Pics from Winter war and continuation war

Didn't stop the Soviets and Germans from trying though

 

When did the Germans try to blitzkrieg Finland??

 

Kai,

I'm not sure what is being portrayed in this picture. The foreground appears to be a statue of a K-9 soldier and dog. Specifically I'm questioning the 5-point star over the gate. Does this indicate the Soviet red star or what?

 

I do think these are some kinda communistic statues, and the red start above is also referring to the communism and ideology. I do think they put all kinds of statues etc especially about Stalin and Lenin in every little village as well.

Germany never blitzkrieged Finland but they could not do it in the Finnish front towards the USSR 1941-43 anyway.

 

Thanks for your response. I find it hard to keep the shifting nature of what happened with Finland during WWII clear in my mind, so I just wasn't sure what was depicted in this photo. It would seem then that this pic was taken after Finland signed the Moscow Armistice, or was this photo taken outside of Finland? As a totally silly aside, I see many lit stars like that on people's houses during Christmas time around my neighborhood.

I understand. My question to the other poster was somewhat sarcastic, as I don't see with my understanding that the Germans would ever have engaged in such an activity at any point in Finland anyway. Once things went the other way after the Armistice with the Soviets, it was my understanding that the Germans were in a withdrawal, though quite destructive battle in Lapland.

 

The German 1941 war plans for the Gebirgskorps Norwegen and the XXXVI Armeekorps were nothing short of their traditional Blitzkrieg gambles.

They attacked against far superior forces with ill prepared and ill equipped troops and were expecting to completely destroy the enemy and to advance hundreds of kilometers in a few weeks in a terrain with absolutely no roads. They didn't even bother to construct a logistical base for their forces because they expected the thing to be over within weeks. Without the Luftwaffe and the Finnish 6. Infantry Division it is likely that the German front in Salla-Kantalahti would have crumbled in the autumn of 1941.

The Germans did learn eventually but their utter failures in the 1941 offensive are comparable with the Soviet ones during the Winter war.

 

Ahh, now I think I understand what you were trying to say initially. Thanks!

 

Great thread!

 

More Ostfront here...Battle ground photos after fighting took place are very rare so I guess these are worth a longer look although they make me always very sad to see all those dead people...

 

Some more photos...

 

A new set of photos...

 

And a couple more...Military hospital...

 

Finnish E-boat and crew photos...

 

More E-boat and crew photos

 

Interesting pics of the finnish Navy!

 

Some "new" photos....

 

My friend sent me photos of a Red Army medical officer´s collection. Some 69 photos, which I doubt are all there, but anyway covering the whole time period 1939-1945.

 

super pics Kai many thanks for putting up these of a time almost completely forgotten during ww2. of note the size difference in the Finnish E-Booten compared to the German KM's though I do know through fotos that the Finns did produced some rather sleek and fast smaller speedboots, a couple: 1-2 are in fotos in my Tsingtau photo album which I need to further scan and place on thread.......

 

Some continuation period war photos now...The last photo reads " Oil burning in Lotinanpelto".

 

Something for the weekend for you lot!