FINLAND Was READY FOR WAR! | The Immense SALPA LINE 🇫🇮
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 มิ.ย. 2024
- Exploring Finland’s impressive Salpa Line Museum near Miehikkala - a 1200 km defensive line intended to protect the country from a possible Soviet invasion during World War II.
🇫🇮 See more of my travel vlogs from Finland here → bit.ly/mwt_finland
The Salpa Line is a defensive line of bunkers, trenches and fortifications built along Finland's long eastern border with Russia. It was created in the period between the Winter War and the Continuation War, and was intended to reduce the likelihood of a successful invasion from the Soviet union.
As part of my Finnish Lakeland road trip I stopped at the Salpa Line Museum (Salpalinja Museo) to learn about its purpose and try to comprehend its staggering size and complexity. It was fascinating to see the barbed wire, anti-tank trenches, machine-gun positions and underground bunkers. Finland was braced and ready for war!
During my walk around the Salpa Line Museum (Salpalinjamuseo) I’ll tell you about the Winter War of 1939-40 and the Continuation War of 1941-44. We’ll discuss the brutal losses from both sides but also the tactics and strategy used by the Finnish army during the Winter War to hold off the much larger and more powerful Soviet army.
I’ll climb an observation tower that was staffed by Finnish Lotta’s (Lotta Svard) who were a female-only voluntary paramilitary organisation who would sit atop the tower for long shifts in the freezing cold watching out for Red Army war planes and reconnaissance aircraft. It was a tough job and a crucial part of Finland’s defence.
I’ll also take a look at timeless artefacts and historical photographs on display inside the main Salpa Line Museum building, where there’s also a small shop and restaurant. Whether you take a group guided tour or walk around by yourself you’ll no doubt find this palace fascinating as I did.
📖 CHAPTERS:
📖 00:00 Introducing the Salpa Line
📖 01:08 What is the Salpa Line?
📖 03:02 The Salpa Line in Numbers
📖 04:58 The Winter War
📖 04:45 Hiking the Salpa Line
📖 07:46 Inside the Salpa Line Museum
📖 08:56 Finnish Lotta’s & Observation Towers
📖 12:12 Anti Tank Ditches & Machine Gun Nests
📖 13:50 The Continuation War
📖 15:30 Inside an Underground Bunker
📖 16:33 Dragon’s Teeth Fortification
📖 17:29 Salpa Museum Information
📖 18:33 T34-85 Soviet Tank
More Info
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Sometimes I wonder if the younger generation of people in European countries have forgotten how terrible nuclear war was.
When the United States invaded Cuba's bay of pigs just because Cuba declared joining the Warsaw fact. And it ended with the Soviets sending missiles to Cuba to defend Cuba.
2014 Ukrainian coup.Nazis in Ukraine. Laying a military base 300 km from Moscow. The West wanted this war and they got it.
And it was never used, soviets didn't make it that far.
😂
it is also called unconditional surrender...
@@DT-wp4hkThe Soviet offensive was defeated in decisive defensive battles at the VKT-line, on the Karelian Isthmus, roughly on the same spot as where the Mannerheim line had been during the earlier winter war, and in the U-position in the Olonets Isthmus. The Soviet offensive totally failed in its objectives.
@@herptek I know. Well done.
@@DT-wp4hk😂
You are doing very important historic info . Very few foreigners have any knowledge of our wars . Thank you!
Some great Finnish films about the wars with the SU on Prime
Thank you for watching, really interested to learn more so it's great reading all the comments.
This line was very last defensive line, meant for the last stand if all VKT's and Mannerheim line would fall. Fortunately soviet's never manage to break trough of all frontline obstacles.
Mannerheim-line was the most important defence line during the winter war, but after ceding the Karelian Isthmus for peace all Finnish fortifications there were demolished by the Soviet Union. Construction of Salpa-line was supposed to guard the rest of mainland Finland during the interim peace. After Finnish reconquest of the Karelian Isthmus in 1941 the main defensive lines were once again located in the Karelian Isthmus and additionally also on the Olonets Isthmus that fell under Finnish control during the offensive phase of the continuation war. The notable defensive lines on the Karelian Isthmus during the defensive phase of the continuation war in 1944 were the boringly named main defence line, the VT-line and the VKT-line, where the Soviet summer offensive was ultimately stopped.
In case that the defenses on the Karelian Isthmus and/or Olonets Isthmus and Ladoga Karelia had broken, there would of course still had been the Salpa-line just in case. Thankfully the Soviet offensive was halted before reaching the interior of Finland, however.
@@herptek thanks for pointing those details down 👍
It was an impressive feat to build such a long defensive line along the border but very much needed just in case. Thanks for the info.
Thanks for the information posted here, very interesting to read. Always good to get some of the details such as you have provided with your comment. Much appreciated.
Fun fact about Finnish conscription. The NCO course lasts for 105 days which is not a coincidence.
What are the chances of that, huh?
To clarify and to be accurate, in the Continuation War the Finns made it indeed very close to St. Petersburg - or Leningrad in those days - in search of defensively optimal positions, but the Finnish army stopped its attack after this and took defensive positions. The Germans encouraged the Finnish army to go on towards Leningrad itself, but the Finnish leadership refused. The goal was not to attack a Russian city. It was not ”Germans and Finns” that advanced this far on the Finnish front but the Finnish army alone as the limited German troops in Finland were stationed in Lapland.
So the Finns did not attack or shell Leningrad. The Finnish army was pushed back only in summer of 1944 when Soviet Union started its second major strategic attack with the objective of occupying Finland. For such a situation the Salpa line had been built, as the last lock (”salpa” means latch or bolt).
Also the Russians knew of its existence, meaning that after the Russian attack was stopped in the summer of 1944 in the Tali-Ihantala area, the attacking Russians having suffered huge casualties, they knew that if regrouping and keep trying their casualties would only accumulate further - and the Salpa-line was still waiting ahead, untouched.
So for the Russians it was suddenly better to focus on Berlin, a strategically more important goal, pulling troops from the Finnish front instead of shipping even more to replace the heavy losses and instead engage in peace negotiations with the Finns. Thereby Salpa-line was never needed, luckily, it never saw any action. But it did its job as a precaution.
That's really interesting and informative, thank you for explaining some of the detail. Really fascinating to read.
When you say the Soviet Union engaged in negotiations with Finns, that is to express it euphemistically.
In September 1944 Finland accepted the Soviet Union's terms terms.t..
When you say the Soviet Union engaged in negotiations with Finns, that is to express it euphemistically.
In September 1944 Finland accepted the Soviet Union's terms terms.t..
Apologies for repetition, a typing error.
No probs, thanks for the info!
In the last two wars against Finland, Soviet Union suffered 1.3 million total casualties of which 0.5 million were KIA/MIA, more than US casualties in the WW2, 9 x US casualties in the Vietnam war.
Good
Thanks for coming here again and making this👋 We finnish viewers are quite active in YT so you might get good views on this 😎
Thank you, fingers crossed! Always good to be back in Finland. 🇫🇮
It's nice you visit eastern Finland, many foreigners only visit Helsinki and Lapland
That's what I realised when researching the trip. Pretty much everyone goes to Helsinki or Lapland! I've been to Helsinki but wasn't all that fussed about Lapland, seemed very touristy and I wanted to see the real Finland. Maybe I'll visit Lapland one day but I prefer to get off the beaten track, so to speak.
Joo ja ne on vaan kissankusi suomesta
The Soviets did never declare their losses. Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev told The Finnish president Kekkonen that they lost over one million men against Finland.
Incredible, those numbers are staggering and horrific in equal measure. They don't seem to care about their people.
Definitely, Russian poor showing led to Germany attacking Russia, weakness calls for invasion?
So it seems yes.
@@MattWhitingsEurope They have always done it without caring about casualties. It is their style to this day, just look at what they are doing in Ukraine.
@@MattWhitingsEurope According to my uncles, they met Kekkonen and Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev in lapland on a reindeer hut, he gave them few Kopecks. Can't say how reliable this info is since my uncles were around 5-10 years old back then.
Great documentation again, Matt! You may know these things but maybe some of your watchers want to know a little extra information:
Salpa can be translated as hasp or latch, and in my opinion it was a great word chosen for that fortification line. The building project was the biggest in Finnish history that time. There were 35000 men building it.
Lotta Svärd was a voluntary military support association for women and the members were called as Lottas. Lotta is a girl's name which is shorter version of Charlotta and used in Finland and Sweden. Svärd is Swedish for a sword, and it is also a surname used in Finland and Sweden (I even know some people who have that surname). Although the name of that association sounds like a real woman's name, it really doesn't refer to any real person. Lottas were working eg. in military hospitals, catering, military communications, aerial surveillance etc. at the wartime and they are very respected about their work.
Lotta Svärd was a character from Runeberg's "The Tales of Ensign Stål" and the organisation was named after that (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotta_Svärd_(poem)
@@PSPaaskynen yep. Not a real person.
Thank you very much for the additional information, very interesting to read!
14:45. Finland never went towards Leningrad during Continuation war. Finland only took back the land lost in Winter War and never pursued further in Karelian isthmus. All finnish troops stayed at the pre-war border.
Finns did advance beyond old border, but that was only north of Lake Ladoga. That part of Soviet Union had dozens of small towns and cities which were ethnically finnish, and were a target for Stalins ethnic purges. Finland tried to liberate those towns and it's people from being sent to gulaks or killed.
Thanks for the information, very interesting.
Hello. Nice to see somebody, interested in our history. I am originally from Karelia, and also a great fan of history. One or two points though:
The "real" meaning of "salpa" is a construction to prevent opening of a door ( like a latch) or making it impossible/more difficult, to get in/out, of "somewhere".
Same, per definition, as this barrier line.
Both my grandfather fought along the Karelian line, during both wars.
If You have time, visit the Suomussalmi and Raatteentie. The Ruzzians got whipped there, big time. Worth a visit.
from a Finn in Diaspora
Thank you for your comment, I found this subject really interesting - there's certainly plenty to learn. Thanks for the further information, very useful and good to read. Thanks also for the suggestions, they sound like the type of places that would really interest me, however I won't get chance to visit them on this trip - I've made a note on my map though and may visit them if I find myself in that area in the future. Thanks again.
Hi! New finnish viewer! I have to say, I've never seen a foreigner look this Finnish.
Haha you're not the first to say that 😆 Welcome aboard!
Interesting Salpalinja bunkers south of Joensuu and in Joensuu itself.
Thanks for the info, I'm going to visit a few more during my trip!
When Soviets finally offered Finland a peace treaty on February 23rd of 1940, Britain and France began to pressure Finland to stop negotiating. Lots of empty promises and threats. Apparently Finland would be on Germany's side if they made peace, wouldn't get any help in the future from them and that the whole Great War would be over if Finland made peace. The French mainly did the threatening and the British the empty promises.
Göring had told Finland on February 22nd that Finland should accept the peace offer.
Paasikivi said that the war had not gained Finland any respect in Soviet Union and Stalin alone agreed to offer the peace treaty. All the other military leaders wanted to continue.
- Väinö Tanner - Olin Ulkoministerinä Talvisodassa(1951) (I Was the Foreign Minister in the Winter War)
Thanks for the information, very interesting to read.
Aid that soviet got from America and Uk all most made us a soviet rebuplic.
Tack för filmen.
Min far var under beredskasåren placerad i Vittangi som bilförare, (gengas) Gissar undertecknad blev till under någon permission. örde honom berätta om slitet.
Tack för att du tittade, intressant att höra om din far. Tack för kommentaren!
Several movies about these wars:
Tuntematon sotilas (2017)
Tuntematon sotilas (1955)
Talvisota (1989)
tali-ihantala, rukajärventie, etulinjan edessä...
That's good to know, I didn't realise so many movies had been made about the wars. Thanks for adding that and I hope all is well with you!
Tuntematon sotilas (1985)
Thank you Matt and huge respect; randomly saw this and addition to that you look like a finnish dude with perfect english 🙂.Great on point video and all us Finns must always remember that we still speak our language because what our nation did at that time and further. RUK 185
Haha and thank you! Glad you randomly bumped into this video and thanks for watching! It's always important to remember the past and the sacrifice previous generations made for our freedom, in this case all those who fought against Soviet invasion.
Hi Matt. Wow, truly amazing sights and insights and highly relevant to this day…Looking at the remoteness of where you travelled, for me, an ideal location to escape the mass tourism that prevails in so many other places around the world…..I also wonder if many of those defences would still manage to repel another attempt by Russia to attack Finland. Curious…are you currently traveling and editing, or was this from last year? And Euro 8 is bloody good value indeed. Thanks again. Safe travels. Zoltán
Hi Zoltán, glad you're enjoying the videos. It's certainly good to get away from the tourist zones of Europe and out to somewhere that's a little less familiar to international tourists (and perhaps some Finns too!). Personally I love the remoteness and isolation that comes along with the Lakeland's of Finland - what an incredible place! There's a few other comments on the fortifications and their use today, I think the general consensus is that they would still be employed for limited tasks but modern warfare has changed the significance of these trenches perhaps forever. Yes I filmed this last year and have edited the videos together recently, it's nice when I do that as I get to walk down memory lane myself and relive the whole trip. Thanks for watching, more videos coming from Finnish Lakeland!
At 15:00 No, The USSR did not get even close to the 1940 border that was agreed after the Winter War. The Red Army took the city of Viipuri, but soon after the USSR lost the battles of Tali-Ihantala near Viipuri and could never advance further. Understanding they were stuck paved the way to the armistice in September 1944. The USSR realized it had failed to conquer Finland for the second time in WW2.
Actually my friend, the armistice was the initiative of General Mannerheim and for a very sound reason. The Finns had limited resources in terms of equipment and manpower vs the Soviets who had unlimited resources in terms of equipment and manpower. That being said it was his decision to sue for peaceful compromise.
@@georgevladimirovich7190 Of course it was. But If the Red Army had been smoothly advancing towards Helsinki they would have had zero reason to accept any other terms than unconditional surrender, which they had demanded earlier during the summer offensive. The reason Finland's future was not in the Warsaw pact but the free world on the Western side of the iron curtain was that the Soviet army was defeated in Karelia and it could not reach its military goals.
@@sampohonkala4195 I respect the fact that you love your country but facts are facts even if we like them or not. The Soviet leadership had no interest in going to Helsinki but rather in using Finland as a buffer zone. They also would have had preferred a neutral Finland, as it was the case until recently. The demise of the tsarist empire implied automatically a re-drawing of the existing borders. So at the end of the winter war of 1940, a large part of Karelia was ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union bringing the border more or less similar to the one tsarist empire had in 1721.
@@georgevladimirovich7190Sweden became the de facto buffer state. When Finland signed the armistice their situation was hopeless in the long term, but they had proven to Moscow that conquering Finland would not just be a operation; but a whole campaign of it self. While that was going on the soviets were closing in on the german border after the major victories of operation bagration in the previous summer. At that time the Germans were still very much capable of waging war which they were trying to do on multiple fronts. Stalin was very concerned about the possibility of Germany making separate peace of some sort with the allies. His paranoia must undoubtedly have driven him to the conclusion that the finnish front was simply not worth it compared to the gains he could win or loose in central and south Europe. The soviets would obviously never be the one to ask for armistice with Finland since they had the upper hand by any point of view in the end of 1944; that’s just negotiation tactics 101. They could’ve just waited and let the finns watch how the red army rolled through Germany, and they could also have invaded Finland successfully in the summer of 1945. Stalin was very calculated in his ways to maximise soviet influence and gains, his paranoia was one of the main factors behind the original invasion if Finland; and it was certainly driving him towards closing the Finnish front asap at the time.
@@georgevladimirovich7190 And exactly what in my text you consider not a fact? The Soviet government demanded unconditional surrender as a requirement for peace during their summer offensive 1944. So they were aiming for the occupation of Finland just like the Baltic countries. This demand was lifted after the Red Army lost the battles in Tali-Ihantala and Ilomantsi. Finland was neutral before 1939 so that was not the goal of the Invasion of Finland in 1939 and Finland as a sovereign country could of course not be a 'buffer zone' for anything. Normal countries arrange military buffer zones within their own borders, just like Finland did with Salpa line.
Stumbled on your channel, can already say I love your content so far, very informative and dedicated to explanation. Subscribed!
Thank you very much, welcome aboard. Glad you're enjoying the content, makes my day when I hear people saying that! 😁
It is a museum but it still serves its function as far as I can tell.
Interested to learn more about this. I read that with modern warfare the Salpa Line had lost most of its military advantages, however I'm sure there would still be some uses for it. Make sense to defend from a line of fortifications that already exist, especially as most of them are in forests and by lakes.
What a fascinating video. Great job Matt!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Very nice video of some Interesting Historical sites.
Many Thanks for sharing!
Glad you enjoyed the video and thanks for watching. 👍
Good work, mate !
Thanks a lot!
Excellent video, Matt! The production level on your videos just keeps going up and up 😁 i like the new intro, too! It looks absolutely beautiful there. I'd love to go back to Finland!
Thanks very much, hope all is well with you! Glad you noticed the little intro I did for this series, thought it would make a bit of a change. Finnish Lakeland is incredible, you must visit at some point!
@MattWhitingsEurope all is good thanks, I hope all is good with you too! I definitely noticed the new intro and I thought it was lovely! I'd definitely love to return to Finland in the future. Currently planning to make a trip to Tartu in the future, I was inspired by your last video on that! Also, congrats on the success of this video, its got so many views! Really well deserved 👏🏻
Thank you very much, pleased to hear you're off to Tartu - wonderful place and I'm sure you'll love it! I've been pleasantly surprised by the popularity of this video, I rarely get videos that perform like this so it's nice when it happens.
@@MattWhitingsEurope It looks beautiful in Tartu! There is a 1.5 week long summer course at the University there (beginner level) for learning Estonian at the end of July/early Aug and I'm weighing up whether or not to go for it...🤔 And yes for sure, give yourself a big pat on the back, this video has done so well! 🙌🎉✨
Sounds like a great opportunity, good luck if you decide to go!
Nice walk through
Thank you!
I have visited the museum a few times and the bunkers like 15:30 this one were quite scary. They were very small and echoey. I rememeber thinking how it would sound to fire the gun inside, the noise must be really loud.
I very much recommend to go visit, even from far away it's worth it.
It's a fascinating experience for sure. Walking around it does make you imagine what it would have been like during war time, and like you said, the sound of the machine guns and explosions nearby.
I clicked on this video because I couldn't help but comment about the fact that you look very, very Finnish yourself!! Haha
Haha a few people have said the same thing. Too many for it just to be a coincidence 😂 I will have to get a Finnish version of my name sorted out!
Your Finnish name would be Matti😊@@MattWhitingsEurope
Matti? I like it!! 😆
@@MattWhitingsEuropeWhiting is maybe a valkoturska in Finnish
Cool, thanks!
we have already 5 kilometer deep minefield all th way south to north on the east border
I think it's best to be prepared!
Nice tour around the Salpa line, greetings from Kuopio.
Thank you very much!
Interesting video, thanks
Glad you enjoyed it
I recommend watching "The Unknown Soldier" from some years ago. There's 3 of those but the newest one is good for international audiences. It's about Continuation War. There is a line when one guy boasts about Finnish bravery:
"One Finn matches 10 Russkies!"
and then one of the main guys says
"Yeah, but what will you do when the eleventh comes..?"
Nowadays on independence day we watch mostly the first or the last one, i've heard the middle one has it's benefits also, but haven't watched that properly. It has pretty gnarly take on the war, and was a groundbreaking book and movie after the war and the has shaped the view about the war somewhat to this day in our eyes.
Thanks for those suggestions, interesting to hear. I will have to try and catch it at some point, sounds like an entertaining film.
The Finns are a great and hardy people. They are a well respected part of the nordic countries. Sweden can be very happy to have them as their neighbour to the east.
Don't mess with the Finns 🇫🇮
about the obeservation tower: the sign says there (in finnish) something like "this tower was built in the late 1980s" but of course there were plenty of towers alike 50ish years earlier, just not that one.
I see. Thanks for the information, so I guess it was more of an example of the towers that were actually used?
Hi Matt, thank you for the video. I would like to visit this line at some point. Just a tip to help on your travels: install "Google lens" on your phone if you don't have it already. You can translate text with it live through your phone's camera or snap a photo and even translate from photos on your phone. So you can translate the boards and such immediately or snap pictures of them and translate it later. You can also copy the translated text so it should help with editing the videos.
Thanks very much, that will prove useful I'm sure. I've used Google Translate before but not heard of Lens so will give it a go. Thanks for watching!
Finland had radars Irja and Raija (German) defending Helsinki. But yeah not there what i know...
I guess it makes sense to secure the capital.
Large portion of Salpa line went through nearly unbroken chain of lakes. Most of the isthmuses between would have been easy chokepoints to defend. It was this Southern section which didn't have many lakes and thus needed much heavier fortifications. The very Northern part was barely just a line on the map, because the fighting over there was different.
I see. Makes sense to focus on fortifying the areas that most need it, I guess the lakes up north made great natural barriers, would have been a lot harder to attack through them. And even if they did, when they made it across the lake there would be miles and miles of wild forests waiting for them with not a road in sight?
If you head up a bit north, you can find a piece of defensive line called "viisikon linja", that actually saw fighting and stopped the soviet invasion in Winter War. Nearby you also have the salpa line Bunker museum in Joensuu, and you also have another surprise: several kilometers of WW1 trenches. So you have remnants of these three different wars to explore close to each other if you have a car.
Thanks for the tip, I hadn't heard of viisikon linja so I've made a note of it on my map. If I'm ever back in the area I'll take a look. Thanks for the information too, always good to read a bit more on the places I visit.
I believe you might have mentioned the Virolahti bunker museum located near Salpamuseo. Great place with same kind of things as Salpamuseo. It's about 20km from Salpamuseo in Virolahti and they have the best butter eye bunns as well :D
Yes indeed, I really wanted to visit it but just couldn't fit it into my schedule. My aim for that day was to make it up to the Lakes and see as much stuff as possible doing so. Who knew there would be soooo much to see on the way! Those buns you mentioned make me feel hungry, I will definitely have to check them out next time. Thanks for the tip.
A slight inaccuracy I have noted at around 15:00.
Finland did indeed go deeper into the USSR, but not around Leningrad (they went a bit), rather it was in Karelia, where Finland advanced basically up to Petrozavodsk. Once the advancing was finished, Mannerheim ordered the army to dig in, where it formed 3 defensive lines along the Karelian Isthmus (The main line, VT line, and VKT line). The Soviet offensive of 1944 was stopped at the VKT line, and peace was made.
Actually, it is due to Finland stopping their advancing that Hitler visited Finland in June 1942 in an attempt to have Finland contribute more offensively to the war.
Thanks for the update and further information, very interesting to read. 👍
Darn ... I missed that when I visited the Ease of Finland !
A great reason for going back someday! 😉
And it still works + the trees and the lakes.
Impressive for sure, designed to withstand the test of time!
Thank you.
Thanks for watching!
Salpa in english means "a latch."
"A metal bar with a catch and lever used for fastening a door or gate."
That makes sense, thanks for mentioning it.
20K already? Let's dive in!
Nice video
Thanks! 😁
Interesting.
Thank you!
You should see also Bunker museum. And bunkers that are just waiting to be seen in the woods
Bunker hunting sounds like a lot of fun, especially as there are so many to find. Will be visiting a few more as I head north.
very nice video. You should go grill some sausage at matsun laavu. I suggest HK sininen lenkki. Its the best sausage in finn :D. At matsun laavu there is bunker you can explore freely and if you continue the main road at matsun laavu there is secon and third bunker also you can see. They are not maintained so its very cool to explore them when nobody has gone there.
I lived there about ten years. Its very nice place. And actually there is military pracises still going on. There is also Valkjärvi what is very good place to swimming. Its located in harju.
Thank you, I'll keep that in mind if I fancy a bit of sausage when in Finland again. However, I can't see matsun laavu on a map, where is it near?
"Säkkijärvi is no more, but at least we still have the polka"
I will take your word for it 😊
There is Säkkijärvi still. Not there but is
Kauhajoella on Säkkijärvi
hey i live there!
Nice!
My grandpa was fighting in karelia and my granny was a lotta in Lapland
That's amazing! Real people fighting for their country, and most probably their survival.
I am a simple fin i see Finland mentioned i click
Thanks, hope you enjoyed watching! 😊
The Salpa line was the greatest single construction project in Finnish history. Considering the total population of Finland at the time of its building was no more than some 3.8 million people, it was indeed quite an investment of resources. - Like mentioned in the video, the defensive structures include plenty of various tank traps and obstacles. On top of that, anti-tank mines could be placed to cripple the approaching vehicles of the enemy, and hollow-charge recoilless guns (German Panzerfaust and Panzerschreck weapons) used to destroy them.
The more I think about it the more impressed I am with the Salpa Line, you're right it was an incredible piece of organisation and construction. It's easy to overlook how massive Finland is compared to the size of the population. It was a huge ask but the Finns pulled it off.
Can i recommend you our Czech defense line around borders?.. google Czech bunkers.. we have a lot ! i live in location where every forest or field almost have it.. Its around Náchod close to Poland borders... these are massive bunkers, wehrmacht trained on them France attack.. they didnt know how to break them.. its like 1m concrete wall at least :D
Yes you definitely can! Sounds really interesting, I've made a note of Náchod in case I'm ever in the area (which I hope to be, Czechia is a country I want to revisit having only seen Prague), if you have any other specific recommendations in that area I'd love to hear them. Thanks for watching!
I only have a cursory knowledge of the Finnish wars but I do know for certain that I would rather have the Finns on my side than as opposition.
Having heard about the Winter War I'm inclined to agree!
Finland never went for Leningrad and never cut the life line of the city, the Murmansk railroad to the Arctic Sea, even though Germans were pushing them to do it. They stopped and the front line was more or less stationary from the late fall of -41 until June -44 when the Sovjets launched their massive attack.
Interesting, thanks for the information - always good to read about the history of these conflicts in a bit more detail.
So, in Barbarossa Finnish troops progressed to the edge of Leningrad but also all the way to lake Onega and river Svir between it and lake Ladoga. There was also some moderate progress north of that. German troops attacked from Lapland towards Murmansk managed to do little progress - the main objective is to defend Nikkeli - for obvious reasons. The situation stayed stationary in these positions, way further than the original border, until summer of 1944 when Soviet Union started to push back against Germany. As Soviet troops were overpowering Finland negotiated a deal and switched to beating Germans in the north.
Thanks for the information, very interesting. Always good to learn a bit more about the places I visit and things I talk about. 👍
" As Soviet troops were overpowering Finland negotiated a deal and switched to beating Germans in the north." - You are unfortunately cutting corners and oversimplifying history. Finland had been feeling for peace with the USSR since 1943 (to the outrage of Germans!), but every time Stalin insisted in unconditional surrender that would have destroyed Finland as we now know it, most likely leading to genocide of Finns in the style carried out under Soviet rule in each of the Baltic States since 1940. The Soviet long-range air force ADD attacked Helsinki trying to bomb it into ruins in 1944, but failed in their effort. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Helsinki_in_World_War_II When the tide had turned on the eastern front and Germany was retreating, Stalin made yet another attempt at taking all of Finland in his en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vyborg%E2%80%93Petrozavodsk_offensive , which turned out the largest battle in the history of Northern Europe. At the Battle of Tali-Ihantala, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tali%E2%80%93Ihantala Finns gained a defensive victory with German support that terminated that offensive. Only thereafter did Stalin drop his demand of unconditional surrender, which made negotiated peace possible for Finland. The terms were still harsh but Finland's independence and sovereignty were saved. Fighting Germans in Lapland 1944-45 were built-in into Soviet peace terms, despite of neither Finns nor Germans had reasons of their own to start fighting each other, but Finland then had no choice, in order to get its exit from the war.
Very interesting, thank you for your detailed explanation.
"When a jaeger stops, he starts digging."
What's a jaeger?
@@MattWhitingsEurope Now it is used sort of like "private" in Finland. The word comes from Germany where it means "hunter" and it was used for light infantry riflemen. German military from around the first world war is also where some of Finnish military tradition comes from.
@@MattWhitingsEuropeInfantry rifleman. Word jäger comes from germany and it means a hunter.
Ah I see. Thanks for the detailed explanation, much appreciated.
Thanks for the explanation, that's good to know.
story tells that finland decided not to go siege leningrad since it was going to be blood bath and probably revenged dearly. it is also thought that it was kinda crucial decision so russian demands against finland stayed as reasonable as they did. in hindsight, would have been probably a better idea to stop at the old border and start fortifying it like there's no tomorrow. dunno how germany would have reacted though and I guess it seemed like they were kinda winning the war still then.
Great point, hindsight is a wonderful thing and I suspect there were lots of politics and arguments involved in the decision making process.
10:20 you forgot to turn the arrow XD
Ooops! 😬
Fins are used to snow and winter and so are the Russians. One aspect however should be mentioned. The commander of the Finish forces, General Mannerheim, was originally a tsarist trained military officer, perfectly familiar with the Russian war strategy. When the tsarist empire collapsed he found his new allegiance to Finland, given the fact he was part finish. In fact he could hardly speak the Finish language however this aspect improved enough with time. While he managed to keep the Soviet army at the bay for about four months, he realized that lack of resources and manpower will not allow the war to continue and, as such, he decided to call for an armistice and a peaceful compromise about the province of Karelia. Those were very interesting times in which the fins were rebuilding their national identity, also a time of creativity and dedication; during those times, the famous Finish composer Jean Sibelius composed his master piece Finlandia, which is also one of my favorite peace of classical music. On the military aspect, the Soviets for the first time in history, created the first airborne troops designed to land behind the Salpa lines, without much success, mind you.
While Russians were used to Winter, their soldiers were conscripted from warmer parts of the Empire, to make them less likely to have warm (pun intended) feelings towards the Finns, so they didn't have training in winter-survival. And Soviets had just purged their officers of less loyal (but experienced) personnel.
@@ilesalmo7724I have heard that a lot of soldiers was from Ukraine 🇺🇦
@@ilesalmo7724 There are not too many warm parts in the Russian Empire, maybe with the exception of Black Sea. In any case this may or may not be truth.
@@georgevladimirovich7190 I'd assume that they are referring to the regions such as Chechnya and Kazakh
@@georgevladimirovich7190 Southern Russia along with Ukraine has average winter temperatures between +2 and -6 while entirety of Finland has -4 to -13
While 39-40 were exceptionally cold and wintery years across Europe, in Finland the average winter temperature was closer to -25.
If the coldest you've experienced is -10 then -45 would be quite an unfortunate experience, even for Finns
T-34 supported the shooting results of the movie Stalingrad for the museums. Taking the tank out of the country would have been too expensive, so they preferred to sell it.
Thanks for the update, interesting to read.
making a mistake everytime you say "was". I can clearly say, just from the fact that the clear-cut area is still well kept, If there was an invasion, those trenches and bunkers would be back in use in no time.
I'm sure there would be a use for them but thought that the Salpa Line had lost most of its military significance with the equipment and tactics of modern warfare? Happy to learn more about this.
@@MattWhitingsEurope you are partly correct, but I think Ukraine has shown that trench warfare has not gone away, the modern Finnish military still uses trenches and dugout bunker systems extensively. Finland is highly prepared for war, and there are many secretive things they have, as well as simple things most people overlook. Take for instance the thousands of well maintained "forest service" and "recreational ATV" roads and trails that run all along the Russian border on the Finnish side, many with dead ends, and escape routes. These can be seen even on Google maps. Many large buildings in Finnish cities are also engineered to have an area under the foundation where explosives can be placed, and whole buildings, or even whole blocks can be levelled to create shooting lanes for artillery during urban combat. Also if you drive the roads near the Russian or Norwegian border, you will notice many small, sometimes overgrown pull off roads/paths that lead nowhere. These are used my mechanised units to quickly pull off of the road and hide under the trees when there is an air to ground threat, whole columns of vehicles can be cleared from the road within minutes. Lapland also has sections of the highways that are widened to be used as landing strips for the Finnish F-18 hornet and Swedish SAAB Gripen to quickly refuel, rearm, and takeoff again. Just a few examples that you wouldn't notice unless you knew to look for them, my guess with the trench system is the same, sure they may be empty now, but they can be re-dug and rebuilt within days if needed, especially with modern military engineers' heavy equipment(excavators, bulldozers).
Interesting account, thanks for the details. I think you are right, there's only so much a government should be willing to make public, there will no doubt be plenty that's classified until the time comes.
You should be able to read the Finish signs using Google Lens. Take a picture of the sign with Google Lens, select translate in the app....voilà
Thanks, I'll give that a try next time. 👍
nice video! i was there a week before you, and also filmed video from this place with english subtitles! i hiked 50km long trail along salpa line. go check that if you want!
Thanks, sounds like a fascinating hike and it must have been pretty wild out there! I'll bookmark the video and take a look over the next few days!
Subscribed. I didn't know brits use miles 🤔
Thank you! Yes we primarily use miles.
These could probably still be used today.
True, but there are modern ones replacing them in these days
Thousands of lakes form natural barriers.
@@duhni4551 I don't think Finland has any modern defense lines like this. But our terrain and infrastructure is basically a defense line itself.
@@emil3458 Not trenches per se, but there are structures taking place enabling our military to fight effectively
I'm sure they would still use parts of it if the worst happened, however I did read that modern warfare has rendered the Salpa Line less useful nowadays. I'm definitely interested to learn more about this.
I enjoyed this film, thank you very much, I've subscribed and will check the rest of your videos. I'm very interested in Armenia, important country for christians! 😉🇸🇪
Thanks for watching, much appreciated. I haven’t been to Armenia yet but it’s on the list 👍
@@MattWhitingsEurope
Focus a bit on the church, very unique church, the first state church in the world.
Will do, thanks for the steer.
Hi from Germany! We are very happy to welcomed Suomi into Europe! (Also your neighbors too!)
Good evening, hope all is well in Germany. Two great countries if you ask me!
@@MattWhitingsEurope I hope all goes well for all of us ;) At the moment we have a big court trial for a dangerous group, media in other countrys will take the news for sure soon. I hope and pray that the borders to ruzzia in your land are to scary for them to try. But seems Nato is ready for every possibilitys. Together we are strong :)
Thank you! I really hope things settle down soon. It's always good to stand together as part of the NATO alliance.
time will come when Finns get Karelia back as well. their ancestral lands. means a lot to them. Free Karelia.
👀
Finland has had a really complex relationship with Russia for a millenia. During the 18th century, when Finland was still part of Sweden, the Russians invaded Finland and raped, enslaved, burglarised, and razed practically speaking the entire area known as Finland proper. This period is dissected into two periods: the Great Wrath and the Lesser Wrath. I would say that then, if not even earlier, Finns grew to have suspicions about our neighbor to the east.
So, when we talk about the WWII and Finland fighting against Russians, people might think that it was the first instance where Finns went against them, which is not true. We have fought against them for centuries.
Edit: Finland did have radar equipment, but not a lot. Good set of binoculars would do almost as well. The radars were used in the high value areas, namely Tampere and Helsinki.
Thanks for the additional info, very useful! The history is crazy, it goes back when further than I realised!!
i see you have your heart in the right place, but the Salpa-line was like 40% complete when the armistice was signed in September 1944. If the Soviets would have assaulted it with similar forces as in Tali-Ihantala, they could have reached the Finnish interior relatively easily. But then again it would have meant guerrilla warfare which would have been quite costly for them. So no, Finland was not ready for soviet assault in Aug-Sept 1944 but thanks for drawing attention to this less discussed feature of our military history and cheers from Finland!
Thanks for watching, I'm guessing that the completed 40% would have been where Finland believed an attack was most likely to come from?
@@MattWhitingsEurope yes, the parts facing the direction of the Karelian Isthmus were the most complete and heavily fortified parts. Some parts of the line up towards the north were simply trenches with some minor fortifications and much of it had no fortifications at all.
@@MattWhitingsEurope also the construction process was delayed time and time again, much like the VT- and VKT-lines in the Isthmus due to Finland suffering from heavy manpower issues not unlike Germany during the exact same period. During the summer of 1944 almost every man capable of fighting was called to arms. Much of the construction only began after June. It is a fortunate thing that the Soviets were stopped in Tali-Ihantala.
Incredible! Thanks again for the information ,very interesting to read. 👍
I heard that the only times two democracies were at war was when the brits declared war on Finland.
We would never do such a thing!
WTF means Welcome To Finland 🪖
Ha I like it, I think 🤔
oh noes it's written in finnish and because I'm so technologically progressive I still don't know of 10+ year old phone apps that would have translated this text for me.
I should imagine it’s quite common that people don’t have any wi-fi or data connection and haven’t downloaded the language pack in advance? What would you do then? 🙄
0:20 "what does an independent country do after they have been attacked?"
Me: Join the Axis powers?
"they build even bigger fortifications!"
Me: How is that going to help if Europe is completely crushed and become 100% subservient to either the US or the USSR?
Літвіны гэта Гістарычная назва Беларусаў , як Эліны ў Грэкаў, Суомі ў Фінаў , Магяры ў Вугорцаў і так далей . Мы не першыя і не апошнія ў гэтым, трэба 2 назвы выкарыстоўваць як іншыя робяць. Mой сын кажа - мaскавіцкая мова ўвогуле не патрэбна будзе ў жыццi. Калi знiкне лукавы пра - маскоўскі тыран, у Беларусi (ВКЛ) будзе беларуская мова, а калi прыйдзецца жыць за мяжой, то будзе патрэбна мова той зaмежнай краiны. А для паразумення з iншаземнымi сябрамi, патрэбна ангельская, польская цi ўкраінская.
Цікава, дзякуй за інфармацыю.
@@MattWhitingsEurope you are very welcome . BACKGROUND : После 2-й Мировой войны 10-мильонная Белaрусь 🏳❤🏳 не досчиталась около 3-х мильонов своих жителей, однако околь 2-х миллионов были убиты еще до войны органами коммунистического НКВД. В Беларуси физически уничтожили 70 процентов всех белaруских писателей, убили ученых и художников. (Труппа Третьего Белорусского Государственного театра Владислава Голубка была арестована в полном составе. Почти все были расстреляны.) Убивали по национальному признаку. Ради этого был придуман ярлык "нацдем" (это значит -- национальный демократ, хотя такой партии не существовало). Этот ярлык приклеивали ко всем белорусам, которых сталинисты планировали уничтожить. В недрах НКВД была придумана несуществующая антикоммунистическая организация СВБ ("союз освобождения Белaруси"). Под придуманный фантом энкавэдисты проводили аресты, вели воображаемое следствие, допрашивали, пытали, судили, потом ссылали в paсeю и расстреливали невинных людей. После Рижского сговора в 1921 году Беларусь разделили между Польшей и paсeей. Границу раздела провели недалеко от Менска. Существовал тайный приказ НКВД уничтожать всё белорусское население вдоль границы. Российские аккупанты хотели сделать здесь безлюдную зону. Уничтожение осуществляли пограничные войска. Довереным лицам выдавали винтовку и лопату. Когда такой солдат-пограничник встречал в безлюдном месте (на дороге, в поле, в лесу) одинокого белоруса или белоруску, или ребенка, он стрелял человека, тут же лопатой выкапывал яму и засыпал труп.
Такова была инструкция. Люди в деревнях не так боялись "человека с ружьём", как солдата с лопатой. (Эти факты опубликованы в белaруской печати в начале 90-х годов.) В 30-х годах на 95-99 процентов (практически полностью) была уничтожена (сослана и расстреляна) белaруская коммунистическо-партийная и советская администрация. Уничтожали даже директорат и хозяйственных руководителей. На должности убитых администраторов и коммунистических начальников-белорусов присылали “русских” из paсeии. “Русские” 🇷🇺 (так называемые "выдвиженцы") приезжали в Беларусь, занимали освобожденные должности, получали льготы, имущество, квартиры и первое, что они делали -- закрывали белорусские школы, переводили их на “русский” язык, чтобы их дети могли учиться, не обременяя себя изучением, как они говорили, "никому ненужного" белaруского языка. Таким образом оккупанты создавали в Беларуси "русскоязычное” население". Этноцид, лингвацид, мнемацид и геноцид проводзились большевиками одновременно.
Уничтожение белaрусов рaсeйским НКВД продолжалось и во времена немецкой аккупации. В июне 1941 года в первые дни войны коммунисты расстреляли в тюрьмах и на этапах тысячи заключенных. Только в Брестской крепости, где была страшная тюрьма НКВД, всех арестованных ликвидировать не успели, часть из них разбежалась. Тем временем большая группа надзирателей и функционеров НКВД была заблокирована в крепости немцами. Они сидели там около месяца, пока не вымерли. Лет через 20 после войны коммунисты придумали легенду о "героической обороне" Брестской крепости. Обращает на себя внимание тот факт, что широкое советское партизанское движение было организовано только в Беларуси и частично -- на этнических белaруских землях, которые были в составе paсeии (Смоленщина, Брянщина). В оккупированой России партизанского движения не было. Почему? Да потому, что продолжал действовать план уничтожения белорусской нации. Москва, используя органы НКВД, втянула массы гражданского белорусского населения в войну против немцев, и этим подставила белорусов под немецкий удар.
Необходимое дело борьбы исходило из коварного замысла и осуществлялось подлыми методами. (Сталин хотел получить двойную выгоду.) Энкавэдисты специально около белорусской деревени убивали немца или делали другую провокацию, чтобы вызвать карательную операцию гитлеровцев (которые обычно сжигали всю деревню, чаще всего -- вместе с людьми). Таким образом, кстати, в результате специальной провокации советских партизан была сожжена и известная Хатынь, которую коммунисты потом в 70-х годах разрекламировали на весь мир как типичную жертву фашистского зверства.
В результате такой коммуно-фашистской совместной "работы" в Беларуси сожгли более 9 тысяч деревень. Поэтому к концу войны, в результате специальной операции НКВД, многие белaaруские командиры были посланы на смерть, отстранены от командования, убиты и репрессированы. Их места занимали русские, присланные из Мосвы, и верные энкавэдисты. Летом 1944 года, когда "красная армия" заняла Беларусь, “русские” провели мобилизацию в армию на белaруской территории. Десятки тысяч молодых белaруских мужчин, почти без подготовки, бросили на передовую линию фронта. “pусские” командиры поднимали их в ненужные атаки под огонь немецких пулеметов, не дав даже оружия в руки, или с винтовками, но без патронов. Они гибли тысячами, как трава под косой. А те, что бежали назад, попадали под пули энкавэдистских "заградотрядов". Впрочем, заградотряды стреляли и в спину. Так продолжалось уничтожение белaрусов на войне, руками немцев и “русских” одновременно. Как говорили коммунисты, "в борьбе за советскую родину". В 40-х годах русские вывезли в Сибирь и там замучили всех лесников и так называемых "кулаков" из Западной Беларуси. Вывозили вагонами, по разнорядках.
@@MattWhitingsEurope AND Holodomor in Belarus (eastern part ) "8 чэрвеня 1933 г. сакратар ЦК КП(б)Б Мікалай Гікала і старшыня СНК БССР Мікалай Галадзед атрымалі сакрэтны ліст з Нараўлянскага раёна. Непісьменная пісулька на беларускай мове, у якой мясцовыя кіраўнікі скардзіліся на страшэнны голад у сваім раёне: “На гэтых днях (2 чэрвеня) меў мейсца з рада вон выходзячы факт: гр. в. Ціхін (Акопскага сельсавету) Сікорская ноччу зарэзала свайго 9-гадовага дзіцяці. Частку ўнутранасцей пасьпела паесьці, назаўтра ўтопіла другога дзіцяці і памерла сама ад істошчэньня”. Такі жудасны факт прыводзілі нараўлянскія начальнікі і слёзна заканчвалі сваё пасланне: “Без сур’ёзнай дапамогі рэспубліканскага цэнтру абысціся не зможам”.
"Такое ж бядотнае становішча было і ў суседнім Ельскім раёне, аб чым чэкісты рапартавалі ў Менск. У 200 сем’ях з 250 аднаасобных гаспадарак дзеці і дарослыя апухлі ад голаду, за два месяцы з-за схуднення памерла 20 чалавек. “Аднаасобнік хутара Рэдзька Калодзей Мікіта, каб не бачыць пакуты галоднай сям’і, запёр у хаце жонку і трох малалетніх дзяцей, забіў наглуха дзверы і вокны, пасля чаго сам некуды знік. Жонка і двое дзяцей Калодзея ўжо памерлі, аднаго малога выратавалі суседзі. У в.Меляшковічы ўдава Ціханава Ульяна з голаду кінула траіх дзяцей і сышла няведама куды”, - прыводзілі жудасныя прыклады чэкісты.
На Гомельшчыну з Менска выехала спецыяльная камісія для праверкі фактаў. 21 чэрвеня Бюро ЦК КП(б)Б занесла ў пратакол: у Ельскім і Нараўлянскім раёнах мор закрануў да 60 працэнтаў насельніцтва. Людзі ядуць не толькі “ліпавае лісце, верас, мох і мякіну, а ў некаторых гаспадарках нават катоў, сабак і конскую падаль”. Сталічныя таварышы вымушаны былі прызнаць факт канібалізму: “У в. Акопы… жонка бедняка, пайшоўшага на працу ў горад, вярнулася дадому і знайшла свайго сына Валодзю мёртвым, адрэзала ногі дзіцяці і зварыла са шчаўем. Паела шчаўя сама і пакарміла другое дзіцянё. Назаўтра памерла сама і другое дзіцё”.
Thanks again for the additional information. Pretty brutal times...
@@MattWhitingsEurope Matts, can you make an episode about " finlandization" from anti - colonial perspective ? and how Moscow empire try to apply with colonial concept in Belarus , Georgia, Armenia (before revolution ) today?
Good that someone tells this story of the War, BUT also an EXAMPLE of someone, who does not know much of the subject and context. Presenting with confidence. Typical of Our times. 😂
What did I get wrong?
Wasn’t invaded, they tried but failed.
They were invaded but not occupied.
Soviet union invaded small parts of Finland. Saying Soviet union invaded Finland (like in intro) indicates all of it that is not what happened.
Incredibly dumb argument or you have no idea what "invasion" actually means. That's like saying Russia hasn't invaded Ukraine because it has only invaded parts of the territory.
Look up the word, you clearly don't know what it means.
When war began they indeed came from all around the border but since it wasn't succesful they concentrated the attack around lake Laatokka
Invasion is not the same as occupation if thats what you are thinking about
@@gyderian9435 Correct on that.
It was a full scale invasion of Finland lol they just plain failed. Just because the red menace failed it does not mean it was not a full scale invasion
Russia is so arrogant