Customer Reviews

The Mannerheim Line 1920-39: Finnish Fortifications of the Winter War (Fortress)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Mannerheim Line 1920-39 is one of the most original and well-researched volumes in Osprey's Fortress series in a long time. Bair Irincheev, a Russian re-enactor who runs a travel agency in Helsinki, has intimate knowledge of the Finnish fortifications built in the Karelian Isthmus that played such a large role in the Russo-Finnish War of 1939. Given the limited number of English-language books available on the Russo-Finnish War, this volume packs a considerable amount of information - particularly tactical details - that is not available in other sources. Indeed, while other books tend to cover the war at a high level, this book goes into detail about platoon, company and battalion-size actions. This book is tied to the author's website, which offers a great deal more information than the author had space for here, so readers should consult both. The volume is not without a few glitches, including some editing issues, but is a solid and virtually unique reference.

The volume begins with about a 12-page introduction on the background to Finnish fortification building in the Karelian Isthmus in the 1920s and 1930s. After building some crude bunkers near the border with the Soviet Union in the mid-1920s (no specific dates are given), the Finns began a more serious effort to build concrete bunkers and field works in the late 1930s, as relations with the USSR deteriorated. In this section, the author covers the weapons in the Mannerheim Line (which was not called that at the time) as well as standard elements of bunker designs, although there was little standardization. The only problem I had with this section was that it was vague on some important details that are usually covered in other volumes of the Fortress series. Although the author does not provide details on how much the Finns invested in these defenses, he later says that the high cost of fortifying the border left little money for anti-tank weapons, tanks and mines. Nor are there any photos of defenses under construction, so it makes it difficult for the reader to assess how much effort really went into building the line.

The next section discusses field fortifications in the Mannerheim Line (trenches, wooden bunkers and obstacles) and the author makes good points that the Finnish defenses were poorly suited to stop Soviet armor. Obstacles such as anti-tank ditches were not always covered by fire and the Finns exaggerated the ability of large rocks to stop Soviet tanks. Worse, the Finnish anti-tank defenses were extremely weak and relied on a small number of Bofors 37-mm guns but many bunkers had nothing more than a machinegun, which enabled Soviet tanks to drive right up to them and fire into the gun ports.

The bulk of the volume consists of a sector-by sector account of the Finnish defense of each part of the Mannerheim Line, running from west to east. The detail is very good and includes considerable information on combat actions from both sides, but it is often hard to follow on the one map provided. If readers consult the same map as it appears on the author's website they will find that it is far more user-friendly than the map in this volume, which does not identify the sectors. Graphically, the volume includes seven color plates depicting the interior layout of various Finnish bunkers (it would have been nice to have a plate depicting Soviet attack tactics against a bunker), as well as another 1:20,000 scale map depicting the defenses in the Summa sector. The photographs are quite good and unique, including color photos of the bunkers today. There are also two short appendices and a bibliography, although the one on the author's website is considerably better. Overall, this is a very good volume in the series but sometimes a bit hard to follow due to the map issue. Readers should consult the author's website in conjunction with this volume.

I think that the Finns are so brave that Stalin only make that conquer because he needs to pose like a god for the others. This book shows the fortifications and the use of them during the winter war, the photos after the WWII show how painfull was that enemy for the Soviet Union.

This book was another fine addition to my Russo-Finnish winter War collection. It filled in an area about which my other books didn't cover is any depth.