The diplomatic strategy of bordering yet not being aligned to a superpower would eventually be known as "Finlandization".Įvents Main article: Finnish events
Of note, Finland was one of only three European nations involved in the Second World War that survived the entire war without its capital being occupied even once, be it during or after the war, with the other two being the United Kingdom and Soviet Union.Īfter the end of the Second World War, Finland found itself playing a delicate political and diplomatic game in the succeeding decades and forming a "neutral space" between the later Cold War East and West Blocs, establishing itself as a neutral country, similar to Switzerland. A final peace treaty with the rest of the Allies was signed in 1947. Finland signed an armistice with the Soviets in early 1945, finns expelled the remaining Germans from Finnish soil in the Lapland War, the Second World War was finally over for Finland's part. In 1944, a Soviet grand offensive involving a force larger than the Allied invasion force of D-Day forced the Finns to fall back, but the Finnish forces managed to stop the soviet attack in the battles of Tali-ihantala, Vuosalmi-äyräpää and Vyborg bay before soviet forces reached the border of the Moscow peace treaty in the Karelian Isthmus. The conquest of eastern Karelia and the seemingly unstoppable Wehrmacht led many in the Finns to dream of a "Greater Finland" encompassing perhaps even all of Scandinavia and the Baltic states. Despite pressure from Germany, Finland refused to attack Leningrad or sever the Murmansk railway and fought the Continuation War separately from Germany. During this conflict Finland fought as a co-belligerent to the German Reich and Italy and invaded eastern Karelia (equivalent to the states of Onega and Olonets in-game) in addition to reconquering the territory lost during the Winter War. After it was clear Barbarossa was unsuccessful it was renamed to the Continuation War. In 1941, Finland joined Nazi Germany's war against the Soviet Union - officially after Soviet bombers struck Finnish military air fields from which Nazi bombers bombed Leningrad - to reconquer its lost territories, initially calling the conflict the "Summer War". Finland lost about 12.5% of its territory (equivalent to the states of Salla, Petsamo and Karjala in-game) but survived as an independent nation, unlike the Baltic states which were annexed into the Soviet Union earlier. Against all odds the badly outnumbered and under-equipped Finnish army was able to repel the Soviet attacks until a grand offensive in 1940 finally forced the country to sue for peace. After a brief yet very destructive civil war in 1918 Finland was formally recognized as an independent nation.Īfter 20 years of independence Finland was attacked by the Soviet Union in 1939 leading to the Winter War of 1939-1940. Following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 and Russia's internal turmoil Finland declared itself independent.
Finland was ceded to Russia after the Finnish War of 1809. Historical Background įinland was a large yet culturally independent region of Sweden first attached in the early 12th century. The capital of Finland, Helsinki, is the only urban area of the state. Lakes and marsh area is located in the south, while mountains and hills are located in the northern part of Finland. Much of the land is flat and densely forested.
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