Editing Winter War (section)

===Weather conditions===
{{See also|Climate of Finland|Cold-weather warfare}}
[[File:Camouflaged simo hayha.jpg|Swedish volunteer with a [[Swedish Mauser|Carl Gustaf M/96]] rifle wearing a face wool mask.<ref name="Second World War the Military Photo Archive 2019">{{cite web|title=Swedish volunteer in position during the Soviet-Finnish War | website=Second World War the Military Photo Archive | date=29 April 2019 | url=https://albumwar2.com/swedish-volunteer-in-position-during-the-soviet-finnish-war/ | access-date=10 February 2023 | archive-date=10 February 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210114930/https://albumwar2.com/swedish-volunteer-in-position-during-the-soviet-finnish-war/ | url-status=live }}</ref>|thumb|left]]

The winter of 1939–40 was exceptionally cold with the Karelian Isthmus experiencing a record low temperature of {{convert|-43|°C|°F|abbr=on}} on 16 January 1940.<ref name="Paula1999_292">[[#Paula1999|Paulaharju (1999)]], p. 292</ref> At the beginning of the war, only those Finnish soldiers who were in [[Active duty|active service]] had [[uniforms]] and [[weapons]]. The rest had to make do with their own clothing, which for many soldiers was their normal winter clothing with a semblance of insignia added. Finnish soldiers were skilled in [[cross-country skiing]].<ref name="Paula1999_289-290">[[#Paula1999|Paulaharju (1999)]], pp. 289–290</ref> The cold, snow, forest, and long hours of darkness were factors that the Finns could use to their advantage. The Finns dressed in layers, and the [[Ski warfare|ski troopers]] wore a lightweight white snow cape. This snow-camouflage made the ski troopers almost invisible so that they could more easily execute [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla attacks]] against Soviet columns. At the beginning of the war, Soviet tanks were painted in standard [[olive drab]] and men dressed in regular [[khaki]] uniforms. Not until late January 1940 did the Soviets paint their equipment white and issue [[snowsuit]]s to their infantry.<ref name="Trotter_145-146">[[#Trotter2002|Trotter (2002)]], pp. 145–146</ref>

Most Soviet soldiers had proper winter clothes, but this was not the case with every unit. In the [[Battle of Suomussalmi]], thousands of Soviet soldiers died of [[frostbite]]. The Soviet troops also lacked skill in skiing, so soldiers were restricted to movement by road and were forced to move in long columns. The Red Army lacked proper winter tents, and troops had to sleep in improvised shelters.<ref name="Paula1999_297-298">[[#Paula1999|Paulaharju (1999)]], pp. 297–298</ref> Some Soviet units incurred frostbite casualties as high as ten per cent even before crossing the Finnish border.<ref name="Trotter_145-146" /> However, the cold weather did give an advantage to Soviet tanks, as they could move over frozen terrain and bodies of water, rather than being immobilised in swamps and mud.<ref name="Paula1999_297-298" /> According to Krivosheev, at least 61,506 Soviet troops were sick or [[frostbitten]] during the war.<ref name="Krivosheyev, Table 100"/>