Finnish Military Effectiveness in the Winter War, 1939-1940 [Hardcover]

This book analyzes the multi-faceted phenomenon of Finnish military effectiveness in the Winter War (193940). Drawing on a wide array of primary and secondary sources, Pasi Tuunainen shows how by focusing on their own strengths and pitting these against the weaknesses of their adversary, the Finns were able to inflict heavy casualties on the Red Army whilst minimizing their own losses. The Finns were able to use their resources for effective operational purposes, and perform almost to their full potential. The Finnish small-unit tactics utilized the terrain and Arctic conditions for which they had prepared themselves, as well as forming cohesive units of well-motivated and qualitatively better professional leaders and citizen soldiers who could innovate and adapt. The Finnish Army had highly effective logistics, support and supply systems that kept the troops fighting.

1. Introduction: Understanding Military Effectiveness.- 2. The Origins of Political and Strategic Effectiveness.- 3. The Roots of Operational and Tactical Effectiveness.- 4. Professional Leaders and Citizen Soldiers as an Effective Fighting Force.- 5. Support Systems and Maintenance of Effectiveness.- 6. Conclusion: The Sources of Finnish Military Effectiveness.

Finnish Military Effectiveness in the Winter War, 19391940, is an outstanding study, providing an insightful, well-researched, and nuanced understanding of the reasons why the Finns were able to adapt to the realities of combat and translate the lessons of combat into lessons learned & . It definitely fills a historiographical void by compellingly capturing the complexity of the multifaceted phenomenon of Finnish military effectiveness in the Winter War. (Harold E. Raugh, Jr., International Journal of Military History and Historiography, Vol. 37, 2017)

Pasi Tuunainen is Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Eastern Finland. Heló–