Finnish tactics of WW2

**derbyy** · 02-27-2013, 01:05 PM

Apparently Rovio got their inspiration for the Angry Birds game, from deadly tactics of the Finns of World War Two.

In the picture is a few finnish soldiers launching egg grenades to the Soviet side, using a giant slingshot.

Also popular ways of destroying Soviet tanks (finns had nearly none AT-weapons), was by throwing molotov's cocktails (bottle filled with gasoline and some material in the neck to be lit up and then thrown) to Soviet tanks' air intakes. Also logs and mines were stuck in between their tracks, causing them to become immobilized.

Great examples of how underdogs smartly improvise and take use of all what they've got in their hands.

There's a Finnish story told about the border guard who is well-hidden in his OP on the first day of the Winter War. He's got good warm clothing, his rifle is sighted to hit within a couple of millimeters over a kilometer, and he's invisible to the immense column of Soviet infantry and armor slogging towards him through the gloomy woods. He contemplates this parade for some time, chewing on his hard ryebread pettuleipä, and says to no one in particular;

"So many of them, and so few of us."

He chews for a moment more and adds glumly;

"How will we ever manage to bury them all?"

Pics 10, 11 and 12 are from Battle of Raatteentie and the 13th picture shows it today. In the last picture is the remains of a finnish soldier set as like to frighten the advancing Finns, by Soviets.

**~~Harkonnen~~** · 02-27-2013, 04:55 PM

Those tanks were real death traps at least according to my dear old gramps. He would always go on ad nauseam, warning about those cans. Remember sonny boy if a war comes never step inside a tank. Hrmm. Russians sometimes decorated tanks with skulls, this he always also remembered to mention.