MARKSMANSHIP HISTORY: THE MIGHTY FINNS

[Cav1]

THE MIGHTY FINNS

In the Winter War, on November 30, 1939, Soviet Russia initially attacked the tiny nation of Finland, total population 3,700,000, with 300,000 troops, 800 aircraft, thousands of tanks, and numerous batteries of assorted artillery. Finland had been guilty of inciting Russian aggression by (A) being located right next door and (B) having something Joseph Stalin wanted for himself, and, the most heinous crime of all, (C) telling the mad dictator "no."

Outnumbered 4-to-1 in manpower, the small Finnish military had only a handful of mostly obsolete aircraft, no tanks, and very few artillery pieces or anti-tank guns. While many of the legendary Sissi ski units had the Suomi submachine gun, which the Russians "reverse-engineered" as their own PPsh-41, the vast, overwhelming majority of Finland's forces consisted of the humble rifleman.

Before the war, Finland had a long tradition of hunting and marksmanship. Ducks were often hunted with small-bore rifles in lieu of shotguns. In the European-wide 1939 Shooting Festival, the Finns captured the Free Rifle event, and Finnish private Olavi Elo set a new world's record in the 1937 International Army Matches.

Finnish forces were armed with the Mosin-Nagant rifle, thousands of these having been captured when Finland re-declared her independence from Mother Russia during the chaos of the Russian Revolution. Finnish Mosins have always been known as the very best of the breed, the M1927, M1928/30, and the M39. Finnish Mosins were rebarreled with better quality steel, sights were improved, various heights of front sights were available for individual soldiers to precisely zero elevation, and many had trigger jobs. A Finnish Mosin, after refurbishing, was required to be able to fire a 1.3-inch group at 100 meters.

With these rifles, the Finns defended their homeland with a ferocity that stunned the Russians. In A Frozen Hell, his excellent book on the Winter War, historian William Trotter explained:  "The forest itself dictated a heavy emphasis on individual initiative and small-unit operations, quasi-guerilla style. Marksmanship, mental agility, woodcraft, orienteering, camouflage, and physical conditioning were stressed, and parade-ground niceties were given short shrift."

The modern motorized and mechanized Russian units were restricted to the few good roads in the frozen wilderness of snow and forest. The Finns struck at them from the flanks, rifles cracking from the forests, and then they melted away to strike again unexpectedly elsewhere. Once they had a road-bound column stopped, the Finns surrounded and divided the Russian units up into mottis (stacks of wood ready to be chopped), and eliminated each pocket one by one.

Probably the most famous Finnish marksman was Corporal Simo Hayha, a quiet, unassuming woodsman only five feet tall. Using an iron-sighted M-28 Mosin-Nagant, and often utilizing the sitting position out of preference, Hayha engaged individual Russians out to 400 meters and beyond. He was credited with taking out over 500 (confirmed) Russian soldiers before he himself was wounded and sent to the hospital, where he was personally promoted from corporal to lieutenant by Carl Gustav Mannerheim, Finland's military commander in chief. Hayha was also reported to have accounted for approximately 200 more Russians at closer ranges with a Suomi submachine gun. During his time in combat during the four-month war, Simo averaged five Russians per day.

Another Finnish hero, Sulo Kolkka, bagged 400 Russians, also with an open-sighted Mosin, including, at 600 meters, a top Soviet sniper who had been purposely sent out to eradicate him.

In the famous Battle of Raate Road, some 6,000 Finns took on a Russian motorized division of 25,000 men. After three days of fierce combat in temperatures as cold as -40 degrees, the Soviet division had been completely shattered. The Russians lost well over 20,000 men and 1,300 captured; the Finns also captured 43 tanks, 100 artillery pieces, armored cars, armored artillery tractors, trucks, and horses. Finnish losses were roughly 800 men.

Even Stalin and Molotov's propaganda machine admitted to 50,000 Russian casualties. Years later, Premiere Nikita Khurshchev came out and admitted that they had sent 1.5 million soldiers into Finland, and roughly ONE MILLION of them had become casualties. Finnish deaths were reported as less than 26,000, or nearly a 40-to-1 casualty rate.

Still, only the Soviets could have kept shoveling men and machines heartlessly into the meat grinder until the Finns finally had to sue for peace and give up some territorial concessions. As one Soviet general put it, "We have won just enough ground to bury our dead." On the Finnish side, one saying went, "They are so many, and our country so small, where will we find room to bury them all?"

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[socalserf]

I'm really begining to like you, and your inspirational stories.
Got anymore?

[Nickle]

FWIW, I've got 2 Finnish Mosins, an M24 and an M28. Nothing fancy, but they sure do shoot well.

There's a DVD, "Fire and Ice" floating around, and worth seeing.

[Cav1]

There's another movie out simply titled The Winter War, Talvisota in Finnish. Subtitled, of course, but it's Finland's equivalent to Saving Private Ryan. Very gritty and realistic. Makes me want to run right up and jam a log into the track of a T-26 tank and throw Molotov cocktails on it....not.

I haven't seen Fire & Ice yet, but it's supposed to be pretty good. I'm hoping Netflix will offer it, but haven't seen it available yet.

[K98Al]

I've seen "Fire and Ice" (over and over) It's worth the twenty bucks you can buy it for at several places on the internet. I also own an M-39, and it FAR surpasses the Soviet Mosins. With reloads, it shoots as well as a 98K or better!

[Buckshot]

There is a good but currently out of print book out about the Finish Rifles.

It is called "Rifles of the White Death" by Doug Bowsher.

The author was self-publishing (he also has a very good book out about Swedish Mausers, currently out of print also) and is thinking about and slowly talked into running off another batch of at least the Finn book.

Buckshot

[voortrekker]

Good stuff all.


Thanks for sharing! 


I will look those movies up.

[Longshot]

 

You guys are killin' me....       OK, where can I get a Finnish Mosin? Have C&R, but never seen them advertised.
  So my Soviet Mosin is what, fire wood?

  Great post Cav 1

Longshot

[wcmartin1]

Lew Horton used to have some, but seems to be out.

Found some here:

http://www.gunsamerica.com/Search/Category/459/Guns/Rifles/Mosin-Nagant-Rifles-Carbines.htm

[Buckshot]

You guys are killin' me....       OK, where can I get a Finnish Mosin? Have C&R, but never seen them advertised.
  So my Soviet Mosin is what, fire wood?

  Great post Cav 1

Longshot

Longshot,

SOG has a few M39 Finn Mosins, but none of the earlier ones, they are onsie-twosie, wherever you can find them.

Buckshot