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A selection of the Military Book Club.
This book describes the odd coalition between Germany and Finland in World War II, and their joint military operations from 1941 to 1945. This is a topic often missing in English, though in stark contrast to the numerous books on the shorter and less bloody Winter War. That conflict represented a gallant fight of a democratic “David” against a totalitarian “Goliath” that caught the imagination of the world. The story of Finland fighting alongside a “Goliath” of its own has not brought pride to that nation and was a period many Finns would rather forget.
The prologue of this book brings the reader up to speed by briefly examining the difficult history of Finland, from its separation from the Soviet Union in 1917 to its isolation after being bludgeoned in 1939–40. It then 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.
This book posits that it was mind-boggling how the highly professional German General Staff allowed itself to accept the militarily unsound and shaky coalition that resulted. The war aims were not discussed or harmonized, 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 with various headquarters. Practically every rule in the book was broken. The objective of linking up with the Finns in the Leningrad area was an important factor in Hitler opting for three main drives into the Soviet Union rather than an earlier OKH plan that called for only two.
After describing the operations during and after Barbarossa, this book describes how the Finnish theater became a blind ally for the Germans. Their strongest and best army was trapped both operationally and geographically in central and northern Finland, making virtually no contribution to the war effort. The Germans could not bring to bear enough forces to accomplish their objectives without substantial Finnish assistance, and that was not forthcoming.
The final chapters deal with the Soviet counteroffensive against the Finns in 1944. The Finns lost all their gains and quickly concluded a separate armistice. This left the German forces in Finland to simply vacate the territory, fighting between the Finns and Soviets alike as they tried to return to the main war. Jointly suffering 291,000 casualties, the only consolation was that the coalition had inflicted some 830,000 on the Soviets.
In this book, Henrik Lunde, a former US Special Operations colonel, and the renowned author of Hitler’s Pre-emptive War: The Battle for Norway, 1940, once again fills a profound gap in our understanding of World War II.
Reviews“…likely to be the definitive book on the subject for years to come.” MINIATURE WARGAMING, 2011-07-01
“…offers a solid operational analysis....successfully demonstrates that dining with the Nazi devil required a longer spoon that Finland possessed. PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY , 2011-02-07
“…likely to be the best book on the diplomatic and military aspects of the conflict published in English for many years…Finland's War of Choice receives a very high recommendation, and it looks like a strong candidate to be named as one of the best new books of the year.” STONE AND STONE , 2011-04-02
“…a fascinating book…rises above just being a basic history of what was in reality a strategic backwater …” WARGAMER.COM, 2011-05-04
“…still a touchy subject, Finland was a democratic state allied with the Axis. The subject is tackled frankly and well from political views on all sides…a good read…” WARGAMES SOLDIERS AND STRATEGY, 2011-06-30
“An under-examined corner of the Eastern Front: united only by their shared Soviet enemy, this coalition’s lack of planning and ill-defined objectives meant the Germans stranded an army and the Finns sued for a separate peace.” WORLD WAR II MAGAZINE, 2011-07-01
“…enormously informative…certainly one for the military and political historian and a serious work of scholarship MILITARY MODELCRAFT, 2011-09-13
“…a real must for English-only readers interested of Nordic WWII history.” LARS GYLLENHAAL ,BLOGGING ABOUT WARS FROM A NORDIC ANGLE, 2011-09-13
“…a very interesting and well-written account.” WINDSCREEN WINTER 2011, 2012-03-16
“… a well written, well researched book. It should be part of any World War II students library and is must reading for any student of 20th century European history. It is well done.” KEPLER’S MILITARY HISTORY, 2012-03-22
“…we are used to books that highlight the strains within the Allied Coalition during the war, but Lunde makes clear things were much worse on the other side…Like the author’s previous work on the Norwegian campaign, this is likely to become the definitive book on the subject…”
MINIATURE WARGAMES , 2012-04-30
“…a highly detailed operational history …a fascinating look at the Continuation War and Finland’s alliance with the Third Reich.”
KUNIKOV’S REVIEWS, 2012-05-04
“…excellent coverage of otherwise obscure operations near and even above the arctic circle, with word portraits of many commanders and a good many desperate fights, culminating in the brief Finno – German War after the collapse of the alliance. A valuable read for anyone interested in WWII in Europe.” NYMAS, 2012-06-08
Also By This Author
| Finland's War of Choice The Troubled German-Finnish Coalition in World War II“Offers a solid operational analysis.... successfully demonstrates that dining with the Nazi devil required a longer spoon that Finland possessed.”—Publishers Weekly
“…likely to be the best book on...
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| A thorough examination of one of history’s revolutionary campaigns . . .
After Hitler conquered Poland, and while still fine-tuning his plans against France, the British began to exert control of the ...
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| This book describes the often overlooked World War II campaign for Norway—a complex series of battles in which Hitler out-gambled Churchill in order to secure a vital resource lifeline for the Third R...
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| Among the many controversies of World War II, prominent is the debate over Germany’s strategy in the north of the Soviet Union, as the tide of war turned, and gigantic Russian armies began to close in...
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