Finland was a part of the Swedish kingdom from the Middle Ages to year 1809, which means it was involved in many wars between Sweden and the Russian nations during that time. This page only covers the wars after Finland gained its independence in 1917.
Finnish Civil War
The Finnish Civil War started on the 27th of January and lasted until the 15th of May 1918. The war was fought between the "Reds", led by the Social Democratic Party and the "Whites", led by the non-socialist, conservative-led Senate. Finland had been struggling with issues between the left-leaning labor movement and the more conservative non-socialists, after WWI broke up the Russian Empire and its Grand Duchy. Finland's declaration of independence on 6 December 1917 failed to unify the nation.
The Reds carried out an unsuccessful general offensive in February 1918, supplied with weapons by Soviet Russia. A counteroffensive by the Whites began in March, reinforced by an Imperial German Army squad in April. The decisive military actions of the war were the battles of Tampere and Viipuri, won by the Whites, and the battles of Helsinki and Lahti, won by German troops, leading to overall victory by the Whites and the German forces. Both the Reds and Whites engaged in political terror. A large number of Reds perished due to malnutrition and disease in prison camps. Altogether around 39,000 people died in the war, including 36,000 Finns—out of a population of 3,000,000.
In the aftermath, the Finns passed from Russian rule to the German Empire's sphere of power. The conservative Finnish Senate attempted to establish a Finnish monarchy, but the plan was aborted by the defeat of Germany in WWI. Finland emerged as an independent, democratic republic. The war divided the nation for many years and remains the most emotionally charged event in Finnish history. The society was reunited through social compromises based on long-term culture of moderate politics and religion, the outcome of World War I and the postwar economic recovery.
Source: Wikipedia
Finland in World War II: Winter War, Continuation War and Lapland War
Winter War
The Winter War, fought between Finland and the Soviet Union, was a full out invasion by the Soviet Union. The aim of the invasion was to annex Finland whole into the Soviet Union. The very first attack on November 30, 1939 was an aerial bombardment of the city of Helsinki and all along the Finnish-Soviet border. The Soviet invasion was intended to be a liberation of the 'Red Finns', with the eventual annexation of Finland into the USSR. The Soviet Union fielded four armies composed of 16 divisions and another three were being brought into position; meanwhile, the Finnish army had 9 smaller divisions. In addition, Soviet forces enjoyed an overwhelming superiority in the numbers of armor and air units deployed. The problem with numbers was a Finnish issue as they had to defend a border that was some 1287 km (800 miles) in length, presenting the defenders with a significant disadvantage.
The Winter War was fought in three stages: the initial Soviet advance, a short lull and then a renewed Soviet offensive. The war was fought mainly in three areas. The Karelian Isthmus and the area of Lake Ladoga was the primary focus of the Soviet war effort. The second front was in central Karelia, where the Soviet forces were to advance to the city of Oulu, cutting the country in half. Finally, a southwards drive from the north was to capture the Petsamo region. By late December, the two main fronts had come to a standstill as the Finns were counterattacking with more strength and the Soviets were being bogged down. With the failure of two of its three offensives by the end of December, the Soviet headquarters ordered a cessation of operations. By December 27 it was observed that the Soviet forces were digging on the Karelian Isthmus. In the north, however, the Finns had been pushed back to Nautsi and with reinforcements took the higher ground to halt the Soviet advance south of Petsamo. A lull period followed in January 1940, as the Soviet army reassessed its strategy, rearmed and resupplied. The last phase began in February 1940 with a major artillery barrage that began on the 2nd and lasted till the 11th, accompanied by reconnaissance raids at key objectives. Finnish military and government leaders saw that the only thing left to do was to negotiate a peace treaty with Moscow.
A demanding peace proposal was sent to Finland by Molotov in mid-February, claiming more land for the USSR and significant diplomatic and military sanctions. By February 28, Molotov made his offer an ultimatum with a 48-hour time limit, which pushed the Finnish leadership to act quickly. The Finnish people were worn down and could no longer hold out against such vast, well-supplied numbers. By March 13, 1940 the Winter War was officially over, the Moscow Peace Treaty was signed and the Soviet Union had gained more territory than it originally demanded.
Source: Wikipedia
Continuation War
The Continuation War refers to the hostilities between Finland and the Soviet Union during the Second World War, from 1941 to 1944. At the time of the war, the Finns adopted this name to clarify how they viewed it in relation to the preceding Winter War. In the Soviet Union, the war was displayed as a part of the Great Patriotic War. Germany regarded its operations in the region as part of its overall war efforts on the Eastern Front, and it provided Finland with critical material support and military cooperation.
Acts of war between the Soviet Union and Finland started on 22 June 1941, the day Germany launched its invasion of the Soviet Union, with covert Finnish operations. Open warfare began with a Soviet air offensive on 25 June. Subsequent Finnish operations undid its post-Winter War concessions to the Soviet Union on the Karelian Isthmus and Ladoga Karelia, and captured East Karelia by September 1941. On the Karelian Isthmus, the Finns halted their offensive 30 km from Leningrad, at the pre-World War II border between the Soviet Union and Finland. Finnish forces did not participate in the siege of Leningrad directly, holding their pre-World War II territory on the Karelian Isthmus for two and a half years instead. In 1944, Soviet air forces conducted air raids on Helsinki and other major Finnish cities. Eventually, in summer 1944, the Soviet strategic offensive drove the Finns from most of the territories they had gained during the war, but the Finnish Army later brought the offensive to a standstill in July 1944. A ceasefire ended hostilities on 5 September and was followed by the Moscow Armistice on 19 September. The 1947 Paris peace treaty concluded the war formally. Finland ceded Petsamo Province to the Soviets, leased Porkkala peninsula to them, and paid reparations, while ultimately retaining its independence.
Source: Wikipedia
Lapland War
The Lapland War was fought between Finland and Nazi Germany from September 1944 to April 1945 in Finland's northernmost Lapland Province. The main strategic interest of Germany in the region were the nickel mines in the Petsamo area. While the Finns saw this as a separate conflict, much like the Continuation War, German forces considered their actions to be part of the Second World War. Initially the warfare was cautious on both sides, reflecting the previous cooperation of the two countries against their common enemy, but by the end of 1944 the fighting intensified. Finland and Germany had made an informal agreement and schedule for German troops to withdraw from Lapland to Norway. The Soviet Union did not accept this "friendliness" and pressured Finland to take a more active role in pushing the Germans out of Lapland, thus intensifying hostilities.
The Germans adopted a scorched-earth policy, and proceeded to lay waste to the entire northern half of the country as they retreated. Some 100,000 people lost their homes, adding to the burden of post-war reconstruction. The actual loss of life, however, was not catastrophic. Finland lost some 1000 troops and Germany about 2000. The Finnish army expelled the last of the foreign troops from their soil in April 1945.
German forces retreated to Norway, and Finland managed to uphold its obligations under the Moscow Armistice, although it remained formally at war with the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the British Dominions until the formal conclusion of the Continuation War was ratified by the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty.
Source: Wikipedia
