This release sees the introduction of a raft of models to bring Finland into the fray!
The completely new models are detailed below and as always for a new army, there is a platoon bundle as well. This features a range of infantry, mortar and anti-tank support, and a BA-6 armoured car! This is available at a very reasonable discounted price and free UK shipping. This is the seventh of our platoon bundles, in addition to the Japanese, Italian, British, German, Soviet and Eighth Army platoons already released.
As always, here’s a little background on the various new units…..
Officer team
As the Finnish Civil War of 1918 was barely 20 years before the start of WWII, many Finnish officers were veterans and brought this experience into the new conflict. The Winter War quickly brought new officers up to standard as learned from the veterans, and by the time of the Continuation War many officers had served in two wars and were more than competent.
Forward Observer team
Though not as large or numerous as those of other armies, the Finns could call in both artillery and air support. Finnish forward observers were adept at pinpointing the enemy in snow covered terrain and calling down thunderous artillery barrages and devastating airstrikes on enemy positions.
Medic team
As with all armies, the Finns made good use of medics, though due to the Soviets lack of distinction between medics and regular soldiers, Finnish medics were more likely to be armed than others!
The extensive snow encountered during the Winter War meant that often vehicles were unable to reach areas with injured troops and often medics would bring troops to aid stations by sledge, either pulled by fellow soldiers or drawn by reindeer or horses.
Infantry squad
The infantry squad was the backbone of the Finnish army, and as with the officers a number of soldiers had already served during the 1928 Finnish Civil War and were able to spread their experience to the newer recruits. Equipped with excellent rifles, the Finnish Lahti-Salorata M/26 was less well received as it was prone to jams, heavy and awkward to keep clean. However, it was exceptionally accurate and when maintained correctly, very reliable.
As they encountered Soviet vehicles, many Finnish soldiers were also equipped with improvised anti-tank measures in the form of Molotov cocktails.
By the time of the Continuation War, the equipment of the squads had improved, and in addition to German grenades, they were also equipped with Panzerfausts to deal with Soviet armour.
Jakaari squad
These specialist units were experienced and incredibly fit handpicked soldiers. Jakaari squads were exceptionally mobile due to the use of skis and bicycles, and often were used for scouting and counterstrike missions.
Flamethrower team
Though not developed natively, the Finns used a number of flamethrowers, usually the Italian Lanciafiamme Spalleggiabile 35 or captured Soviet ROKS-2 units.
AT rifle team
The Finns made use of both the imported Boys AT rifle and the native Lahti L-39. The Boys rifle was a 0.55” round capable of penetrating 23mm of armour at 100 yards, and the L-39 had a 20mm round capable of 30mm penetration at 100 yards.
This model is depicted with a Boys rifle, which was the smaller and lighter of the two. Both were also used in a counter-sniper role, where a mannequin was posed as an officer and the once a Soviet sniper revealed themselves by taking a shot, the AT rifleman would attempt to shoot the sniper.
Sniper team
Finnish snipers were the terror of the Soviet army during the Winter War, with snipers such as Simo Hayha counting hundreds of kills. The purpose built M28-30 rifle was an excellent high quality rifle, though many snipers ignored the scope and would instead shoot over iron sights.
Panzerschreck team
Finnish troops were issued with the Panzerschreck in 1944, though it was given the Finnish name of “Pansserarikauhu” – a direct translation of “Tank Terror”. It was a reloadable shoulder fired anti-tank weapon and a development of the one-shot Panzerfausts. Within its most effective range (50-60m) the hollow charge warhead could penetrate up to 160mm of armour – higher than the frontal armour of a Churchill VII.
81mm mortar team
The 81mm mortar was an exceptionally common support weapon during WWII. As the Finns imported a lot of their equipment from other countries, their inventory listed French, Swedish, Polish, Finnish and even German and Soviet examples simply as “mortar, 81mm”.
Generally the range was around 2500-3000m, with an HE round weighing about 3-3.5kg. Medium mortars were popular with the Finnish army, and were the standard infantry support choice with nearly 1000 being available. They were even capable of knocking out Soviet tanks!
Medium machine gun team
The Finnish army made extensive use of medium machine guns, often captured Soviet Maxim and DP-27 models, sometimes dating back to the FInnish Civil War.
45mm Anti-tank gun
The M1937 45mm anti-gun gun (also known as 53-K or Sorokapyatka) was a small quick firing Soviet AT gun of the 1930s. While relatively successful initially, it quickly became obsolete when facing new German armour such as the improved PzIII and PzIV tanks.
A number of these were captured by the Finns and put back into action against their former owners.
BA-6 armoured car
The BA-6 was a Soviet heavy armoured car introduced in 1936. Built on a 6×4 chassis of the GAZ-AAA, the BA-6 was thinly armoured but well equipped with a 45mm AT gun capable of destroying many contemporary armoured vehicles.
BA-6s were used in the Spanish Civil War, on the Eastern Front and even in the Far East. Their use in the Winter War also saw them captured by the Finns and put back into service against the Red Army under a new designation of BAF B.
BT-7 tank
The BT-7 was a Soviet cavalry tank of the 1930’s. Due to the Christie suspension and a decent engine, and a range of guns, the BT-7 was a mobile and well armed tank even if it was lightly armoured.
The last of the BT series, it was replaced in 1940 by the T-34, though it saw use throughout the war with the Red Army, as well as others including Finland and Romania.
The Finns also converted 18 of these into the BT-42 assault gun in 1942.
Reindeer team
Due to the great expanses of snow covered country they had to cross, the Finnish army made extensive use of reindeer. They were used as pack animals, to tow guns and to move sledges and cars of supplies and wounded men.
While not quite as hardy as horses for these tasks, they were much better suited to the harsh winter terrain and conditions and so proved more than up to the job.
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Hopefully you found this bit of background history interesting and our models will soon be defending the Karelian isthmus from Soviet advances!