Time Slip Reiwa Japan

052 - Karelian Isthmus Conflict - 1

"The opinion of the strongest is always the best."

La Fontaine

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Finland, which received negotiations for border changes from the Soviet Union, had been fundamentally refusing. Despite the overwhelming power balance in favor of the Soviet Union, there were two things that Finland could rely on: the League of Nations and the Warsaw Anti-Comintern Pact. *1 Since the Ethiopian crisis of 1935, the League of Nations had been unified in its determination not to allow border changes based on military force for the sake of maintaining peace. As for the Warsaw Anti-Comintern Pact, it was literally an anti-Communist alliance, so it was expected to take a resolute stance against Soviet aggression.

. . .

Finland

They requested cooperation from the League of Nations to reject the Soviet Union's outrageous demands. They declared that if the Soviet Union attempted to change the border by force, they would resist with all their might. In addition, they decided to allocate military spending from their scarce national budget to strengthen their military. However, at the same time, negotiations were continued with the aim of avoiding war with the Soviet Union against the backdrop of military buildup. They believed that they would lose in a war, and even if they did not, the damage would be enormous. This was the genuine opinion of the Finnish government.

. . .

League of Nations

They demanded that the Soviet Union refrain from forcibly changing the border and proposed to form a border monitoring team to prevent clashes if necessary. However, this proposal was not immediately accepted. One of the major council countries, France, hesitated to send a strong message to the Soviet Union due to political turmoil in their own country. Additionally, Germany took the Soviet Union's side, claiming that if there was no military conflict, and it was for the sake of Soviet defense, the international community should not interfere in bilateral negotiations. China agreed with this point of view. Unhappy with the League of Nations' interference in the Manchurian Incident, China sided with Germany and the Soviet Union. Although not one of the major council countries, the fact that two major powers sided with the Soviet Union meant that it would take time for the League of Nations to act in unison.

. . .

Soviet Union

Despite seeking a diplomatic victory, the Soviet upper echelon found themselves in a situation where a military victory became necessary. Of course, this was to be expected, given the significant damage suffered by the Soviet army during the Siberian War of Independence and subsequent purges.

However, precisely because of this, the morale of the Soviet army was high. Since all commanding officers above the rank of lieutenant had been purged or retired, the Soviet army had become a considerably youthful organization. Therefore, they recognized the conflict with Finland as an opportunity to clear their name and simultaneously advance their careers.

However, the Soviet army was not fully capable of confronting Finland. They could not afford to neglect preparations against their biggest enemy, the Siberian Republic, and their nemesis, Poland, who had their sights set on their underbelly. As a result, the Soviet Union strengthened conscription and established new infantry divisions to assign to the invading force. The Soviet government promoted this conscription as a force that would support diplomacy. Furthermore, after the outbreak of war, they advertised it as a tiny war like a picnic.

Ultimately, the Soviet army prepared 12 divisions with a total of 210.000 troops, mainly consisting of newly recruited soldiers, to exert pressure on Finland. Since the force was mainly composed of new recruits, tanks, and armored vehicles were given priority in their deployment. The Soviet government allowed the media of friendly countries, including Germany, to observe the formation of this force, exerting pressure on Finland. During training, the cutting-edge 45-ton IS tank was showcased, and its sophisticated design had a significant impact on tank development worldwide.