Editing Winter War (section)

==Soviet invasion==
=== Start of invasion and political operations ===
On 30 November 1939, Soviet forces invaded Finland with 21 divisions, totalling 450,000 men, and [[Bombing of Helsinki in World War II#Winter War|bombed Helsinki]],<ref name="KR2007_13" /><ref name="JS2006_6">[[#Jow&Snod2006|Jowett & Snodgrass (2006)]], p. 6</ref> killing about 100 citizens and destroying more than 50 buildings. In response to international criticism, Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov stated that the Soviet Air Force was not bombing Finnish cities but rather dropping humanitarian aid to the starving Finnish population; the bombs were sarcastically dubbed [[Molotov bread basket]]s by Finns.<ref>[[#Paskhover2015|Paskhover (2015)]]</ref><ref>[[#RusMilArchive34980|Russian State Military Archive]] F.34980 Op.14 D.108</ref> The Finnish statesman J. K. Paasikivi commented that the Soviet attack without a [[declaration of war]] violated three separate non-aggression pacts: the Treaty of Tartu, which was signed in 1920, the non-aggression pact between Finland and the Soviet Union, which was signed in 1932 and again in 1934; and also the [[Covenant of the League of Nations]], which the Soviet Union signed in 1934.<ref name="Turtola1999a_44-45"/> Field Marshal C.G.E. Mannerheim was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the [[Finnish Defence Forces]] after the Soviet attack. In a further reshuffling, [[Cajander III Cabinet|Aimo Cajander's caretaker cabinet]] was replaced by [[Risto Ryti]] and [[Ryti I Cabinet|his cabinet]], with Väinö Tanner as foreign minister because of opposition to Cajander's prewar politics.<ref name="Trotter_48-51">[[#Trotter2002|Trotter (2002)]], pp. 48–51</ref> Finland brought the matter of the Soviet invasion before the League of Nations. The League expelled the Soviet Union on 14 December 1939 and exhorted its members to aid Finland.<ref name="Trotter_61" /><ref>[[#League of Nations|League of Nations (1939)]], pp. 506, 540</ref>

Headed by [[Otto Wille Kuusinen]], the Finnish Democratic Republic puppet government operated in the parts of Finnish Karelia occupied by the Soviets, and was also referred to as the "Terijoki Government", after the village of [[Zelenogorsk, Saint Petersburg|Terijoki]], the first settlement captured by the advancing Red Army.<ref name="Trotter_58">[[#Trotter2002|Trotter (2002)]], p. 58</ref> After the war, the puppet government was reabsorbed into the Soviet Union. From the very outset of the war, working-class Finns stood behind the legitimate government in Helsinki.<ref name="Trotter_61">[[#Trotter2002|Trotter (2002)]], p. 61</ref> Finnish national unity against the Soviet invasion was later called the [[spirit of the Winter War]].<ref name="Soikk1999_235">[[#Soikk1999|Soikkanen (1999)]], p. 235</ref>

===First battles and Soviet advance to Mannerheim Line===
[[File:Winterwar-december1939-karelianisthmus.png|thumb|alt=Diagram of the Karelian Isthmus, next to Leningrad, illustrates the positions of the Soviet and Finnish troops early in the war. The Red Army penetrated around 25 to 50 kilometres into Finnish territory on the Isthmus, but was stopped at the defensive Mannerheim Line.|The situation on 7 December: Soviets have reached the [[Mannerheim Line]] on the [[Karelian Isthmus]].{{legend|blue|Finnish division (XX) or corps (XXX)}}{{legend|red|Soviet division (XX), corps (XXX) or army (XXXX)}}]]

The array of Finnish defence structures that during the war started to be called the Mannerheim Line was located on the Karelian Isthmus approximately {{convert|30|to|75|km|mi|abbr=on}} from the Soviet border. The Red Army soldiers on the Isthmus numbered 250,000, facing 130,000 Finns.<ref name="UittoGeust8">[[#GeustUitto2006|Geust; Uitto (2006)]], p. 54</ref> The Finnish command deployed a [[defence in depth]] of about 21,000 men in the area in front of the Mannerheim Line to delay and damage the Red Army before it reached the line.<ref name="Trotter_69">[[#Trotter2002|Trotter (2002)]], p. 69</ref> In combat, the most severe cause of confusion among Finnish soldiers was Soviet tanks. The Finns had few [[anti-tank weapon]]s and insufficient training in modern [[Anti-tank warfare|anti-tank tactics]]. According to Trotter, the favoured Soviet armoured tactic was a simple frontal charge, the weaknesses of which could be exploited. The Finns learned that at close range, tanks could be dealt with in many ways; for example, logs and crowbars jammed into the [[Bogie#Tracked vehicles|bogie wheels]] would often immobilise a tank. Soon, Finns fielded a better ad hoc weapon, the [[Molotov cocktail]], a glass bottle filled with [[Flammability|flammable]] liquids and with a simple hand-lit [[Fuse (explosives)|fuse]]. Molotov cocktails were eventually mass-produced by the Finnish ''[[Alko]]'' alcoholic-beverage corporation and bundled with matches with which to light them. 80 Soviet tanks were destroyed in the border zone engagements.<ref name="Trotter_72-73">[[#Trotter2002|Trotter (2002)]], pp. 72–73</ref>

By 6 December, all of the Finnish covering forces had withdrawn to the Mannerheim Line. The Red Army began its first major attack against the Line in [[Solovyovo, Priozersky District, Leningrad Oblast|Taipale]]{{snd}}the area between the shore of Lake Ladoga, the [[Burnaya River|Taipale river]] and the [[Lake Sukhodolskoye|Suvanto]] waterway. Along the Suvanto sector, the Finns had a slight advantage of elevation and dry ground to dig into. The Finnish [[artillery]] had scouted the area and made fire plans in advance, anticipating a Soviet assault. The [[Battle of Taipale]] began with a forty-hour Soviet artillery preparation. After the [[Barrage (artillery)|barrage]], Soviet infantry attacked across open ground but was repulsed with heavy casualties. From 6 to 12 December, the Red Army continued to try to engage using only a single division. Next, the Red Army strengthened its artillery and deployed tanks and the [[150th Rifle Division (Russia)|150th Rifle Division]] forward to the Taipale front. On 14 December, the bolstered Soviet forces launched a new attack but were pushed back again. A third Soviet division entered the fight but performed poorly and panicked under shell fire. The assaults continued without success, and the Red Army suffered heavy losses. One typical Soviet attack during the battle lasted just an hour but left 1,000 dead and 27 tanks strewn on the ice.<ref name="Trotter_76-78">[[#Trotter2002|Trotter (2002)]], pp. 76–78</ref> North of Lake Ladoga on the [[Ladoga Karelia]] front, the defending Finnish units relied on the terrain. Ladoga Karelia, a large forest wilderness, did not have road networks for the modern Red Army.<ref name="Trotter_51-55">[[#Trotter2002|Trotter (2002)]], pp. 51–55</ref> The [[8th Army (Soviet Union)|Soviet 8th Army]] had extended a new railroad line to the border, which could double the supply capability on the front. On 12 December, the advancing Soviet [[139th Rifle Division]], supported by the [[56th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|56th Rifle Division]], was defeated by a much smaller Finnish force under [[Paavo Talvela]] in [[Battle of Tolvajärvi|Tolvajärvi]], the first Finnish victory of the war.<ref name="Trotter_121">[[#Trotter2002|Trotter (2002)]], p. 121</ref>

In Central and Northern Finland, roads were few and the terrain hostile. The Finns did not expect large-scale Soviet attacks, but the Soviets sent eight divisions, heavily supported by armour and artillery. The [[155th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|155th Rifle Division]] attacked at [[Battle of Ilomantsi (1939)|Ilomantsi]] and [[Lieksa]], and further north the [[44th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|44th]] attacked at [[Battle of Kuhmo|Kuhmo]]. The 163rd Rifle Division was deployed at [[Suomussalmi]] and ordered to cut Finland in half by advancing on Raate road. In [[Finnish Lapland]], the Soviet [[88th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|88th]] and 122nd Rifle Divisions attacked at [[Battle of Salla (1939)|Salla]]. The Arctic port of Petsamo was attacked by the 104th Mountain Rifle Division by sea and land, supported by [[Naval gunfire support|naval gunfire]].<ref name="Trotter_53-54">[[#Trotter2002|Trotter (2002)]], pp. 53–54</ref>