In the biting cold of the winter of 1939, the Soviet forces, huddled in their ill-fitting
uniforms, trudged through the unforgiving Finnish landscape.
The Winter War had begun, and the Soviet military machine, a formidable force on paper, found
itself staggeringly unprepared for the trials ahead.
Stalin’s Great Purge had gutted the Soviet military and left it with few capable generals
and an overabundance of yes-men who underestimated what would await the Red Army in Finland.
As the Soviet troops reached beyond their territories and pierced the icy Finnish lands,
not even the constant crunch of snow beneath their boots could muffle the growing grunts
of their starving stomachs.
Despite marching in a state of utter fatigue and depletion, the Soviet Army managed to
circle around the Finnish lines and deliver a decisive rear surprise attack on the Finnish
supply and artillery troops at Varolampi Pond.
As the Finnish forces fled, the attackers suddenly stopped pursuing.
Amidst the chaos, the retreating Finnish troops left behind a tantalizing sight: field kitchens,
still simmering with pots full of steaming sausage soup.
The scent of the hearty stew wafted through the air, overwhelming the senses of the Soviet
soldiers.
Forgetting their mission, they abandoned their pursuit and desperately fell upon the food.
This moment of vulnerability would lead to the Sausage War, one of the strangest battles
of World War 2.
The Finns, seizing upon the unique opportunity presented by their foes’ distracted state,
regrouped, and mounted an epic and ferocious counterattack.
The Purge
The reasons why the Red Army found itself starving on December 10, 1939, are complex
and numerous, but the most important of them can be traced back to Joseph Stalin, the iron-fisted
ruler of the Soviet Union.
In the depths of his paranoia, Stalin believed there were enemies everywhere - traitors,
spies, and saboteurs.
His ambition to consolidate power and maintain absolute control had driven him to embark
on a campaign of terror and retribution.
The Great Purge was unleashed, a brutal culling of perceived threats to his regime.
With the passing months, the Great Purge took on a life of its own, consuming the nation
in a whirlwind of bloodshed and treachery.
Approximately 30,000 officers, officials, and military personnel, plus thousands of
artists and intellectuals, were accused of crimes against the state and subjected to
trials, imprisonment, and execution.
But in a bid to secure absolute power over his dominion, Stalin had gutted his own military
command structure, eliminated thousands of talented, experienced leaders and accomplished
fighters, and replaced them with yes-men who would never dream of contradicting the wishes
of the Soviet leader.
As such, when the unique opportunity arose for Stalin to expand his empire and unleash
his massive forces on his Nordic neighbor, his high command did little more but reassure
him that the operation would be a straightforward victory and that they would overwhelm the
Finns in a matter of days.
The Soviets had no idea what awaited them in the frigid Land of a Thousand Lakes…
The Frozen Land
It was the fall of 1939, and the intricate web of political alliances, secret negotiations,
and long-held grudges had reached a breaking point; Europe would again be engulfed by the
fires of war.
As global peace crumbled, Stalin cast his gaze upon the lands of his Nordic neighbor,
Finland.
This territory had defied him by refusing to join the Soviet Union.
The Soviet leader saw in Adolf Hitler’s belligerence an opportunity to expand the
communist empire while the Western powers were preoccupied with the Wehrmacht’s march
across Europe.
Stalin wagered that the Western powers would find Germany’s expansionist ambitions much
more menacing than the USSR invading a Nordic country.
Although they would surely condemn his actions, they would lack the capabilities and will
to oppose him.
In this regard, Stalin was correct.
But Stalin did not foresee the series of events that would unfold on the snowy battlegrounds
of the Finnish wilderness.
As he greenlit the operation, Soviet troops, a seemingly unstoppable force, marched confidently
into Finland.
Armed with the latest weaponry and supported by the unyielding might of the Red Army, their
leaders believed that their victory was all but assured.
But as the snow began to fall and the temperature plunged to unimaginable depths, it became
increasingly clear that the Soviet invaders were woefully unprepared for the harrowing
conditions they would face.
The inexperienced Soviet command had prepared for a short, straightforward conflict.
They had established overstretched and poorly managed supply lines, resulting in inadequate
food, ammunition, and clothing supplies.
Lacking proper insulation, soldiers faced frostbite and hypothermia in the extreme weather.
The khaki color provided poor camouflage against the snowy landscape, while ill-fitting clothing
and boots limited mobility.
These deficiencies significantly hampered the Red Army’s performance and contributed
to its early setbacks in Finland.
Despite the setbacks, the Soviets marched into Finland.
Winter War
The onset of the war was fast and brutal.
At first, the invasion seemed to go precisely as Stalin and his military command expected
it to go.
Under the cloak of a cold night in 1939, the Soviet war machine struck, and its troops
stormed the Finnish capital of Helsinki by November 30.
The world watched in horror as a seemingly unstoppable force sought to devour the small
nation.
Western powers protested Stalin’s aggression and disregard for his non-aggression pact
with Finland.
Still, as Stalin had predicted, the West took no military action.
It was more concerned with Germany’s invasion of Poland.
World leaders limited themselves to barring Stalin from participating in the League of
Nations, even as his troops spread across the frozen wilderness of Finland.
Most heads of state watched the events in Finland with alarmed helplessness, knowing
that the Nordic country would fall in a couple of weeks.
But the Soviets had been deceived by their own ambitions.
Even after entering Helsinki, their ranks were soon eroded by the harsh Finnish landscapes
and the iron will of its defenders.
With little organization, no adequate winter gear, and overstretched supply lines, the
Soviet incursion soon lost steam as morale plummeted along with their food stockpiles.
On the other hand, the Finnish troops found solace in the frosty landscape they called
home.
These hardy warriors had access to a continued supply of food and winter-fighting gear.
The tenacious Finnish defenders stood their ground, drawing strength from their intimate
knowledge of the frozen terrain and the unwavering support of their countrymen.
As the Soviet command panicked in the face of their lack of progress, their troops found
themselves abandoned behind enemy territory.
The Sausage War
As the bitter winter continued, the tired Soviet 718th Rifle Regiment was ordered to
launch an unexpected assault on the eastern village of Ilomantsi on December 10.
The riflemen encircled the village by walking from the Tolvajärvi front lines, traversing
the frozen landscape, and emerging at the rear of the enemy position.
By the time they reached the outskirts of the village near the Varolampi Pond, they
had been marching for 5 days straight and were exhausted and starving.
Still, they had the element of surprise, the Finns were not expecting an attack from behind,
and the Soviet numbers held the advantage.
Starving as they were, they managed to execute an overwhelming attack on the Finnish defenders,
who quickly fled, leaving everything behind.
The Soviets had the upper hand, all they had to do now was pursue the enemy and claim the
region, but something stopped them in their tracks.
The smell from the Finnish cooking tents and the sight of the stewing pots of sausage were
too much temptation.
Unable to resist, the Soviet soldiers threw caution to the wind and indulged their cravings.
As they feasted, they failed to press their advantages and unwittingly squandered precious
time.
As the invaders feasted, many of the retreating Finnish soldiers had time to regroup.
Caught Off Guard
Amid the chaos, Major Pajari found himself near the Koriselkä road.
He rallied the soldiers of the 16th Infantry Regiment alongside a motley crew of field
cooks and medics, forging an unlikely but determined fighting force.
They knew where the Soviets were, and they knew they were likely distracted and vulnerable.
They drew their bayonets, headed back to their captured camp, and mounted a fierce counterassault.
Catching the Red Army off guard, the Finns tore through the distracted Soviets.
The confrontation was one of the rare instances of bayonet fighting during the Winter War,
and it raged long into the night.
As the first light of dawn broke on December 11, the determined Finnish force had succeeded
in repelling the invaders.
The Soviet troops, battered and broken, retreated from the field.
In the cold light of day, the actual cost of the conflict became evident.
Finnish estimates placed the Soviet casualties at over 100, while their own ranks mourned
the loss of 20 brave souls.
It was an unlikely but welcome result for the defending army of cooks and medics.
The Soviets were left reeling, their once-formidable regiment decimated.
The frozen battlefield bore witness to the terrible price paid for a moment of weakness.
Inspiring Hitler
Though fleeting, the battle left an indelible mark on the war’s course, stalling the relentless
Soviet advance.
The “Sausage War” stood as a symbol of the Red Army’s vulnerability and the resourcefulness
of the Finnish forces.
Despite this triumph, the brave Finnish defenders could not halt the march of history.
The struggle continued for 105 more grueling days.
In the end, however, they could not withstand the crushing might of the Soviet war machine,
and they were forced to sue for peace, but not before humiliating Stalin on more than
one occasion.
The Winter War and the defeat of the Red Army during the Sausage War laid bare the weaknesses
within the Soviet military.
This revelation was not lost on Hitler, who saw an opportunity to capitalize on their
vulnerability.
The abysmal performance of the Red Army emboldened him to reevaluate and refine his plans for
invading the Soviet Union, as it became apparent that the once-feared Soviet military might
was not as impregnable as the world had believed.
The unlikely skirmish, centered around pots of sausage soup, would ripple throughout the
war, proving that even the smallest battles can have profound and far-reaching consequences.
The story of the Winter War was not one of triumph but one of miscalculation, hubris,
and an underestimation of the indomitable spirit of the Finnish people.
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