In the early morning of February 7, 1940, Timoshenko cleverly moved two new armored brigades to the rear of the 7th Army left by Meretskov, and accompanied the 7th Army in Mannerheim at dawn.
A surprise attack was launched on the main defense zone on the southern line of defense, opening a breakthrough 5 kilometers wide and 5 to 6 kilometers deep. After that, a large number of rapid clusters transferred from the Kiev Military District were put into the battle, forcing the Finnish army to retreat to the second defense.
zone.
In addition, the Nordic troops stationed in the northern part of the Mannerheim Line of Defense were no longer in name only. Both the Swedish division and the Norwegian battalion left the battlefield, leaving the northern defense zone open. Since then, the Mannerheim Line of Defense has declared a complete collapse.
On February 8, 1940, due to the failure of the Soviet 7th Army and the 13th Army's joint attack on the Finnish Army's 2nd Defense Zone, the Soviet government tentatively launched armistice negotiations with the Finnish government.
While in contact with the Finnish government, the Soviet troops on the front line were not idle either. Under Timoshenko's dispatch, they adjusted their deployment and replenished ammunition in order to break through the Finnish army's second defensive belt. Once the negotiations broke down, they would quickly launch a new round.
round of attack.
On the other hand, the Finnish army, under the leadership of Marshal Mannerheim, took the opportunity to recuperate, replenished a batch of weapons and ammunition sent by the League of Nations, and transferred some of its troops north of Lake Ladoga south to strengthen the situation due to the large number of Nordic troops leaving.
The defense of Vyborg was gone and empty.
On February 12, 1940, before the negotiations between the Soviet Union and Finland were concluded, the Soviet troops on the front line suddenly resumed their offensive and quickly approached the Finnish army's rear defense zone.
Timoshenko used the large number of Leningrad Military District troops left by Meretskov to surround the Vyborg fortification area from the northeast. And the cutting-edge troops from the Kiev Military District he brought crossed the Vyborg area from the frozen sea.
Fort Bay, bypassing the city of Vyborg, cutting off the road to Helsinki, the Finnish capital of the Vyborg garrison.
On February 13, 1940, Timoshenko dispatched more than 200 aircraft, deployed more than 200 artillery pieces, and conducted fierce advance aviation fire preparations and artillery fire preparations against the Vyborg forward position and its rear.
After destroying most of the Finnish army's firepower in the main direction, Timoshenko marched westward, launched an all-out assault on Vyborg, and quickly captured the city.
On the same day, the Finnish government, which had lost the last capital barrier of Vyborg, was disheartened and quickly agreed to the armistice request made by the Soviet People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov, and sent Risto Luti, Yoho Kusti.
Four high-level Finnish representatives, including Basikivi, Rudolf Walden and Karl Voinma, went to Moscow and signed the Moscow Peace Agreement, which symbolized an armistice, with Molotov and other Soviet diplomatic commissioners.
Thanks to the strong intervention of Britain and France, as well as the efforts of the German Foreign Ministry, Finland finally retained its independent status.
It can be said that the joint efforts of European countries, which were unwilling to sit back and watch the Soviet Union dominate, defeated the Soviet Union's plan to annex Finland this time.
But even with the diplomatic support of various countries, Finland, which was on the disadvantaged side, still paid a huge price in the treaty.
The "Moscow Peace Agreement" stipulates that the Finnish government will transfer the Karelian Isthmus including Finland's second largest city Vyborg, the Ribach Peninsula on the Barents Sea, four islands in the Gulf of Finland, and the central East
Parts of the Sara region of Karelia were ceded to the Soviet Union.
In addition, Finland had to lease the Hanko Peninsula to the Soviet Union as a naval base at a price of 1 ruble per year for a period of 30 years.
In the end, the Soviet Union also obtained transit rights in the Bechamo region of Finland through an agreement. The Finnish government must agree to the Soviet Union building a railway in the north of the country to connect the Soviet city of Kandalaksha to the Swedish iron ore area.
The most shameless thing is that Soviet Molotov also demanded that the Finnish government "compensate" the Soviet Union's "property losses" in this war, totaling 145 million gold rubles. Railway vehicles and other materials in the ceded territory must be handed over in full.
The Soviet Union and dozens of factories in its ceded territories had to be re-equipped with machinery.
"This is a disaster!" Mannerheim, who walked down from the battlefield headquarters and returned to the office, covered his eyes in pain after seeing the specific contents of the treaty sent back.
So far, the 105-day Soviet-Finnish war is over. In these more than 100 days, Finnish soldiers have fought one after another, risking their lives, struggling and sacrificing day and night. In the end, they actually got this damn result?!
The death of more than 20,000 heroic soldiers can basically be said to have depleted the vitality of the entire Finnish Defense Force. They were all warriors worth ten, including snipers who were exclaimed by Soviet soldiers as the "White Death".
In this war, the fall of every Finnish soldier meant the death of 10 Soviet soldiers. The Finnish Defense Forces, which did not have a single armored force, destroyed more than 2,000 Soviet tanks. Even the always conceited Stalin
, were forced to change their commanders on the spot and increase their troops twice.
If Finland could have one-tenth the national strength of the Soviet Union, Mannerheim believed that it would be the Soviet Union that failed today!
"Marshal, what should we do now? Are we going to let others slaughter us?" Like Mannerheim, Silasvo, who had returned to the rear after the government ordered an armistice, was also filled with indignation.
The signing of the "Moscow Armistice Agreement" means that Finland, which was already weak, will now lose another 10% of its arable land, 1/5 of its industrial output, and the 222,000 people on this ceded land (of which only a few
people chose to take Soviet citizenship).
Just like during the war period in ancient China, the princes who were already on the weaker side actually "used land to attack Qin" and ceded a large amount of land to Qin to request an armistice, which further weakened themselves, who were not already strong, by their own hands.
And if Finland behaves like the princes during the Warring States Period, the consequence will be that the next time the Soviet Union invades again, Finland will have even less resistance.
Then there will be a continuous vicious cycle of defeat, ceding territory for peace, fighting again, defeat again, and ceding territory for peace...
"Of course we can't sit still and wait for death!" Mannerheim said loudly, his eyes like knives: "I originally agreed to remain neutral and refused to join any group. But now, Molotov has proposed such harsh and cruel armistice conditions.
, simply forcing Finland to defect to Germany! His treaty has brought disastrous consequences to our defense strategy, causing us to lose all the key areas that can ensure that we prevent the invading army from advancing. We have no choice but to defect to the Germans
choose!"
"Germans?" Silasvo asked in confusion: "Our government just rejected their proposal for an alliance. Now, will they still accept us?"
"Yes!" Mannerheim said with the most firm tone: "After all, their head of state is not as mediocre as he seems on the surface. On the contrary, he is very smart! With his wisdom, he will not fail to see that having a
How strategically important would the Finnish ally be to Germany?"
Nonsense! The environment that Germany was in 20 years ago was much more severe than that in Finland now. The "Treaty of Versailles" at that time was far more harsh than today's "Moscow Armistice Agreement". It can lead Germany out of such an environment.
, returning to the top of the European powers, how could such a person be mediocre and incompetent. At least, Mannerheim would never believe it!
