(Major Soviet offensives from 30 November – 22 December 1939) The League of Nations deemed the attack illegal and expelled the Soviet Union from the League on 14 December 1939. It began with the Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939 (three months after the outbreak of World War II), and ended with the Moscow Peace Treaty on 13 March 1940. The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland in 1939–1940. Unconventional tactics, ambushes, long range patrols, deceptions, raids, were enshrined as doctrine and refined. And parade ground compliments were discouraged. Marksmanship, metal agility, woodcraft, orienteering, camouflage, and physical fitness were all stressed. The forest itself dictated a heavy emphasis on individual initiative, and small unit operations, quasi guerilla style. They were light on firepower, but very good in terms of mobility and lower level tactics. The Finns knew that in any war with the USSR, they would be on the defensive but they vowed that it should be active defense. How would the Finnish army of just over 300,000 men, 32 outdated tanks, and 114 out dated aircraft take on the Russian army attacking with nearly 1 million troops, 6,541 tanks, and 3,880 aircraft? The result would be a roughly five to one casualty ratio in favor of the Finns, and a near complete loss of committed Russian tanks. This is an amazing war that has been largely forgotten by the world as it overlapped with the actions of the much more studied and well known WW II. If reading is not your style then try out this great documentary on YouTube. As you read take note of how a smaller force was able to battle a larger and better equipped force not unlike the actions of our own Revolutionary War over 200 years ago. I understand that there is a very critical relationship between militants and local citizenry in any guerilla style endeavors, but that is not for today’s history lesson. For this reason I keep my ears open for other military engagements with which we can draw more applicable lessons. Unfortunately not many of the regions we currently live in mirror the Mekong Delta or Tikrit.

Most of us, when we think of guerilla tactics, draw up an image of either sweltering jungles or hot dry cities.

Battle of raate road