ABSTRACT
On 30 November 1939, the armed forces of the Soviet Union launched a premeditated attack on Finland. Acting without a declaration of war, the Red Air Force bombed several cities, including the capital Helsinki, and the Red Army began a massive land invasion. The Soviet Union expected a swift and decisive victory, but Finland put up staunch resistance which surprised and inspired all of the non-communist world. Even 105 days of intense fighting and a vast superiority in manpower and implements of war did not yield a military victory for the Soviet side.
