Russia Has Threatened Finland~~When Would The Invasion Be?
The last time Russia (actually the Soviet Union) invaded an unprepared Finland (1939) the USSR technically won that three-month-long war, but it paid a huge price.
The Finns mustered a force of about 340,000 soldiers and suffered 25,904 dead or missing (8%), 43,557 wounded, 800–1,100 captured. 20–30 tanks and 62 aircraft were lost.
The Soviets mustered a force of between 425,000 and 725,000 soldiers and suffered 126,875–167,976 dead or missing (≈29%), 188,671–207,538 wounded, sick, or frostbitten, 5,572 captured, 1,200–3,543 tanks and 261–515 aircraft destroyed.
Caught unawares in 1939, Finns were nonetheless well prepared for the 40-degree below zero temperatures. They have accomplished cross-country skiers, had herds of domesticated reindeer trained to pull sleighs, and wore white capes that made them largely invisible in the snow.
And the Finns were ruthless. After battles they would go out onto the battle zone and collect the bodies of the dead Soviet soldiers. They would then pose them in bizarre and even terrifying positions and allow them to freeze. In the morning the Soviet troops would wake up to find their own comrades frozen and propped up surrounding and sometime even in their camps.
During all the years since the Winter War and the Continuation War that followed it, the Finns have assumed that the Soviets/Russia would one day invade again. Finland has universal conscription. Finnish defense expenditure per capita is one of the highest in the European Union. Finland is not going to be caught unaware ever again.
The Finns are ready and Russia knows it.
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