Before deciding to accept the
Soviet demands, Finnish President Gustaf Mannerheim, former Finnish commander-in-chief, wrote a letter directly to German dictator Adolf Hitler:
Our German brothers-in-arms will forever remain in our hearts [...] I harbour the hope that you, even if you disapprove of my attitude, will wish and endeavour like myself and all other Finns to terminate our former relations without increasing the gravity of the situation. During the first few weeks the withdrawal of German and advance of Finnish troops was organized jointly by the headquarters of both armies, a fact that was kept secret from the Soviets. The Germans fell back according to a common timetable, and the Finns attacked and fired at the empty trenches. After two weeks the Soviets realized the deception, and demanded the Finns conduct immediate heavy action against the Germans. Soon there were casualties on both sides. The Finns fought their former co-belligerents in the Lapland War. Nevertheless, in contrast to the rest of the Eastern front countries, where the war was fought to the end, a Soviet occupation of Finland did not occur and the country retained sovereignty. The military impact was relatively limited with both sides sustaining around 4,000 in total casualties. Top image: Finnish soldier with a Suomi KP/-31 in East Karelia in 1944. Photo by military civil servant A. Viitasalo. Credit: JHL. SA-kuva. Bottom image: radio operators of the SS-Gebirgsdivision Nord on an original Nazi era postcard. One is wearing a Torn.Fu.d2 on his back, the other a battery pack. Both are wearing Palmenmuster
camouflage smocks. Photo by SS-Ustuf. d.R. and KB Walter Slapak of
SS-Standarte Kurt Eggers. Before the Nord, Slapak had served with SS-KB-Zug 5 of the Wiking. Credit: Johannes Dorn. c. Bundesarchiv.
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