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AngrySwan -> Finland does not surrender (2/3/2017 10:39:44 PM)
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It is late 1939 and the Soviets suddenly announce that Finland threatens Leningrad. Very soon they reveal their true intentions by forming a "Finnish people's government" lead by a Komintern official Otto Kuusinen and stating that Finland is now Soviet. The Finns strongly disagree (including the Finnish communists) and start loading their rifles. Seeing that peaceful takeover has failed the Soviets march in...
...somewhere in Karelia two infantry divisions without heavy weapons - in fact a militia force - prepare for defense. The commanding general has 6 infantry and 2 engineer units, divided in 2 divisions, 3 infantry and 1 engineer in each, one defending the Northern sector and the other one responsible for the Southern sector. The Southern force also gets a ski unit and later an artillery unit.
The Finns are given the following orders:
- kill as many invaders as possible;
- avoid conventional battles that will lead to inevitable losses; in fact this will be "semi-guerrilla" warfare.
After the first skirmishes on Day 1 the Finnish force pulls back, the Southern division defending the nearest city (Papero) and the Northern division trying to pull itself together - the force is spread over a large area.
Day 2. The aggressor tries to take Papero in a march column with 2 infantry units. The Finnish engineers repel the attack while the infantry and ski units counter-attack from the forest. The enemy advance guard destroyed.
Day 3. Southern division finishes the other enemy infantry unit and pulls back. The Northern division has gathered near the crossroads in front of Aitojokki bridge.
Day 4. Northern division fights on the crossroads destroying 1 infantry unit.
(...) Day 6. Northern division wins a conventional battle on the crossroads - 3 enemy infantry units almost destroyed and run for their lives! The Finns also pull back to the bridge because they have insufficient forces to fight a conventional war and no heavy weapons so far.
(... a longer period of silence, Finns saving resources and Soviets trying to understand what is going on and why they are not in Helsinki yet)
Day 9. Another poorly planned Soviet attack in the Southern sector. 1 Soviet infantry unit destroyed. In the North the Finns have held long enough to build 2 MG bunkers - not much support but better than none.
Day 11. Small battles continue. 1 Soviet infantry destroyed in the Northern and 1 in the Southern sector.
Day 12. The Soviets lose another 1 infantry in the South and get mad, launching an armored attack in the North, deploying 1 tank and 1 armoured car unit. The Finns have no real anti-tank weapons but by now they are also mad - at least in the North - and fight the enemy armour with hand grenades. Best shooters aim at enemy commanders looking out of open hatches; that works too. This continues until...
Day 14. Hand grenades and high morale (whoever talks about Soviet tanks causing panic in the Finnish forces is wrong, there is no panic at least in this sector) defeat armor. The Soviets lose 1 tank and 1 armored unit and the Northern division goes for their artillery.
Day 16. The Soviets lose 1 infantry in the North and now their 2 artillery units in that sector are unprotected.
Day 17. The Finns take out 1 Soviet artillery in the North; the other artillery unit manages to leave.
Day 18. The Soviets decide to take out Papero by artillery but the Finns finally get an artillery unit too! The Soviet artillery unit moving towards Papero is destroyed by a combined artillery-infantry attack.
... Day 20. The Southern force takes out another unit moving towards Papero in trucks. The Soviet commander must have got a call from Stalin himself...
The Soviets were not all that wrong telling about the Finnish militia threatening Leningrad! 9 Finnish infantry units with 1 artillery have destroyed 9 enemy infantry units, 2 artillery, 1 tank, 1 armoured car and another unidentified unit, most likely an artillery transport. Not bad for a militia force!
... but this is just the beginning. The Soviets have not given up the idea to liberate Finland from Finns and the fight continues...
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