1940:
• Soviet digested the lesson and started adjusting their tactics in the later attack
(broke through the Mannerheim Defensive Line & forcing the Finnish to retreat).
• The Allies sent no direct-supporting force to help Finland*.
• Finnish started being exhausted with high casualty. In March, they lost their 2 nd
largest city (Viipuri), so had to seek for a peace agreement with Stalin.
• But at least, the Finn’s fierce resistance & willingness to die has impacts on the
Soviet Supremes. Stalin decided to not fully invaded Finland and allowed a solution
so as he can focus on the battle with Hitler (1941).
1941-1944 :
• Some Finn’s offensive advances (Continuation war) to take the advantage from the
Soviet distraction to the West battle fronts.

*French & British government sent 10,000 troops (as supporting force) but they just stationed in a Swedish iron field as “to cut
the Nazi’s iron supplies”; meanwhile Norwegian & Swedish government were reluctant to allow Allies troops to reach Finland, so
as to protect their “neutral” status in the world-war.
 Extra fact: Finland’s post-war’s dilemma

1945-1948:
The Armistice Treaty between Finland & Soviet was signed with most favors went to
Soviet, including:
• Sentenced the former Finnish government as “war criminal”,
• Soviet claimed for more Finnish territories, marine ports & mining,
• Tax relief and trade incentive to Soviet goods
• Censored sensitive articles on Finn’s newspapers.
 To buy time for the country to recover, and to distract the Soviet from involving
deeper into Finnish democracy.
From 1955:
• Finns associated closer with EU’s Free Trade & EFTA, but without scarifying the
relationship with Soviet (ie., refused the US’s Marshall Plan aid).
• Focus on the School system with high quality public schools and teacher’s benefit.
• Extend the roles & skillset of their women to utilize their workforce.
• Pay attention to the Police quality (minimum bachelor degree) and must be
trusted-appraisal by citizen. In 2014, the entire police force fired only 6 shots.
“The task of this diplomacy is to sense approaching
danger before it is too close and take measures which
help to avoid this danger… to be able in good time to
form a correct conception on which future
development will depend.”- President Kekkonen’s
explanation on his own & Paasikivi’s Policy.