ABSTRACT
The scale and intensity of the fighting in Finland, although dwarfed in comparison to the Soviet-German war, was something else than the easy Soviet Polish campaign. Soviet air superiority was considered as even greater than on the ground. According to the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact's secret protocol Finland fell into the Soviet sphere of influence. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) could therefore forward demands on, and in the end attack Finland on 30 November, without the risk of significant German interference. From the very beginning Red Army operations against Finland confirmed earlier Anglo-American assessments. American perceptions regarding the effort in Finland differed little from British assessments. It seems that the British at the time also were worried about the Soviets moving against smaller nations in the Middle East, which in contrast to a Western Power were believed to be easy opponents for the Red Army.
