The Winter War was a conflict between Finland and the Soviet Union, November 1939 – March 1940, which, while being a comparatively minor encounter, greatly impacted the political situation of Europe. The conflict broke out as a result of Stalin demanding Finnish territory for both the protection of Leningrad, which they felt was too close to the Finnish boarder, and the setup of naval and military bases. While Finland’s neighbouring countries of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia had all accepted Russian demands for land, Finland refused. This was mostly due to the land Russia wanted containing the Mannerheim line, a key defensive line across Eastern Finland, which would leave Finland defenceless against any Russian attacks. While the war lasted only 3 months it showed Germany the weakness of the Russian army, increased German aggression towards Russia and allowed Germany direct access to cities such as Leningrad.
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This was mostly achieved through Finland’s tight involvement with Western powers during the Winter War. While the Winter War was a key aspect in the causation of Operation Barbarossa other factors such as Hitler’s aims to expand Germany to the East and ideological differences also played large factors in the decision to launch an offensive against Russia. This ultimately led to Germany executing ‘Operation Barbarossa’ in 1941, its secret invasion plan against Russia whom they had signed a non-aggression pact with in 1939. Overall while the Winter War became the public and official reason for the cause of Operation Barbarossa, as it showed Germany in a heroic light, its political significance was less important, with the Winter War impacting the timing and location of Operation Barbarossa rather than being its
This was mostly achieved through Finland’s tight involvement with Western powers during the Winter War. While the Winter War was a key aspect in the causation of Operation Barbarossa other factors such as Hitler’s aims to expand Germany to the East and ideological differences also played large factors in the decision to launch an offensive against Russia. This ultimately led to Germany executing ‘Operation Barbarossa’ in 1941, its secret invasion plan against Russia whom they had signed a non-aggression pact with in 1939. Overall while the Winter War became the public and official reason for the cause of Operation Barbarossa, as it showed Germany in a heroic light, its political significance was less important, with the Winter War impacting the timing and location of Operation Barbarossa rather than being its