Winter War Debriefing
Winter War Debriefing
Was there any formal debriefing of Finnish military, by the Germans, regarding their Winter War experiences during the preparation of Barbarossa?
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black96lt4c4
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Re: Winter War Debriefing
Good question, what about informal debriefings or a study of what worked/didn't work?
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Seppo Jyrkinen
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Re: Winter War Debriefing
There was some in the beginning of winter 1941. In he's memoirs "Aika vaatii veronsa. Muistelmat II" major Wolf Halsti tells about such. He kept a lecture to some 40 troop leaders who came from different parts of Eastern Front and there was also some higher ranking officers like Gen. Erfurth and Col. Rössing. Perhaps a few day course (lecture + practical exmples), cannot say for sure.
Wehrmacht officers didn't take Halsti's advices seriously. A common counterargument was that Halsti's advices were against "military discipline". For example improvisations and civilian type clothings, like woolly hat with a helmet, were not acceptable. It was not acceptable either to make hot water in a mess kit because such would harm kit's painting.
One colonel even told later that "The war in Winter is more a question of discipline than coldness!"
Wehrmacht officers didn't take Halsti's advices seriously. A common counterargument was that Halsti's advices were against "military discipline". For example improvisations and civilian type clothings, like woolly hat with a helmet, were not acceptable. It was not acceptable either to make hot water in a mess kit because such would harm kit's painting.
One colonel even told later that "The war in Winter is more a question of discipline than coldness!"
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