The Continuation War
The Continuation War (1941–1944) was a war between Finland and the Soviet Union, part of the Second World War and a sequel to the Winter War of 1939–1940. In it Finland fought as a co-belligerent of Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union. For Estonia the war matters above all because Estonian volunteers — among them Estonian Tatars — served in the ranks of the Finnish army in the JR 200 regiment of the Finnish Boys.
Background: from the Winter War to the Continuation War
In the Winter War of 1939–1940 the Soviet Union attacked Finland but failed to conquer it; by the Moscow Peace Treaty (1940) Finland had to cede Karelia and other areas. Regaining the lost territory became the chief reason Finland entered the war after Germany's 1941 attack on the Soviet Union. On 25 June 1941 the Soviet air force struck 19 Finnish airfields with about 460 aircraft, after which Finland declared war.
The course of the war
The war fell into four phases. By the autumn of 1941 Finland had retaken the areas lost in the Winter War and pushed into East Karelia, halting about 30 km from Leningrad; Finnish forces took part in the siege of Leningrad by cutting the city's northern supply routes. In 1942–1944 a war of position was fought along largely static front lines. In June 1944 the Soviet Union launched the major Vyborg–Petrozavodsk offensive, which retook most of the areas Finland had gained; the Finnish army halted it in August, notably at the Battle of Tali-Ihantala — the largest battle in Nordic history.
Finland's co-belligerence with Germany
The Finnish government called itself a co-belligerent of Germany rather than an ally, and did not join the Tripartite Pact. During the war Finland nonetheless depended on German shipments of food, fuel and arms. In June 1944 President Risto Ryti concluded the so-called Ryti–Ribbentrop agreement with Germany, pledging not to make a separate peace; it was worded as the president's personal undertaking and lapsed when Ryti resigned in August.
The Estonian Finnish Boys and JR 200
About 3,500 Estonian men volunteered for the Finnish army, preferring to fight the Soviet Union in Finnish rather than German uniform. On 8 February 1944 the Finnish Field Marshal Mannerheim ordered the formation of the Estonian volunteers' 200th Infantry Regiment (JR 200). On 4 May 1944 the regiment held 1,973 Estonians and 361 Finns. Their motto was “For Finland's freedom and Estonia's honour”. About 200 of them fell in Finland. In August 1944 most of the Finnish Boys returned to Estonia to defend their homeland, fighting on the Tartu front. Estonian Tatars were among the Estonian Finnish Boys — see The Estonian Tatar Finnish Boys.
The end of the war: the Moscow Armistice
On 19 September 1944 Finland and the Soviet Union signed the Moscow Armistice. Finland restored the borders of the 1940 Moscow Peace Treaty, ceded Petsamo, leased the Porkkala peninsula to the Soviet Union for 50 years, had to pay war reparations and to expel the German troops — which grew into the Lapland War (1944–1945). At a heavy price Finland nonetheless kept its independence. Estonia was not so fortunate: the same Soviet Union occupied Estonia, and the occupation lasted until 1991.
Casualties
The war exacted heavy losses. Finland lost about 63,200 killed or missing and nearly 158,000 wounded; Soviet losses are estimated at 250,000–305,000 killed or missing. The figures give a sense of how bloody the war was for the small Finnish nation.
The link to us
The Continuation War touches the Estonian Tatar community directly: Estonian Tatar Finnish Boys fought in the Finnish army. They fought for Finland's freedom and then returned to defend Estonia — which fell under Soviet occupation all the same. See also The Estonian Tatar Finnish Boys and Dance of death between two devils.
Sources: Continuation War (Wikipedia); Jätkusõda (Wikipedia); Soomepoisid (Infantry Regiment 200) (Wikipedia); 200th Infantry Regiment (Wikipedia).