Description
This book explores the unlikely coalition between Germany and Finland in World War II, and their joint military operations from 1941 to 1945. An oft overlooked participant of the war, Finland fought against the Soviets in the infamous and illegal Winter War, alongside Germany in the Continuation War of 1941, and finally against former ally Germany in the conclusive and bloody Lapland War.
In his prologue Lunde covers the turbulent history of Finland, from its separation from the Soviet Union in 1917 to its isolation after being bludgeoned in 1939–40. Lunde examines both Finnish and German motives for forming a coalition against the USSR, and how—as logical as a common enemy would seem—the lack of true planning and preparation would doom the alliance.
Lunde posits that it was inconceivable that the highly professional German General Staff allowed itself to accept the militarily unsound and shaky coalition that was waged between Finland and Germany. The war aims were not discussed nor harmonised, there were no campaign plans with tasks and missions spelled out past the initial assault, no effective main effort established, inadequate force levels, and an unsound command structure within various headquarters. Practically every rule in the book was broken.
In this book, Henrik Lunde, the renowned author of Hitler’s Pre-emptive War: The Battle for Norway, 1940 (Casemate) once again fills a profound gap in our understanding of World War II.
