The official AHF Winter & Continuation War quiz thread

Tero T · Post by **Tero T** » 24 Nov 2005 19:24

Squirels ???

Tapani K. · Post by **Tapani K.** » 24 Nov 2005 19:55

Horses?

regards,
Tapani K.

Mikko H. · Post by **Mikko H.** » 24 Nov 2005 20:01

Interesting guesses, but no and no.

Esa K · Post by **Esa K** » 24 Nov 2005 20:07

Cows?

Regards

Esa K

Tero T · Post by **Tero T** » 24 Nov 2005 20:09

The suspense is killing me !!!!

Juha Tompuri · Post by **Juha Tompuri** » 24 Nov 2005 20:20

...at themselves ?

Mikko H. · Post by **Mikko H.** » 24 Nov 2005 21:07

Juha, you're almost there... the Finnish soldier committed a crime not by shooting at himself but...

Juha Tompuri · Post by **Juha Tompuri** » 24 Nov 2005 21:42

... another Finn ?... oh S**T (motti) !

Regards, Juha

Mikko H. · Post by **Mikko H.** » 25 Nov 2005 09:57

Correct!

Before and during the battle some Finnish soldiers had been whiling away their spare time by gambling. Apparently no great sums of money had been in play, but still enough for one soldier, who had lost money to another, to murder the winner during a battle by shooting him at back. This deed was witnessed by another soldier who alerted his comrades.

There's conflicting information what happened to the murderer. As reported in the book Tuntemattoman sotilaan rykmentti, the veterans remember that the murderer escaped to the no-man's land, but later came back to own lines, begging for mercy. None was given. OTOH, the book also reports that the murderer was caught and sent to prison for (IIRC) 2 years 8 months. The only way I can explain so lenient a sentence is that the soldier was amnestied after the end of the Continuation War among other military prisoners.

However that was, the incident -- coming on top of bad weather and heavy losses -- prompted one soldier to comment "What a shitty place this is, when people are killing their own".

So it's Juha's turn.

Juha Tompuri · Post by **Juha Tompuri** » 25 Nov 2005 19:55

Thanks Mikko,

...for a tough one.
New Q, who's she?

Regards, Juha

Mikko H. · Post by **Mikko H.** » 25 Nov 2005 21:09

Martha Gellhorn?

Juha Tompuri · Post by **Juha Tompuri** » 25 Nov 2005 21:58

Mikko H. wrote:Martha Gellhorn?

Yes.
An American novelist, short story writer and a war reporter.

Gellhorn witnessed the first weeks of the Winter War between Finland the Soviet Union. She was in Helsinki when the Soviet air forces bombed the city, as a declaration of war. "An Italian journalist had remarked in Helsinki that anyone who could survive the Finnish climate could survive anything and we decided with admiration that the Finns were a tough and unrelenting race, seeing them take this war as if there were nothing very remarkable in three million people fighting against a nation of 180 million." (Gellhorn in The Face of War, 1959) Gellhorn also met President Svinhufvud, whose name she wrote "Szinhuszue". Svinhufvud offered his guests small apples from his orchard. At the Karelian front Gellhorn interviewed Finnish fighter pilots, astonished by their age: "they ought to be going to college dances," she remarked. Gellhorn's reports emphasized that Finland was not the aggressor and deeply influenced the public opinion in the United States about the war.

Emphasis on mine
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/gellhorn.htm

Again, over to the other bank of river Aura

Regards, Juha

Mikko H. · Post by **Mikko H.** » 26 Nov 2005 09:38

Thank you!

On 5 January 1942 the Soviet Karelian Front HQ received information from Moscow that on the other side of their front-line, the German 163rd Infantry Division was on eastern shore of Lake Ladoga. The German division had suffered losses and was demoralized and asking help from the Finnish 11th Division.

Where did this piece of intelligence originate?

Mikko H. · Post by **Mikko H.** » 27 Nov 2005 18:16

The Soviets had acquired the information from the USA, but how did the Americans get it?

Juha Tompuri · Post by **Juha Tompuri** » 28 Nov 2005 08:01

Via their military attaché at Finland?

Regards, Juha