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Review By Kari "scrmblerkari" Prager
First publication; 1984. First English trans. 2003. Pub. Apasia Books
This well-known Finnish novel about the Winter War follows the fortunes of the 23rd Infantry Regiment, fighting on the Taipale River, the northeastern flank of the Mannerheim Line on the Karelian Isthmus. This protected the city of Viipuri, the strategic objective of the Russian invasion, and was essentially the gateway to Finland.
Unlike Vaino Linna's famous novel "The Unknown Soldier", Tuuri's "The Winter War" is told in the words of a single soldier, Martti Hakala, now an old man. It is based on actual war dairies, eyewitness descriptions and interviews with the combatants, although the stories are fictionalized. He (Martti) describes the defense of the Taipale River at the northernmost point on the Mannerheim Line, from his first days of call-up through the brutal fighting as the Russians tried relentlessly to break through and outflank the Finnish defenders. He relates the loss of his brother to shellfire, and ends with a final massive Russian artillery barrage that was interrupted by a peace agreement between Finland and Russia. The terms of the treaty forced Finland to relinquish the hard-fought territory that Martti and his friends had defended for so long. But even in failure they succeeded, as they kept the Russians from overrunning Finland, installing the waiting Finnish puppet president, and turning it into a Russian satellite country, as the Baltic states were. Finland emerged the moral victor in spite of the considerable territorial concessions made in order to avoid a disastrous military defeat at the hands of the Russians.
The story revolves around the fierce resistance Martti and the rest of his unit put up against massed Russian attacks supported by tanks, the constant artillery bombardments and aircraft attacks, the tremendous losses they suffered for such a small country, and the difficulty of resupplying both men and materiel.
It is here that the first person, journalistic style of the writing is at its best. The reader is not distanced by a grand strategic overview, but immersed in the almost daily attack and counter-attack, shelling, bombing and the constant problem of defending the line with too few men. The book is at its most interesting in its descriptions of actual trench warfare and the amazing success of the Finns against the Russian massed attacks with tanks in support.
It seemed that in comparison with the Continuation War or the Lapland War morale in the Winter War seemed to be much higher, and the men were better commanded. In addition, the poor quality of the Russian officers and their tactics played right into the hands of the Finnish defenders under the leadership of Commander-in-Chief Baron C.G.E. Mannerheim, for whom the main line of Finnish defense, the Mannerheim Line, was named.
I'd recommend this well-written book to anyone who would like to experience the raw details of the Winter War through a soldier's eyes, or who just likes a good, realistic war novel. The corresponding novel for the Continuation War would be Vaino Linna's "The Unknown Soldier". I have yet to find any fictional accounts of the Lapland War.
I believe it is also available in DVD form, "Talvisota" in Finnish with English subtitles, but I have not yet watched it and so cannot comment.
Collector's Comments and Feedback:
1. This book is available through Aamazon. Look in the top left corner of the screen and you'll see a white box titled "Search on Amazon". Type in the phrase The Winter War (don't use quotes), then you'll be taken to the Amazon site where you can buy the book. Assuming you are going to buy an item from Amazon anyway, if you simply click through to the specific Amazon page link for that item using that search box from here at MILSURPS.COM, we will receive a small commission directly from Amazon on the purchase you make. It costs you absolutely nothing and it's just another small way, for you to help us defray several thousand dollars in annual system bandwidth, server, disk storage and maintenance costs. Thank you, we appreciate your support. ....... (Feedback by "Badger")
"Talvisota", ("The Winter War") by Antti Tuuri" (click here)
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