Editing Continuation War (section)

==Finnish offensive phase in 1941==
===Initial operations===
[[File:JR45 crossing Murmansk railway.jpg|thumb|Finnish soldiers crossing the [[Kirov Railway|Murmansk railway]] in 1941.|254x254px]]
In the evening of 21 June 1941, German mine-layers hiding in the [[Archipelago Sea]] deployed two large minefields across the Gulf of Finland. Later that night, German bombers flew along the gulf to Leningrad, mining the harbour and the river [[Neva]], making a refueling stop at [[Utti]], Finland, on the return leg. In the early hours of 22 June, Finnish forces launched [[Operation Kilpapurjehdus]] ("Regatta"), deploying troops in the demilitarised Åland Islands. Although the 1921 [[Åland convention]] had clauses allowing Finland to defend the islands in the event of an attack, the coordination of this operation with the German invasion and the arrest of the Soviet consulate staff stationed on the islands meant that the deployment was a deliberate violation of the treaty, according to Finnish historian [[Mauno Jokipii]].{{sfn|Jokipii|1999|p=282}}

On the morning of 22 June, Hitler's proclamation read: "Together with their Finnish comrades in arms the [[Gebirgsjäger|heroes from Narvik]] stand at the edge of the Arctic Ocean. German troops under command of the [[Eduard Dietl|conqueror of Norway]], and the Finnish freedom fighters under their Marshal's command, are protecting Finnish territory."{{sfn|Mann|Jörgensen|2016|p=74}}

Following the launch of [[Operation Barbarossa]] at around 3:15&nbsp;a.m. on 22 June 1941, the Soviet Union sent seven bombers on a retaliatory airstrike into Finland, hitting targets at 6:06&nbsp;a.m. Helsinki time as reported by the [[Finnish coastal defence ship Väinämöinen|Finnish coastal defence ship ''Väinämöinen'']].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://digi.narc.fi/digi/view.ka?kuid=3615109|title=Scan from the coastal defence ship Väinämöinen's log book|date=22 June 1941|website=Digital Archive of the National Archives of Finland|access-date=21 February 2018|archive-date=6 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106180526/http://digi.narc.fi/digi/view.ka?kuid=3615109|url-status=live}}</ref> On the morning of 25 June, the Soviet Union launched another air offensive, with 460 fighters and bombers targeting 19 airfields in Finland; however, inaccurate intelligence and poor bombing accuracy resulted in several raids hitting Finnish cities, or municipalities, causing considerable damage. 23 Soviet bombers were lost in this strike while the Finnish forces lost no aircraft.<ref>{{cite book|title=Kohtalokkaat lennot 1939–1944|last1=Hyvönen|first1=Jaakko|publisher=Apali Oy|year=2001|isbn=952-5026-21-3|language=fi|trans-title=Fateful Flights 1939–1944}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=http://militera.lib.ru/h/hazanov_db2/07.html|title=1941. Горькие уроки: Война в воздухе|last=Khazanov|first=Dmitriy B.|publisher=Yauea|year=2006|isbn=5-699-17846-5|language=ru|trans-title=1941: The War in the Air - The Bitter Lessons|chapter=Первая воздушная операция советских ВВС в Великой Отечественной войне|trans-chapter=The first air operation of the Soviet Air Force in the Great Patriotic War|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111127153212/http://militera.lib.ru/h/hazanov_db2/07.html|archive-date=27 November 2011}}</ref>{{sfn|Reiter|2009|pp=135–136, 138}} Although the USSR claimed that the airstrikes were directed against German targets, particularly airfields in Finland,<ref name="Platonov">{{cite book|title=Битва за Ленинград|location=Moscow|publisher=Voenizdat Ministerstva oborony SSSR|year=1964|editor-last=Platonov|editor-first=Semen P. |trans-title=The Battle for Leningrad}}</ref> the [[Parliament of Finland|Finnish Parliament]] used the attacks as justification for the approval of a "defensive war".{{sfn|Vehviläinen|2002|p=88}} According to historian David Kirby, the message was intended more for public opinion in Finland than abroad, where the country was viewed as an ally of the Axis powers.{{sfn|Kirby|2006|p=222}}{{Sfn|Zeiler|DuBois|2012|pp=208–221}}

===Finnish advance in Karelia===
{{Main|Finnish invasion of Ladoga Karelia|Finnish invasion of the Karelian Isthmus|Finnish invasion of East Karelia (1941){{!}}Finnish invasion of East Karelia}}
[[File:Map of Finnish operations in Karelia in 1941.png|upright=1.5|thumb|Subphases of the Finnish invasion of Karelia during the 1941 general offensive. The old 1939 border is marked in grey.]]

The Finnish plans for the offensive in Ladoga Karelia were finalised on 28 June 1941,{{sfn|Lunde|2011|pp=154–159}} and the first stages of the operation began on 10 July.{{sfn|Lunde|2011|pp=154–159}}{{sfn|Dzeniskevich|Kovalchuk|Sobolev|Tsamutali|1970|p=19}}{{sfn|Reiter|2009|pp=135–136, 138}} By 16 July, the [[Finnish VI Corps (Continuation War)|VI Corps]] had reached the northern shore of [[Lake Ladoga]], dividing the Soviet 7th Army, which had been tasked with defending the area.{{sfn|Lunde|2011|pp=154–159}} The USSR struggled to contain the German assault, and soon the Soviet high command, ''[[Stavka]]'' ({{langx|ru|Ставка|links=no}}), pulled all available units stationed along the Finnish border into the beleaguered front line.{{sfn|Lunde|2011|pp=154–159}} Additional reinforcements were drawn from the [[237th Rifle Division]] and the Soviet [[10th Mechanized Corps (Soviet Union)|10th Mechanised Corps]], excluding the {{ill|198th Motorised Division|ru|198-я моторизованная дивизия}}, both of which were stationed in Ladoga Karelia, but this stripped much of the reserve strength of the Soviet units defending that area.{{sfn|Raunio|Kilin|2007|pp=34, 62}}

The Finnish [[Finnish II Corps (Continuation War)|II Corps]] started its offensive in the north of the Karelian Isthmus on 31 July.{{sfn|Lunde|2011|pp=167–172}} Other Finnish forces reached the shores of Lake Ladoga on 9 August, encircling most of the three defending Soviet divisions on the northwestern coast of the lake in a [[Pocket (military)|pocket]] ({{langx|fi|motti|links=no}}); these divisions were later evacuated across the lake. On 22 August, the Finnish [[Finnish IV Corps (Continuation War)|IV Corps]] began its offensive south of II Corps and advanced towards [[Vyborg]] ({{Langx|fi|Viipuri|links=no}}).{{sfn|Lunde|2011|pp=167–172}} By 23 August, II Corps had reached the [[Vuoksi River]] to the east and encircled the Soviet forces defending Vyborg.{{sfn|Lunde|2011|pp=167–172}} Finnish forces captured Vyborg on 29 August.{{sfn|Enkenberg|2021|p=70}}

[[File:Paraati viipurissa.jpg|thumb|left|A Finnish military parade next to the [[Round Tower (Vyborg)|Round Tower]] in Viipuri (now Vyborg, Russia) on 31 August 1941, celebrating its recapture.|283x283px]]

The Soviet order to withdraw from Vyborg came too late, resulting in significant losses in materiel, although most of the troops were later evacuated via the [[Beryozovye Islands|Koivisto Islands]].{{sfn|Salisbury|1969|p=247}} After suffering severe losses, the Soviet 23rd Army was unable to halt the offensive, and by 2 September the Finnish Army had reached the old [[Treaty of Tartu (Russian–Finnish)|1939 border]].{{sfn|Glantz|2002|p=68-69}}{{sfn|Salisbury|1969|pp=243–245}} The advance by Finnish and German forces split the Soviet Northern Front into the [[Leningrad Front]] and the [[Karelian Front]] on 23 August.{{sfn|Glantz|2005|p=50}} On 31 August, Finnish Headquarters ordered II and IV Corps, which had advanced the furthest, to halt their advance along a line that ran from the Gulf of Finland via [[Beloostrov]]–[[Sestra River (Leningrad Oblast)|Sestra]]–[[Okhta River (Neva basin)|Okhta]]–[[Lembolovo]] to Lake Ladoga.{{sfn|Werth|1999|pp=360–361}}{{sfn|Salisbury|1969|pp=245–246}} <!-- Remember to be neutral per WP:NEUTRAL and add verifiable, reliable sources per WP:VERIFY! -->The line ran past the former 1939 border, and approximately {{Convert|30-32|km|mi|abbr=on}} from Leningrad;{{sfn|Glantz|2002|p=69}}{{sfn|Salisbury|1969|p=246|ps=: "This line was only twenty miles from the Leningrad city limits."}} a defensive position was established along this line.{{sfn|Jones|2009|p=142|ps=: "Finland advanced to within twenty miles of Leningrad's outskirts, cutting the city's northern supply routes, but its troops then halted at its 1939 border, and did not undertake further action."}}{{sfn|Glantz|2002|p=416}} On 30 August, the IV Corps fought the Soviet 23rd Army in the [[Battle of Porlampi]] and defeated them on 1 September.{{sfn|Nenye|Munter|Wirtanen|Birks|2016|pp=101–104}} Sporadic fighting continued around Beloostrov until the Soviets evicted the Finns on 5 September.{{sfn|Werth|1999|pp=360–361}} The front on the Isthmus stabilised and the [[siege of Leningrad]] began on 8 September.{{sfn|Brinkley|2004|p=210}}{{sfn|Glantz|2002|p=69}}

The Finnish Army of Karelia started its attack in East Karelia towards [[Petrozavodsk]], [[Lake Onega]] and the [[Svir River]] on 9 September. German Army Group North advanced from the south of Leningrad towards the Svir River and captured [[Tikhvin]] but were forced to retreat to the [[Volkhov River]] by Soviet counterattacks. Soviet forces repeatedly attempted to expel the Finns from their [[bridgehead]] south of the Svir during October and December but were repulsed; Soviet units attacked the German [[163rd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|163rd Infantry Division]] in October 1941, which was operating under Finnish command across the Svir, but failed to dislodge it.{{sfn|Raunio|Kilin|2008|pp=10–11}} Despite these failed attacks, the Finnish attack in East Karelia had been blunted and their advance had halted by 6 December. During the five-month campaign, the Finns suffered 75,000 casualties, of whom 26,355 had died, while the Soviets had 230,000 casualties, of whom 50,000 became prisoners of war.{{sfn|Vehviläinen|2002|p=96}}

===Operation Silver Fox in Lapland and Lend-Lease to Murmansk===
[[File:Warriors of Lapland.jpg|thumb|Finnish [[Sámi peoples|Sámi]] soldier Rájá-Jovnna<ref name="yle-11335441">{{cite news |last=Rasmus |first=Linnea |date=5 May 2020 |title=Ohcejohkalaš Rájá-Jovnna šattai Ruošša vuoitobeaivvi modeallan – Bárdni: "Hervii gal, gádden giinu leaikkastallá" |url=https://yle.fi/a/3-11335441 |work=Yle Sápmi |access-date=31 March 2023 |language=se |archive-date=30 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330213135/https://yle.fi/a/3-11335441 |url-status=live }}</ref> with a [[reindeer]] in Lapland. Reindeer were used in many capacities, such as pulling supply sleighs in snowy conditions.]]

{{Main|Operation Silver Fox|Lend-Lease}}

The German objective in Finnish Lapland was to take Murmansk and cut the Kirov (Murmansk) Railway running from Murmansk to Leningrad by capturing Salla and [[Kandalaksha]]. Murmansk was the only year-round [[Port#Warm-water port|ice-free port]] in the north and a threat to the nickel mine at Petsamo. The joint Finnish–German Operation Silver Fox ({{langx|de|Unternehmen Silberfuchs}}; {{langx|fi|operaatio Hopeakettu|links=no}}) was started on 29 June 1941 by the German Army of Norway, which had the [[Finnish 3rd Division (Continuation War)|Finnish 3rd]] and [[Finnish 6th Division (Continuation War)|6th Divisions]] under its command, against the defending Soviet 14th Army and [[54th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|54th Rifle Division]]. By November, the operation had stalled {{convert|30|km|mi|abbr=on}} from the Kirov Railway due to unacclimatised German troops, heavy Soviet resistance, poor terrain, arctic weather and diplomatic pressure by the United States on the Finns regarding the lend-lease deliveries to Murmansk. The offensive and its three sub-operations failed to achieve their objectives. Both sides dug in and the arctic theatre remained stable, excluding minor skirmishes, until the Soviet [[Petsamo–Kirkenes Offensive]] in October 1944.{{sfn|Mann|Jörgensen|2016|pp=81–97, 199–200}}{{sfn|Vehviläinen|2002|p=95}}

The crucial [[Arctic convoys of World War II|arctic lend-lease convoys]] from the US and the UK via Murmansk and Kirov Railway to the bulk of the Soviet forces continued throughout World War II. The US supplied almost [[United States dollar|$]]11 billion in materials: 400,000 jeeps and trucks; 12,000 armored vehicles (including 7,000 tanks, which could equip some 20 US armoured divisions); 11,400 aircraft; and {{convert|1.75|e6ST|e6t|abbr=unit|order=flip}} of food.{{sfn|Weeks|2004|p=9}}{{sfn|Stewart|2010|p=158}} As a similar example, British shipments of Matilda, Valentine and Tetrarch tanks accounted for only 6% of total Soviet tank production, but over 25% of medium and heavy tanks produced for the Red Army.{{sfn|Suprun|1997|p=35}}

===Aspirations, war effort and international relations===
{{see also|Greater Finland#The Continuation War{{!}}Greater Finland}}
[[File:Continuation War 1941.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Finnish soldiers crossing the 1940-agreed border ([[Moscow Peace Treaty]]) at [[Tohmajärvi]] on 12 July 1941, two days after the invasion started.]]

The ''Wehrmacht'' rapidly advanced deep into Soviet territory early in the Operation Barbarossa campaign, leading the Finnish government to believe that Germany would defeat the Soviet Union quickly.{{sfn|Reiter|2009|pp=135–136, 138}} President Ryti envisioned a Greater Finland, where Finns and other [[Baltic Finnic peoples|Finnic peoples]] would live inside a "natural defence borderline" by incorporating the [[Kola Peninsula]], East Karelia and perhaps even northern [[Ingria]]. In public, the proposed frontier was introduced with the slogan "short border, long peace".{{sfn|Vehviläinen|2002|p=92}}{{sfn|Reiter|2009|pp=135–136, 138}}{{Sfn|Zeiler|DuBois|2012|pp=208–221}} Some members of the Finnish Parliament, such as members of the [[Social Democratic Party of Finland|Social Democratic Party]] and the [[Swedish People's Party of Finland|Swedish People's Party]], opposed the idea, arguing that maintaining the 1939 frontier would be enough.{{sfn|Vehviläinen|2002|p=92}} Mannerheim often called the war an anti-Communist crusade, hoping to defeat "[[Bolshevism]] once and for all".{{sfn|Reiter|2009|pp=135–136, 138}} On 10 July, Mannerheim drafted his order of the day, the [[Sword Scabbard Declaration]], in which he pledged to liberate Karelia; in December 1941 in private letters, he made known his doubts of the need to push beyond the previous borders.{{sfn|Clements|2012|p=210}} The Finnish government assured the United States that it was unaware of the order.{{sfn|Kirby|2006|p=224}}

According to Vehviläinen, most Finns thought that the scope of the new offensive was only to regain what had been taken in the Winter War. He further stated that the term 'Continuation War' was created at the start of the conflict by the Finnish government to justify the invasion to the population as a continuation of the defensive Winter War. The government also wished to emphasise that it was not an official ally of Germany, but a 'co-belligerent' fighting against a common enemy and with purely Finnish aims. Vehviläinen wrote that the authenticity of the government's claim changed when the Finnish Army crossed the old frontier of 1939 and began to annex Soviet territory.{{sfn|Vehviläinen|2002|pp=89–91}} British author [[Jonathan Clements]] asserted that by December 1941, Finnish soldiers had started questioning whether they were fighting a war of national defence or foreign conquest.{{sfn|Clements|2012|pp=210–211}}

By the autumn of 1941, the Finnish military leadership started to doubt Germany's capability to finish the war quickly. The Finnish Defence Forces suffered relatively severe losses during their advance and, overall, German victory became uncertain as German troops were [[Battle of Moscow|halted near Moscow]]. German troops in northern Finland faced circumstances they were unprepared for and failed to reach their targets. As the front lines stabilised, Finland attempted to start peace negotiations with the USSR.{{sfn|Jutikkala|Pirinen|1988|p=248}} Mannerheim refused to assault Leningrad, which would inextricably tie Finland to Germany; he regarded his objectives for the war to be achieved, a decision that angered the Germans.{{sfn|Clements|2012|p=210}}

Due to the war effort, the Finnish economy suffered from a lack of labour, as well as food shortages and increased prices. To combat this, the Finnish government demobilised part of the army to prevent industrial and agricultural production from collapsing.{{sfn|Vehviläinen|2002|p=96}} In October, Finland informed Germany that it would need {{convert|159000|t|ST|lk=on|abbr=on}} of grain to manage until next year's harvest. The German authorities would have rejected the request, but Hitler himself agreed. Annual grain deliveries of {{convert|180000|t|ST|abbr=on}} equaled almost half of the Finnish domestic crop. On 25 November 1941, Finland signed the [[Anti-Comintern Pact]], a less formal alliance, which the German leadership saw as a "litmus test of loyalty".{{sfn|Vehviläinen|2002|p=101}}{{sfn|Goda|2015|pp=276–300}}

Finland maintained good relations with a number of other Western powers. Foreign volunteers from Sweden and Estonia were among the foreigners who joined Finnish ranks. [[Finnish Infantry Regiment 200|Infantry Regiment 200]], called {{Lang|et|soomepoisid}} ("Finnish boys"), mostly Estonians, and the Swedes mustered the [[Swedish Volunteer Battalion]].{{sfn|Jowett|Snodgrass|2012|pp=29–31}} The Finnish government stressed that Finland was fighting as a [[co-belligerent]] with Germany against the USSR only to protect itself and that it was still the same democratic country as it had been in the Winter War.{{sfn|Vehviläinen|2002|p=96}} For example, Finland maintained diplomatic relations with the exiled Norwegian government and more than once criticised German occupation policy in Norway.{{sfn|Ziemke|2015|p=379}} Relations between Finland and the United States were more complex since the American public was sympathetic to the "brave little democracy" and had anticommunist sentiments. At first, the United States sympathised with the Finnish cause, but the situation became problematic after the Finnish Army had crossed the 1939 border.{{sfn|Vehviläinen|2002|p=98}} Finnish and German troops were a threat to the Kirov Railway and the northern supply line between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union.{{sfn|Vehviläinen|2002|p=98}} On 25 October 1941, the US demanded that Finland cease all hostilities against the USSR and to withdraw behind the 1939 border. In public, President Ryti rejected the demands, but in private, he wrote to Mannerheim on 5 November and asked him to halt the offensive. Mannerheim agreed and secretly instructed General [[Hjalmar Siilasvuo]] and his III Corps to end the assault on the Kirov Railway.{{sfn|Vehviläinen|2002|p=99}} Nevertheless, the United States never declared war on Finland during the entire conflict.{{sfn|Hanhimäki|1997|p=62}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator -->

===British declaration of war and action in the Arctic Ocean===
{{See also|Arctic convoys of World War II}}
On 12 July 1941, the United Kingdom signed an agreement of joint action with the Soviet Union. Under German pressure, Finland closed the British [[legation]] in Helsinki and cut diplomatic relations with Britain on 1 August.{{sfn|Vehviläinen|2002|p=97}} On 2 August 1941, Britain declared that Finland was under enemy occupation, which  ended all economic transactions between Britain and Finland and led to a blockade of Finnish trade.{{sfn|Nissen|1983|p=166}} The most sizable British action on Finnish soil was the [[Raid on Kirkenes and Petsamo]], an aircraft-carrier strike on German and Finnish ships on 31 July 1941. The attack accomplished little except the loss of one Norwegian ship and three British aircraft, but it was intended to demonstrate British support for its Soviet ally.{{sfn|Sturtivant|1990|p=86}} From September to October in 1941, a total of 39 [[Hawker Hurricane]]s of [[No. 151 Wing RAF]], based at Murmansk, reinforced and provided pilot-training to the Soviet Air Forces during [[Operation Benedict]] to protect arctic convoys.<ref name="Benedict">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I1DbnQEACAAJ|title=Force Benedict|last1=Carter|first1=Eric|last2=Loveless|first2=Anthony|date=2014|publisher=Hodder & Stoughton|isbn=978-1-4447-8513-5|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221161523/https://books.google.ch/books?id=I1DbnQEACAAJ|archive-date=21 February 2018}}</ref> On 28 November, the British government presented Finland with an ultimatum demanding for the Finns to cease military operations by 3 December.{{sfn|Vehviläinen|2002|p=99}} Unofficially, Finland informed the Allies that Finnish troops would halt their advance in the next few days. The reply did not satisfy London, which declared war on Finland on 6 December.{{sfn|Reiter|2009|pp=135–136, 138}}{{refn|Secondary sources contradict each other and state either 5 or 6 December as the day war was declared. According to a news piece on 8 December 1941 by ''[[The Examiner (Tasmania)|The Examiner]]'', an Australian newspaper, Britain notified the Finnish Government on 6 December "that she considered herself at war with [Finland] as from 1 a.m. (G.M.T.) to-morrow."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article52476193|title=War declared on Finland, Rumania, Hungary|date=8 December 1941|work=The Examiner|access-date=24 February 2018|issue=232|location=Launceston|volume=C|via=National Library of Australia|archive-date=28 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728024724/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/52476193|url-status=live}}</ref>|group="lower-alpha"}} The [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] nations of Canada, Australia, [[British Raj|India]] and [[New Zealand]] soon followed suit.{{sfn|Vehviläinen|2002|p=100}} In private, British Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]] had sent a letter to Mannerheim on 29 November in which Churchill was "deeply grieved" that the British would have to declare war on Finland because of the British alliance with the Soviets. Mannerheim repatriated British volunteers under his command to the United Kingdom via Sweden. According to Clements, the declaration of war was mostly for appearance's sake.{{sfn|Clements|2012|pp=208–210}}