Finland's Role In Barbarossa

[angie999]

I am just starting to read David M Glantz's Before Stalingrad: Barbarossa - Hitler's Invasion of Russia 1941, Tempus edition 2003.

Glantz states that Finland provided 14 divisions on the German side, which I would think is an incredibly large number for such a small population.

Does anyone know anything about Finnish wartime mobilisation and how the economy coped with it?

[morse1001]

Hitler's directive No21 states that Finnish Army units where to operate with the germans but it does not give any figures

Operaton Barbarossa

Finnish army at the end of the winter war consisted of 12 brigades!!!

[smc66]

In 1939 the Finnish population numbered just under 4 million and the army consisted of 9 divisions with the option of raising 3 more quickly.

In 1941 the Finnish Army consisted of 16 divisions (source Antony Upton); 1 was attached to the German XXVI Army based in Rovaniemi. Another one covered it to the south (the misnamed Finnish III Army Corps), 13 were based around the south-east part of Karelian border and the last covered the Soviet enclave of Hanko.

[Whiskey]

(angie999 @ Aug 7 2005, 11:03 AM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>Glantz states that Finland provided 14 divisions on the German side, which I would think is an incredibly large number for such a small population.

Does anyone know anything about Finnish wartime mobilisation and how the economy coped with it?[/b]

(smc66 @ Aug 7 2005, 08:31 PM) [post=37390]In 1939 the Finnish population numbered just under 4 million and the army consisted of 9 divisions with the option of raising 3 more quickly.

In 1941 the Finnish Army consisted of 16 divisions (source Antony Upton); 1 was attached to the German XXVI Army based in Rovaniemi. Another one covered it to the south (the misnamed Finnish III Army Corps), 13 were based around the south-east part of Karelian border and the last covered the Soviet enclave of Hanko.
[/b]

Finnish population in 1939 was a bit over 3.5 million and the army of the Winter War consisted 9 divisions and 3 field replacement divisions. Those field replacement divisions consisted men with poor or nonexistent training (relieved from conscription during peacetime...) and lacked proper armament (Finns didn't have even enough rifles to all of those men.). They received fast training and were deplyed to the front when armaments situation allowed. (Read: Received enough war booty from encirclements.)

1941 Finland had those 16 divisions and 3 Brigades, consisting together with all support personnel 475 000 men and women. The economy didn't cope this easily and there was chronic shortage of manpower, forcing women and teenagers to enter worklife in great numbers. So when offensive operations ended December 1941, over 100 000 men were demobilized. The new round of mobilizations started winter/spring 1944 in anticipation of Soviet offensive, which brought the total number to 530 000 men and women in military service. With this 16+% of whole population Finland became the most mobilized country of WWII.

[Exxley]

You can find a Finnish order of battle here :

Finnish Order of Battle 1918-1945