I think its almost poetic that simo häyhä was born before the soviet union, and died over 10 years after it fell.

That’s why i sleep well at night knowing that the great country of Finland is our closest allied. From Sweden

"Ruotsalaisia emme ole, venäläisiksi emme tahdo tulla, olkaamme siis suomalaisia." J.V. Snellman kirjoitti 1861 "We are not Swedish nor we want to be Russians. Finnish we shall be" J.V. Snellman 1861

You are completely right to wonder why the USSR isn’t also blamed for starting ww2. The simple answer is because the fought on the allies side later.

Finland fought like hell even tho we are little country. I've spoken with veterans of those two wars and they all say the same thing: war is hell, we fought so you can live free .

8:20 Well I sure DO blame the Soviets for starting WWII. It's just that they were on the winning side, so they got to write their version of history, unlike, say, Germans. I wish more people were aware of the Soviet actions.

Over 2000 Estonian volunteers were fighting in the Finnish army under the Finnish Infantry Regiment 200. This was a larger force than any other country had sent to the finns. And lets not forget that the population in Estonia was about 1mil at that time.

The reason why Leningrad was renamed to St Petersburg was because that was what it was called for the majority of it's existence when it was founded by Peter the Great. St Petersburg was renamed to Leningrad by the Soviets.

Well my history teacher said it like this: "History is always written by winners." So, You'll always have to look for the two sides of the "truth".

Your question is very logical. The Soviets SHOULD be equally blamed for WW2

"Only Finland - superb, nay, sublime - in the jaws of peril, Finland shows what free men can do." Sir Winston Churchill, January 20th 1940

My grandfather (my mothers father) was a guerilla soldier in the Finnish Winter War against Russia. He wore those white uniforms and ski’s in the snow and fought for his country. He met my grandmother, who was from Karelia (a part of Finland which Russia wanted) during the war since he was stationed there. They married there during the war and he sent her to his hometown Kemi where she waited for him to come back. When the war then ended he came back and they lived many happy years together until he died of cancer in the 80’s. I live in Sweden, since my parents moved here before I was born but I have strong ties to Finland. This history of Russia attacking Finland in 1939 hits so different now because of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. I can’t imagine how the ukrainian people are feeling right now. 😢

The dog breed that Simo Häyhä started breeding after war IS so fitting for him and his story. IT was Suomen pystykorva..Finnish spitzer. First of all it is Finlands national breed Second it is a hunting dog..smallesh But full of attitude. And last But not least..rifle that Häyhä used was called spitzer because front sights of The gun looked like spitzers pointy ears.

nah the Soviet tanks couldnt hold against Molotov Cocktails, they were so badly welded that the armor plates had gaps between them that the flaming liquid could go trough and they were usually thrown in the engine deck which had a big hole in the armor to allow the engine to take air from

Volunteers from Sweden, Norway, Denmark and other countries mostly arrived too late to make a difference for Finland, and they only numbered a few thousand anyway. During The Winter War the germans were still friendly with USSR, so they didn´t send help. When Germany invaded in 1941, Finland joined them in "The Continuation War", but refused to advance beyond their pre-1939 borders. When the tide turned and Russia advanced, the germans DID send help to Finland, mainly anti tank weapons.

My greatgrandfather attended tens of battles killing dozens, finally got captured in Tornion valtaus by Nazis. Was moved to prison camp in norway, tortured, but escaped and wrote a book of the escape. It's great.

Finland actually produced one more soldier who is equally famous as Simo, Lauri Allan Törni (later Larry Allan Thorn) was actually a soldier of 3 armies. He fought for Finnish, German and American army. Hes buried at Arlington cemetery in DC

Real molotov cocktails mass produced by Finns didn't use rags, but storm matches to ignite the sticky mixture of alcohol, kerosene, tar, and potassium chlorate.

Nice! You make good questions. - We have still a war veteran (a sniper, 98) at home. He said that since there were so many "boys" from countryside, it was understandable they were used to forest, winter and hunting. My favorite personality from wartime Finland is A.F. AIro (the virtual second-in-command of the Finnish army).

About the matter of winter... you have to keep in mind, the soldiers sent to Finland weren't actually Russians, but conscripts from countries that the USSR had conquered, and they had little experience fighting in general but even less so in freezing, northern winter. On top of that, they were very badly equipped, with almost no winter clothing. The Finns on the other hand were well adapted to cold conditions; with excellent gear, they were used to living in harsh winter, and they had good supplies. Every Finnish soldier also knew how to sky, how to move and act in deep forests. This is why the Finns were much better at moving and could practically run circles around the Russians. Finally, it turns out that the winter of 1939 - 1940 was the coldest in history. Today Finland has the world's leading winter war training academy, which is visited by top militaries from all around the world. In light of recent events, I feel sorry for any Russian soldiers if they decide to attack Finland again; if they thought they have it bad in Ukraine, they will find an entirely new level of misery in Finland.

I love Finland and its peaople. Proud to say that ones we where practically the same country during 700 years. Wether they liked it or not. 🇸🇪❤️🇫🇮

The Soviets do have great reason to be blamed for partiality starting ww2 but this wasn't highlighted during the war as they were an Ally.

Molotov cocktail was more sophisticated than what curiosity explained, it didn't have a cloth for ignition, but two bengali matches on the sides, primary and a secondary, if the weapon didn't burst on first impact. Liquid was made out of benzine, tar, alcohol and lamp oil. It was specifically an antitank weopon, were it was thrown into the intake of the tank cabin where the fire and smoke would suffocate the tank crew or force them to exit and consequently be shot to death... .. Alkoholiliike OY AB (Finnish state alcohol monopoly company) would go on to produce well over 500 000 burn bottles named after Molotov during the war, and only three original bottles still remain today in museums in Finland.

Leningrad was renamed in 1991 after a referendum by its population.

My father was 19 when Russia invaded Finland and he lied about his age and joined the Finnish army to fight the Russians. The stories he told about the winter war was amazing to hear. My father got wounded during the war. My mother was also a “Lotta” and she also spoke of the terrors during this time. Finnish soldiers were very smart at gorilla tactics.

there is very many vids about winter war, i really suggest to watch them all.. one fact was that finland had only 1 combat ready tank in beginning of winter war, against thousands tanks of soviets :D

"Not Germany?" 23:38 , no because at this time 1939 they had signed the Molotov Pact you mentioned earlier , and thus stopped most of the support heading for Finland, italian planes amongst other critical things.

Oh man! That comment about 'how could Stalin not see that he was being stupid' is priceless. That's exactly the point about narcissistic sociopaths: They have a very limited sense of how thing work in reality, because they always work based on self-interest.

McJibbin, Thank you for your reaction. The soviet tanks of the time had their air intakes mostly on the up-side. Crashing a molotov into it would suck the burning diesel and tar, laced often with aluminium dust in the engine and in the crew compartment.

Among some British volunteers fighting with the Finns was one Sir Christopher Lee.

Lauri Törni is considered as the most famous Finnish soldier: "Larry Thorne: "The Real Finnish Soldier of 3 Armies: Lauri Allan Törni" . There's also a documentary with a greater detail and commentary about his life: "Törni - Sotilaan tarina (A Soldier's Story) English Subtitles". He appears in "The Big Picture" TV series about the US military: "Phantom Fighters - The Big Picture". Aimo Koivunen is known for being possibly the first known soldier in a war who overdosed meth: "Soldier OD's on Meth, Has Crazy Adventure | Tales From the Bottle". Aarne Juutilainen's brother ilmari was one of the best fighter pilots in the WW2: "Finnish fighter aces interviewed 1944 (with eng sub) / Hävittäjä-ässät haastattelussa 1944". Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim has been elected several times as the Greatest Finn Ever by the Finnish people. Here's some history relating Finland's geopolitical position before the WW2, during and after it: Brief Introduction to Finnish Military History Sympathy For Finland (1939) Talvisota- The Winter War ([Rare video] Friends of Finland) Kermit Roosevelt talks with British volunteers for Finland's Winter War (1940) The American Volunteers who Fought Against Communism in the Winter War Sir Winston Churchill - Everyone can see how Communism rots the soul of a nation - 20 January 1940 015 - The Invasion of Finland - WW2 - 8 December 1939 What Was the Lend-Lease Act? | History The Most Dangerous Naval Route in the World - Convoy PQ-17 Vesikko Satunnaista sotilashistoriaa The Confusing Belligerent Status of FINLAND in WW2 Explained The Only Secret Recording of Hitler's Normal Voice | The Hitler-Mannerheim Recording Jamming Soviet Radios With Säkkijärven Polkka Brewster Buffalo | WW2's "Worst" Aircraft Wasn't All Bad The VL Myrsky: Finnish Storm Finnish Fighter Messerschmitt bf 109 (with eng sub) World's Most Successful Fighter Pilot...; Ilmari Juutilainen ! The Greatest Bomber Raids You Never Heard Of The Forgotten Story of the Red Army's Insane 'Soviet DUNKIRK' in WW2 Sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff: Worst Maritime Disaster in History German U-745 submarine found gulf of Finland Why Finland "joined" the Axis Strangers in a Stranger Land: Finland's Jewish Soldiers in WWII East Meets West 1945 - US-Soviet Linkup at the Elbe The Cold War Explained In 15 Minutes | Best Cold War Documentary How did Finland deal with the Soviet Union after the World War? The Cold War: Détente - The SALT Agreements, Ostpolitik and the Helsinki Accords - Episode 44 Mini-Documentary: Looking back at the Helsinki Accords

So interesting video. Thank you!

Great video. My family fled from Karjala (Karelia) and my grandfather fought in winter war - and all following to that

11:20 Sovjet was big and the most of the Soviet’s soldiers in the beginning of the war was from regions who not have extreme winter conditions.

One of the rare entries in my Grandfather's diary (he usually used it to track his working shifts) is in Nov 30th 1939, where he notes, "Russia attacked Finland today. Bombed Helskinki."

The Molotov cocktail's way of disabling tanks works by throwing it on the tanks engine air intake so you can overheat the engine and internal space of the tank, sometimes spreading flames inside the tank.

11:20 fun fact Soviets adopted many tactics from Finns and used them against germans in winter

And this is why Finland supports Ukraine.. History

Molotov cocktails were used (or similar improvised incendiary devices) before the Winter War, eg. in Spain but the Finns gave it the name and made an improved version, which was much more reliable than using just a rag shoved in a bottle filled with petrol. Early Soviet tanks had the engine intakes at the back and those could be targeted with the Molotov Cocktails thus disabling the engines.

soviets should get the blame but they dont because they fought against the nazis later on, history is written by the victors.

We in Finland do blame the Soviets for the second world war. You were allied with them and let them keep enslaving all the countries they managed to conquer so it was akward to admit that you were allied with a terrible monster so you've been kinda downplaying with for the last 80 years or so. in 1939 they did it to my home country and now they are doing the same in Ukraine. I hope that Ukraine is also able to inflict some serious hurt to the invading Russian horde.

Thank you! There is another Finnish bad ass soldier (if interested): "Lauri Törni - The soldier who fought in 3 armies" ukposts.info/have/v-deo/japjdaNweJ6qkmg.html&ab_channel=SimpleHistory

It’s interesting that you point out Stalin’s purging of the Soviet military, especially when comparing it to Hitler NOT doing the same only to then become furious many times at his generals disobeying his orders over and over while in the Eastern Front. TIKHistory has a video that I wish to recommend: Why Hitler didn’t trust his generals | Schleicher & the Fall of the Weimar Republic

Fantastic reaction for very interesting event

"The same is true of Volgograd (renamed Stalingrad in the soviet era)." Kind of yes, but the city was originally named Tsaritsyn after it's founding in the late 16th century expansion in 1589 and only named Stalingrad in 1925 because the then newly established General Secretary Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili, Russified as "Joseph Vissarionovich" and using his way more awesome nom de guerre of "Stalin" ("The One made of Steel") felt this city needed to be named for him for some minor involvement in the Battle of Tsaritsyn as a commissar in the First Cavalry Army facing the White Don Cossacks supported by British armoured formations and elements of other White forces. In 1961, after purging all of Stalin's lickspittles, Nikita Khrushchev's administration decided to rename the city "Volgograd" ("Volga City" - the most generic imaginable name for a city on the river Volga ;) ) so as to get rid of the cult of personality that had been fostered around Stalin (and probably because Khrushchev was involved in the Battle himself as a commissar attached to General Vasily Chuikov's Stalingrad Front [a "front" being an army group sized formation]) and at least a little because he had suffered much ridicule from the man himself on many a social occasion. Best regards Raoul G. Kunz

~8:45 ... Bloody excellent question!

i liked the video and you just gained another sub

the "liquid fire" from the molotov cocktails could suffocate/stall the engines, ussr built tanks were no mercedes's and have lots of holes where smoke and fuel/fire could leak in. Imagine if they hit the driver hatch....how much of fluid and fire would spray in on him....but it was mostly used to damage the engines on the tanks

General of the Infantry Adolf Ehrnrooth visited England in the 1970s. An English general asked how many Soviet troops were stationed in Finland. - A few hundred thousand, Ehrnrooth replied. - Where are they placed? continued to be titillated by the British general. - To a depth of two meters along the border, Ehrnrooth noted.

10:19 You can stop it with the cocktails, just throw them over the ventilation/cooling openings in the back of the tank.

Kollaa kestää. Good react vid my man, as a Fin I have to insta sub channel. Thank you.

This makes me, as a nordic citizen (🇸🇪), so much more convinced that we, together over the ages, and now with NATO membership within reach, will always be supporting each other and - perhaps even more important - be ABLE to do it, regardless of the numbers of human lives the oppressor in Moscow will send in the coming centuries. There's sometimes Swedish naivety about the eastern risk and threats, sometimes even a slight condescending way we adress our little brother but I think 🇺🇦 has really made the 2000's generations wake up (I'm 43 and have for example gone 160° on the defence budget, SAAB and BAE Systems ties to our government etc) and look towards the Finns as "the ones we should listen to and watch on how to prepare". Truly, respect!! 🇫🇮💙🤍💙

the way destroying tank with molotov is that they stop the tank (with log or something) then throw molotov into air intake of the engine and the soup is ready, it burns the tank inside and the crew :D

When there was a winter war in Finland, my grandmother's cousin Kyösti Kallio was the president at that time but he got really sick and his health was in bad condition so Risto Ryti was doing his part also as a prime minister to help Kyösti Kallio to do the duty of the president. Kyösti Kallio died in 1940 because he was so sick.

when the molotov coctail hit the top of tanks engine it set the engine up in flames and burned all the crew inside it

attempted invasion* :D where is your soviet union now, huh? sincerely, a finnish person

Russia were classed as an ally at the beginning and Germany invaded first, but yes they are both to blame

Russia has done the false diplomacy and "mainila" shots in ukraine too. Rn Finland's military is preparing to defend Finland if necessary.

Was the T28 useful? Also since engines weren’t airtight back then, the fuel would drip down trough the ventilation and mess up the engine, causing the crew compartment to be flooded with toxic fumes from the burning fuel.

To the molotov coctail's it also "exploded" the tank since the fuel was set on fire

Last photo was taken in april1945 at 3 countries border mark (Finland, Norway and Sweden) after germans were driven out of finnish Lapland to occupied Norway (Lapin sota/ Lapland war) according to armistice treaty between Soviet Union and Finland.

Molotov cocktail is a sticky liquid containing petrol and other stuff. This was thrown in the engin air vent thus blowing it up.

my grandfather fought in winter war. he was counter artillery

The enemy of my enemy is my friend that would pretty much explain the west and the USSR during World War II

It probably has been mentioned in a previous comment before, but the Molotov was quite effective against the tanks of that era because a tank's engine cannot run without air, and the soviet ones had a particular Death star-type of vulnerability: the tank's grills for air were exposed on the outside of the tank. This meant that a well aimed Molotov cocktail could land in such a way that the engine's air intake was compromised, it would gulp in a bottle of burning liquid, and this could do a whole lot of damage to the tank and possibly even kill the crew inside.

8:18 Oh dear, that's a no-no question lol, a lot of people don't like it when folks ask such questions. But I'm glad you did, more people should👍

09:37 You are 100% right . Thanks man !

While the famous molotov cocktail would be a very serious thing for the tank crew, it isn't just for that. A petrol bomb will most definitely eliminate a tank. The tanks during era had their engine air intakes on top of the engine, which usually was behind the turret. If you threw a petrol bomb on the intake, which was the tactic, the engine would swallow the heat and fire, destroying the engine.

1. Why the Soviet aren't blamed? Because they were a part of the Allies, the side that won. Winners don't take blame. 2. Why the Soviets performed poorly in the winter? Couple major reasons, they expected a fast and easy war with no need for plenty of supplies. They also didn't use troops from the northern part of the Soviet Union. These were southerners, unfamiliar with snow. 3. Is Häyhä the most famous soldier? I assume you mean rank and file soldier and not the leading officers. Potentially today, yes, but if we go back even 10 years, he wouldn't even be the most famous Finnish soldier as that would have been Lauri Törni, or Larry Thorne, or The Soldier of Three Armies. But internationally I'm sure there were more famous soldiers. The fame of Häyhä is mostly from recent zeitgeist surrounding him. 4. Finland wouldn't receive German airplanes until Continuation War, when Finland joined Germany for Operation Barbarossa. Remember, Finland was given to Soviet's sphere of influence in the Molotov-Ribbentrop non-unaggression pact.

It was actually the opposite, St.Petersburg was renamed to Leningrad after the soviets took over the country. Then they renamed it back to St.Petersburg again after the union collapsed and the russian federation was formed. The soviets absolutely detested the monarchist system so having a system named after Peter the great was not something they wanted, so they renamed it to a figure they idolised, Lenin.

Molotov- coctail was/is used to throw it to tanks air intakes, so get the fire inside.

When the snow starts speaking finnish, you'd better be very afraid. It is true that some Russian people are very acclimated to cold weather but since Russia is such a big country there are people who may not have ever seen the snow. But most of why they couldn't handle the weather was because they weren't offered the proper winter gear. If I remember correctly, German soldiers experienced the same fate when invading Russia.

The Molotov cocktails were thrown into the air-vents (which had no kind of filter keeping burning liquid out) or through view slots. The armored outside could, as you suggest, handle a certain amount of fire. But the crew and munition inside could not. And the Tanks themselves did not do well with burning liquid spreading out inside, either. The results was usually burned out husks. THe crew stayed inside or tried to get out. Neither was a good idea with Finn soldiers directly next to the vehicle, waiting.

Another famous fighter was Lauri Törni, who had to move to USA after the war, and change his name to Larry Thorne and went to US military (and into Vietnam war). Watch the movie Green Beret. Famous John Wayne acted as character named Larry Thorne. :)

Well I am not the most neutral to answer this as I am Finnish :) , but.... I have studied quite a lot about Russia and WW2 and I would definitely say Russia is together with Germany *both* guilty of starting the WW2. So not only Germany. As you correctly pointed they invaded an together Poland first (it was agreed with Germany and russia), and then also they attacked Finland.

One former soviet officer said after the treaty, that the soviet union conquered enough land just to bury their dead.

10:08 A fire in the air intake of the engine will cause it to asphyxiate and shut down, leaving the tank immobilized.

And thats my grand dad behind that MG, its from Lemetti.

Semu had a huge advantage in his height aswell, he was tiny af, 152 cm so if he wanted to duck under something he didnt really need to do much

The molotov coctails were dropped on the vents of the tanks so the motor would overheat and/or the fire would spread inside the tank

Molotov Cocktail made in Finland isn't a bottle with a rag lit on top, but a capped bottle with bengal-matches (storm matches) taped to the sides. The Soviets didn't copy German Blitzkrieg from the western Europe campaing for the winter war, because it happened after the winter war. Why can't Simon "10 million channels" Whistler get these right?

You should the out two movies about finnish wars. One is called Talvisota(winter war) and the other Tuntematon sotilas(the unknown soldier). You can find the miniseries verison from Talvisota with english subs on Dailymotion.

The coctal for molotov is Finnish invention thanking kindly Molotov for the 'breadbasket' they dropped in Helsinki.

You are right.

Molotov cocktails would enter the intake of a tanks motor and cause the motor to catch fire is from what I understand

I think it's cool that (Christoffer Lee) Saruman actually came to aid Finland at one of our nations darkest times though he was never let to the frontlines.

Thanks man you Respetc Finland soldier... Respetc man... Regards Lasse from Finland.

6:48 This building in Helsinki is nowadays polytechnic school. My school 1986 - 90.

these numbers off units lost in fight positions are sick

you should react to the sabaton history videos about talvisota, the white death and the soldier of 3 armies

And: Yes, the Molotovs, did some severe damage to the tanks, they catcht fire, mostly in the engine bay. And, when leaving the cover of armour, they (The crew) were shot dead. The "Butchers Bill", in the end of the war, was ten to one! For Finns!

23:30 To answer your question. Germany supported Finland in continuation war, not during the winter war.

Greetings from Finland 🇫🇮

St. Petersburg was renamed to Petrograd during WW1 because the Russians thought that the original name sounded too German. After Lenin's death in 1924, it was renamed to Leningrad and then renamed back to St. Petersburg in 1991.

Molotov Cocktails were to destroy the tanks by throwing them into tank's 'inhalation' (so carbon monoxide got out) pipe/hole (which was outside) so the flaming fluid went inside the tank. Cannot happen today anymore. :)

Meet him in army when start sniper training hi was speaking as there god bless

The photo of raising the finnish flag is from may 1945, troops celebrating the ending of the Lapland war, more than five years after the winter war. 🤣 The place, Kilpisjärvi is a few hundred km west from the nearest winter war battlefields.

One last comment about Your studies about Simo Häyhä: He was walking on a road, leading near a POW-camp for Soviet prisoners, one man in his entourage, made a silent comment, to a prisoner in russia: "Do you know, that man "iced over 300 of yours?" After some mumblig in the russian group, one of the prisoners asked: "Have he come to his senses now?" And, the Suomi-machine pistol, he called his "broom", when attacking the trenches, those "numbers" are not, in his "book" as "hits".

On 1 December 1939, the Soviet Union formed a puppet government, called the Finnish Democratic Republic and headed by Otto Wille Kuusinen, in the parts of Finnish Karelia occupied by the Soviets. Kuusinen's government was also referred to as the "Terijoki Government," after the village of Terijoki, the first settlement captured by the advancing Red Army. Stalin wouldn't have formed a puppet government if his intention was not to put it in Helsinki. So the Finns did not fight in vain. And what would you think had happened if Salin had got those ceded areas without fight?

10:45 since they called St petersburg leningrad because it was called that at the time then they should have also called vyborg viipuri