Captured WW2 Weapons in Vietnam

[Flying10uk]

A similar situation could/may/nearly or did happen with Finland because in the early part of the war we (U.K.) were allied to them but they switched their allegiance to Germany. There may have been a very brief period when we were both alien to Finland?

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[Calif-Steve]

The Kar98's in RVN largely came from Russia. They had a pile after WWII and hung on to them. I never saw any ammo, either. The French also had many Kar98's but not the quantity we captured. Russia fueled the war with China shipping in lots of equipment as well. All of the AK's I saw were Chinese and my own SKS is Chinese. But the Russians were fueling the war.

[boltaction]

A similar situation could/may/nearly or did happen with Finland because in the early part of the war we (U.K.) were allied to them but they switched their allegiance to Germany. There may have been a very brief period when we were both alien to Finland?

It is politics at its best. Prior to WWII Russia was the big bad wolf, and the non-aggression pact with Germany and invasion of Poland definitely placed them on the Allied blacklist. The Finns, fighting the Russians, were viewed as heroic good guys. Then, when the tables turned and the Germans invaded Russia, Russia suddenly became allied with the West ("the enemy of my enemy is my friend") and the Finns, still fighting the Russians and now on side with Germany, became the bad guys. Then they switched again near the end of the war. I remember my Mom saying how confusing it was, growing up during the war in small town Saskatchewan; all those different European immigrants around and whether they were to be trusted or not switched frequently

One can see photos of Finnish soldiers carrying Boys antitank rifles, Mosin Nagants, and Rosses..........

Ed