Volunteer help to Finland in 1940

[Topspeed]

Hi,


France and Great Britain had forces ready to come over and help Finland in the Winter War, but Norway and Sweden denied the help by not letting those countries forces pass through their countries.

I'd like to know why "nordic sammanhang" was so lame in 1940 ?

rgds,

Juke

[Sami_K]

Hi,
France and Great Britain had forces ready to come over and help Finland in the Winter War, but Norway and Sweden denied the help by not letting those countries forces pass through their countries.

I'd like to know why "nordic sammanhang" was so lame in 1940 ?

rgds,

Juke

Hi Juke,

The forces were far from ready, the politicians (esp. Daladier) promising more & faster than their armed forces could (or should one say "wanted to") deliver. The Swedes & Norwegians feared (rightly so) German counteractions.

http://www.verkkouutiset.fi/arkisto/Ark ... lv1400.htm
I suggest loaning Nevakivi's book.
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/UK-NWE-Norway/
http://hem.fyristorg.com/robertm/norge/

Cheers,
Sami

[JTV]

Hi,


France and Great Britain had forces ready to come over and help Finland in the Winter War, but Norway and Sweden denied the help by not letting those countries forces pass through their countries.

I'd like to know why "nordic sammanhang" was so lame in 1940 ?

rgds,

Juke

This probably had something to with the actual plans of Great Britain and France. According archived documents originating from Winston Churchill that the main goal for the Brits was not helping Finland. The actual main goal was to capture iron ore mines in northern Sweden and stop deliveries from there to Germany - when it comes to Finland they had no intention of actually going to war with Soviet Union for Finland (Most British troops would have remained in northern Sweden. Only small unit would have crossed Swedish-Finnish border and its mission would have been to stay near the Swedish border - far away from battle).

Maybe Sweden and/or Norway managed to find out or guessed what the actual plan really was? Notice: If the British and the French would have captured the iron mines German attack to Sweden and/or Norway would have been pretty much certain.

[Grad]

The Sweden refused becaused Germany told them to do so. Finns themselves were reluctant to call for Western aid. They realised that the presence of Anglo-French troops would almost certainly trigger German invasion and Finland would share Poland's fate.

And by the way Norway campaign months later proved that allied troops would had been of little value.

[Hanski]

This reminds me of a previous discussion under this thread: http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=25281

[varjag]

The Sweden refused becaused Germany told them to do so. Finns themselves were reluctant to call for Western aid. They realised that the presence of Anglo-French troops would almost certainly trigger German invasion and Finland would share Poland's fate.

And by the way Norway campaign months later proved that allied troops would had been of little value.

Grad - I think it is wrong to say about the Swedish (and Norwegian) refusal that 'the Germans told them so'. Sweden was frantic about it's neutrality, i.e. - NOT to get involved in the war, so was Norway. Despite their paltry military resources, they had brilliant minds in their military staffs - who could quite easily foresee, precisely the scenario that JTV outlined in his above post. Ockupation of the port of Narvik, the iron-ore railway to Gällivare and the mines there.....beyond that....who cares about Finland....You are quite right in your assessment on why Finland did not 'ask for Allied aid' - of consideration for 'peace preserved' in it's western neighbours Sweden and Norway. Your 'little value' opinion of the British-French expeditionary corps to Narvik/Harstad - is perhaps belied by the fact that they did chase the Germans out of Narvik and had General Dietl's troops contemplating internment in Sweden (rather than surrender) when the Imperial General Staff in London got water in their knees because of German action elsewhere. The troops had done a good job! The IGS 'snatched defeat out of the jaws of victory'.