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WWII History
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WWII History
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These pages are devoted to serious historical study of the Second World War and are dedicated to the memory of all those persons, regardless of race, creed or colour, who died in that conflict.
The position of Finland in WWII is somewhat unusual. Attacked by the Soviet Union in 1939, she fought the Winter War with some slight assistance from Britain, France, and other European countries except Germany. From 1941 to 44, Finland fought the Continuation War against the Soviet Union, this time as an ally – or "co-belligerent", as the Finns prefer to put it – of Germany, and nominally opposed by the other Allies. In 1944, Finland made peace with the Soviet Union and then – now with some Allied help – fought the Lapland War to get the Germans, who were still fighting the Soviets, out of northern Finland. Very little has been written in English about the various Finnish campaigns. These pages are an attempt to remedy this situation.
During the various Finnish wars with the Soviet Union, Pentti Parvio was a boy scout runner in the Air Defence organisation. While the air battles over Helsinki – in which his own home was bombed and his father killed – were still taking place, Parvio began collecting memorabilia and relics of the anti-aircraft defences. After the War, Parvio built his collection into one of the finest privately owned field artillery and AAA museums in the world. The collection is not open to the public but an extensive set of images is available on CD-ROM; a selection is offered here.
The battle for Bengtskär, a small but strategically important island in the Gulf of Finland, was fought in 1941 between Finnish and Soviet troops. Sometimes described as Finland's Alamo, the battle gave a huge boost to Finnish morale and marked the beginning of the end of the Soviet occupation of the Hanko peninsula. Here, for the first time, we present the full story in English.
This page provides links to some other sites covering Finland and the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) during and immediately after the Second World War.
These pages show "Then and Now" pictures of people who fought in WWII, together with a brief - and sometimes not so brief - biography. (Last updated 01.04.26)
There are many historians active in discussing WWII on the Web. These range from highly respected professionals, through semi-professional (who make only a part of their living from history), to keen - and knowledgeable - amateurs. Here we offer a directory of some of those persons, giving their interests and personal details. (Last updated 00.06.16)
Unless otherwise attributed, all text and images on these pages are copyright © of Rose & Laurel as a subsidiary of ility Engineering.
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