Finland suggestion to destory Leningrad in 1941?
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Finland suggestion to destory Leningrad in 1941?
I read from an exceprt from David Irving's Hitler's War mentioned that
"the finns suggested that the lake ladoga be diverted to the Gulf of Finland where the water level were few meters lower- to swept away Leningrad"
anyone knew about this?
"the finns suggested that the lake ladoga be diverted to the Gulf of Finland where the water level were few meters lower- to swept away Leningrad"
anyone knew about this?
Re: Finland suggestion to destory Leningrad in 1941?
Sounds like quite a wild theory. Lake Ladoga is naturally connected to the Gulf of Finland by the Neva river but the height difference is only some four meters while the river itself is some 70 km:s long - so causing a destructive flood would be quite difficult. Also, if I remember correctly from my long since happened visit to Leningrad, Neva's river banks were high enough to handle almost anything imaginable.panzermahn wrote:I read from an exceprt from David Irving's Hitler's War mentioned that
"the finns suggested that the lake ladoga be diverted to the Gulf of Finland where the water level were few meters lower- to swept away Leningrad"
anyone knew about this?
Germans had many plans and many of these were their own intentions. Finns had thought that if (sic!) Germany will win the war Finland is not allowed to get Leningrad anyway, so Finns suggested that the River Neva would become a new border. That same was also one of the reasons why Finns didn't want to attack against Leningrad in 1941/42.
Greater Finland had been the day dream of some right wing intellectuals, politicians and soldiers in Finland since the beginning of 20th Century. But instead we got even greater USSR...
Greater Finland had been the day dream of some right wing intellectuals, politicians and soldiers in Finland since the beginning of 20th Century. But instead we got even greater USSR...
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>Hitler could give a hand in dealing with surplus populations...
This is not a very good joke. That was exactly the German plan. Role of Finns would have been that of a bystander who did nothing. Germans asked Finns if they had any interest in Leningrad and Finnish government replied no. Finnish stand was dictated by the fact that the population of Leningrad in 1939 was about the same as the whole of Finland. It would have been very interesting outcome, if the war that was aimed to save Finland from Russian dominance, would have created a state where half the population were Russians.
Regards,
Jari
This is not a very good joke. That was exactly the German plan. Role of Finns would have been that of a bystander who did nothing. Germans asked Finns if they had any interest in Leningrad and Finnish government replied no. Finnish stand was dictated by the fact that the population of Leningrad in 1939 was about the same as the whole of Finland. It would have been very interesting outcome, if the war that was aimed to save Finland from Russian dominance, would have created a state where half the population were Russians.
Regards,
Jari
Hitler had plans of the complete destruction of Leningrad, because of the symbolic meaning that had this city for the Soviet Union (the second city of the country; the former capital; the place where started the Soviet Revolution, etc.)
Plans like the destruction or Warsaw, and some other places.. But the wild russian winters didnt let Hitler complete his plans.
PD: I have a relative who was killed in the german lines in the Leningrad Blockade. We took part in the spanish "blue division".
Plans like the destruction or Warsaw, and some other places.. But the wild russian winters didnt let Hitler complete his plans.
PD: I have a relative who was killed in the german lines in the Leningrad Blockade. We took part in the spanish "blue division".
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Well, there was a lot of talk about sending Finnish troops to Leningrad, however, in March 4th, 1943, after the defeat of German troops in Stalingrad, Marshal Mannerheim said this to General Enfurth, who was his contact officer in the German army, " Minä en hyökkää enää. Olen menettänyt jo liian paljon väkeä! " ( Same in English, " I wont attack anymore! I have lost too many men already! ). After Enfurth had told this to his superiors, the plan was rejected.