Kuhmo in the Winter War

The Winter War was a Russo - Finnish war fought in the winter of 1939 and 1940. This documentary is a first-hand account of the battles in Kuhmo, northern Finland, written by the commander of the troops, General Siilasvuo. His book was published in 1944 and it provides a viewpoint both to tactical maneuvering of the troops and to fates of individual men.

This application contains a translation of Siilasvuo's book both as text and as AI generated audio. Maps are overlaid on an active map, making it easier to track locations on-site.

Images are included both from the original book and Finnish military archives, SA-kuva. Some fallen soldiers can be seen on the images, but the pictures from the time avoid gore.

Weather and other information has been translated from war diaries. Complete diaries can be found on-line from Finnish National Archive.

In the Winter War the weather played a role - frozen gun bolts and troops freezing to death.