Toni Wirtanen

The follow-up to Finland at War: The Winter War, this is the astonishing David and Goliath story of Finland's military history during World War II as, heavily outnumbered, they held off the Soviet invadersIn the aftermath of the Winter War, Finland found itself drawing ever closer to Nazi Germany and eventually took part in Operation Barbarossa in 1941. For the Finns this was a chance to right the wrongs of the Winter War, and having reached suitable defensive positions, the army was ordered to halt. Years of uneasy trench warfare followed, known as the Continuation War, during which Finland desperately sought a way out, German dreams of victory were dashed, and the Soviet Union built the strongest army in the world. In the summer of 1944, the whole might of the Red Army was launched against the Finnish defences on the narrow Karelian Isthmus. Over several weeks of fierce fighting, the Finns managed to halt the Soviet assault. With Stalin forced to divert his armies to the race to Berlin, an armistice agreement was reached, the harsh terms of which forced the Finns to take on their erstwhile German allies in Lapland. Featuring rare photographs and first-hand accounts, this second volume of a two-part study, publishing in paperback for the first time, details the high price Finland had to pay to retain its independence and freedom.

The story of the ‘Winter War’ between Finland and Soviet Russia is a dramatic David versus Goliath encounter. When close to half a million Soviet troops poured into Finland in 1939 it was expected that Finnish defences would collapse in a matter of weeks. But they held firm. The Finns not only survived the initial attacks but succeeded in inflicting devastating casualties before superior Russian numbers eventually forced a peace settlement. This is a rigorously detailed and utterly compelling guide to Finland's vital, but almost forgotten role in the cataclysmic World War II. It reveals the untold story of iron determination, unparalleled skill and utter mastery of winter warfare that characterised Finland's fight for survival on the hellish Eastern Front. Now publishing in paperback, Finland at War: The Winter War 1939–40 is the premiere English-language history of the fighting performance of the Finns, drawing on first-hand accounts and rare photographs to explain just how they were able to perform military feats that nearly defy belief.

Turkulainen Börje Brotell oli vain 17-vuotias talvisodan syttyessä. Nuorukainen ei päässyt rintamalle, vaan toimi suojeluskunnassa eri tehtävissä. Keväällä 1941 Brotell lähti Saksaan vapaaehtoisena, joista muodostettiin suomalainen SS-pataljoona. Börje Brotellista koulutettiin konekivääriampuja. Marsalkka Mannerheimin halutessa miehet Suomeen, jäi Brotellilta upseerikoulu kesken. Hän liittyi kenraalimajuri Laguksen panssaridivisioonan rynnäkkötykkipataljoonaan. Kesäkuussa 1944 Neuvostoliitto aloitti suurhyökkäyksen, tavoitteena murskata Suomi. Saksasta ostetut rynnäkkötykit, suomalaisittain sturmit, heitettiin tuleen. Kannaksen taisteluissa pataljoona tuhosi 87 vihollisvaunua, ylikersantti Brotellin johtama Bubi-rynnäkkötykki niistä eniten, 11 vaunua. Rocktähti Toni Wirtanen ja kokenut sarjakuvantekijä Marko Tiainen ovat tehneet yhteistyössä sotahistoriaan pohjautuvan ja Börje Brotellin sotilasuran piirtävän Sturmiässä-albumin.