Hitler's Nordic Ally?: Finland and the Total War 1939 - 1945

Finland was the only nation with an elected and democratic government to fight on the German side in WWII. Despite being small, poorly armed and made up of conscripts, the Finnish army was probably the most effective fighting force at the time, managing with practically no outside help to keep the mighty Red Army at bay for more than three months during the Winter War of 1939-40.

In 1944, the devastating Soviet mass attack against the Finnish Army involved the largest artillery assault of th...