Quote:
Originally Posted by erasure
And this is relevant to my post... how exactly may I ask?  |
Finland was not totally alone in Winter War.
Foreign volunteers in the Winter War;
Swedish volunteers
Swedes were the largest single nationality group. Around 8000 men served in different formations. The most important formation was the Swedish Volunteer Corps (Svenska Frivilligkåren) with three battalions and other units.
Norwegian volunteers
About 700 hundred Norwegians volunteered, but since their government would not release any senior officers, they were enrolled within the Swedish Volunteer Corps.
Hungarians volunteers
Only Hungarians sent volunteers as an organized unit according to the initial Finnish requirements. The unit consisted of 346 officers and men with one month of training in Hungary.
British volunteers
When the war ended there were only 13 British volunteers in Finland although many more had volunteered, including 214 men who reached Finland and Lapua one week after the war had ended. There were further 750 volunteers waiting to be shipped to Finland, but with the armistice in March 13th, they never came to Finland.
Estonian volunteers
Apart from Hungarians and British, the largest group by nationality in Detachment Sisu were the Estonians, officially 56 men.
Danish volunteers
About 1000 Danish volunteers came and were sent to training in Oulu. These men also, were not ready for front-line duties when the war ended.
American volunteers
About 350 Americans, mainly of Finnish birth, were also sent for training in Oulu. One company of he Americans reached the front in March 12th and were supposed to take charge of the trenches in 13th, but the order was reversed when the war ended on the very same day.
Other volunteers
Apart from the above-mentioned groups, there were volunteers from several other countries and nationalities. Also, there were e.g. a British fire brigade unit in Helsinki and a Swedish veterinary ambulance.
According to official Finnish figures there were following numbers of volunteers by nationality on March 13th.
Austria 2
Belgium 51
Czechoslovakia 1
Estonia 56
France 2
Germany 18
Italy 7
Latvia 4
Lithuania 2
Luxembourg 3
Netherlands 17
Poland 6
Portugal 1
Switzerland 6
United Kingdom 13
Yugoslavia 1
Without nationality 15
In conclusion
In spite of the great publicity, Finland received little effective military help. The Swedish unit with Norwegians thrown in was the only significant foreign unit to see action.
Foreign volunteers in the Winter War
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