"The Sausage War " Topic

"Beachcombing has been paying perhaps too much attention to Finland in the last two months: the result of a long infatuation with Mannerheim, the aristocratic military commander who twice saved his young country from the Soviets. He kicked off with the tale of Mannerheim's cigar. He moved onto a WIBT moment in the court of the red Tsar when Finnish democrats had the naivety to tell Stalin and Molotov to buck up and respect international law. Today though, before he leaves Finland behind for a while, he will pass from diplomacy and smoking to a weird war episode and one of the most extraordinary moments in the Winter War: the Battle of the Sausages.

It began with a rare Soviet success: we are on the Tolvajarvi front not far from the village of that name. A Soviet battalion has, December 10, marched in silence through the snowy woods and is ready to fall on a crucial Finnish supply position in a brilliantly executed night attack.

The attack worked almost perfectly. Finnish personnel here were few and many were non-military – medical orderlies and the like. The Finns were also – a rare event in the Winter War when the snow boot was normally on the other foot – taken by surprise. It looked very much as if the Soviets had scored an outstanding victory. That was until they reached the kitchens…"
Full article here
link

Amicalement
Armand

An absolutely terrible article about a battle I've studied in painful detail. More "superhuman Finns" propaganda being thrown around and complete misrepresentation of the diplomacy prior to the war (based on having read the Finnish Foreign Minister's account).

Can you recomended some reading?

Amicalement
Armand