Continuation War - Analysis

Analysis

Finland re-entered World War II mainly because of the Soviet invasion of Finland during the Winter War, which had taken place despite Finnish intentions of relying on the League of Nations and Nordic neutrality to avoid conflicts. During the Continuation War, Finland primarily aimed at reversing its territorial losses under the March 1940 Moscow Peace Treaty and, depending on the success of the German invasion, possible expansion, especially into East Karelia (Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic). Some right-wing groups also supported a Greater Finland ideology. Finland was able to come out of World War II without losing its independence, although the price for war was high in war casualties, reparation payments, territorial loss, a bruised international reputation, and subsequent careful consideration of Soviet international perspectives during the Cold War. The Finnish–German alliance was different from most of the other Axis relationships, an example of which is represented by the participation of Finnish Jews in the fight against the Soviet Union. The Finns did not take any anti-Jewish measures in Finland, despite repeated requests from Nazi Germany. One remarkable aspect of the Finnish-German relationship was that Finland never signed the Tripartite Pact, which was signed by all de jure Axis countries. The Finns, and Mannerheim in particular, clearly stated they would fight against the Soviets only to the extent necessary to redress the balance of the 1940 treaty (which would ultimately have dire consequences for Germany, when Finland refused to advance beyond its 1939 borders to complete the German encirclement of Leningrad.) However, for Hitler the matter was irrelevant and he saw Finland as an ally.

Finland adopted the concept of a "parallel war" whereby it sought to pursue its own objectives in concert with, but separate from, Nazi Germany, as 'co-belligerents.'

Major events of World War II, and the tides of war in general, had a significant impact on the course of the Continuation War:

• Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa) is closely connected to the Continuation War's beginning.
• The Allied invasion of France (Battle of Normandy) was coordinated with the Soviet major offensive against Finland (9 June-15 July 1944).
• The subsequent Soviet and Allied advances towards Germany drew away the interest in military operations from Northern Europe hastening the end of the Continuation War.

Soviet sources maintain that Soviet policies up to the Continuation War were best explained as defensive measures by offensive means: the division of occupied Poland with Germany, the occupation of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, and the invasion of Finland in the Winter War are described as elements in the construction of a security zone or buffer region between the perceived threat from the capitalist powers of Western Europe and the Communist Soviet Union—as some see the post-war establishment of Soviet satellite states in the Warsaw Pact countries and the Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance concluded with post-war Finland. Western historians such as Norman Davies and John Lukacs dispute this view and describe the prewar Soviet policy as attempting to stay out of the war and regaining land lost after the fall of the Russian Empire.