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Finnish soldiers in Winter War
On December 28, 1939, Stalin called a temporary halt to military action in the Winter War waged by the USSR against Finland. A crisis erupted amongst the Stalinist bureaucracy as a result of the military debacle of the Soviet Red Army against the Finnish forces in the first month of fighting.
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Finland’s forests, dotted with lakes and rivers, blunted the overwhelming superiority of the Red Army forces. Lacking proper clothes and boots, Soviet soldiers perished in the coldest winter in 25 years, with temperatures dipping to 30 and 40 degrees below zero. Meanwhile, mobile Finnish forces on skis were dressed to withstand the elements and attired in white capes that camouflaged them against the snow-covered landscape.
Soviet losses throughout the 105-day campaign were astronomical; one million Red Army soldiers died, 1,000 airplanes and 230 tanks were lost.
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