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81-515: Its western parts are now part of the Pirkanmaa region and the eastern part are part of the Central Finland region. The municipality had a population of 1,734 (2003) and covered an area of 496,88 km of which 73,33 km was water (2006). The population density was 3.5 inhabitants per km. The municipality was unilingually Finnish . Längelmäki was first mentioned in 1506. At the time it

162-577: A "vicious and reactionary fascist clique". Field Marshal Mannerheim and Väinö Tanner , the leader of the Finnish Social Democratic Party , were targeted for particular scorn. When Stalin gained absolute power through the Great Purge of 1938, the Soviets changed their foreign policy toward Finland and began to pursue the reconquest of the provinces of Tsarist Russia that had been lost during

243-657: A Soviet plan to annex Finland. Rather, the objective was to gain Finnish territory and to reinforce Soviet influence in the region. Another American historian Stephen Kotkin also shares the position that the Soviet Union did not aim for annexation. He points out the different treatment Finland was given, compared to the Baltics: unlike the pacts of mutual assistance that the Baltics were pressured into, resulting in their total Sovietization,

324-603: A celebratory piece of music from Dmitri Shostakovich , Suite on Finnish Themes , intended to be performed as the marching bands of the Red Army paraded through Helsinki. The Soviets were confident that the Western powers would not come to Finland's aid. Ivan Maisky, the Soviet ambassador to the UK, said: "Who would help? The Swedes? The British? The Americans? There's no way in hell. There will be

405-668: A fuss in the press, moral support, moaning and whining. But troops, aircraft, cannons, and machine guns – no." Hungarian historian István Ravasz wrote that the Soviet Central Committee had set out in 1939 that the former borders of the Tsarist Empire were to be restored, including Finland. American political scientist Dan Reiter stated that the Soviets "sought to impose a regime change " and thus "achieve absolute victory". He quoted Molotov, who had commented in November 1939 on

486-510: A loss of prestige after having made them public. However, the Soviet offer was eventually rejected with respect to the opinion of the public and Parliament. At the meeting on 9 November, Paasikivi announced to the attending Stalin and Molotov the Finnish refusal to accept even their reduced demands. The Soviets were visibly surprised. Finnish Foreign Minister Vaino Tanner later wrote that "the eyes of our opposite numbers opened wide". Stalin had asked "You don't even offer Ino?" This would become

567-404: A maximalist demand, ready to be traded down smaller. The Soviets instead had stressed the minimalist nature of their demands, and were incredulous over Finnish reluctance to agree. Finally, there was also Stalin's unwillingness or inability to accept that any territorial concessions on the part of Finland would have only been possible by a 4/5th majority in the Finnish parliament. He had mocked such

648-542: A meeting with military historians that the Soviets had launched the Winter War to "correct mistakes" made in determining the border with Finland after 1917. Opinion on the scale of the initial Soviet invasion decision is divided. The puppet Finnish communist government and the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact's secret protocol is used as proof that the Soviet Union had intended to conquer all of Finland. On 1 December 1939,

729-547: A minor presence in national politics and never had more than 14 seats of the 200 in the Finnish Parliament . By the late 1930s, the export-oriented Finnish economy was growing and the nation's extreme political movements had diminished. After Soviet involvement in the Finnish Civil War in 1918, no formal peace treaty was signed. In 1918 and 1919, Finnish volunteers conducted two unsuccessful military incursions across

810-663: A narrow-front assault right on the Karelian isthmus. Additionally, Shaposhnikov argued for a fuller build-up, extensive fire support and logistical preparations, a rational order of battle and the deployment of the army's best units. Zhdanov's military commander, Kirill Meretskov , reported, "The terrain of coming operations is split by lakes, rivers, swamps, and is almost entirely covered by forests.... The proper use of our forces will be difficult". These doubts were not reflected in Meretskov's troop deployments, and he publicly announced that

891-595: A possible German invasion through Finland. He stated that "the strongest argument" against a Soviet intention of full conquest is that it did not happen in either 1939 or during the Continuation War in 1944 even though Stalin "could have done so with comparative ease". Bradley Lightbody wrote that the "entire Soviet aim had been to make the Soviet border more secure". In 2002, Russian historian A. Chubaryan stated that no documents had been found in Russian archives that support

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972-406: A reason. He claimed that Stalin had little hope for such a deal but would play for time for the ongoing mobilisation. He stated the objective as being to secure Finland from being used as a staging ground by means of regime change. Others argue against the idea of a complete Soviet conquest. American historian William R. Trotter asserted that Stalin's objective was to secure Leningrad's flank from

1053-431: A requirement, proposing that they count his and Molotov's votes, too. On 26 November 1939, an incident was reported near the Soviet village of Mainila , near the border with Finland. A Soviet border guard post had been shelled by an unknown party resulting, according to Soviet reports, in the deaths of four and injuries of nine border guards. Research conducted by several Finnish and Russian historians later concluded that

1134-448: Is also a major industrial center. Agriculture accounts for a small share of economic activity. In the western part of the region, agricultural production is dominated by dairy cattle , in the south by cereals , and in the north by forestry . Pirkanmaa is a rather linguistically homogeneous region: in 2018, almost 490,000 people, or about 95 per cent of the county's population, spoke Finnish as their mother tongue. For Finno-speakers,

1215-512: Is mandated by law. Results of the 2019 Finnish parliamentary election in Pirkanmaa: [REDACTED] Media related to Pirkanmaa at Wikimedia Commons [REDACTED] Pirkanmaa travel guide from Wikivoyage Winter War [REDACTED]   Finland [REDACTED]   Soviet Union Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups Finland Iceland Norway The Winter War

1296-709: The East Karelian uprising in Russia in 1921, and Finnish communists in the Soviet Union continued to prepare for revenge and staged a cross-border raid into Finland, the Pork Mutiny , in 1922. In 1932, the Soviet–Finnish Non-Aggression Pact was signed between both countries, and it was reaffirmed for ten years in 1934. Foreign trade in Finland was booming, but less than 1% of it was with the Soviet Union. In 1934,

1377-495: The Gulf of Finland along the seaward approaches to Leningrad, but Finland refused. Negotiations continued throughout 1938 without results. The Finnish reception of Soviet entreaties was decidedly cool, as the violent collectivisation and purges in Stalin's Soviet Union resulted in a poor opinion of the country. Most of the Finnish communist elite in the Soviet Union had been executed during

1458-480: The Hanko Peninsula for 30 years and to permit the Soviets to establish a military base there. In exchange, the Soviet Union would cede Repola and Porajärvi from Eastern Karelia (2120 square miles), an area twice the size as that of the territory demanded from Finland (1000 square miles). The Soviet offer divided the Finnish government: Gustaf Mannerheim had argued for an agreement, being pessimistic of

1539-658: The Karelian Isthmus , on Kollaa in Ladoga Karelia and on Raate Road in Kainuu , but there were also battles in Salla and Petsamo in Lapland . Following the initial setbacks, the Soviets reduced their strategic objectives and put an end to the puppet Finnish communist government in late January 1940, informing the Finnish government that they were willing to negotiate peace. After

1620-613: The Kingdom of Sweden . From 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809, the Russian Empire waged the Finnish War against the Kingdom of Sweden, ostensibly to protect the Russian capital, Saint Petersburg . Eventually Russia conquered and annexed Finland, and converted it into an autonomous buffer state . The resulting Grand Duchy of Finland enjoyed wide autonomy within Russia until the end of

1701-633: The Leningrad Military District Kiril Meretskov initially ran the overall operation against the Finns. The command was passed on 9 December 1939 to the General Staff Supreme Command (later known as Stavka ), directly under Kliment Voroshilov (chairman), Nikolai Kuznetsov , Stalin and Boris Shaposhnikov. On 28 December, when Stalin asked for volunteers to take over military command, Semyon Timoshenko offered himself on

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1782-567: The Red Army encouraged German Chancellor Adolf Hitler to believe that an attack on the Soviet Union would be successful and confirmed negative Western opinions of the Soviet military. After 15 months of Interim Peace , in June 1941, Germany commenced Operation Barbarossa , and the Continuation War between Finland and the Soviets began. Until the early 19th century, Finland was the eastern part of

1863-561: The Soviet Union , recognised the new Finnish government just three weeks after the declaration. Finland achieved full sovereignty in May 1918 after a four-month civil war in which the conservative Whites defeated the socialist Reds with the help of the Imperial German Army , pro-German Jägers , and some Swedish troops, in addition to the expulsion of Bolshevik troops. Finland joined

1944-637: The Spanish Civil War veterans General Pavel Rychagov from the Soviet Air Forces ; the tank expert General Dmitry Pavlov and Stalin's favourite general, Marshal Grigory Kulik , the chief of artillery. The other faction was led by Khalkhin Gol veterans General Georgy Zhukov of the Red Army and General Grigory Kravchenko of the Soviet Air Forces. Under this divided command structure, the lessons of

2025-514: The Treaty of Tartu , confirming the old border between the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland and Imperial Russia proper as the new Finnish–Soviet border. Finland also received Petsamo Province , with its ice-free harbour on the Arctic Ocean. Despite the signing of the treaty, relations between the two countries remained strained. The Finnish government allowed volunteers to cross the border to support

2106-558: The 1840s it became Finland's most important industrial centre. New inventions such as sawdust, cellulose and papermaking boosted development. Industries were established in Valkeakoski , Nokia and Mänttä , among others. Tampere became the centre of the province and a railway junction. During the Finnish Civil War , Pirkanmaa was under the control of the Reds and Tampere was the centre of

2187-456: The 19th century, when Russia began attempts to assimilate Finland as part of a general policy to strengthen the central government and unify the Empire by Russification . Those attempts were aborted because of Russia's internal strife, but they ruined Russia's relationship with Finland. In addition, support increased in Finland for self-determination movements. World War I led to the collapse of

2268-542: The Finnish Civil War to the early 1930s was a politically unstable time in Finland because of the continued rivalry between the conservatives and the socialists. The Communist Party of Finland was declared illegal in 1931, and the nationalist Lapua Movement organised anticommunist violence, which culminated in a failed coup attempt in 1932. The successor of the Lapua Movement, the Patriotic People's Movement , had

2349-571: The Finnish campaign would take two weeks at most. Soviet soldiers had even been warned not to cross the border mistakenly into Sweden. Stalin's purges in the 1930s had devastated the officer corps of the Red Army; those purged included three of its five marshals, 220 of its 264 division or higher-level commanders and 36,761 officers of all ranks. Fewer than half of all the officers remained. They were commonly replaced by soldiers who were less competent but more loyal to their superiors. Unit commanders were overseen by political commissars , whose approval

2430-557: The Finnish government, and lead them to believe more concession may be forthcoming. Thus, Paasikivi's idea of reaching some sort of compromise by offering the Soviets the island of Jussarö and the fort of Ino were refused by Helsinki. On 31 October, Molotov publicly announced the Soviet demands to the Supreme Soviet . This surprised the Finns, and lent credibility to Soviet claims that their demands were minimalist and thus unalterable, as it would have been impossible to reduce them without

2511-415: The Finnish prospects in a war against the Soviet Union. But the Finnish government was reticent in reaching an agreement out of mistrust for Stalin: there was a fear of repeated follow-up demands, which would have put the future of Finnish sovereignty in danger. There were also those, such as Foreign Minister Eljas Erkko and Prime Minister Aimo Cajander , and the Finnish intelligence in general, who mistook

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2592-574: The Finnish-Soviet border on the Karelian Isthmus be moved westward to a point only 30 km (19 mi) east of Viipuri ( Russian : Vyborg ) and that Finland destroy all existing fortifications on the Karelian Isthmus. Likewise, the delegation demanded the cession of islands in the Gulf of Finland as well as Rybachy Peninsula ( Finnish : Kalastajasaarento ). The Finns would also have to lease

2673-633: The Great Purge, further tarnishing the Soviets' image in Finland. Meanwhile, Finland was attempting to negotiate a military co-operation plan with Sweden and hoping to jointly defend Åland. The Soviet Union and Nazi Germany signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact in August 1939. It was publicly a non-aggression treaty , but it included a secret protocol in which Central and Eastern European countries were divided into spheres of influence . Finland fell into

2754-656: The League of Nations in 1920 and sought security guarantees, but Finland's primary goal was co-operation with the Scandinavian countries , mainly Sweden, and it focused on the exchange of information and on defence planning (the joint defence of Åland , for example), rather than on military exercises or on the stockpiling and the deployment of materiel . Nevertheless, Sweden carefully avoided committing itself to Finnish foreign policy. Finland's military policy included clandestine defence co-operation with Estonia . The period after

2835-526: The Reds. After the war, industrialisation intensified. During the Winter War , Tampere and other cities were bombed. The County of Pirkanmaa was established in 1956. The county was also called Tammermaa , but gradually Pirkanmaa became the name of the region. In the 1950s, the only city in the province was Tampere, but from 1963 to 1977 the municipalities were made into cities. The number of municipalities decreased in

2916-711: The Russian Empire during the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the Russian Civil War . On 15 November 1917, the Bolshevik Russian government declared that national minorities possessed the right of self-determination , including the right to secede and form a separate state, which gave Finland a window of opportunity. On 6 December 1917, the Senate of Finland declared the nation's independence . Soviet Russia , later

2997-556: The Soviet Union also joined the League of Nations. Soviet General Secretary Joseph Stalin regarded it a disappointment that the Soviet Union could not halt the Finnish Revolution. He thought that the pro-Finland movement in Karelia posed a direct threat to Leningrad and that the area and defences of Finland could be used to invade the Soviet Union or restrict fleet movements. Soviet propaganda then painted Finland's leadership as

3078-542: The Soviet Union formed a puppet government , named the Finnish Democratic Republic , to govern Finland after Soviet conquest. A declaration delivered via TASS stated: The People's Government in its present composition regards itself as a provisional government. Immediately upon arrival in Helsinki, capital of the country, it will be reorganised and its composition enlarged by the inclusion of representatives of

3159-479: The Soviet Union had intended to conquer all of Finland, and cite the establishment of the puppet Finnish Communist government and the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact 's secret protocols as evidence of this, while other sources argue against the idea of a full Soviet conquest. Finland repelled Soviet attacks for more than two months and inflicted substantial losses on the invaders in temperatures as low as −43 °C (−45 °F). The battles focused mainly on Taipale along

3240-495: The Soviet Union was mostly impassable except along a handful of unpaved roads . In prewar calculations, the Finnish Defence Command , which had established its wartime headquarters at Mikkeli , had estimated seven Soviet divisions on the Karelian Isthmus and no more than five along the whole border north of Lake Ladoga. In the estimation, the manpower ratio would have favoured the attacker by three to one. The true ratio

3321-415: The Soviet Union's "first real war on a massive scale using tanks, artillery, and aircraft" at Khalkin Gol went unheeded. As a result, Russian BT tanks were less successful during the Winter War, and it took the Soviet Union three months and over a million men to accomplish what Zhukov had managed at Khalkhin Gol in ten days (albeit in completely different circumstances). Soviet generals were impressed by

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3402-625: The Soviet border, the Viena and Aunus expeditions , to annex areas in Karelia that according to the Greater Finland ideology would combine all Baltic Finnic peoples into a single state. In 1920, Finnish communists based in Soviet Russia attempted to assassinate the former Finnish White Guard Commander-in-Chief, Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim . On 14 October 1920, Finland and Soviet Russia signed

3483-578: The Soviet military reorganized and adopted different tactics, they renewed their offensive in February 1940 and overcame the Finnish defences on the Karelian Isthmus. This left the Finnish army in the main theatre of war near the breaking point, with a retreat seeming inevitable. Consequently, Finnish commander-in-chief Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim urged a peace deal with the Soviets, while the Finns still retained bargaining power. Hostilities ceased in March 1940 with

3564-645: The Soviet sphere. On 1 September 1939, Germany began its invasion of Poland , and two days later, the United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany. On 17 September, the Soviet invasion of Poland began. After the fall of Poland, Germany and the Soviet Union exchanged occupied Polish lands to establish a new border in accordance with the provisions of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were soon forced to accept treaties that allowed

3645-455: The Soviets demanded limited territorial concessions from Finland, and even offered land in return, which would not have made sense if full Sovietization was intended. And according to Kotkin, Stalin seemed to be genuinely interested in reaching an agreement during the negotiations: he had personally attended six of the seven meetings with the Finns, and had multiple times reduced his demands. However, mutual mistrust and misunderstandings would mar

3726-408: The Soviets did not trust Germany and that war was considered possible between the two countries. The Red Army would not wait passively behind the border but would rather "advance to meet the enemy". Finnish representatives assured Yartsev that Finland was committed to a policy of neutrality and that the country would resist any armed incursion. Yartsev suggested that Finland cede or lease some islands in

3807-488: The Soviets to establish military bases on their soil. Estonia accepted the ultimatum by signing the agreement on 28 September. Latvia and Lithuania followed in October. Unlike the three Baltic countries, Finland started a gradual mobilisation under the guise of "additional refresher training ". The Soviets had already started intensive mobilisation near the Finnish border in 1938–39. Assault troops thought to be necessary for

3888-615: The USSR for military purposes. On the next meeting on 23 October, Stalin conceded to lessen his demands: a reduction in the amount of land demanded in Karelia; a reduction of the Hanko garrison from 5000 to 4000 men; and reducing the length of lease from 30 years to whatever date the ongoing (second world) war in Europe would end. However, this sudden change, contrary to previous statements that Soviet demands were minimalist and thus unalterable, had surprised

3969-402: The attack illegal and expelled the Soviet Union from its organization. The Soviets made several demands, including that Finland cede substantial border territories in exchange for land elsewhere, claiming security reasons – primarily the protection of Leningrad , 32 km (20 mi) from the Finnish border. When Finland refused, the Soviets invaded. Most sources conclude that

4050-626: The chaos of the October Revolution of 1917 and the Russian Civil War almost two decades earlier. Soviet leaders believed that the old empire's extended borders provided territorial security and wanted Leningrad, only 32 km (20 mi) from the Finnish border, to enjoy a similar level of security against the rising power of Nazi Germany . In April 1938, NKVD agent Boris Yartsev contacted Finnish Foreign Minister Rudolf Holsti and Finnish Prime Minister Aimo Cajander , stating that

4131-501: The city is also a major trading center. Industry 's share of value added and jobs in Pirkanmaa is higher than the Finnish average. The region is one of Finland's main centers of manufacturing, has a long tradition of industrial activity and a good education network. The industry is largely concentrated in Tampere and its surroundings, such as towns of Nokia and Valkeakoski . Mänttä-Vilppula

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4212-406: The condition that he be allowed to implement Shaposhnikov's initial plan of a focused attack on the Karelian Isthmus to break the Mannerheim Line; it was accepted. In January 1940, the Leningrad Military District was reformed and renamed "North-Western Front". The Soviet forces were organised as follows: The Finnish strategy was dictated by geography. The 1,340 km (830 mi) border with

4293-451: The demands and the Soviet military build-up as a mere bluff on the part of Stalin, and were thus disinclined to reach an agreement. The Finns made two counteroffers to cede the Terijoki area to the Soviet Union. That would double the distance between Leningrad and the Finnish border but was far less than the Soviets had demanded. The Finns would also cede the islands in the Gulf of Finland, but they would not agree to lease any territory to

4374-439: The final meeting: the Soviets stopped responding to further Finnish letters and on 13 November, when the Finnish delegation was recalled from Moscow, no Soviet officials came to see them off. The Finns had left under the expectation that the negotiations would continue. Instead, the Soviet Union ramped up its military preparations. The negotiations had failed, as neither side was willing to substantially reduce their demands, nor

4455-416: The invasion did not begin deployment until October 1939. Operational plans made in September called for the invasion to start in November. On 5 October 1939, the Soviets invited a Finnish delegation to Moscow for negotiations. Juho Kusti Paasikivi , the Finnish envoy to Sweden, was sent to Moscow to represent the Finnish government Furthermore, the negotiations were attended by Stalin in person, signalling

4536-401: The national population share of Pirkanmaa was 10,1 per cent. In the 2010s, the number of Finnish-speakers has increased only in Uusimaa , Pirkanmaa and Northern Ostrobothnia , and slightly in Southwest Finland and Åland . The Swedish-speaking settlement settled in Finland in the Middle Ages did not extend to the area of present-day Pirkanmaa, so the number and share of Finno-Swedes in

4617-506: The negotiations, producing an impasse. Before the war, Soviet leadership had expected total victory within a few weeks. The Red Army had just completed the invasion of eastern Poland at a cost of fewer than 4,000 casualties after Germany attacked Poland from the west. Stalin's expectations of a quick Soviet triumph were backed up by politician Andrei Zhdanov and military strategist Kliment Voroshilov , but other generals were more reserved. Red Army Chief of Staff Boris Shaposhnikov advocated

4698-413: The occupation of Finland. However, Joseph Stalin was not pleased with the conservative pace that the operation required and demanded new plans be drawn up. With the new plans, the key deadline for Finland's capitulation was to be Stalin's 60th birthday on 21 December. Convinced of the invasion's forthcoming success, Andrei Zhdanov , chairman of the highest legislative body in the Soviet Union, commissioned

4779-452: The outbreak of war, but its reservists were equipped with warm civilian clothing. However, the sparsely-populated highly-agrarian Finland had to draft so many of its working men that the Finnish economy was massively strained because of a lack of workers. An even greater problem than lack of soldiers was the lack of materiel since foreign shipments of anti-tank weapons and aircraft were arriving only in small quantities. The ammunition situation

4860-439: The province is small. In 2018, about two thousand people spoke Swedish as their mother tongue in Pirkanmaa. In 2017, 27 people spoke Sámi as their mother tongue in Pirkanmaa. The second most spoken language in Pirkanmaa is Russian , in 2018 it was used by four thousand people as their mother tongue. The regional council is the main governing body for region and focuses primarily on urban planning. Like all regional councils, it

4941-411: The regime change plan to a Soviet ambassador that the new government "will not be Soviet, but one of a democratic republic. Nobody is going to set up Soviets over there, but we hope it will be a government we can come to terms with as to ensure the security of Leningrad". According to Russian historian Yuri Kilin , the Soviet terms encompassed the strongest fortified approaches of the Finnish defences for

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5022-505: The region was 18.3 billion € in 2016, accounting for 8.5% of Finnish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €36,040 or 92% of the EU27 average in the same year. Pirkanmaa's GDP was the second highest among the regions and the seventh highest among the nineteen regions per capita. The economic structure of Pirkanmaa typically focuses on services for post-industrial society. A nationally significant ICT concentration has grown in Tampere. Thanks to its population base,

5103-525: The second half of the 20th century, and old place names were reintroduced as municipalities merged. In 1994 Finland was divided into 20 functional economic provinces, and Pirkanmaa was one of them. The region of Pirkanmaa consists of 23 municipalities , 12 of which have city status (marked in bold). Tampere sub-region : North Western Pirkanmaa sub-region : Upper Pirkanmaa sub-region : Southern Pirkanmaa sub-region : South Western Pirkanmaa sub-region : The Gross domestic product (GDP) of

5184-448: The seriousness of the effort. Paasikivi would later recount his surprise over the friendly atmosphere in which the delegation was received, and mentioned the pleasant manners of Stalin towards them. The meetings began on 12 October, with Molotov's offer of a mutual assistance pact, which the Finns immediately refused. To the Finns' surprise, Molotov dropped the offer and instead proposed an exchange of territory. The offer stipulated that

5265-433: The shelling was a false flag operation since there were no artillery units there, and it was carried out from the Soviet side of the border by an NKVD unit with the purpose of providing the Soviets with a casus belli and a pretext to withdraw from the non-aggression pact. Soviet war games held in March 1938 and 1939 had been based on a scenario in which border incidents taking place at the village of Mainila would spark

5346-416: The signing of the Moscow Peace Treaty in which Finland ceded 9% of its territory to the Soviet Union. Soviet losses were heavy, and the country's international reputation suffered. Their gains exceeded their pre-war demands, and the Soviets received substantial territories along Lake Ladoga and further north. Finland retained its sovereignty and enhanced its international reputation. The poor performance of

5427-437: The success of German Blitzkrieg tactics , but they had been tailored to conditions in Central Europe , with its dense well-mapped network of paved roads. Armies fighting there had recognised supply and communications centres, which could be easily targeted by armoured vehicle regiments. Finnish Army centres, in contrast, were deep inside the country. There were no paved roads, and even gravel or dirt roads were scarce. Most of

5508-466: The terrain consisted of trackless forests and swamps. The war correspondent John Langdon-Davies observed the landscape: "Every acre of its surface was created to be the despair of an attacking military force". Waging Blitzkrieg in Finland was a highly-difficult proposition, and according to Trotter, the Red Army failed to meet the level of tactical co-ordination and local initiative that would be required to execute such tactics in Finland. Commander of

5589-400: The various parties and groups participating in the people's front of toilers. Soviet leaflets dropped over Helsinki on the first day of the war stated: "Finnish Comrades! We come to you not as conquerors, but as liberators of the Finnish people from the oppression of the capitalists and the landlords". In 1939, Soviet military leadership had formulated a realistic and comprehensive plan for

5670-415: The war. Molotov claimed that the incident was a Finnish artillery attack. He demanded that Finland apologise for the incident and to move its forces beyond a line 20–25 km (12–16 mi) from the border. Finland denied responsibility for the attack, rejected the demands and called for a joint Finnish–Soviet commission to examine the incident. In turn, the Soviet Union claimed that the Finnish response

5751-407: The water area in the Kokemäki River watershed is located in the Pirkanmaa region, although Lake Vanajavesi is partly in the Kanta-Häme region. The region got its name from Pirkkala , which in the Middle Ages comprised most of present-day Pirkanmaa. Tampere is the regional center and capital of Pirkanmaa, and at the same time the largest city in the region. The total population of Pirkanmaa

5832-595: Was 529,100 on 30 June 2022, which makes it the second largest among Finland's regions after Uusimaa . The population density is well over twice the Finnish average, and most of its population is largely concentrated in the Tampere metropolitan area . Pirkanmaa has been inhabited for thousands of years. In the Bronze Age , agriculture replaced hunting, and in the Iron Age a settlement stretched from Eurajoki to Längelmäki , which

5913-483: Was Finland's northernmost area of peasant culture from the 8th century. In the 11th century, the settlement was concentrated along River Kokemäenjoki and Lake Pyhäjärvi . In the 14th century, present-day Pirkanmaa was part of the historical Satakunta , the main part of which was Upper Satakunta and a small part of which was also Lower Satakunta . After the wilderness period, the absence of towns slowed down development. King Gustav III founded Tampere in 1775, and in

5994-492: Was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland . It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II , and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peace Treaty on 13 March 1940. Despite superior military strength, especially in tanks and aircraft, the Soviet Union suffered severe losses and initially made little headway. The League of Nations deemed

6075-430: Was alarming, as stockpiles had cartridges, shells and fuel to last only 19 to 60 days. The ammunition shortage meant the Finns could seldom afford counter-battery or saturation fire . Finnish tank forces were operationally nonexistent. The ammunition situation was alleviated somewhat since Finns were largely armed with Mosin–Nagant rifles dating from the Finnish Civil War, which used the same 7.62×54mmR cartridge that

6156-449: Was called Längelmä and it was a part of the Orivesi parish. In 1640, Längelmäki became a separate parish. The church was built in the village of Karvia, but Länkipohja , originally called Längelmäpohja , was a more significant village. The name Längelmä was still occasionally used for the parish until the 20th century. Kuorevesi was a part of Längelmäki until 1873. In 2007, Längelmäki

6237-494: Was divided between Orivesi and Jämsä. This Western Finland location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Pirkanmaa Pirkanmaa ( Finnish: [ˈpirkɑˌmːɑː] ; Swedish : Birkaland ; Latin: Birkaria ), also known as Tampere Region in government documents, is a region of Finland . It borders the regions of Satakunta , South Ostrobothnia , Central Finland , Päijät-Häme , Kanta-Häme and Southwest Finland . Most of

6318-426: Was either side able to fully trust the other. The Finns were fearful of an encroachment on their sovereignty, while the Soviets were (claiming to be) fearful of a springboard for international enemies in Finland, in close proximity to Leningrad. No promises to the contrary managed to persuade the other. Additionally, both sides had misunderstood the others position: the Finns had assumed that the Soviets had opened up on

6399-473: Was hostile, renounced the non-aggression pact and severed diplomatic relations with Finland on 28 November. In the following years, Soviet historiography described the incident as Finnish provocation. Doubt on the official Soviet version was cast only in the late 1980s, during the policy of glasnost . The issue has continued to divide Russian historiography even after the end of the Soviet Union in 1991. In 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated at

6480-424: Was much higher, however, since for example, 12 Soviet divisions were deployed north of Lake Ladoga. Finland had a large force of reservists, which was trained in regular maneuvers, some of which had experience from the recent Finnish Civil War. The soldiers were also almost universally trained in basic survival techniques, such as skiing. The Finnish Army was not able to equip all its soldiers with proper uniforms at

6561-460: Was needed to approve and ratify military decisions, which they evaluated based on their political merits. The dual system further complicated the Soviet chain of command and annulled the independence of commanding officers. After the Soviet success at the Battles of Khalkhin Gol against Japan, on the USSR's eastern border, Soviet High Command had divided into two factions. One side was represented by

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