So. Is Finland an ally of Nazi Germany? Well, we've actually investigated this issue before, check it out here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jd2HfZWf2reYpIU.html JOIN THE TIMEGHOST ARMY: www.patreon.com/join/timeghosthistory

My grandfather fought in both wars: Winter war and Continuation war. My grandmother was taking care of 6 children including my mother. My mother and her two brothers were send to Sweden to be safe as a war child. My grandfathers brother was killed in action but my grandfather stayed alive. He was kind and friendly, he took us grand children to fishing every time we visited grandparents. He had nightmares for the rest of his life, the war letf its marks. I want to pay respects to all the veterans of war. Because of you we live in a free country 🇫🇮❤️

Finland in WWII will always be seen as a unique participant.

Finland is one of the most interesting nations to take part in this war. The only Democracy fighting with the Axis. Yet so many World War Two narratives pass them over as if they were irrelevant. Thanks for the great special.

I have to say that you guys at Timeghost should make a poster with that picture of a cigar smoking Mannerheim. It's remarkable.

I have to say Indy pronounces Finnish names suprisingly well!

Only two European countries involved in WW2 stayed as parliamentary democracies troughout tho war, UK and Finland. Being a small country ”on the wrong side” and able to do that was an amazing achievement.

These are the best pronounciations of finnish names by an american ive heard, good job👍👍

A very good episode. The finnish involvement is rarely shown in documentaries about World War II.

I can't think of two countries whe drew a worse geographic lottery than Finland and Poland.

Man, I love these specials episodes. As a Spaniard, I would really like to see one about the "adventures" of the spanish blue division, barely mentioned in the main episodes. Thank you for your amazing job!

I feel like the Chinese-Japanese front has not been covered for a long time. Maybe a special about that? As always, the quality of your videos is on another level. Love this channel. I always recommend it to people.

Interesting to learn that Germany is still industrially strong enough to supply itself and Finland with weapons at this stage of the war! Thank you for the back to back upload days!

Thank-you for this video. As always, quality stuff. For context; I'm a 2nd gen Finn born in the US, on my Father's side. He served in USAAF during WW2. At 8:10, could you not have found a more flattering photo of Mannerheim? It did make me laugh, so thanks for that! Maybe that was a typical look for him?

It would be nice, if you could make a special episode about Finland after Winter War and another episode about Continuation War. 😀

I feel like Hungary could also get an episode like this because of the situation from being with the Axis to being occupied with a puppet regime. Not saying you guys need to make an episode for Hungary (I know there’s a lot to cover in WW2 and people might think since Hungary gets an episode then all belligerents need an episode). But it would be nice to see an overview of what happened in Hungary across these past few months. Thanks for all your hard work WW2 team!

Hope you get a million subscribers this year Indy

Finland was The only nation during ww2 what fought against The allies and Germany, and was not occupied

Thanks for shedding light on the Finnish situation! Hope to see more coverage towards the summer, as I hear the Soviets might be planning for a big offensive then. Let's see if that comes to be!

Neat. Unexpected special!

"Finland, Finland, Finland! The country where I quite like to be..."🎵🎶

Great suspense on this Special video here Indy & team. Will be interesting to see in the next couple of weeks how things will play out...

Trapped between Hitler and Stalin, talk about a rock and a hard place or perhaps a concentration camp and a gulag. 😳

I'm a huge World War II buff and I just stumbled across your remarkable Channel! I love your presentation of the reporter of the era dishing out the news to us! Really well done and really nostalgic. I love it! So I'm a new subscriber and I've already liked, subscribed and shared to several of my friends! Looking forward to your new releases! Your friend Jim from Seattle 🎉❤

Indy wants us to send gifts to him on Sep 28th :)

Astonishing explanations! This is one of your best-off Specials, in my opinion, Indy. Cheers to how you make the subtle nuances of international relations comprehensible and exciting in your storytelling!

Great episode. I will wait the next one which could be the biggest nattle ever in the nordic and that is Tali-Ihantala 1944

Finland is a sort of sad example of how a country can win every battle but lose the war. There is a saying in Finnish which translates to: "A Finn can defeat 10 russkies! But what about when the 11th shows up?"

If Finland leaves, than army group North really will be stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Always top quality content. Thanks man. Love everything you and the crew produce.

Excellent content. I really enjoy your input & analysis of these “sub plots” of the axis & allies. Thanks

could have also mentioned the mystery of Murmansk railway, that was neither cut off nor captured and continued to operate as an important, even critical to the survival of the Soviet Union, destination for Allied Arctic convoys throughout the war.(Lend Lease that usa was giving to the soviets) because the USA told Finland not to. it is a historical fact.[1] with this, it could be, that Finland saved the Soviet Union. and with that, destroyed the Axis Powers. which might be the reason the Soviet Union let Finland keep its independence and did not commit atrocities against the Finnish people. for example at one point, Finnish units were within 30 km (19 mi) of the Murmansk railway, but were suddenly unwilling to continue the attack. [1]"On 5 November, Siilasvuo was informed by the Finnish high command that the attack should be halted for political reasons, and that no additional Finnish reinforcements would be forthcoming despite Siilasvuo's wishes. The United States of America had given the Finnish government a note demanding the attack be stopped. This had caused Finnish President Risto Ryti to express his concern over the operation to Mannerheim. " - Finnish_III_Corps_(Continuation_War) , Wikipedia strange that such possibly important decision, that possibly meant the whole ww2 result could have been decided, is not mentioned in the big ww2 discussion to usa people, nor to russian people, or to world people at large, barely even finnish people, have to be real history nerd reading finnish history to know that. perhaps on that day, it was truly decided, whether we were also going to be on the western side in the world, or not.

As grim as those days were, we can today open our maps and conclude that where Finland still stands, the Soviet Union and the German Reich have both met their just and gruesome ends. It was the deserved outcome of the Molotov-Ribbentrop.

Thank you for this highly interesting special epidode. You manage to always find new angels to the events you are covering. 👍

Karl Gustav Mannerheim, "The Greatest Finn of them all." He danced the death dance with the cobra (Hitler) and the scorpion (Stalin) and won! The only country to ask the germans to leave and they did. He was the only German ally that was able to negotiate a peace with the Russians without being occupied. One of the greatest statesmen of the 20th century.

I own an NFA registered Panzerschreck that was one of the roughly 1500 sent to Finland in 1944.

I've been to Rovaniemi A town in northern Finland, not far from Haparanda in Sweden. A town that the Germans burnt to the ground on the way out of Finland.

As a Finn, I very much approve this episode.

By this date in the war the Soviet Union cared little about anything. They were looking to the end of the War, and its aftermath: the Occupation of most Eastern European Countries.

Another great episode 😀

During World War II, the Lapland War saw fighting between Finland and Nazi Germany - effectively from September to November 1944 - in Finland's northermmost region Lapland.

Finns saw German mismanaged military leader’s ego. Big mistake not providing winter clothing for his frontline soldiers, 1941 Russian winter. Finns knew Germany was a lost cause. Wasting his most battle harden troops on cold winter. Germans was to attack from Finnish Lapland to Murmansk. But they were unable to cope with freezing cold. Nazis were stuck in same place for four years.

Great job!

You look great for 79 years old, Indy

I think Jodl met Mannerheim in Mikkeli HQ, not in capital Helsinki.

Indie was born in July 1943? 😮 Damn, son. Looking in fine shape for a 79 year old.

A great special as always. Germany has really always struggled with allies, especially ones that were willing to stick by them through thick and thin. This war is different due to them undoubtedly being the villains but still, its an interesting historical pattern that repeated itself not only in the world wars, but in wars before the German unification such as the Napoleonic wars and the 7 years war. Perhaps its just bad luck but its just something I realized during this episode.

Awesome picture of Mannerheim with cigar :D Where did you find it?

If the Soviets are clever they could abandon their territorial demands on Finland and convince the Finns to join the fight against the Axis.

I'd like to see a special about Romania in 1943 and 1944, well, from Barbarossa up until now. Are they (were they ever really) buddies with Hitler at this point?

As I was thinking days ago; the german occupation of Hungary has severly damaged the realtions between Germany and its "partners". We see that now that Finland are seeking a way out and Romania feels that they will be occupied next after Hungary. Even neutrals as you mention, Indy, like Spain who withdrew the Blue Division and Sweden who closed its railroads through its borders. Is this be the prelude for the begning of the end???? It is getting excited every day :)))

There was a man who served in the Finnish army against Russia, served in German army against Russia and fought for the American army in the Korean war and in the Vietnam conflict.

Hi Indy Another wonderful special epsiode. Nice to watch. Thanks.

Please create a video on the Munich agreement and Occupation of Czechoslovakia 1939

Finland barely won the summer battles in 1944 at vtk line but still won. Lost the war but won the most battles

I think someone wants to FINNISH their part in the Axis...

Finland was never been with Nazis if Great Britannia and USA has had viser politic. If Finland was really helped Germany, war was been 2 years longer.

such good content... Kiitos. Share this link widely!

this is a genuinely amazing video!

Nice picture of Mannerheim,never seen that before. What a character. Noble background. Russian Empire officer. Civil war leader. There are pictures of him riding a horse naked.

"The Finnish situation as winter 1944 ... finishes." Missed an opportunity there. ;)

Why was there never a bigger effourd to cut the murmansk railway?

The more you understand how the minor powers are treated, the more you question whether or not the war will ever be worth it for them.

Finland only had moderate goals Did not want to do more

These vids are gret - all of them. Going through the whole series. Will Korean War be done at some point?

Indy, do you claim birthdays in years before you were born? It seems like it and I think that it's a perfectly legitimate thing to do! :) I gives one many, many more birthdays!

Wow, Indy's looking great for his age.

Interesting video. Some additional information, which may or may not have been in the other videos mentioned in this one. Finland had communicated to Soviet Union already in March 1943 through unofficial secret channels its interest in peace talks. Soviet reply was that only unconditional surrender would be acceptable. Naturally Finland was not ready for it, since we very well knew what that meant based on the experience of Baltic countries. Unconditional surrender remained Soviet's demand all the way until the summer of 1944 and the battle of Tali-Ihantala, in which Finns (with German help) managed (once again) to stop Red Army from advancing. Perhaps more significantly, Stalin was at the time in a hurry to get to Berlin before his western allies, so peace talks could then finally begin. In the end they resulted in a harsh peace that let us keep our internal democracy and freedom, but significantly limited our freedom to conduct our foreign policy for nearly 5 decades and partially up until February last year. Few more days and all that will be history...

So Sept. 28 was only Indy's birthday THAT year? (5:43) When was his birthday in other years?

Sytuacja Finlandii była w bardzo trudnej sytuacji. Ale i tak lepszej niż Polska.

As a side note: in the winter of 1941, the Finns took part in a joint Finno-German offensive called Operation Silver Fox against Murmansk, through which a ton of lend-lease flowed, including fully a quarter of the food, oil and war materiel sent by the Americans. Silver Fox was ultimately a Soviet victory, but by some accounts Finnish troops held control of the Murmansk railway at several points. Finland lacks the manpower to make serious offensives against the Soviet Union, but what offensives they have made have been directed against hard-to-defend parts of the Soviet supply line, and this is something which cannot have escaped Stavka's attention.

I've always wanted to know why Sweden was allowed to remain neutral and wasn't just attacked ? It had the iron ore that Germany, Russia, France and Britain needed but nobody just took it ? Why ? Love the show and i"m so glad that you finally covered the Boer War 👍 💕 now just explain the Seven Years War and American football and all is good lol 😂 👍

Thanks!

Thinking of the Spanish Blue Division being involved in direct action against the Soviets... how did they manage not to get declared on by any of the Allies?

What a major twist of irony: an "ally" of Nazi Germany is worried about the military reliability of the Wehrmacht

This is superb historical research and reporting: I had no idea just how political WWII had become by this time

From Wikipedia: "In Soviet historiography, Stalin's ten blows[a] were the ten successful strategic offensives conducted by the Red Army in 1944 during World War II. The Soviet offensives drove the Axis forces from Soviet territory and precipitated Nazi Germany's collapse.......................... 4. Vyborg-Petrozavodsk Offensive (9 June - 9 August 1944). Directed against Finnish forces north of Leningrad, its strategic objective was to drive Finland out of the war by destroying Finnish forces on the Karelian Isthmus and advancing to the Kymi River,[12][13][14] whereby Soviet forces would prepare for an advance deep into Finland.[15] It was carried out by the Leningrad Front and the Karelian Front.[10][16] Soviet forces succeeded in expelling Finnish forces from territory they had gained in 1941, but the Soviet advance was halted at the Battle of Tali-Ihantala. Further north, Finnish victories in the Battles of Vuosalmi and Ilomantsi halted additional Soviet attempts to break through Finnish lines. The Soviet destruction of Finnish forces and advancement to the Kymi River had failed.[17][18] An unsigned draft document called "The Terms for Finnish Unconditional Surrender" was found in October 1993 in the Russian Foreign Ministry archive, implying that unconditional surrender was indeed the Soviet goal.[19][20] While the Red Army had failed to achieve all of its objectives, the offensive nonetheless led to Finland agreeing to Soviet peace terms. On 19 September 1944, the Moscow Armistice was signed, ending the Continuation War. Stalin dubbed the operation the Liberation of Karelia-Finland Soviet Republic."

TimeGhost fans are eating well this week.

Hello Indie and the rest of the timeghost crew, i do not know how you are going to cover the Lappland war, but i do hope that you cover norwegian ss crimes and war crimes during this period, and i especially hope you inform your viewers about how these war criminals were punished after the war, if you need any help i am more than willing to provide aid with both translation of sources and helping find reliable sources

Ah yes, the German-Finnish alliance. Probably the ONLY alliance involving Nazi Germany where they actually held their allies as equal partners with equal respect and honour. I'm SURE 20th Mountain Army will find a peaceful manner to extricate itself from the far North, sent on home with well wishes from Finnish friends... right?

I have just found and subscribed to you. Great set and WW2 resource. The USSR specially thanked Finland for not joining German invasion. It allows USSR to keep a clear route via Lake Ladoga; and break the 900 day siege.

Indie, isn’t September 28 your birthday every year, not just that one? 😂

Probably a silly question, but did any of the other Allies ever fight Finland forces?

Thanks Indy

Hopefully Romania and Bulgaria will be loyal to Germany right? Right guys?

This is Finnish, but not the end.

A great very interesting video. What did you mean by fun retreat across Finland and Norway in the middle of winter? Were German troops in Norway worried about Allied landings there in 1944/45? Was there some anti nazi guerilla in Finland during the war?What produce and ores did the Germans take out from Finland?Have a good one.

i was very concerned as a finn that hads missed something when reading the title quickly

Oh no, not finrand!

You have to know you've lost the war when all your allies are ditching you and trusting their fate to their enemies.

Indy's looking very colour coordinated in this episode....

Shame for Finland 🇫🇮, they had a just reason to fight the Russians.

I DO NOT like the fact that Finland sided with Germany. I also DO NOT like the fact that the western countries sided with the soviet union. Finland, like the western countries, had to play the cards they were dealt. The same was also true for eastern Europe. Hitler was a devil, but so was Stalin. I hate nazism but I also hate communism. Enough said.

At 3:03 the frontmost vehicle, what tank is that? I can deduce the chassis is from a KV but the turret does not resemble the one that bears the 85mm.

Was Jodel alluring Fins or German high command was really disconnected with reality?

To remind everyone, Finland considering the Circumstances won the wars. Had Finland lost the war, it would had ended up like Romania, or Hungary, or like us Baltic States. Yes they had to give up their land, but in exchange kept their independence, their political systems, their economy, their culture, etc. Just because it doesn’t mean the big country’s standard of victory where you get to parade in the defeated’s capital doesn’t mean they lost.

Look up Greates story never told.

🎉Happy Birthday🎉

Ironic. Right now Finland is on the verge of becoming part of another military alliance. And a full ally this time, not just a co-belligerent.

"The Finland Situation"