ABSTRACT
Flags flew at half mast in Helsinki and all other Finnish cities. On March 13, 1940, Finland was the saddest country in the world. Out of the total of 1.5 million men sent to Finland, one million of them were killed. Finnish casualties, though proportionately light, were a staggering loss to a nation of 4 million people. Under the peace treaty, Russia took Finland's second biggest city, Viipuri; her largest Arctic Ocean port, Petsamo; the strategic area of Hanko; her largest lake, Ladoga; and the entire Karelian Isthmus, the home of 12 percent of Finland's population. In his radio speech to the people of Finland, President Kallio reminded everyone of the great responsibilities which remained to be borne by the dependents of the fallen; the war invalids and other victims and for the population of areas which were a part of Russia. For the Finns the Winter War had been epic and glorious in spite of the final disaster.
