A Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940

The Russo-Finnish War of 1939 is remembered an obscure offshoot of the broader Second World War, but technically it was a self-contained conflict whose belligerents were not then parties to the conflict between Germany and the Allies. That said, the Soviet Union had just assisted Germany in the invasion of Poland - annexing its eastern provinces - and was regarded as unbeatable in this contest. Ultimately it did "win" - in the sense of getting more territory out of the peace settlement - but the win was entirely Pyrrhic, with vastly one-sided losses, numerous Finnish tactical victories (particularly north of Lake Ladoga where the Finnish "sausage" tactics decimated entire divisions of Russian troops) and catastrophically bad generalship. This book looks at the war from mainly a Finnish perspective, and there is little mention of the (infinitely less romantic) "Continuation War" of 1941-44, when Finland joined the Axis. Trotter is at his best when describing the heroism of individuals at the front: small units of lightly armed men conducting anti-tank operations; ski patrols cutting off Russian forces in the blinding snow; teams in the trenches grimly defending their positions against seemingly interminable waves of assaults. Superb military history.

Mr. Trotter does an excellent job sharing with people a conflict that is not often referred to in present day circumstances. The permanent world changing events to come within a couple years overshadowed this conflict, so you won't hear much about it on the History channel.

First, his writing style invites a great deal of interest in his other books, so I'll be looking for them. Just splendidly written.

Second, the reviews available are what I relied upon to make my purchase, and I couldn't be happier. However, there is one notable point that the author illustrates more with facts than in commentary. And that is, how did the respective nations treat the rank and file soldier? What respect did they have for the poor grunt stuck in foxholes and wading through forests in -40F conditions? Trotter makes it perfectly clear that the Russian commanders and leadership were content to waste mass amounts of humanity because they could afford too. The Russians treated their soldiers as little more than disposable equipment, and the return on investment is made readily clear. I don't recall seeing reviews mention this so I thought I would.

Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in military history and the events that precipitate them.

This was an exceptional find. I was looking for information about the "Winter War" fought in Finland for background knowledge. I received a full and detailed description of the events that led to this war as well as the war itself. The sources used to compile this work were extensive, and the fact the author read them in their original language (Finnish) is impressive. The only drawback for me was the author broke up the battlefronts, and gave a chronology of each, as opposed to giving a straight time line of events across all fronts. Mr. Trotter was pro-Finland in his narrative, which reflects the worldwide view of that time period. I was impressed with this piece, and I feel I am the better for having read it.

This history book is probably the most breathtaking I've ever had the pleasure to read.

Being from Scandinavia myself, I was pleased to see how unbiased this book is. Mr Trotter has great sympathy for the Finnish struggle and the hopeless odds against them, but also shows us the tragical fate of the ordinary Soviet soldier: Cold, exposed, sent out to die for Stalin, which almost 300,000 of them eventually did.

Other readers have already explained the thrilling contents of this book and its eye for detail, so I would like to underline here Mr Trotter's impressive ability to tell even such a dramatic story with a brilliant touch of irony. Just take a look at these two examples:

1. "At 9:20 a.m., November 30, 1939, the first Russian planes appeared over Helsinki.... () .. On their way out, the planes took time to strafe a complex of working-class housing units and to drop their last few high-explosive bombs on the inner city, some of which severely damaged the front of the Soviet Legation building"

2. "To head the new puppet regime, Stalin dragged out O. W. Kuusinen and set him up as "president". Kuusinen was the most influential of all the old-guard Reds who had fled Finland in 1918...().. Broadcasts were soon made in the name of this new government, telling the captive proletariat of "plutocratic Finland" about all the wonderful reforms that would be promulgated after the Red Army had finished liberating them. (Kuusinen) promised the workers an eight-hour day. The workers were not impressed. The eight-hour day had been legislated in Finland twenty five years earlier... Kuusinen had certainly kept up with things".

Admittedly, I, being a non-native English speaker, for obvious reasons will perceive written English in another way than would a native speaker. But I certainly like Mr Trotter's style.

Thanks to the author for a magnificent account of this dramatic piece of Scandinavian history.

Unfortunately, the Russo-Finnish war is usually given short shrift in most histories of WWII. This, in spite of the fact that it resulted in hundreds of thousands of casulties, in spite of the fact the Finns performed some of the most brilliant feats of arms in modern history, and, in spite of the fact that the Western Allies sacrficed the Finns on the alter of political "necessity".

The courageous, remarkable defense of their homeland by the Finns in the face of insurmountable odds is no less inspiring or intriguing for its ultimate futility. With an even hand, Trotter guides the reader through the ferocious Finnish winter, and takes us into the minds of both Russian and Finnish soldiers as they fight in some of the most appalling battlefield conditions ever.

In conclusion, my sysmpathy for the Finns is obvious, as is Trotter's, but don't doubt that this is a serious work of history. Trotter deals judiciously with all parties to the conflict based on fact; popular mythology plays no role in this work.