The Russian Invasion of Finland

When Russia invaded Finland on November 30 1939, the Finns fought back hard. Well-trained ski troops, nicknamed "White Death" inflicted enormous casualties on the Russians, but eventually, weight of numbers and machinery told: in February 1940, the Russians breached the Mannerheim Line between Lake Lagoda and the Gulf of Finland, forcing the Finns to come to terms on March 12, 1940. The image above shows Finnish ski troops passing through a small town, December 20, 1939.

Fugitives from a New War

“After consolidating her gains in Poland, Russia — for strategic reasons — made certain territorial demands on Finland, and when these were refused, launched her army and air force against that small country. Bombs fell on Helsinki, the capitol, and other towns on the first day, and a stream of refugees fled across the frontier into Sweden. The pathetic picture above shows a sorrowing Finnish family taking a last look at their homeland before the train bears them into exile.”

Source: Pictorial History of the Second World War