Battle of Suomussalmi - Analysis

Analysis

The battle of Suomussalmi is often cited as an example how a small force, properly led and fighting in familiar terrain, can defeat a vastly numerically superior enemy. Factors which contributed to the Finnish victory included:

• Finnish troops having higher mobility due to skis and sledges; in contrast, Soviet heavy equipment confined them to roads.
• Finnish strategy was flexible and often unorthodox, for example, targeting Soviet field kitchens, which demoralized Soviet soldiers fighting in a sub-Arctic winter.
• Soviet army being poorly equipped, especially with regard to winter camouflage clothing.
• Soviet counter-intelligence failures: Finnish troops often intercepted the Soviet communications, which relied heavily on standard phone lines.
• Finnish troops' equipment being well suited for warfare in deep snow and freezing temperatures.
• Soviet objective to cut Finland in half across the Oulu region - while appearing reasonable on a map, this was inherently unrealistic, as the region was mostly forested marshland, with its road network consisting mainly of logging trails. Mechanized divisions had to rely on these, becoming easy targets for the mobile Finnish ski troops.
• Simplicity where needed, as the final assault was a simple head-on charge, decreasing the chances of tactical errors. Rough weather also favoured comparatively simple plans.
• The Soviet Red Army was still suffering from the aftermaths of Stalin's army purges in the 1930s, with many replacement officers being incompetent and inexperienced.