Re-enactment - Finland at War

When the Russian Revolution erupted in 1917, the region known as the Grand Duchy of Finland took advantage of the chaos to declare itself as an independent state. It was a position it still held in October 1939 when Stalin made demands that Finland should relinquish territorial rights over certain areas. When these demands were rejected, Stalin ordered force to be used and on the 30th of November, more than 170,000 Russian troops with tanks launched an attack.

The Finnish army of 175,000 was equipped with old-fashioned, mainly obsolete weapons. The episode, known as the ‘Winter War’, has become largely overshadowed by other events unfolding at the time. When the war ended on the 12th of March 1940, Russia had committed one million soldiers and it was believed to be the end of the matter. As it turned out it was only a pause because, within a month of Hitler attacking Russia in June 1941, the Finnish army launched its campaign as Germany’s ally.

This was called the ‘Continuation War’, with Finland consigning its army to operations against Russia by concentrating its campaign in the region of the Karelian Isthmus on the northern end of Lake Ladoga to lay siege to the city of Leningrad. For the next three years that was where the Finnish army fought using a variety of weaponry supplied by Germany or captured from Russian forces.

Re-enactment

This chapter of the war has become almost forgotten and so I was pleased to run into a re-enactment group which was depicting the Finnish army of the period whilst I was at the Wartime in the Vale Show at Ashdown Camp, which is part of Ashdown Farm at Badsey, near Evesham, in Worcestershire, WR11 7EN.

Now, I am used to meeting re-enactment groups depicting unusual historical subjects, but this encounter in a field in Worcestershire was a pleasant surprise. It was the blue and white flag which caught my attention and I knew I had to investigate further.

With introductions made, I learned the group is called Finland at War and that it was formed during the first period of lockdown. People spent their time during this period doing different things and Tim Challis, a war gamer and long-standing re-enactor, set about establishing a group to depict the Finnish army in WWII. His idea turned out to be successful and although there are only six members in the group at present, they have lots of kit and enthusiasm.

Based mainly in the Midlands, the group has already participated in several events, including the Victory Show, where it has established a name for itself, leading to invitations to attend further shows.

The display of equipment collected included awards, such as a replica example of the Mannerheim Cross of Liberty and an original badge of the all-female, ‘Lotta Svard’, a Finnish women’s voluntary auxiliary paramilitary organisation. By 1944, there were more than 242,000 women in this organisation, serving in communications and as nurses and drivers. They had their own uniform and were armed for self-protection, which opens up the opportunity for female recruits to join the Finland at War group.

Upgraded

By 1941, the Finnish army had been transformed with better equipment, training and vehicles, supplied mainly by Germany. In the Winter War, the Finns had used ski troops and employed a tactic known as ‘sissi joukkeet’ (literally guerrilla tactics), to inflict heavy casualties on the Russians.

In 1941, even with Germansupplied tanks and other equipment, the Finnish army essentially remained an infantry force and had rifle battalions mounted on bicycles for mobility. Some bicycle units were armed with Panzerfaust anti-tank weapons and these took a heavy toll against Russian tanks, which is something the group could think about creating.

In 1939, the Finns had been armed with Russian-made Mosin- Nagant rifles, which had been given to them by Germany. They had been captured by the Germans in the First World War. Although old, they were still serviceable and the Finns even produced some 27,000 of their own version called the M-24. These were issued to women in the Lotta Svard, known as ‘Lottakivaari’ (Lotta’s Rifles) with their own production stamps, which makes them very attractive to weapon collectors. The Germans supplied Mauser rifles and the Finns also used captured Russian weapons such as the PPSh SMG.

The Finnish weapon designer, Aimo J. Lahti produced several good weapon designs, such as the 9mm calibre L-35 pistol. It bore more than a passing resemblance to the P08 German pistol. Two designs of sub-machine guns were produced, the Suomi KP-31 and the Konepistooli M44, which had an 800-900 rpm and 650 rpm cyclic rate of fire respectively. Konepistoole meant submachine gun and both were chambered in 9mm calibre, plus operated using a blow-back system.

Time to wrap up

For winter warfare the Finns wore padded white suits, examples of which the group has, and special felt boots to blend in with the snow. When I met Tim Challis, holding the rank of 2nd officer or lieutenant in the reserve, along with ‘Lance Corporal’ Euan Crago and ‘private’ Matthew Price, they were wearing the summer uniform, consisting of shirt-style linen tunic, grey trousers, mid-calf leather boots and peaked field cap. Each man carries his own personal knife as was the case in the Finnish army. This item was not standard issue and each functioned as a multipurpose tool for cutting, cooking and combat use.

Apart from those supplied by the German army, steel helmets came from various sources, including Sweden, and this is shown by the different types displayed by the group. They have managed to obtain a mixture of authenticlooking kit and original items from traders in the UK and also from Finland, where much of the kit, such as entrenching tools, remained in use for years after the war. The design of rucksacks, for example, has not changed and fit the part exactly. Plus, other items of reproduction kit, such as boots and Germanstyle helmets, can be utilised.

This small group is already impressive and shows it can evolve into other areas and expand, as shown by its display with a medical tent. The members already have some impressive examples of weapons from the period and use them to make a great exhibition. Along with items of personal kit, medals/awards and facsimile documents and maps, Finland at War will attract more interest to its display. Indeed, the group has been noticed by other re-enactment groups depicting WWII who made many favourable comments.

A reason to remember

Re-enactment serves to remind people about past events, such as this period in Finland’s history. The country at the time had a population of less than four million and managed to mobilise over 400,000, of which nearly 80,000 were killed and a further 50,000 wounded. In addition, some 11,000 civilians were killed as a result of the fighting, facts which are more reason than enough to remember.

Tim Challis is to be congratulated for having the vision to form the group and the fact it has proved to be a success is down to all those involved. Finland at War can be contacted through Facebook by typing in the name and leaving a message.