Editing Continuation War (section)

===German and Finnish war plans===
The details of the Finnish preparations for war are still somewhat opaque. Historian [[William R. Trotter]] stated that "it has so far proven impossible to pinpoint the exact date on which Finland was taken into confidence about Operation Barbarossa" and that "neither the Finns nor the Germans were entirely candid with one another as to their national aims and methods. In any case, the step from contingency planning to actual operations, when it came, was little more than a formality".{{sfn|Trotter|1991|p=226}}

The inner circle of Finnish leadership, led by Ryti and Mannerheim, actively planned joint operations with Germany under a veil of ambiguous neutrality and without formal agreements after an alliance with Sweden had proved fruitless, according to a meta-analysis by Finnish historian {{ill|Olli-Pekka Vehviläinen|fi}}. He likewise refuted the so-called "driftwood theory" that Finland had been merely a piece of driftwood that was swept uncontrollably in the rapids of great power politics. Even then, most historians conclude that Finland had no realistic alternative to co-operating with Germany.{{Sfn|Zeiler|DuBois|2012|pp=208–221}} On 20 May, the Germans invited a number of Finnish officers to discuss the coordination of Operation Barbarossa. The participants met on 25–28 May in [[Salzburg]] and Berlin and continued their meeting in Helsinki from 3 to 6 June. They agreed upon Finnish [[mobilisation]] and a general division of operations.{{sfn|Vehviläinen|2002|p=87}} They also agreed that the Finnish Army would start mobilisation on 15 June, but the Germans did not reveal the actual date of the assault. The Finnish decisions were made by the inner circle of political and military leaders, without the knowledge of the rest of the government. Due to tensions between Germany and the Soviet Union, the government was not informed until 9 June that mobilisation of [[reservist]]s would be required.{{sfn|Kirby|2006|p=221}}{{sfn|Reiter|2009|pp=135–136, 138}}