Finland at War 1939-45

This book is very well written and easy to read. It gives a very good overview of the Finnish military during WWII. If you don't know about heroic little Finland, and their fight for survival against Russia, then you are missing some great inspirational history. I consider this book a must-have for the Finnish military history buff.

This book has the best illustrations I've ever seen. It includes black and white photographs, colored illustrations, clearly defined timelines and some very taut, straightforward writing. I'm not Finnish and my interest in it and its role in World War II was slow developing. I'd read bits and pieces about Finland's stand against impossible odds in military histories. One thing led to another and I finally ended up buying some books and trying to figure out how this tiny Nordic nation managed to fight off the Red Army and survive the vicissitudes of World War II. Jowett and Snodgrass bring a clear, well-organized summary of this very complicated period of history. When did the "Winter War" end? What was the "Continuation War" and the "Lapland War?" How did Finland manage to avoid being occupied by the Red Army like Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were? This brief (64 page) book provides very clear answers to these questions. It's easy to read and organized so that it makes a great quick reference. If you're interested in military history, Finland, World War II, Germany, Russia, 20th century European History, collecting militaria, or if you like a good David and Goliath story, this book's for you. I like it and gave it five stars.

Finland at War 1939-45, # 141 in Osprey's Elite series, is an excellent introduction to the role of the Finnish Army in the Second World War. Authors Philip Jowett and Brent Snodgrass demonstrate a firm grip of this subject and provide a wealth of useful and hard-to-find information on the Finns. This volume belongs on the bookshelves of anyone seriously interested in the Eastern Front. The opening section spends about 12 pages outlining the chronology of the three wars that Finland fought in the period 1939-45; the 1939-40 Winter War and 1941-44 Continuation War against the Soviet Union and the 1944-45 Lapland War against the Germans. However the chronology section actually has a fair amount of detail and provides a good introduction to the subject. The heart of the volume lies in the 25-page section which discusses the organization of the Finnish army, covering all the major branches as well as paramilitary formations such as the Civil Guard and Foreign Volunteers. A brief section discusses tactics, including the use of "motti" encirclement attacks and snipers. A final section discusses weapons, including small arms, machineguns, anti-tank weapons and artillery (unfortunately, mortars were omitted). Overall, there is a wealth of information in this thin volume and it is one of the better of Osprey's Elite titles. Eight pages of color plates by artist Raffaele Ruggeri depict the Finnish military and para-military forces from 1939-45. The photographs in the volume are also very good and most have not been printed in English-language books before. Perhaps the only area that gets a bit skimped on is in the areas of training and higher staff functions at corps-level, but this is understandable given the size restraints. Overall, a superb volume.

A good book explaining the war between Finland and USSR, lists the equipment, vehicles and artillery.