Editing Winter War (section)

==Foreign support==
{{Main|Foreign support of Finland in the Winter War}}

===Foreign volunteers===
[[File:Norwegian Winter War Volunteers.jpg|thumb|Norwegian volunteers somewhere in Northern Finland]]

World opinion largely supported the Finnish cause, and the Soviet aggression was generally deemed unjustified. World War II had not yet directly affected France, the United Kingdom or the United States; the Winter War was practically the only conflict in Europe at that time and thus held major world interest. Several foreign organisations sent material aid, and many countries granted credit and military materiel to Finland. Nazi Germany allowed arms to pass through its territory to Finland, but after a Swedish newspaper made this public, Adolf Hitler initiated a policy of silence towards Finland, as part of improved German–Soviet relations following the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact.<ref name="Trotter_194-202">[[#Trotter2002|Trotter (2002)]], pp. 194–202</ref>

The largest foreign contingent came from neighboring Sweden, which provided nearly 8,760 volunteers during the war. The [[Swedish Volunteer Corps (Winter War)|Volunteer Corps]] was formed of predominantly Swedes, as well as 1,010 Danes and 727 Norwegians. They fought on the northern front at Salla during the last days of the war. A Swedish unit of [[Gloster Gladiator]] fighters, named "the Flight Regiment 19" also participated. Swedish anti-air batteries with [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|Bofors {{convert|40|mm|abbr=on}} guns]] were responsible for air defence in northern Finland and the city of Turku.<ref name="JS2006_21-22">[[#Jow&Snod2006|Jowett & Snodgrass (2006)]], pp. 21–22</ref> Volunteers arrived from [[Hungarian Volunteers in the Winter War|Hungary]], Italy and Estonia. 350 [[Finnish American|American nationals of Finnish background]] volunteered, and 210 volunteers of other nationalities arrived in Finland before the war ended.<ref name="JS2006_21-22"/> [[Max Manus]], a [[Norwegian people|Norwegian]], fought in the Winter War before returning to [[Norway]] and later achieved fame as a resistance fighter during the [[German occupation of Norway]]. In total, Finland received 12,000 volunteers, 50 of whom died during the war.<ref name="Juuti1999b_776">[[#Juuti1999b|Juutilainen (1999b)]], p. 776</ref> The British actor [[Christopher Lee]] volunteered in the war for two weeks, but did not face combat.{{Sfnp|Rigby|2003|pp=59–60}}

==== White émigrés and Russian prisoners-of-war ====
Finland officially refused overtures from the anti-Soviet [[Russian All-Military Union]] (ROVS) for aid. Nevertheless, Mannerheim eventually agreed to establish a small Russian detachment (''Russkaya narodnaya armiya'', RNA) of 200 men after being introduced to [[Boris Bazhanov]], a high-ranking ROVS member, in person in January 1940. The project was deemed top secret, and was under the auspices of the intelligence division of the Finnish army headquarters.<ref name="Yle_Jormanainen">{{Cite web | url=https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-11254603 | title=Venäläisemigranttien talvisota – Mannerheim hyväksyi huippusalaisen suunnitelman bolševikkien vastaisen sotavankiarmeijan perustamisesta | publisher=[[Yle]] | author=Jormanainen, Heli | date=15 March 2020 | accessdate=8 June 2022 | archive-date=17 February 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217145822/https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-11254603 | url-status=live }}</ref>

The ranks of RNA were to be filled by prisoners-of-war, but it would be commanded by White émigrés instead of captured Soviet Army officers, who were deemed unreliable. Bazhanov's Finnish assistant Feodor Schulgin chose Captain Vladimir Kiseleff, Lieutenant Vladimir Lugovskoy, Anatoly Budyansky and brothers Nikolay and Vladimir Bastamov as officers for the unit. Of the five, the Bastamovs were not Finnish citizens, but had [[Nansen passport]]s. The prisoners-of-war were trained in [[Huittinen]], although it is possible that some were also trained in [[Lempäälä]].<ref name="Yle_Jormanainen"/>

RNA never participated in battle, despite Boris Bazhanov's later claims to the contrary in his memoirs. About 35 to 40 members of it were present during a battle in [[:fi:Ruskeala|Ruskeala]] in early March 1940, where they spread flyers and broadcast propaganda to encircled Soviet troops, but did not carry weapons. The men were subsequently detained by Finnish forces, who mistook them for Soviet infiltrators. After the war's end, Bazhanov was immediately asked to leave Finland, which he did. Finnish military historian [[:fi:Carl-Fredrik Geust|Carl Geust]] presumes that most members of the RNA were executed after they were returned to the Soviet Union after the war. Additionally, Vladimir Bastamov was later extradited into the Soviet Union as one of the [[:fi:Leinon vangit|Leino prisoners]] in 1945, and was sentenced to 20 years of hard labour. He was released after Stalin's death and returned to Finland in 1956.<ref name="Yle_Jormanainen"/>

===Franco-British intervention plans===
{{Main|Franco-British plans for intervention in the Winter War}}
[[File:Lapland1940.png|thumb|alt=A drawing shows that the Allies had two possible roads into Finland: through Soviet-occupied Petsamo or through Narvik in neutral Norway.|Franco-British support was offered on the condition their forces could pass freely from [[Narvik]] through [[Neutral country|neutral]] Norway and Sweden instead of the difficult passage through Soviet-occupied [[Pechengsky District|Petsamo]].]]

France had been one of the earliest supporters of Finland during the Winter War. The French saw an opportunity to weaken Germany's resource imports via a Finnish counteroffensive, as both Sweden and the Soviet Union were strategic trading partners to Germany. France had another motive, preferring to have a major war in a remote part of Europe rather than on French soil. France planned to re‑arm the [[Polish Armed Forces in the West|Polish exile units]] and transport them to the Finnish Arctic port of Petsamo. Another proposal was a massive air strike with Turkish co-operation against the [[Caucasus]] [[oil field]]s.<ref name="Trotter_235-236" />

The British, for their part, wanted to block the flow of iron ore from Swedish mines to Germany as the Swedes supplied up to 40 per cent of Germany's iron demand.<ref name="Trotter_235-236">[[#Trotter2002|Trotter (2002)]], pp. 235–236</ref> The matter was raised by British Admiral [[Reginald Plunkett]] on 18 September 1939, and the next day [[Winston Churchill]] brought up the subject in the [[Chamberlain war ministry|Chamberlain War Cabinet]].<ref name="Edwards_141">[[#Edwards2006|Edwards (2006)]], p. 141</ref> On 11 December, Churchill opined that the British should gain a foothold in Scandinavia with the objective to help the Finns, but without a war with the Soviet Union.<ref name="Edwards_145">[[#Edwards2006|Edwards (2006)]], p. 145</ref> Because of the heavy German reliance on Northern Sweden's iron ore, Hitler had made it clear to the Swedish government in December that any Allied troops on Swedish soil would immediately provoke a German invasion.<ref name="Trotter_237">[[#Trotter2002|Trotter (2002)]], p. 237</ref>

On 19 December, French Prime Minister [[Édouard Daladier]] introduced his plan to the General Staff and the War Cabinet. In his plan, Daladier created linkage between the war in Finland and the iron ore in Sweden.<ref name="Edwards_145"/> There was a danger of Finland's possible fall under Soviet hegemony. In turn, Nazi Germany could occupy both Norway and Sweden. These two powers could divide Scandinavia between them, as they had already done with Poland. The main motivation of the French and the British was to reduce German war-making ability.<ref name= "Edwards_146">[[#Edwards2006|Edwards (2006)]], p. 146</ref>

The Military Co-ordination Committee met on 20 December in London, and two days later the French plan was put forward.<ref name="Edwards_146"/> The [[Anglo-French Supreme War Council]] elected to send notes to Norway and Sweden on 27 December, urging the Norwegians and Swedes to help Finland and offer the Allies their support. Norway and Sweden rejected the offer on 5 January 1940.<ref name="Trotter_237"/> The Allies came up with a new plan, in which they would demand that Norway and Sweden give them right of passage by citing a League of Nations resolution as justification. The expedition troops would disembark at the Norwegian port of Narvik and proceed by rail toward Finland, passing through the Swedish ore fields on the way. This demand was sent to Norway and Sweden on 6 January, but it was likewise rejected six days later.<ref>[[#Trotter2002|Trotter (2002)]], pp. 237–238</ref>

Stymied but not yet dissuaded from the possibility of action, the Allies formulated a final plan on 29 January. First, the Finns would make a formal request for assistance. Then, the Allies would ask Norway and Sweden for permission to move the "volunteers" across their territory. Finally, to protect the supply line from German actions, the Allies would send units ashore at [[Namsos (town)|Namsos]], [[Bergen]], and [[Trondheim]]. The operation would have required 100,000 British and 35,000 French soldiers with naval and air support. The supply convoys would sail on 12 March and the landings would begin on 20 March.<ref>[[#Trotter2002|Trotter (2002)]], pp. 238–239</ref> The end of the war on 13 March cancelled Franco-British plans to send troops to Finland through Northern [[Scandinavia]].<ref name="Trotter_239">[[#Trotter2002|Trotter (2002)]], p. 239</ref>