The 105 days of battle of the Winter War ended on 13 March 1940 in a peace treaty signed in Moscow the previous night.
On most fronts, peace had come just in the nick of time. Now the heavy price of this peace was just starting to dawn on the exhausted Finnish population. Bitterness and resentment would remain.
One Soviet soldier asked a comrade with Finnish roots: ‘Tell me honestly, what kind of a character do the Finns possess? … They say the Finns are mean.’ His comrade replied: ‘They are not mean, they just really hold a grudge. They remember who has done them harm in the past. God forgives, the Finns do not.’
This statement would prove to be somewhat prophetic, as less that a year later the two nations would again find themselves at war.
A Finnish ski patrol passing a Soviet OT-130 flamethrower tank at Ruhtinaanmäki on 21 January 1940.
••••••••
Talvisodan 105 päivää kestäneet taistelut päättyivät 13.3.1940 edellisenä yönä Moskovassa solmittuun rauhansopimukseen.
Useimmilla rintamilla rauha tuli aivan viime tingassa. Nyt rauhan raskas hinta alkoi sarastaa uupuneissa suomalaisissa. Katkeruus ja kauna jäivät.
Eräs puna-armeijan sotilas kysyi suomalaisjuuria omaavalta toveriltaan: "Kerropa, millainen on suomalaisten luonne?… Sanotaan että suomalaiset ovat häijyjä." Toveri vastasi: "Eivät he ole häijyjä, he vain kantavat totisesti kaunaa. He muistavat, ketkä aiemmin ovat heitä rikkoneet. Jumala antaa anteeksi, suomalaiset eivät."
Toteamus osoittautui jokseenkin profeetalliseksi, sillä runsaassa vuodessa maat olivat jälleen sodassa keskenään.
Suomalainen hiihtopartio ohittaa OT-130 liekinheitinpanssarivaunun Ruhtinaanmäellä 21. tammikuuta 1940.
••••••••
[ sa-kuva | 3498 | Finland at War/Talvisota 1939-1940 | Talvisota väreissä ]
UNIT PROFILE– 761ST TANK BATTALION (COLORED) BLACK HISTORY MONTH Of the three armor battalions composed of Black soldiers in the segregated U.S. Army of World War II, the 761st "Black Panther" Tank Battalion is arguably the best known. Constituted on 15 March 1942 in the Army of the United States and activated on 1 April 1942 at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, it was initially equipped with the M5 Stuart tank but transitioned to the M4 Sherman when the Army began fielding that system to the non-divisional armor units. After the battalion completed training in the United States - which included serving as the "aggressor" force against the student units of the tank destroyer school and participation in a phase of the Louisiana Maneuvers, the 761st was deemed "combat ready" and shipped overseas to the European Theater of Operations. Following a short stay in England, the battalion arrived in France on 10 October 1944, and was assigned to the Third Army commanded by the legendary proponent of armored warfare, Lieutenant General George S. Patton Jr. As a separate tank battalion, the 761st was attached to Infantry divisions - which had no organic armor units - for combat operations. As such, the "Black Panthers" entered combat for the first time on 7 November 1944. In 183 days of combat operations while attached to the all-white 26th, 71st, 79th, 87th, 95th and 103d Infantry Divisions, the 761st participated in the Allied drive through France, Patton’s relief of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, and the breaching of the Siegfried Line. By the end of the war the Black Panthers had made it all the way to Austria (where they liberated the Gunskirchen concentration camp); the 761st was inactivated on 1 June 1946 in Germany. During WWII, the Black Panthers earned a Medal of Honor, a Presidential Unit Citation, 11 Silver Stars, 69 Bronze Stars, 296 Purple Hearts, and four campaign streamers (Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe). #Armyhistory #USArmy #TRADOC #WWII #WW2 #WW2History #Patton #Bastogne #BlackPanther #ShermanTank #BlackHistoryMonth #ArmyHeritage U.S. Army U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. #repostedfrom @armyhistory (at Columbia, Tennessee) https://www.instagram.com/p/CohszLPuF7Z/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
The ATLANTIKWALL in Raversyde is one of the best-preserved remains of the German defensive line during the First World War. Thanks to its exceptional preservation, for decades the ATLANTIKWALL was carefully walled in and today it is the only intact original wall from the 1914-1918 world war that can be found in an urban environment.
A well-constructed fortificationAdvantage: Makes for a stronger defensive line Fortifications have numbered names like the Neuwerk, Seydlitz and Wotan; German language students can locate and research fortresses
British MKIII Valentine tanks make their way through a town in Tunisia - April 1943. More than 8000 Valentine tanks were produced and used mainly in the North Africa Campaign proving to be both strong and reliable
The Finnish Border Guard celebrates its 105th anniversary today.
Colonel A. Pennanen, October 26, 1941.
Antti Pennanen (1903-1989) served as the commander of Detachment Pennanen in Petsamo during the Winter War. In the Continuation War, he was responsible for the same area as the commander of the so-called Men of Lutto of the Separate Detachment Petsamo (Er.Os.P). In the Lapland War, Pennanen and his men saved, among other things, the nationally important industrial facilities in Kemi.
After the wars, Pennanen served as the commander of the Lapland Border Guard and later as the chief of the Border Guards, rising to the rank of lieutenant general.
••••••••
Rajavartiolaitos viettää tänään 105. vuosipäiväänsä.
Eversti A.Pennanen, 26.10.1941.
Antti Pennanen (1903-1989) toimi talvisodassa Petsamossa osasto Pennasen komentajana. Jatkosodassa Pennanen oli vastuussa samalla alueella Petsamon erillisosaston ns. Luton Miesten komentajana. Lapin sodassa Pennanen miehineen pelasti muun muassa Kemin valtakunnallisesti tärkeät teollisuuslaitokset.
Sotien jälkeen Pennanen toimi Lapin rajavartioston komentajana ja myöhemmin rajavartiostojen päällikkönä kohoten kenraaliluutnantiksi asti.
••••••••
[ sa-kuva | 61348 | H. Roivainen ]
-A system of bunkers, tunnels, and pillboxes-Was built in stages beginning in 1940 and concluded in 1944-Covers an area approx 100 kilometers along the French Atlantic coast-Continues through the Forest of Dego
Potentially design a marketing campaign that includes an in-depth history on the WW2 Gun Battery and a call to action to visit the site and learn more, then design a graphic that entices visitors to take a screenshot, share the story and tag it with #historydiscovered