75 years ago

[Tree13]

Russia won WWII and kicked the Nazis into touch. What a way to thank them.

"If you know your history" @davek....

Finland posed absolutely no threat to Russia mate, and they had already watched the Russian army march into Poland and apply the coup de grace after the Nazis had invaded from the west. Then Stalin issued demands for an absurdly large chunk of Finnish territory for no apparent reason and when the Finns said no, he marched in and tried to take it by force.

Finland at this time was a neutral country, and Hitler and Stalin had signed their non-aggression pact. I don't think it's unduly harsh to criticise Stalin on this point.

 

[JordanianEmbassy]

Finland posed absolutely no threat to Russia mate, and they had already watched the Russian army march into Poland and apply the coup de grace after the Nazis had invaded from the west.

The Soviet invasion of Poland at the start of WWII fascinates me, just because it is rarely mentioned and it calls into question the conventional view of history we are fed about the UK declaring war on Germany - ie that we had a pact with Poland so therefore we had to declare war on Germany. So why didn't we declare war on the Soviet Union too?

Then Stalin issued demands for an absurdly large chunk of Finnish territory for no apparent reason and when the Finns said no, he marched in and tried to take it by force.

One theory has it that the Red Armies defeat in Finland was a factor in Hitler breaking his non-aggression pact with Stalin - because it showed that the Red Army wasn't as strong as previously thought.

 

[TheFinnFan]

And how it all began. ..

Google:

'Shelling of Mainila'

 

[TheFinnFan]

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelling_of_Mainila