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Finnish Army 1944 x 52

Yet again in the summer of 1941 fishermen and loggers of this Northern country had to take up arms. Orders for massive bombing raids on Finland, given to the Soviet Air Force in the early hectic days of Hitler's invasion, led to full-scale hostilities, and towards the end of August Soviet troops were pushed far beyond the 1940 border. Finns, driven by a desire to get revenge for the losses of the Winter War, recklessly rushed forward, not looking into the distant future.

To the credit of the Finnish people and its armed forces, despite being allies of the Nazis, they weren't themselves involved in the crimes that were typical of the "German new order", with its Holocaust and national humiliation. Instead they considered their "Continuation war" as a separate conflict waged by the Third Reich

Having mobilized a record-high percentage of the population in modern human history (17.5 %), and experiencing a severe shortage of food, ammunition and weapons, the Finns fought the Red Army for three long years. In June 1944 near the previously unknown villages of Tali and Ihantala they at last managed to halt the irrepressible "Stalin's blow", so that their completely exhausted country could after a while conclude a peace which was humiliating but still maintained the independence of Finland.