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Finland's War of Choice: The Troubled German-Finnish Coalition in World War II by [Henrik O. Lunde]

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Henrik O. Lunde

Finland's War of Choice: The Troubled German-Finnish Coalition in World War II Kindle Edition

by Henrik O. Lunde (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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A selection of the Military Book Club: “A solid operational analysis” from “an established scholar of the Scandinavian theater” (Publishers Weekly).

This book describes the odd coalition between Germany and Finland in World War II and their joint military operations from 1941 to 1945. In stark contrast to the numerous books on the shorter and less bloody Winter War, which represented a gallant fight of a democratic “David” against a totalitarian “Goliath” and caught the imagination of the world, the story of Finland fighting alongside a Goliath of its own has not brought pride to that nation and was a period many Finns would rather forget.

A prologue brings the reader up to speed by briefly examining the difficult history of Finland, from its separation from the Soviet Union in 1917 to its isolation after being bludgeoned in 1939–40. It then examines both Finnish and German motives for forming a coalition against the USSR, and how—as logical as a common enemy would seem—the lack of true planning and preparation would doom the alliance.

In this book, Henrik Lunde, a former US Special Operations colonel and author of Hitler’s Pre-emptive War: The Battle for Norway, 1940, once again fills a profound gap in our understanding of World War II.

Print length

499 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Casemate
Publication date

22 February 2011
File size

5390 KB
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Product description

About the Author

Henrik Lunde, US Army (ret.) was born in Norway and came to the United States as a child following World War II. After graduating from the University of California he accepted a US Army commission, and in addition to earning a degree in international relations from the University of Syracuse, he is a graduate of the Army's Airborne, Ranger, and Pathfinder courses as well as the Command and General Staff College and the US Army War College. Much of Colonel Lunde's troop assignments were in airborne divisions or in Special Forces. Highly decorated on the battlefield, he served three combat tours in Vietnam, and afterward in the Plans and Policy Branch of Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. His last Army assignment was Director of National and International Security Studies at the US Army War College. Lunde currently lives in Florida. --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

Review

"... a well written, well researched book. It should be part of any World War II students library and is must reading for any student of 20th century European history. It is well done."-- "Kepler's Military History"

"...a fascinating book...rises above just being a basic history of what was in reality a strategic backwater ..."-- "Wargamer"

"...a highly detailed operational history ...a fascinating look at the Continuation War and Finland's alliance with the Third Reich."-- "Kunikov's Reviews"

"...a very interesting and well-written account."-- "Windscreen, Winter 2011"

"...enormously informative...certainly one for the military and political historian and a serious work of scholarship-- "Military Modelcraft International"

"...excellent coverage of otherwise obscure operations near and even above the arctic circle, with word portraits of many commanders and a good many desperate fights, culminating in the brief Finno - German War after the collapse of the alliance. A valuable read for anyone interested in WWII in Europe."-- "The NYMAS Review"

"...likely to be the best book on the diplomatic and military aspects of the conflict published in English for many years...Finland's War of Choice receives a very high recommendation, and it looks like a strong candidate to be named as one of the best new books of the year."-- "Stone & Stone Second World War Books"

"...likely to be the definitive book on the subject for years to come."-- "MiniatureWargaming.Com"

"...offers a solid operational analysis....successfully demonstrates that dining with the Nazi devil required a longer spoon that Finland possessed.-- "Publisher's Weekly"

"...still a touchy subject, Finland was a democratic state allied with the Axis. The subject is tackled frankly and well from political views on all sides...a good read..."-- "Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy"

"...we are used to books that highlight the strains within the Allied Coalition during the war, but Lunde makes clear things were much worse on the other side...Like the author's previous work on the Norwegian campaign, this is likely to become the definitive book on the subject..."-- "Miniature Wargames"

"An under-examined corner of the Eastern Front: united only by their shared Soviet enemy, this coalition's lack of planning and ill-defined objectives meant the Germans stranded an army and the Finns sued for a separate peace."-- "World War II"

"The German-Finnish alliance is a bit of a historical curiosity. Only one democratic country--Finland--allied itself with Nazi Germany. . . . Lunde argues that the alliance really was quite strange and in ways that mattered. . . . The theory, in other words, is that a well-managed alliance between Finland and Germany could have produced victory on the Eastern Front. It's a fascinating argument . . ."-- "Think Progress"

"This is a fascinating look at an important but little known area of fighting during the Second World War. Lunde has produced an excellent history of the crucial fighting in the north, the often confused political and diplomatic background and the troubled relationship between the Finns and their German allies.-- "History of War"

"This was a fascinating book, and even for a non-historian, will serve to enlighten the reader about an era of history that can be very confusing. It describes people realistically, and does not create a "good guy-bad guy" situation, although this is quite an achievement, considering some of the people involved, especially on the Soviet and German sides. This is definitely a "must-read" for anyone interested in World War II in Europe. Don't miss out on it, as it is very reasonably priced, and well produced. Highly recommended"-- "IPMS/USA"

"...a real must for English-only readers interested of Nordic WWII history."--Lars Gyllenhaal --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B004K1ETK2
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Casemate; Illustrated edition (22 February 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 5390 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 499 pages

Best Sellers Rank: 127,080 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 1 in History of Switzerland
- 9 in History of Finland
- 26 in Scandinavian History (Kindle Store)

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3 star		15%
2 star		3%
1 star		4%

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Top review from Australia

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Diver Dan

Finland again in the news, with intention to join NATO.

Reviewed in Australia on 28 May 2022

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Important to know this history in current times. Finland is again in the news with its desire to engage with NATO. Read this book and you will learn the importance this issue is in historic terms.

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P. J. Connolly

An Unknown Conflict

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 September 2014

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Few people are aware that Finland and Russia fought a war in 1939/40 and fewer still that they were at war again between 1941 and 1944. There was much sympathy in the West for the Finns and their doughty resistance when the Soviets launched their invasion in 1939 and plans were afoot for an allied expeditionary force to go to Finland when the Finns had to seek an armistice. Smarting from the terms that followed the Finns were susceptible to German pressure to attack the Russians once the German invasion had been launched. Once the Finns had achieved their goals they basically sat on their hands and did little more, much to the irritation of the Germans.
It is just as well because it is one of the great ifs of history as to what might have happened if Hitler had placed more emphasis on the Northern front and the Finns had collaborated in the capture of Leningrad and the cutting of the rail links to Murmansk and Archangel. That might have had far more consequence for the outcome of the war than the 1942 attacks in the South of Russia which led inexorably to Stalingrad.
The Finns were truly caught between the two evils of Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia and it is something of a miracle that they ended up escaping with their independence, albeit circumscribed and with loss of territory.
It is an interesting story well told in this book which covers the military and political developments over this period. The book is clear and well written although I think it would have benefited from better quality maps.

12 people found this helpful

FG

Military diary; maps not good enough.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 December 2015

Verified Purchase

Several extensive reviews have been written about this book. I found two aspects annoying. One is that much of the text reads like a military log or diary of unit movements. Page 325 gives the flavour, the phrase '20th Mountain Army' occurs seven times in three paragraphs. Abbreviations to 'it' for example might have made this piece of text - and often elsewhere - more readable. Two, there is an absence (I thought) of the Finnish home front context and the pressures bearing on the politicians throughout this period. As with most books I have come cross about this war and the previous Winter War, the maps are not up to scratch. Each chapter would have benefited from a strategic overview of what was going to happen or had just happened. Heavy going without this.

6 people found this helpful

Ron

Good story on a less well known subject

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 April 2014

Verified Purchase

I knew very little about the Finish view of World War 2 so it was a very interesting read to understand that area of operations. It was good on over all tactics and the political situation. Its was not down to the actual units of combat (esp the Finns) too often. That said it still was a very good book if you want an overview of the Finnish side of World War 2.

2 people found this helpful

Alex GM. Bell

Interesting spotlight on a little-known (to us at any rate) ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 November 2015

Verified Purchase

Interesting spotlight on a little-known (to us at any rate) part of WW2. Have knocked offthe 5th star because their's a bit too much Military detail, for my liking, regarding names of Divisions/Regiments etc.

One person found this helpful

Martyn Burns

The level of detail charting the countries relationship is excellent and once war is enjoined I was taken into ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 July 2016

Verified Purchase

The level of detail charting the countries relationship is excellent and once war is enjoined I was taken into the minds of the commanders in the most wonderful way. Rich in detail but never dry this is a great book on a theatre of World War 2 that is often overlooked.

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Finland's War of Choice: The Troubled German-Finnish Coalition in World War II Kindle Edition

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Henrik O. Lunde

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