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179-550: Soviet victory Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups Finland Iceland Norway The Continuation War , also known as the Second Soviet-Finnish War , was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II . It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 September 1944 with

358-579: A Greater Finland and Commander-in-Chief Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim 's desire to annex East Karelia . On 22 June 1941, the Axis invaded the Soviet Union . Three days later, the Soviet Union conducted an air raid on Finnish cities which prompted Finland to declare war and allow German troops in Finland to begin offensive warfare. By September 1941, Finland had regained its post–Winter War concessions to

537-468: A Greater Finland ideology. This ideology of a Greater Finland mostly composed of Soviet territories was augmented by anti-Russian sentiments. The details of the Finnish preparations for war are still somewhat opaque. Historian William R. Trotter stated that "it has so far proven impossible to pinpoint the exact date on which Finland was taken into confidence about Operation Barbarossa" and that "neither

716-781: A bombing of the city of Darwin on 19 February, which killed at least 243 people. At the Battle of the Java Sea in late February and early March, the IJN defeated the main ABDA naval force, under Admiral Karel Doorman . The Dutch East Indies campaign ended with the surrender of Allied forces on Java and Sumatra. In March and April, an IJN carrier force launched a raid into the Indian Ocean . British Royal Navy bases in Ceylon were hit and

895-687: A Greater Finland, where Finns and other Finnic peoples would live inside a "natural defence borderline" by incorporating the Kola Peninsula , East Karelia and perhaps even northern Ingria . In public, the proposed frontier was introduced with the slogan "short border, long peace". Some members of the Finnish Parliament, such as members of the Social Democratic Party and the Swedish People's Party , opposed

1074-560: A blockade of Finnish trade. The most sizable British action on Finnish soil was the Raid on Kirkenes and Petsamo , an aircraft-carrier strike on German and Finnish ships on 31 July 1941. The attack accomplished little except the loss of one Norwegian ship and three British aircraft, but it was intended to demonstrate British support for its Soviet ally. From September to October in 1941, a total of 39 Hawker Hurricanes of No. 151 Wing RAF , based at Murmansk, reinforced and provided pilot-training to

1253-783: A cabinet decision on 10 December 1941, to refer to both the war with the Western Allies and the ongoing war in China. This name was released to the public on 12 December, with an explanation that it involved Asian nations achieving their independence from the Western powers through armed forces of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere . Japanese officials integrated what they called the Japan–China Incident ( 日支事変 , Nisshi Jihen ) into

1432-503: A clear consensus has yet to emerge. American historian David Glantz writes that the Finnish Army generally maintained their lines and contributed little to the siege from 1941 to 1944, whereas Russian historian Nikolai Baryshnikov  [ ru ] stated in 2002 that Finland tacitly supported Hitler's starvation policy for the city. However, in 2009 British historian Michael Jones disputed Baryshnikov's claim and asserted that

1611-500: A defensive perimeter to absorb and defeat Allied counterattacks; Japanese decisonmakers believed such a military situation would lead to a negotiated peace that would preserve Japanese territorial gains. Japanese planning divided the early war into two operational phases. The First Operational Phase was further divided into three separate parts in which the major objectives of the Philippines, British Malaya, Borneo, Burma, Rabaul and

1790-746: A four-month campaign. The Japanese achieved major military victories, but world opinion—in particular in the US—was hostile to Japan's invasion, especially after the Panay incident . In addition, the Japanese had failed to destroy the Chinese army, which continued to resist from the new Nationalist capital in Chongqing , or in the case of the Communists, Yan'an . In 1939, Japanese forces tried to push into

1969-504: A halt. The Japanese media, influenced by military propagandists, began to refer to the embargoes as the " ABCD line " ("American-British-Chinese-Dutch"). The Japanese Imperial General Headquarters (GHQ) began planning for a war with the Western powers in April or May 1941. Japan increased its naval budget and placed large formations of the Army, along with their attached air components, under

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2148-570: A huge area, 740 km (286 sq mi), encircled by the Road of Life , the roads Rzhevka – Novoye Devyatkino and Novoye Devyatkino – Matoksa and the coast of Lake Ladoga (available to visitors since 2003). In 2006 a Voronezh early warning radar was built in Lekhtusi , Vsevolozhsky District . The port of Vysotsk is a base of the Baltic Fleet . 138th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade

2327-573: A letter to Mannerheim on 29 November in which Churchill was "deeply grieved" that the British would have to declare war on Finland because of the British alliance with the Soviets. Mannerheim repatriated British volunteers under his command to the United Kingdom via Sweden. According to Clements, the declaration of war was mostly for appearance's sake. Unconventional warfare was fought in both

2506-475: A major armed clash in January 1941 , effectively ending their co-operation. Japanese strategic bombing efforts mostly targeted large Chinese cities such as Shanghai, Wuhan , and Chongqing , with around 5,000 raids from February 1938 to August 1943. Japan's strategic bombing campaigns killed between 260,000 and 350,934 non-combatants . As early as 1935, Japanese military strategists had concluded that

2685-490: A meta-analysis by Finnish historian Olli-Pekka Vehviläinen  [ fi ] . He likewise refuted the so-called "driftwood theory" that Finland had been merely a piece of driftwood that was swept uncontrollably in the rapids of great power politics. Even then, most historians conclude that Finland had no realistic alternative to co-operating with Germany. On 20 May, the Germans invited a number of Finnish officers to discuss

2864-699: A military alliance with Germany and Italy, becoming one of the three main Axis Powers . The war entered a new phase with Japanese defeats at the Battle of Suixian–Zaoyang , the 1st Battle of Changsha , the Battle of Kunlun Pass and the Battle of Zaoyi . After these victories, Chinese nationalist forces launched a large-scale counter-offensive in early 1940; however, due to a lack of military-industrial capacity, they were repulsed in late March 1940. In August 1940, Chinese communists launched an offensive in Central China ; in retaliation, Japan instituted

3043-470: A number of Soviet Navy wings. The Red Banner Baltic Fleet , which outnumbered the navy of Germany ( Kriegsmarine ), comprised 2 battleships, 2 light cruisers, 47 destroyers or large torpedo boats, 75 submarines, over 200 smaller crafts, and 682 aircraft (of which 595 were operational). The Finnish Army ([Maavoimat] Error: {{Lang}}: invalid parameter: |links= ( help ) ) mobilised between 475,000 and 500,000 soldiers in 14 divisions and 3 brigades for

3222-639: A number of others along the Vyborg-Hiitola railroad ). Vyborg Shipyard is one of the largest shipbuilding companies in Northwestern Russia . Roskar Battery Farm in Pervomayskoye is a leading producer of chicken and eggs . In Vsevolozhsky District state-owned Morozov Plant is located, which is an important producer of paints , adhesives , abrasives and other substances. In Kuzmolovsky, Vsevolozhsky District , near

3401-690: A separate river basin. The Karelian Isthmus is located in two regions of the Russian Federation , Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad Oblast . Saint Petersburg is represented by seven districts, the Leningrad Oblast by three. Apart from the old towns of Vyborg and Priozersk , and churches on the Konevets island of Lake Ladoga , since the late 19th century a number of other archaeological sites have been discovered on

3580-552: A similar example, British shipments of Matilda, Valentine and Tetrarch tanks accounted for only 6% of total Soviet tank production, but over 25% of medium and heavy tanks produced for the Red Army. The Wehrmacht rapidly advanced deep into Soviet territory early in the Operation Barbarossa campaign, leading the Finnish government to believe that Germany would defeat the Soviet Union quickly. President Ryti envisioned

3759-457: A war of national defence or foreign conquest. By the autumn of 1941, the Finnish military leadership started to doubt Germany's capability to finish the war quickly. The Finnish Defence Forces suffered relatively severe losses during their advance and, overall, German victory became uncertain as German troops were halted near Moscow . German troops in northern Finland faced circumstances they were unprepared for and failed to reach their targets. As

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3938-764: A war trade agreement with the United Kingdom. The agreement was renounced after the German invasion of Denmark and Norway on 9 April 1940 resulted in the UK cutting all trade and traffic communications with the Nordic countries. With the fall of France , a Western orientation was no longer considered a viable option in Finnish foreign policy. On 15 and 16 June, the Soviet Union occupied the Baltic states almost without any resistance and Soviet puppet regimes were installed. Within two months Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were incorporated into

4117-539: Is a popular summer resort for Saint Petersburg citizens since the late 19th century, served by trains of Finlyandsky Rail Terminal . The isthmus, especially the land along Saint Petersburg–Vyborg and Saint Petersburg–Priozersk railroads, hosts numerous dachas . A 20–35 km wide stretch of land in Vyborgsky District and Republic of Karelia to the west of the Vyborg–Hiitola railway , as well as

4296-792: Is also an important supplier of sand . A plant of Ford Motor Company producing Ford Focus cars was opened in Vsevolozhsk in 2002. The Karelian Isthmus is included within Leningrad Military District of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation . The isthmus hosts airfields in Levashovo , Pribylovo and Gromovo . Other airfields in Veshchevo and Kasimovo (Vartemyagi) have been abandoned. In

4475-967: Is an important link connecting inland waterways of Finland with the Gulf of Finland . The Karelian Isthmus is served by a number of railways; the trains arrive from Finlyandsky Rail Terminal and Ladozhsky Rail Terminal of Saint Petersburg : Also on the Karelian isthmus are all lines of the St. Petersburg metro . The pulp-and-paper , timber and woodworking industries ( JSC Svetogorsk , pulp and paper mill in Svetogorsk , Vyborgsky Pulp and Paper Mill in Vyborg , Priozersky Furniture and Woodworking Industrial Complex and Priozersky Woodworking Factory in Priozersk , as well as other smaller enterprises all over

4654-567: Is located in Kamenka , and in the 56th District Training Centre in Sertolovo . The population of the Karelian isthmus today is slightly less than 3.1 million inhabitants. Of these, about 2.4 million live in St. Petersburg and a little less than 700 thousand in the Leningrad region. The population is growing solely due to migration, as the mortality rate is much higher than the birth rate, but

4833-608: The 14th Rifle Division 's amphibious landings supported by the Northern Fleet . All Soviet offensives started promisingly, but due either to the Soviets overextending their lines or stubborn defensive resistance, the offensives were repulsed. After Finnish and German counterattacks in Kestenga, the front lines were generally stalemated. In September 1942, the USSR attacked again at Medvezhyegorsk, but despite five days of fighting,

5012-575: The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, demanding that they allow Soviet military bases to be established and troops stationed on their soil. The Baltic governments acquiesced to these demands and signed agreements in September and October. In October 1939, the Soviet Union attempted to negotiate with Finland to cede Finnish territory on the Karelian Isthmus and the islands of

5191-807: The Declaration by United Nations on 1 January 1942, the Allied governments appointed the British General Archibald Wavell to the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDACOM), a supreme command for Allied forces in Southeast Asia. This gave Wavell nominal control of a huge force, albeit one that was thinly spread across a vast area, from Burma to the Philippines to northern Australia. Other regions, including India, Hawaii, and

5370-739: The Finnish 3rd and 6th Divisions under its command, against the defending Soviet 14th Army and 54th Rifle Division . By November, the operation had stalled 30 km (19 mi) from the Kirov Railway due to unacclimatised German troops, heavy Soviet resistance, poor terrain, arctic weather and diplomatic pressure by the United States on the Finns regarding the lend-lease deliveries to Murmansk. The offensive and its three sub-operations failed to achieve their objectives. Both sides dug in and

5549-533: The Finnish Civil War 's 16 May victory-day celebration was therefore discontinued. The Soviet Union had received the Hanko Naval Base , on Finland's southern coast near the capital Helsinki, where it deployed over 30,000 Soviet military personnel. Relations between Finland and the Soviet Union remained strained after the signing of the one-sided peace treaty, and there were disputes regarding

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5728-611: The Finnish Ladoga Naval Detachment , as well as numerous shore batteries, had been stationed on Lake Ladoga since August 1941. Finnish Lieutenant General Paavo Talvela proposed on 17 May 1942 to create a joint Finnish–German–Italian unit on the lake to disrupt Soviet supply convoys to Leningrad. The unit was named Naval Detachment K and comprised four Italian MAS torpedo motorboats of the XII Squadriglia MAS , four German KM-type minelayers and

5907-740: The Great Northern War that started with the Russian conquest of Ingria where the new imperial capital , Saint Petersburg, was founded (1703) in the southern end of the isthmus, in place of old Swedish town Nyenskans . Then in 1812, the northwestern half was transferred, as a part of Old Finland , to the Grand Duchy of Finland , created in 1809 as an autonomous part of the Russian Empire. Due to its size, favorable climate, rich fishing waters and proximity to Saint Petersburg ,

6086-533: The Gulf of Finland , and to establish a Soviet military base near the Finnish capital of Helsinki . The Finnish government refused, and the Red Army invaded Finland on 30 November 1939. The same day, Field Marshal C. G. E. Mannerheim , who was chairman of Finland's Defence Council at the time, assumed the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Defence Forces . The USSR

6265-648: The Japanese invasion of Manchuria . However, it is more widely accepted that the Pacific War itself began on 7 December (8 December Japanese time) 1941, when the Japanese simultaneously attacked American military bases in Hawaii , Wake Island , Guam , and the Philippines , the British colonies of Malaya , Singapore , and Hong Kong , and invaded Thailand . The Pacific War saw the Allies pitted against Japan,

6444-412: The Karelo-Finnish SSR . However, since World War II the entire isthmus has been divided between the city of Saint Petersburg (mostly Kurortny District ), as well as Priozersky District , Vsevolozhsky District and Vyborgsky District of Leningrad Oblast . According to the 2002 census , the population of the Kurortny District of Saint Petersburg and the parts of Leningrad Oblast situated on

6623-507: The Khmer Issarak , and the Hukbalahap . The Soviet Union fought two short, undeclared border conflicts with Japan in 1938 and again in 1939 , then remained neutral through the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact of April 1941, until August 1945 when it (and Mongolia ) joined the rest of the Allies and invaded the territory of Manchukuo , China, Inner Mongolia , the Japanese protectorate of Korea and Japanese-claimed territory such as South Sakhalin . Mexico provided air support in

6802-531: The Kwantung Army to oversee its occupation of Manchukuo and the China Expeditionary Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War, created the Southern Expeditionary Army Group at the outset of its conquests of South East Asia. This headquarters controlled the bulk of the Japanese Army formations which opposed the Western Allies in the Pacific and South East Asia. In 1931, without declaring war, Japan invaded Manchuria , seeking raw materials to fuel its growing industrial economy. By 1937, Japan controlled Manchuria and

6981-438: The Leningrad Military District was commanded by Lieutenant General Markian Popov and numbered around 450,000 soldiers in 18 divisions and 40 independent battalions in the Finnish region. During the Interim Peace, the Soviet Military had relaid operational plans to conquer Finland, but with the German attack, Operation Barbarossa, begun on 22 June 1941, the Soviets required its best units and latest materiel to be deployed against

7160-931: The Leningrad Oblast , the winter here is usually milder due to the moderating influence of the Gulf of Finland , but longer. The city of Vyborg and the town of Priozersk are situated on the northwestern part of the isthmus. The Karelian Isthmus is a popular place for hiking , cycling , skiing ( Korobitsyno and Kavgolovo ), climbing (near Kuznechnoye ), canoeing ( Losevo ), fishing for consumption (of carp bream , northern pike , roach , European perch , ruffe , burbot and others), mushroom hunting (for porcini , red-capped scaber stalk , birch bolete , velvet bolete , slippery Jack , golden chanterelle , Lactarius resimus , woolly milk-cap , ugly milk-cap , saffron milk-cap , Lactarius rufus , various Russulas and others), berry picking (of bilberry , raspberry , woodland strawberry , cowberry , cranberry , cloudberry , bog bilberry and stone bramble ). It

7339-455: The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact in which both parties agreed to divide the independent countries of Finland, Estonia , Latvia , Lithuania , Poland , and Romania into spheres of interest , with Finland falling within the Soviet sphere. One week later, Germany invaded Poland , leading to the United Kingdom and France declaring war on Germany. The Soviet Union invaded eastern Poland on 17 September. The Soviet government turned its attention to

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7518-438: The Moscow Armistice . The Soviet Union and Finland had previously fought the Winter War from 1939 to 1940, which ended with the Soviet failure to conquer Finland and the Moscow Peace Treaty . Numerous reasons have been proposed for the Finnish decision to invade, with regaining territory lost during the Winter War regarded as the most common. Other justifications for the conflict include Finnish President Risto Ryti 's vision of

7697-404: The Peace of Moscow of 12 March. According to the protocol appended to the Moscow Peace Treaty, the fighting was ended at noon (Leningrad time) on 13 March and by 26 March the Finnish troops had been completely withdrawn. The entire Karelian population of the ceded areas of about 422 thousand people was evacuated to other parts of Finland (see Evacuation of Finnish Karelia ). On 31 March most of

7876-419: The Porkkala Peninsula to the Soviets. Furthermore, Finland was required to pay war reparations to the Soviet Union , accept partial responsibility for the war, and acknowledge that it had been a German ally. Finland was also required by the agreement to expel German troops from Finnish territory, which led to the Lapland War between Finland and Germany. On 23 August 1939, the Soviet Union and Germany signed

8055-516: The South West Pacific . US sources refer to two theaters within the Pacific War: the Pacific theater and the China Burma India Theater (CBI). However, these were not operational commands. In the Pacific, the Allies divided operational control of their forces between two supreme commands, known as Pacific Ocean Areas and Southwest Pacific Area . The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) did not integrate its units into permanent theater commands. The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA), which had already created

8234-435: The Soviet Far East . They were defeated in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol by a mixed Soviet and Mongolian force led by Georgy Zhukov . This caused the Japanese to abandon attempts to expand to the north , while Soviet aid to China ceased as a result of the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact. In September 1940, Japan decided to invade French Indochina , which was controlled at the time by Vichy France . On 27 September Japan signed

8413-410: The Soviet Union staged the Shelling of Mainila and invaded Finland in what became known as the Winter War , which took a disproportionally heavy death toll on the Red Army . Only in February 1940 did the Soviet forces manage to penetrate the Mannerheim Line across the isthmus, the strength of which is often exaggerated. Finland ceded the Karelian Isthmus and Ladoga Karelia to the Soviet Union in

8592-440: The Svir River on 9 September. German Army Group North advanced from the south of Leningrad towards the Svir River and captured Tikhvin but were forced to retreat to the Volkhov River by Soviet counterattacks. Soviet forces repeatedly attempted to expel the Finns from their bridgehead south of the Svir during October and December but were repulsed; Soviet units attacked the German 163rd Infantry Division in October 1941, which

8771-603: The Thai government signed an armistice and entered an alliance with Japan. Although Japan declared war on the United States and the British Empire , the declaration was not delivered until after Japanese forces had already struck British and American targets. In the early hours of 7 December (Hawaiian time), carrier-based Japanese aircraft launched a surprise, large-scale air strike on the U.S. Pacific Fleet's anchorage at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, which knocked eight American battleships out of action, destroyed 188 American aircraft, and killed 2,403 Americans. The Japanese believed that

8950-410: The Vuoksi River to the east and encircled the Soviet forces defending Vyborg. Finnish forces captured Vyborg on 29 August. The Soviet order to withdraw from Vyborg came too late, resulting in significant losses in materiel, although most of the troops were later evacuated via the Koivisto Islands . After suffering severe losses, the Soviet 23rd Army was unable to halt the offensive, and by 2 September

9129-402: The Vyborg Offensive and pushed the front from the pre-1939 border to Vyborg in ten days. The returned Karelians were evacuated to Finland again. In the Battle of Tali-Ihantala , 25 June–9 July, the Finns concentrated their military strength and brought the offensive to a halt at the River Vuoksi , in the northwesternmost part of the isthmus, at the closest point only 40 kilometres from

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9308-433: The Weichselian glaciation . Its highest point lies on the Lembolovo Heights moraine at about 205 m (670 ft). There are no mountains on the isthmus, but steep hills occur in some places. The Vuoksi , the largest river, runs southeastwards from Lake Saimaa of Finland to Lake Ladoga , dividing the isthmus into two uneven parts. Saimaa Canal opened in 1856 links Lake Saimaa to the Bay of Vyborg passing through

9487-438: The largest naval battles in history and massive Allied air raids over Japan , as well as the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki . Japan surrendered unconditionally on 15 August 1945 and was occupied by the Allies. Japan lost its former possessions in Asia and the Pacific and had its sovereignty limited to the four main home islands and other minor islands as determined by the Allies. In Allied countries during

9666-458: The " Three Alls Policy " ("Kill all, Burn all, Loot all") in occupied areas, killing at least 2.7 million civilians. By 1941 the conflict had become a stalemate. Although Japan had occupied much of northern, central, and coastal China, the Nationalist Government had retreated to the interior and set up a provisional capital at Chongqing , while the Chinese communists remained in control of base areas in Shaanxi . Japanese offensive action against

9845-418: The 11th century, Sweden and Novgorod Republic started to compete tax holding rights. The Treaty of Nöteborg of 1323 established a border between them along the rivers now known as the Sestra and the Volchya . During 17th century Sweden gained the whole isthmus and also Ingria . In this time many Karelians escaped to Tver's Karelia . From 1721–1917 the isthmus belonged to the Russian Empire , won in

10024-488: The 12th century AD. The connection disappeared due to ongoing land uplift in the 2nd millennium AD. In 1818 a canal, which was dug to drain spring flood waters from Lake Suvanto (now Lake Sukhodolskoye, a 40-km long narrow lake in the eastern part of the Isthmus) into Lake Ladoga , unexpectedly eroded and turned into the Taipaleenjoki (now Burnaya River). The Taipaleenjoki started draining Suvanto and decreased its level by 7 m. Originally waters of Lake Suvanto flowed into

10203-410: The 1st Partisan Brigade. The unit was 'partisan' in name only, as it was essentially 600 men and women on long-range patrol intended to disrupt Finnish operations. The 1st Partisan Brigade was able to infiltrate beyond Finnish patrol lines, but was intercepted, and rendered ineffective, in August 1942 at Lake Segozero . Irregular partisans distributed propaganda newspapers, such as Finnish translations of

10382-422: The Allied embargo. This was known as the Southern Plan . It was decided—because of the close relationship between the U.K. and the U.S., and the belief that the U.S. would inevitably become involved in the ongoing war in Europe—that Japan would also seize the Philippines, Wake Island and Guam . Japan had initially planned for a limited war, where Japanese forces would seize key objectives and then establish

10561-414: The Allies staging areas from which to mount a counteroffensive. By November 1941 these plans were mostly complete, and were modified only slightly over the next month. Japanese military planners' expectation of success rested on the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union being unable to effectively respond to a Japanese attack because of the threat posed to each by Nazi Germany; in particular, the Soviet Union

10740-417: The Americans, faced with such a sudden and massive blow to their naval power in the Pacific, would agree to a negotiated settlement. However, American losses were less serious than initially thought: the three American aircraft carriers were at sea during the attack, and vital naval infrastructure, Honolulu's submarine base, and signals intelligence units were unscathed. The fact that the bombing happened while

10919-413: The Army of Lapland was redesignated the 20th Mountain Army . In the early stages of the war, the Finnish Army overran the former 1939 border, but ceased their advance 30–32 km (19–20 mi) from the center of Leningrad. Multiple authors have stated that Finland participated in the siege of Leningrad (Russian: Блокада Ленинграда ), but the full extent and nature of their participation is debated and

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11098-472: The Axis powers. The Finnish plans for the offensive in Ladoga Karelia were finalised on 28 June 1941, and the first stages of the operation began on 10 July. By 16 July, the VI Corps had reached the northern shore of Lake Ladoga , dividing the Soviet 7th Army, which had been tasked with defending the area. The USSR struggled to contain the German assault, and soon the Soviet high command, Stavka (Russian: Ставка ), pulled all available units stationed along

11277-414: The Baltic Sea, retreated, and many lowland lakes were also isolated in depressions formed earlier by glacial exaration and fluvioglacial activity. Lake Ladoga was separated from the sea as well. Due to land uplift, around 5000 BP the River Vuoksi started emptying into Lake Ladoga as a new outlet of Lake Saimaa . Lake Ladoga transgressed , flooding lowland lakes and the Vuoksi, and became connected with

11456-596: The British retreated to Imphal in Manipur, abandoning most of their transportation and equipment. They reached Imphal in May just as the monsoon descended, which halted the operations of both sides in the area. Within China, cooperation between the Chinese Nationalists and the Communists had waned from its zenith at the Battle of Wuhan, and the relationship between the two had soured as both attempted to expand their areas of operation and influence. The Japanese exploited this lack of unity to press their offensive operations in China. Karelian Isthmus The smaller part of

11635-449: The Chinese 38th Division, led by Sun Li-jen . Meanwhile, in the Battle of Yunnan-Burma Road , the Japanese captured Toungoo after hard fighting and sent motorized units to capture Lashio . This cut the Burma Road , which was the western Allies' supply line to Chinese Nationalist troops. Many of Chinese troops were forced either to retreat to India, or withdraw in small parties to Yunnan . Accompanied by large numbers of civilian refugees,

11814-405: The Continuation War including Curtiss Hawk 75s , Fokker D.XXIs , Dornier Do 22 flying boats, Morane M.S. 406 bombers, and Focke-Wulf Fw 44 Stieglitz trainers; in total the Finnish Air Force had 550 aircraft by June 1941, approximately half being combat. By September 1944, despite considerable German supply of aircraft, the Finns only had 384 planes. Even with the increase in supplied aircraft,

11993-429: The Dutch East Indies were, due to their abundant oil reserves, crucially important for further expansion by the Japanese Empire. By 1940 the Japanese also included Indochina, Malaya, and the Philippines within their concept of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Japanese troop build-ups in Hainan, Taiwan, and Haiphong were noted in foreign media, Japanese military officers were increasingly and openly talking about

12172-428: The Dutch East Indies would be occupied. The Second Operational Phase called for further expansion into the South Pacific by seizing eastern New Guinea, New Britain, Fiji, Samoa, and strategic points in around Australia. In the Central Pacific, Midway Island was targeted, as were the Aleutian Islands in the North Pacific. Japanese strategists believed that the seizure of these key areas would provide defensive depth and deny

12351-399: The Finnish torpedo-motorboat Sisu . The detachment began operations in August 1942 and sank numerous smaller Soviet watercraft and flatboats and assaulted enemy bases and beach fronts until it was dissolved in the winter of 1942–43. Twenty-three Siebel ferries and nine infantry transports of the German Einsatzstab Fähre Ost were also deployed to Lake Ladoga and unsuccessfully assaulted

12530-503: The Finnish Army cut off the city's northern supply routes but did not take further military action. In 2006, American author Lisa Kirschenbaum wrote that the siege started "when German and Finnish troops severed all land routes in and out of Leningrad." According to Clements, Mannerheim personally refused Hitler's request of assaulting Leningrad during their meeting on 4 June 1942 . Mannerheim explained to Hitler that "Finland had every reason to wish to stay out of any further provocation of

12709-432: The Finnish Army had reached the old 1939 border . The advance by Finnish and German forces split the Soviet Northern Front into the Leningrad Front and the Karelian Front on 23 August. On 31 August, Finnish Headquarters ordered II and IV Corps, which had advanced the furthest, to halt their advance along a line that ran from the Gulf of Finland via Beloostrov – Sestra – Okhta – Lembolovo to Lake Ladoga. The line ran past

12888-547: The Finnish and Soviet wildernesses. Finnish long-range reconnaissance patrols , organised both by the Intelligence Division 's Detached Battalion 4 and by local units, patrolled behind Soviet lines. Soviet partisans , both resistance fighters and regular long-range patrol detachments, conducted a number of operations in Finland and in Eastern Karelia from 1941 to 1944. In summer 1942, the USSR formed

13067-527: The Finnish border into the beleaguered front line. Additional reinforcements were drawn from the 237th Rifle Division and the Soviet 10th Mechanised Corps , excluding the 198th Motorised Division  [ ru ] , both of which were stationed in Ladoga Karelia, but this stripped much of the reserve strength of the Soviet units defending that area. The Finnish II Corps started its offensive in

13246-558: The Finnish domestic crop. On 25 November 1941, Finland signed the Anti-Comintern Pact , a less formal alliance, which the German leadership saw as a "litmus test of loyalty". Finland maintained good relations with a number of other Western powers. Foreign volunteers from Sweden and Estonia were among the foreigners who joined Finnish ranks. Infantry Regiment 200 , called soomepoisid ("Finnish boys"), mostly Estonians, and

13425-473: The Finnish forces lost no aircraft. Although the USSR claimed that the airstrikes were directed against German targets, particularly airfields in Finland, the Finnish Parliament used the attacks as justification for the approval of a "defensive war". According to historian David Kirby, the message was intended more for public opinion in Finland than abroad, where the country was viewed as an ally of

13604-429: The Finnish government demobilised part of the army to prevent industrial and agricultural production from collapsing. In October, Finland informed Germany that it would need 159,000  t (175,000 short tons ) of grain to manage until next year's harvest. The German authorities would have rejected the request, but Hitler himself agreed. Annual grain deliveries of 180,000 t (200,000 short tons) equaled almost half of

13783-591: The Finnish government of persecuting the communist Finland–Soviet Union Peace and Friendship Society and soon afterward publicly declared support for the group. The society organised demonstrations in Finland, some of which turned into riots. Russian-language sources from the post-Soviet era, such as the study Stalin's Missed Chance , maintain that Soviet policies leading up to the Continuation War were best explained as defensive measures by offensive means. The Soviet division of occupied Poland with Germany,

13962-470: The Finns nor the Germans were entirely candid with one another as to their national aims and methods. In any case, the step from contingency planning to actual operations, when it came, was little more than a formality". The inner circle of Finnish leadership, led by Ryti and Mannerheim, actively planned joint operations with Germany under a veil of ambiguous neutrality and without formal agreements after an alliance with Sweden had proved fruitless, according to

14141-472: The German invasion of the Soviet Union, in which he expected both Finland and Romania to participate. Meanwhile, Finnish Major General Paavo Talvela met with German Colonel General Franz Halder and Reich Marshal Hermann Göring in Berlin, the first time that the Germans had advised the Finnish government, in carefully-couched diplomatic terms, that they were preparing for war with the Soviet Union. Outlines of

14320-644: The Germans and so abandoned plans for a renewed offensive against Finland. The 23rd Army was deployed in the Karelian Isthmus, the 7th Army to Ladoga Karelia and the 14th Army to the Murmansk – Salla area of Lapland. The Northern Front also commanded eight aviation divisions . As the initial German strike against the Soviet Air Forces had not affected air units located near Finland, the Soviets could deploy around 700 aircraft supported by

14499-633: The Greater East Asia War. During the Occupation of Japan (1945–52), these terms were prohibited in official documents (although their informal usage continued). The war became officially known as the Pacific War ( 太平洋戦争 , Taiheiyō Sensō ) . The Fifteen Years' War ( 十五年戦争 , Jūgonen Sensō ) is also used, referring to the period from the Mukden Incident of 1931 through 1945. The major Allied participants were China ,

14678-687: The IJN and IJA launched simultaneous surprise attacks on the United States and the British Empire on 7 December (8 December in Asia/West Pacific time zones). The locations of this first wave of Japanese attacks included the American territories of Hawaii, the Philippines , Guam , and Wake Island and the British territories of Malaya , Singapore , and Hong Kong . Concurrently, Japanese forces invaded southern and eastern Thailand and were resisted for several hours, before

14857-641: The Japanese puppet states of Manchukuo (consisting of most of Manchuria ), and the collaborationist Wang Jingwei regime (which controlled the coastal regions of China), respectively. Japan conscripted many soldiers from its colonies of Korea and Taiwan . Collaborationist security units were also formed in Hong Kong , Singapore , the Philippines , the Dutch East Indies , British Malaya , British Borneo , former French Indochina (after

15036-676: The Japanese on 15 February 1942. About 130,000 Indian, British, Australian and Dutch personnel became Japanese prisoners of war. Bali and Timor fell in February. The rapid collapse of Allied resistance left the "ABDA area" split in two. Wavell resigned from ABDACOM on 25 February, handing control of the ABDA Area to local commanders and returning to the post of Commander-in-Chief, India . Meanwhile, Japanese aircraft had all but eliminated Allied air power in Southeast Asia and were carrying out air attacks on northern Australia , beginning with

15215-509: The Karelian Isthmus amounts to 539,000. Many Saint Petersburg residents also decamp to the Isthmus during their vacations. The main population centers of the Isthmus are Vyborg ( Выборг ; Finnish : Viipuri ; Swedish : Viborg ), Priozersk ( Приозе́рск ; Finnish : Käkisalmi ; Swedish : Kexholm ) and Primorsk ( Примо́рск ; Finnish : Koivisto ; Swedish : Björkö ). The isthmus' terrain has been influenced dramatically by

15394-510: The Karelian Isthmus is an important transport corridor linking Scandinavia and Central Russia . Primorsk , terminus of the Baltic Pipeline System , which has recently become one of the most efficient Russian sea ports , is also located here. The only motorway on the isthmus is the recently completed E18 "Scandinavia" (M10) going from Saint Petersburg through Vyborg and Vaalimaa . Saimaa Canal (opened in 1856)

15573-596: The Karelo-Finnish SSR). The border of the Moscow Peace Treaty (1940) was recognized by Finland again in the Peace of Paris , 1947. As a result of the war, the population of the Karelian Isthmus was almost completely replaced. After the war the isthmus was included in the Leningrad Oblast and people from other parts of the Soviet Union, mostly Russians, were settled there. The vast majority of

15752-683: The Kirov (Murmansk) Railway. The Soviet Vyborg–Petrozavodsk offensive in June and August 1944 drove the Finns from most of the territories that they had gained during the war, but the Finnish Army halted the offensive in August 1944. Hostilities between Finland and the USSR ceased in September 1944 with the signing of the Moscow Armistice in which Finland restored its borders per the 1940 Moscow Peace Treaty and additionally ceded Petsamo and leased

15931-530: The League of Nations and Nordic neutrality had failed to prevent due to lack of outside support. Finland primarily aimed to reverse its territorial losses from the 1940 Moscow Peace Treaty and, depending on the success of the German invasion of the Soviet Union, to possibly expand its borders, especially into East Karelia . Some right-wing groups, such as the Academic Karelia Society , supported

16110-554: The Saint Petersburg–Vyborg section had become popular place of summer resort for wealthy Saint Petersburgers. When Finland declared its independence in 1917, the isthmus (except for the territory roughly corresponding to present-day Vsevolozhsky District and some districts of Saint Petersburg) remained Finnish, part of the Viipuri province with its center in Viipuri , the fourth largest Finnish city. A considerable part of

16289-687: The Soviet Air Forces during Operation Benedict to protect arctic convoys. On 28 November, the British government presented Finland with an ultimatum demanding for the Finns to cease military operations by 3 December. Unofficially, Finland informed the Allies that Finnish troops would halt their advance in the next few days. The reply did not satisfy London, which declared war on Finland on 6 December. The Commonwealth nations of Canada, Australia, India and New Zealand soon followed suit. In private, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had sent

16468-460: The Soviet Union in Karelia . The Finnish Army continued its offensive past the 1939 border during the invasion of East Karelia and halted it only around 30–32 km (19–20 mi) from the centre of Leningrad . It participated in besieging the city by cutting the northern supply routes and by digging in until 1944. In Lapland , joint German-Finnish forces failed to capture Murmansk or cut

16647-474: The Soviet Union. On 25 October 1941, the US demanded that Finland cease all hostilities against the USSR and to withdraw behind the 1939 border. In public, President Ryti rejected the demands, but in private, he wrote to Mannerheim on 5 November and asked him to halt the offensive. Mannerheim agreed and secretly instructed General Hjalmar Siilasvuo and his III Corps to end the assault on the Kirov Railway. Nevertheless,

16826-415: The Soviet Union. Some 420,000 evacuees were resettled from the ceded territories. Finland avoided total conquest of the country by the Soviet Union and retained its sovereignty. Prior to the war, Finnish foreign policy had been based on multilateral guarantees of support from the League of Nations and Nordic countries , but this policy was considered a failure. After the war, Finnish public opinion favored

17005-543: The Soviet Union." In 2014, author Jeff Rutherford described the city as being "ensnared" between the German and Finnish armies. British historian John Barber described it as a "siege by the German and Finnish armies from 8 September 1941 to 27 January 1944 [...]" in his foreword in 2017. Likewise, in 2017, Alexis Peri wrote that the city was "completely cut off, save a heavily patrolled water passage over Lake Ladoga" by "Hitler's Army Group North and his Finnish allies." The 150 speedboats, two minelayers and four steamships of

17184-617: The Soviet occupation of the Baltic states and the Soviet invasion of Finland during the Winter War are described as elements in the Soviet construction of a security zone or buffer region from the perceived threat from the capitalist powers of Western Europe. Other post-Soviet Russian-language sources consider establishment of Soviet satellite states in the Warsaw Pact countries and the Finno-Soviet Treaty of 1948 as

17363-557: The Soviets only managed to push the Finnish lines back 500 m (550 yd) on a roughly 1 km (0.62 mi) long stretch of the front. Later that month, a Soviet landing with two battalions in Petsamo was defeated by a German counterattack. In November 1941, Hitler decided to separate the German forces fighting in Lapland from the Army of Norway and create the Army of Lapland, commanded by Colonel General Eduard Dietl. In June 1942,

17542-643: The Swedes mustered the Swedish Volunteer Battalion . The Finnish government stressed that Finland was fighting as a co-belligerent with Germany against the USSR only to protect itself and that it was still the same democratic country as it had been in the Winter War. For example, Finland maintained diplomatic relations with the exiled Norwegian government and more than once criticised German occupation policy in Norway. Relations between Finland and

17721-557: The US was not officially at war caused a wave of outrage across the country. Japan's fallback strategy, relying on a war of attrition against the United States, was beyond the Imperial Japanese Navy's capabilities. Opposition to war in the United States vanished after the attack. On 8 December, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and the Netherlands declared war on Japan, followed by Australia

17900-497: The USSR and by mid–1940, the two remaining northern democracies, Finland and Sweden, were encircled by the hostile states of Germany and the Soviet Union. On 23 June, shortly after the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states began, Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov contacted the Finnish government to demand that a mining licence be issued to the Soviet Union for the nickel mines in Petsamo or, alternatively, permission for

18079-640: The United States and the British Empire . China had already been engaged in a war against Japan since 1937 . The US and its territories, including the Philippine Commonwealth , entered the war after being attacked by Japan . The British Empire was also a major belligerent consisting of British troops along with colonial troops from India as well as from Burma , Malaya , Fiji , Tonga ; in addition to troops from Australia , New Zealand and Canada . The Dutch government-in-exile (as

18258-510: The United States never declared war on Finland during the entire conflict. On 12 July 1941, the United Kingdom signed an agreement of joint action with the Soviet Union. Under German pressure, Finland closed the British legation in Helsinki and cut diplomatic relations with Britain on 1 August. On 2 August 1941, Britain declared that Finland was under enemy occupation, which ended all economic transactions between Britain and Finland and led to

18437-447: The United States that it was unaware of the order. According to Vehviläinen, most Finns thought that the scope of the new offensive was only to regain what had been taken in the Winter War. He further stated that the term 'Continuation War' was created at the start of the conflict by the Finnish government to justify the invasion to the population as a continuation of the defensive Winter War. The government also wished to emphasise that it

18616-417: The United States were more complex since the American public was sympathetic to the "brave little democracy" and had anticommunist sentiments. At first, the United States sympathised with the Finnish cause, but the situation became problematic after the Finnish Army had crossed the 1939 border. Finnish and German troops were a threat to the Kirov Railway and the northern supply line between the Western Allies and

18795-615: The Vuoksi River through a waterway at Kiviniemi (now Losevo), but as a result of the change, the waterway dried out. In 1857 the canal was dug there, but the stream reversed direction, revealed rapids and rendered navigation at Kiviniemi impossible. Since 1857 Suvanto and the Taipaleenjoki have constituted the southern armlet of the Vuoksi River, which has decreased the level of the original northern armlet emptying into Ladoga near Kexholm (now Priozersk) by 4 m, isolating it as

18974-545: The actual plan were revealed in January 1941 and regular contact between Finnish and German military leaders began in February. Additionally in January 1941, Moscow again demanded Finland relinquish control of the Petsamo mining area to the Soviets, but Finland, emboldened by a rebuilt defence force and German support, rejected the proposition. In the late spring of 1941, the USSR made a number of goodwill gestures to prevent Finland from completely falling under German influence. Ambassador Ivan Stepanovich Zotov  [ ru ]

19153-455: The air force was constantly outnumbered by the Soviets. The Army of Norway , or AOK Norwegen , comprising four divisions totaling 67,000 German soldiers, held the arctic front, which stretched approximately 500 km (310 mi) through Finnish Lapland. This army would also be tasked with striking Murmansk and the Kirov (Murmansk) Railway during Operation Silver Fox . The Army of Norway

19332-524: The aircraft carrier HMS  Hermes was sunk, along with other Allied ships. The attack forced the Royal Navy to withdraw to the western part of the Indian Ocean, paving the way for a Japanese assault on Burma and India. In Burma, the Japanese captured Moulmein on 31 January 1942, and then drove outnumbered British and Indian troops towards the Sittang River . On 23 February, a bridge over

19511-685: The arctic theatre remained stable, excluding minor skirmishes, until the Soviet Petsamo–Kirkenes Offensive in October 1944. The crucial arctic lend-lease convoys from the US and the UK via Murmansk and Kirov Railway to the bulk of the Soviet forces continued throughout World War II. The US supplied almost $ 11 billion in materials: 400,000 jeeps and trucks; 12,000 armored vehicles (including 7,000 tanks, which could equip some 20 US armoured divisions); 11,400 aircraft; and 1.59 million t (1.75 million short tons) of food. As

19690-408: The balance of the 1940 treaty, though some historians consider that it had wider territorial goals under the slogan "shorter borders, longer peace" (Finnish: "lyhyet rajat, pitkä rauha" ). During the war, the Finnish leadership generally referred to the Germans as "brothers-in-arms" but also denied that they were allies of Germany – instead claiming to be "co-belligerents". For Hitler, the distinction

19869-401: The border of 1940. The Moscow Armistice ending the war was signed on 19 September 1944. The entire isthmus became Soviet, although most of it had never been captured by the Soviets in battles. This time the ceded territories of the Karelian Isthmus (including the districts of Jääski , Kexholm and Vyborg ) were incorporated into Leningrad Oblast (unlike Ladoga Karelia, which remained within

20048-544: The border of the German and Soviet spheres of influence, in violation of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. In response to that new situation, Molotov visited Berlin on 12–13 November 1940. He requested for Germany to withdraw its troops from Finland and to stop enabling Finnish anti-Soviet sentiments. He also reminded the Germans of the 1939 pact. Hitler inquired how the Soviets planned to settle the "Finnish question" to which Molotov responded that it would mirror

20227-556: The capital of the Russian Empire , the Karelian Isthmus became the wealthiest part of Finland once the Industrial Revolution had gained momentum in the 19th century. The railroads Saint Petersburg–Vyborg–Riihimäki (1870), Vyborg–Hiitola–Sortavala (1893), Saint Petersburg–Kexholm–Hiitola (1917) crossed the isthmus, contributing to its economic development. By the end of the 19th century the nearby areas along

20406-586: The ceded territories were incorporated into Karelo-Finnish SSR by a decision of the Supreme Council of the Soviet Union (in the Karelian Isthmus the districts of Jääski , Kexholm and Vyborg ). The districts of Kanneljärvi , Koivisto and Rautu as well as the town of Terijoki were, however, included into Leningrad Oblast . In 1941, during World War II , Germany invaded the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa . A few days later

20585-907: The city of Lappeenranta in South Karelia , Finland. The Karelian Isthmus lies within the ecoregion of Scandinavian and Russian taiga . Geobotanically, it lies at the juncture of the Central European, Eastern European and Northern European floristic provinces of the Circumboreal Region of the Holarctic Kingdom . The isthmus is mostly covered by coniferous forests formed by Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris ) and Norway spruce ( Picea abies ), with numerous lakes (e.g. Lake Sukhodolskoye and Lake Glubokoye ) as well as small grass , fen and Sphagnum raised bogs . Forests cover approximately 11,700 km of

20764-611: The city, which fell to Japan after three months of fighting. The Japanese continued to push deeper into China, capturing the capital Nanjing in mid-December 1937 and committing atrocities in the Nanjing Massacre , including rape, murder and torture. In March 1938, Nationalist forces won their first victory at Taierzhuang , but the city of Xuzhou was taken by the Japanese in May. In June 1938, Japan deployed about 350,000 troops to invade Wuhan and captured it in October after

20943-524: The command of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Historically, the IJA consumed the majority of the state's military budget (with a 73% - 27% split in 1940), but from 1942 to 1945 the IJA would account for 60% of Japan's military spending, while the IJN would account for 40%. Japan's key initial objective was to seize economic resources in the Dutch East Indies and Malaya, in order to alleviate the effects of

21122-465: The coordination of Operation Barbarossa. The participants met on 25–28 May in Salzburg and Berlin and continued their meeting in Helsinki from 3 to 6 June. They agreed upon Finnish mobilisation and a general division of operations. They also agreed that the Finnish Army would start mobilisation on 15 June, but the Germans did not reveal the actual date of the assault. The Finnish decisions were made by

21301-597: The culmination of the Soviet defence plan. Western historians, such as Norman Davies and John Lukacs , dispute this view and describe pre-war Soviet policy as an attempt to stay out of the war and regain the land lost due to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk after the fall of the Russian Empire . On 31 July 1940, Adolf Hitler gave the order to plan an assault on the Soviet Union, meaning Germany had to reassess its position regarding both Finland and Romania. Until then, Germany had rejected Finnish requests to purchase arms, but with

21480-501: The deployment was a deliberate violation of the treaty, according to Finnish historian Mauno Jokipii . On the morning of 22 June, Hitler's proclamation read: "Together with their Finnish comrades in arms the heroes from Narvik stand at the edge of the Arctic Ocean. German troops under command of the conqueror of Norway , and the Finnish freedom fighters under their Marshal's command, are protecting Finnish territory." Following

21659-512: The establishment of a joint Soviet-Finnish company to operate there. A licence to mine the deposit had already been granted to a British-Canadian company and so the demand was rejected by Finland. The following month, the Soviets demanded that Finland destroy the fortifications on the Åland Islands and to grant the Soviets the right to use Finnish railways to transport Soviet troops to the newly acquired Soviet base at Hanko. The Finns very reluctantly agreed to those demands. On 24 July, Molotov accused

21838-636: The events in Bessarabia and the Baltic states. Hitler rejected that course of action. During the Finnish presidential election in December 1940, Risto Ryti was elected to be president largely due to interference by Molotov in Ryti's favour since he had signed the Moscow Peace Treaty as prime minister. On 18 December 1940, Hitler officially approved Operation Barbarossa, paving the way for

22017-628: The form of the 201st Fighter Squadron and Free France sent naval support in the form of Le Triomphant and later the Richelieu . The Axis -aligned states which assisted Japan included the authoritarian government of Thailand . Also involved were members of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, which included the Manchukuo Imperial Army and Collaborationist Chinese Army of

22196-666: The former 1939 border, and approximately 30–32 km (19–20 mi) from Leningrad; a defensive position was established along this line. On 30 August, the IV Corps fought the Soviet 23rd Army in the Battle of Porlampi and defeated them on 1 September. Sporadic fighting continued around Beloostrov until the Soviets evicted the Finns on 5 September. The front on the Isthmus stabilised and the siege of Leningrad began on 8 September. The Finnish Army of Karelia started its attack in East Karelia towards Petrozavodsk , Lake Onega and

22375-587: The front did see some action. In January 1942, the Soviet Karelian Front attempted to retake Medvezhyegorsk (Finnish: Karhumäki ), which had been lost to the Finns in late 1941. With the arrival of spring in April, Soviet forces went on the offensive on the Svir River front, in the Kestenga (Finnish: Kiestinki ) region further north in Lapland as well as in the far north at Petsamo with

22554-534: The front in Finland, a total of 149 divisions and 3,050,000 soldiers were deployed for the rest of Operation Barbarossa. In the evening of 21 June 1941, German mine-layers hiding in the Archipelago Sea deployed two large minefields across the Gulf of Finland. Later that night, German bombers flew along the gulf to Leningrad, mining the harbour and the river Neva , making a refueling stop at Utti , Finland, on

22733-411: The front lines stabilised, Finland attempted to start peace negotiations with the USSR. Mannerheim refused to assault Leningrad, which would inextricably tie Finland to Germany; he regarded his objectives for the war to be achieved, a decision that angered the Germans. Due to the war effort, the Finnish economy suffered from a lack of labour, as well as food shortages and increased prices. To combat this,

22912-457: The ice sheet retreated to Salpausselkä , the upland area of the Isthmus remained a large island and many upland lakes emerged. Prior to 12650 BP, the land was characterized by harsh Arctic conditions with permafrost and sparse vegetation . Steppe-tundra complexes developed after this point. Around 11000 BP climate began to warm and became humid, first pine and birch forests were established. Around 9000 BP Ancylus Lake , another stage of

23091-527: The idea, arguing that maintaining the 1939 frontier would be enough. Mannerheim often called the war an anti-Communist crusade, hoping to defeat " Bolshevism once and for all". On 10 July, Mannerheim drafted his order of the day, the Sword Scabbard Declaration , in which he pledged to liberate Karelia; in December 1941 in private letters, he made known his doubts of the need to push beyond the previous borders. The Finnish government assured

23270-501: The implementation of the treaty. Finland sought security against further territorial depredations by the USSR and proposed mutual defence agreements with Norway and Sweden , but these initiatives were quashed by Moscow. After the Winter War, Germany was viewed with distrust by the Finnish, as it was considered an ally of the Soviet Union. Nonetheless, the Finnish government sought to restore diplomatic relations with Germany, but also continued its Western-orientated policy and negotiated

23449-470: The inner circle of political and military leaders, without the knowledge of the rest of the government. Due to tensions between Germany and the Soviet Union, the government was not informed until 9 June that mobilisation of reservists would be required. Finland never signed the Tripartite Pact . The Finnish leadership stated they would fight against the Soviets only to the extent needed to redress

23628-506: The invasion, commanded by Field Marshal ( sotamarsalkka ) Mannerheim. The army was organised as follows: Although initially deployed for a static defence, the Finnish Army was to later launch an attack to the south, on both sides of Lake Ladoga, putting pressure on Leningrad and thus supporting the advance of the German Army Group North through the Baltic states towards Leningrad. Finnish intelligence had overestimated

23807-551: The island of Sukho , which protected the main supply route to Leningrad, in October 1942. Pacific War Allied occupation of Japan Second Sino-Japanese War Taishō period Shōwa period Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups The Pacific War , sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theater , was the theater of World War II that

23986-459: The islands and shores of the Gulf of Vyborg, belongs to the strictly guarded zone of the border control , reaching the shore of Lake Ladoga at Hiitola. In 1993–2006 the zone was formally 5 km wide, although in fact it has always been much wider. Visiting it is forbidden without a permit issued by the FSB (by KGB during the time of the Soviet Union ). Geologically the Karelian Isthmus lies on

24165-527: The isthmus (except for the territory roughly corresponding to present-day Vsevolozhsky District and some districts of Saint Petersburg) remained Finnish. Finnish Karelia was partly ceded to the Soviet Union by Finland following the Winter War (1939–1940) and Continuation War (1941–1944). In 1940–1941, during the Interim Peace , most of the ceded territories in the isthmus were included within

24344-450: The isthmus to the southeast of the old Russia-Finland border is considered historically as Northern Ingria , rather than part of the Karelian Isthmus itself. The rest of the isthmus was historically a part of Finnish Karelia . This was conquered by the Russian Empire during the Great Northern War in 1712 and included within the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland (1809–1917) of the Russian Empire. When Finland became independent in 1917,

24523-606: The isthmus) are well developed in Vyborgsky and Priozersky Districts. The pulp and paper industry , however, affects the environment adversely. The predecessor of the Priozersk facilities, Priozersky Pulp and Paper Mill , a major polluter of Lake Ladoga constructed in 1931, was closed down in 1986. Northern and western parts of the isthmus are also an important reserve of granite (quarries in Kuznechnoye , as well as

24702-466: The isthmus, more than three quarters of its total area. Swampy areas occupy 5.5 percent of the territory. In the large contiguous area along the shore of Lake Ladoga in Vsevolozhsky District , in the southeastern part of the isthmus, bogs occur much more frequently than in other parts. The same was once true of the lowland along the Neva River , which has since been drained. The soil is predominantly podsol , which contains massive boulders, especially in

24881-441: The isthmus. Numerous archaeological remnants of the Mesolithic , Neolithic , Copper Age and Bronze Age occur all over the isthmus. The eastern part of the Karelian Isthmus hosts a number of medieval remnants. There are many grave pits of Karelians of the 10th–15th centuries with metal and ceramic artifacts along the northern armlet of the Vuoksi, near Lake Sukhodolskoye and in a few other places in Priozersky District . On

25060-518: The isthmus. See also the List of the vascular plants of the Karelian Isthmus . Red squirrel , moose , red fox , mountain hare and boar (reintroduced) are typical inhabitants of the forests. The climate of the isthmus is moderately continental , with 650–800 mm (25–32 in) average precipitation per year, long snowy winters lasting from November through mid-April and occasionally reaching about -40 °C (-40 F), moderately cool summers and short frost-free period. Compared to other parts of

25239-519: The latter aided by Thailand and to a lesser extent by the Axis powers , Germany and Italy . The Japanese achieved great success in the initial phase of the campaign, but were gradually driven back using an island hopping strategy. The Allies adopted a Europe first stance, giving first priority to defeating Nazi Germany. The Japanese had great difficulty replacing their losses in ships and aircraft, while American factories and shipyards produced ever increasing numbers of both. Fighting included some of

25418-615: The launch of Operation Barbarossa at around 3:15 a.m. on 22 June 1941, the Soviet Union sent seven bombers on a retaliatory airstrike into Finland, hitting targets at 6:06 a.m. Helsinki time as reported by the Finnish coastal defence ship Väinämöinen . On the morning of 25 June, the Soviet Union launched another air offensive, with 460 fighters and bombers targeting 19 airfields in Finland; however, inaccurate intelligence and poor bombing accuracy resulted in several raids hitting Finnish cities, or municipalities, causing considerable damage. 23 Soviet bombers were lost in this strike while

25597-499: The next day. Thailand, with its territory already serving as a springboard for Japan's Malayan Campaign , surrendered within hours of the Japanese invasion. The government of Thailand formally allied with Japan on 21 December. To the south, the IJA seized the British colony of Penang on 19 December, encountering little resistance. Hong Kong was attacked on 8 December and fell to Japanese forces on 25 December 1941. American bases on Guam and Wake Island were seized by Japan at around

25776-783: The north and northwest, where large granite rocky outcrops occur. Pine forests (with Pinus sylvestris ) are the most widespread and occupy 51% of the forested area of the Karelian Isthmus, followed by spruce forests (with Picea abies , 29%) and birch forests (with Betula pendula and B. pubescens , 16%). Stands on more fertile soils and in more favorable locations are occasionally dominated by Norway maple , black alder , grey alder , common aspen , English oak , grey willow , dark-leaved willow , tea-leaved willow , small-leaved lime or European white elm . Common vegetation of various types of pine forests includes heather , crowberry , common juniper , eared willow , lingonberry , water horsetail , bracken , graminoids (i.e. grasses in

25955-461: The north of the Karelian Isthmus on 31 July. Other Finnish forces reached the shores of Lake Ladoga on 9 August, encircling most of the three defending Soviet divisions on the northwestern coast of the lake in a pocket (Finnish: motti ); these divisions were later evacuated across the lake. On 22 August, the Finnish IV Corps began its offensive south of II Corps and advanced towards Vyborg (Finnish: Viipuri ). By 23 August, II Corps had reached

26134-401: The northern Vuoksi armlet near the Tiuri village (now Vasilyevo). A few treasures of silver adornments and medieval Arabian and Western European coins have also been found, as the isthmus laid on the Volga trade route (at that time, the Vuoksi River had a distributary emptying into the Bay of Vyborg ). Ancestors of Baltic Finns wandered to the Karelian Isthmus possibly around 8500BC. In

26313-517: The northern part of Vsevolozhsky District , to the south of the old Finnish border, Karelian Fortified Region (KaUR) is located, which was reconstructed as late as in the 1960s, but now is abandoned as well. There is Bobochinsky tank range (195.975 km², founded in 1913) between Kamenka and Kirillovskoye and a number of military facilities in Vsevolozhsky District in the lowlands between Lake Ladoga and Saint Petersburg-Hiitola railroad , including Rzhevsky artillery range (founded in 1879),

26492-477: The official Communist Party paper Pravda (Russian: Правда ). Notable Soviet politician Yuri Andropov took part in these partisan guerrilla actions. Finnish sources state that, although Soviet partisan activity in East Karelia disrupted Finnish military supply and communication assets, almost two thirds of the attacks targeted civilians, killing 200 and injuring 50, including children and elderly. Between 1942 and 1943, military operations were limited, although

26671-427: The old Finnish toponyms in the conquered territories were renamed to invented Russian ones by the government around 1948. The Finnish toponyms of the territories included within Karelo-Finnish SSR and of the southern part of the isthmus (albeit assimilated) mostly remained. A lot of youth summer camps were built all over the isthmus during the time of the Soviet Union . Some of them still exist. The western part of

26850-431: The overthrow of the French regime in 1945 ), as well as Timorese militia . Germany and Italy both had limited involvement in the Pacific War. The German and the Italian navies operated submarines and raiding ships in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, notably the Monsun Gruppe . Between 1942 and 1945, there were four main areas of conflict in the Pacific War: China, the Central Pacific , South-East Asia and

27029-564: The policy of national delimitation in the Soviet Union . However, in 1936 the entire Finnish population of the parishes of Valkeasaari , Lempaala , Vuole and Miikkulainen along the Finnish border was deported to Siberia and Central Asia , and replaced by a Russian-speaking population. A number of defensive lines crossed the isthmus during the Soviet-Finnish hostilities in World War II , such as Mannerheim Line , VKT-line , VT-line , Main line (Finnish) and KaUR (Soviet), and fronts moved back and forth over it. In November 1939,

27208-403: The possessor of the Dutch East Indies ) was also involved. All of these were members of the Pacific War Council . From 1944 the French commando group Corps Léger d'Intervention also took part in resistance operations in Indochina. Some active pro-allied guerrillas in Asia included the Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army , the Korean Liberation Army , the Free Thai Movement , the Việt Minh ,

27387-400: The prospect of an invasion of Russia, that policy was reversed, and in August, the secret sale of weapons to Finland was permitted. Military authorities signed an agreement on 12 September, and an official exchange of diplomatic notes was sent on 22 September. Meanwhile, German troops were allowed to transit through Sweden and Finland. This change in policy meant Germany had effectively redrawn

27566-554: The prospect of war, and Admiral Sankichi Takahashi was reported as stating that a showdown with the US was necessary. In an effort to discourage Japanese militarism, Western powers including Australia, the US, Britain, and the Dutch government in exile , which controlled the Dutch East Indies, stopped selling oil , iron ore, and steel to Japan. In Japan, the government and Japanese nationalists viewed these embargoes as acts of aggression; imported oil made up about 80% of domestic consumption, without which Japan's economy would grind to

27745-450: The reconquest of Finnish Karelia . The government declared national defence to be its first priority, and military expenditure rose to nearly half of public spending. Finland both received donations and purchased war materiel during and immediately after the Winter War. Likewise, the Finnish leadership wanted to preserve the spirit of unanimity that was felt throughout the country during the Winter War. The divisive White Guard tradition of

27924-422: The remaining area populated by Ingrian Finns seceded from Bolshevist Russia as the Finland-backed Republic of North Ingria , but was reintegrated with Russia in the end of 1920 according to the conditions of the Treaty of Tartu . In 1928–1939 parts of the isthmus which belonged to Russia constituted the Kuivaisi National District with its center in Toksova , with Finnish as the official language, according to

28103-443: The rest of Australia, remained under local commands. On 15 January, Wavell moved to Bandung in Java to assume control of ABDACOM. In January, Japan invaded British Burma, the Dutch East Indies, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands, and captured Manila, Kuala Lumpur and Rabaul . After being driven out of Malaya, Allied forces in Singapore attempted to resist the Japanese during the Battle of Singapore, but were forced to surrender to

28282-470: The retreating and regrouping Chinese forces was largely stalled by the mountainous terrain in southwestern China, while the Communists organized widespread guerrilla and saboteur activities in northern and eastern China behind the Japanese front line. Japan sponsored several puppet governments , one of which was headed by Wang Jingwei . Conflicts between Chinese Communist and Nationalist forces vying for territorial control behind enemy lines culminated in

28461-419: The return leg. In the early hours of 22 June, Finnish forces launched Operation Kilpapurjehdus ("Regatta"), deploying troops in the demilitarised Åland Islands. Although the 1921 Åland convention had clauses allowing Finland to defend the islands in the event of an attack, the coordination of this operation with the German invasion and the arrest of the Soviet consulate staff stationed on the islands meant that

28640-450: The river was demolished prematurely, stranding most of an Indian division. On 8 March, the Japanese occupied Rangoon . The Allies attempted to defend Central Burma, with Indian and Burmese divisions holding the Irrawaddy River valley and the Chinese Expeditionary Force in Burma defending Toungoo . On 16 April, 7,000 British soldiers were encircled by the Japanese 33rd Division during the Battle of Yenangyaung , but subsequently rescued by

28819-455: The same time. British, Australian, and Dutch forces, already drained of personnel and matériel by two years of war with Germany, and heavily committed in the Middle East, North Africa, and elsewhere, were unable to provide more than token resistance. Two major British warships, the battlecruiser HMS  Repulse and the battleship HMS  Prince of Wales , were sunk by a Japanese air attack off Malaya on 10 December 1941. Following

28998-414: The sea at Heinjoki (now Veshchevo), to the east of present-day Vyborg . Around 3100–2400 BP the Neva River emerged, draining Lake Ladoga into the Baltic Sea . Ladoga level gradually sank from 15–18 m to its modern position of 4–5 m above sea-level, and lowland lakes were isolated again. However, the Vuoksi still had a significant direct outflow connection to the Bay of Vyborg , possibly as late as in

29177-404: The southern edge of the Baltic Shield 's crystalline bedrock. During the final part of the last Weichselian glaciation , deglaciation in the central parts of the Isthmus started as early as 14000 BP , when it formed the bottom of a large lake dammed by the surrounding ice sheet . During further deglaciation, at the time of the Baltic Ice Lake , an early high water stage of the Baltic Sea , when

29356-407: The southern shore of Lake Sukhodolskoye small medieval burial mounds are abundant as well. A lot of large cult stones have been found along these bodies of water, as well as agglomerations of cairns . Remnants of several rural settlements were also discovered there as well as on the shore of Lake Ladoga. Remnants of the Tiuri ( Tiversk ) town (10th–15th centuries) were excavated on a former island in

29535-443: The station Kapitolovo of the Saint Petersburg–Hiitola railroad , a facility of the Saint Petersburg nuclear enterprise Izotop is located, which specializes in transportation of nuclear materials and radioactive waste . Bogs of Vsevolozhsky District along the shores of Lake Ladoga and the Neva River were major sources of peat for fuel. Now it is extracted in smaller quantities, mostly for agricultural purposes. The district

29714-475: The strength of the Red Army, when in fact it was numerically inferior to Finnish forces at various points along the border. The army, especially its artillery, was stronger than it had been during the Winter War but included only one armoured battalion and had a general lack of motorised transportation; the army possessed 1,829 artillery pieces at the beginning of the invasion. The Finnish Air Force ( Ilmavoimat ) had received large donations from Germany prior to

29893-420: The war, the "Pacific War" was not usually distinguished from World War II , or was known simply as the War against Japan . In the United States, the term Pacific theater was widely used. The US Armed Forces considered the China Burma India theater to be distinct from the Asiatic-Pacific theater during the conflict. Japan used the name Greater East Asia War ( 大東亜戦争 , Dai Tō-A Sensō ) , as chosen by

30072-650: The wider sense) Avenella flexuosa and Carex globularis , mosses Pleurozium schreberi , Sphagnum angustifolium and S. russowii , and lichens Cladonia spp. Prominent in various spruce forests are wood horsetail , common wood sorrel , bilberry , lingonberry, graminoids Avenella flexuosa , Calamagrostis arundinacea , Carex globularis , and mosses Polytrichum commune and Sphagnum girgensohnii . Prominent vegetation of various birch forests include meadowsweet , common wood sorrel, bilberry and graminoids Calamagrostis arundinacea and C. canescens . 1184 species of wild vascular plants are recorded in

30251-436: Was expelled from the League of Nations and was condemned by the international community for the illegal attack. Foreign support for Finland was promised, but very little actual help materialised, except from Sweden. The Moscow Peace Treaty concluded the 105-day Winter War on 13 March 1940 and started the Interim Peace . By the terms of the treaty, Finland ceded 9% of its national territory and 13% of its economic capacity to

30430-478: Was fought in eastern Asia, the Pacific Ocean , the Indian Ocean , and Oceania . It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the Pacific Ocean theater , the South West Pacific theater , the Second Sino-Japanese War , and the Soviet–Japanese War in the last few months of the war. The Second Sino-Japanese War between the Empire of Japan and the Republic of China had been in progress since 7 July 1937, with hostilities dating back to 1931 with

30609-431: Was irrelevant since he saw Finland as an ally. The 1947 Paris Peace Treaty signed by Finland described Finland as having been "an ally of Hitlerite Germany" during the Continuation War. In a 2008 poll of 28 Finnish historians carried out by Helsingin Sanomat , 16 said that Finland had been an ally of Nazi Germany, six said it had not been and six did not take a position. The Northern Front (Russian: Северный фронт ) of

30788-422: Was not an official ally of Germany, but a 'co-belligerent' fighting against a common enemy and with purely Finnish aims. Vehviläinen wrote that the authenticity of the government's claim changed when the Finnish Army crossed the old frontier of 1939 and began to annex Soviet territory. British author Jonathan Clements asserted that by December 1941, Finnish soldiers had started questioning whether they were fighting

30967-424: Was operating under Finnish command across the Svir, but failed to dislodge it. Despite these failed attacks, the Finnish attack in East Karelia had been blunted and their advance had halted by 6 December. During the five-month campaign, the Finns suffered 75,000 casualties, of whom 26,355 had died, while the Soviets had 230,000 casualties, of whom 50,000 became prisoners of war. The German objective in Finnish Lapland

31146-527: Was prepared to move deeper into China. The Marco Polo Bridge Incident on 7 July 1937 provoked full-scale war between China and Japan. The Nationalist Party and the Chinese Communists suspended their civil war in order to form a nominal alliance against Japan, and the Soviet Union quickly lent support by providing large amounts of materiel to Chinese troops. In August 1937, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek deployed some of his best troops to defend Shanghai against some 300,000 Japanese troops attempting to seize

31325-411: Was replaced with the more conciliatory and passive Pavel Dmitrievich Orlov  [ ru ] . Furthermore, the Soviet government announced that it no longer opposed a rapprochement between Finland and Sweden. Those conciliatory measures, however, did not have any effect on Finnish policy. Finland wished to re-enter the war mainly because of the Soviet invasion of Finland during the Winter War, which

31504-427: Was seen as unlikely to commence hostilities. The Japanese leadership was aware that a total military victory in the traditional sense against the United States was impossible, and instead envisaged that rapid, aggressive and expansive conquest would force the U.S. to agree to a negotiated peace that would recognize Japanese hegemony in Asia. Following prolonged tensions between Japan and the Western powers , units of

31683-499: Was the beginning of the Continuation War as it is known in Finland. (It is considered to be a front of the Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and Russia.) Finland initially regained the lost territory, reaching the Russian side of the border of 1939 in what was seen by the Russians as indirectly contributing to the Siege of Leningrad (see Finnish reconquest of the Karelian Isthmus (1941) ). Some 260,000 Karelian evacuees returned home. On 9 June 1944, strong Soviet forces opened

31862-425: Was to take Murmansk and cut the Kirov (Murmansk) Railway running from Murmansk to Leningrad by capturing Salla and Kandalaksha . Murmansk was the only year-round ice-free port in the north and a threat to the nickel mine at Petsamo. The joint Finnish–German Operation Silver Fox ( German : Unternehmen Silberfuchs ; Finnish: operaatio Hopeakettu ) was started on 29 June 1941 by the German Army of Norway, which had

32041-469: Was under the direct command of the German Army High Command ( OKH ) and was organised into Mountain Corps Norway and XXXVI Mountain Corps with the Finnish III Corps and 14th Division attached to it. The German Air Force High Command ( OKL ) assigned 60 aircraft from Luftflotte 5 (Air Fleet 5) to provide air support to the Army of Norway and the Finnish Army, in addition to its main responsibility of defending Norwegian air space. In contrast to

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