“The Russian plan was to bomb and intimidate. To their surprise, the Russians met with fierce resistance, which, in combination with exceptionally difficult natural conditions, the offensive soon stopped.
Four lessons of the Russian-Finnish war
From the very beginning, the Finns inflicted such heavy losses on the enemy that the Russians doubled their bombardment, hoping to break the will of the Finns to resist. Instead, the resistance became even more determined. The lessons of this little war are instructive.
- First of all, they show that it is always dangerous to despise the enemy, no matter how weak he may be. Believing that a show of force would be enough to intimidate the Finns into immediate surrender, the Russians were well prepared to use radio, brass bands and movies for propaganda purposes, but they completely lost sight of the strategic and tactical aspects of the war and supply issues.
- Secondly, in the eyes of those who could reasonably judge things, this war showed that aerial bombardment, like artillery shelling, is a slow, not a fast way to wear down the enemy.
- Third, if a weapon is designed without taking into account the characteristics of the terrain and climate, then regardless of its power, it will be almost useless.
- Fourth< /strong>, the high mobility of the Finns once again showed that it is more important than a numerical advantage.
It was a war of a state with a population of 180 million against a people of only 3.5 million people”.
John Fuller, British military theorist, quote from the book “The Second World War. Strategic and tactical review”, 1948.Putin's “strategists” are stuck in the 39th
The joy of the Russian military leadership and Russian propaganda indicates their complete ignorance in terms of military history, strategy and tactics.
Russia now has the strategy of the USSR of the 1939 model and the tactics of the 1917 model. But the balance of forces is different.
In this Winter War, Russia will no longer be able to crush anyone with a mass of tanks, it does not have an overwhelming tenfold superiority, and Ukraine receives help from all over the world. Only propaganda remains from the 39th. The Ukrainian people will not falter, we will continue to act and beat the invaders.
