(10/10) Battlefield II The Battle of Scandinavia Ep4 World War II

World War II SUBSCRIBE TO EXCELLENT WORLD WAR II VIDEOS Videos Running Time: 01:32:00 in 10 Parts Battlefield: "The Battle of Scandinavia" This episode of Battlefield chronicles the Russo-Finish War(1939-1940) and the German invasion of Norway(1940). Almost immediately after invading Poland, Stalin began placing territorial demands on the Finish government. The Soviet Union demanded a 25 miles of land North of Leningrad and demanded a 30 year lease of the Hanko Peninsula area for a new Soviet naval base. Soviet leaders considered these as more than reasonable. The Finish government rejected the terms and began mobilizing. After an alleged shelling of a border town the Soviet Union invaded Finland on November 30th, 1939. The USSR forces consisted of 23 divisions amounting to 450,000 men. The Finish defense consisted of 8 divisions amounting to 180,000 men. The main finish defense line (Mannerheim Line) was located 25 miles North of Leningrad. The Finns relied on hit and run tactics in freezing conditions. The Finnish assault troops could outmaneuver the Soviets with ski troops. Much food and ammunition was captured to maintain the Finnish forces. Fortunately, the Finns used the same rifle ammo as the USSR. A crude but highly effective gasoline bomb, developed in the Spanish Civil War, was deployed and destroyed up to 2,000 Soviet tanks. Later known as the Molotov Cocktail this simple weapon was used throughout World War II. Sniper warfare became a serious tactic during the Russo-Finnish War. The Finns used the "Kylmä-Kalle" (Cold Charlie) counter-sniper tactic. This tactic was highly effective in locating the Soviet sniper and shelling the position with artillery or killing the sniper with Lahti L-39 "Norsupyssy" ("Elephant rifle") anti-tank rifles. Corporal Simo Häyhä is credited with 542 kills during the Russo-Finish War. Simo Häyhä is probably the most successful sniper in history. In one of the most amazing feats in World War II a group of 300 Finnish soldiers blocked the advance of the Soviet 44th Division(23,000 men). The Finnish 9th Division (6,000 men) surrounded and then destroyed the entire 44th Division in detail. After this and many other Soviet disasters USSR General Kliment Voroshilov was replaced by General Semyon Timoshenko Both sides became exhausted by the war. The Moscow Peace Treaty was signed on March 12th 1940. Finland ceded several important areas to the USSR but, remained free from Soviet control. The German invasion of Norway on April 9th 1940 Operation Weserübung (Operation Weser-Exercise) became a confusing debacle for Allied forces. Norways main importance lay with its shipping routes from Sweden to German. Swedish iron-ore was a valuable commodity for the Germany war machine. The German Armys XXI Infantry Korps (von Falkenhorst) consisted of: 163rd, 69th, 169th, 181st and 214th infantry divisions. Two regiments of the 3rd Mountain Division (Dietl) were also committed. Fallschirmjäger units would eventually jo