Perhaps to make WW2 less strange, think of alliances as British/Russian group vs. French/German group with US participating at the end on the British/Russian side.
The Finns were German allies throughout. The pre-war Germans were supplied by Nordic steel while during the war they were supplied by French wheat.
The British/Russians were supplied by US tech, food, and arms
No they were not as Germany had very much agree not to get involved as the Soviets beat up the Finns. Despite popular opinion on Germany very much wanting to do so.
> Perhaps to make WW2 less strange, think of alliances as British/Russian group
Yeah but the Brits were about to launch an attack on Russia in late 1939. In total all the events between 1936 and 1947 are quite the diplomatic clusterfuck.
It took until 2018 for the swastika to be removed from the Finnish air force logo.
As for the British invading USSR, this could not be a serious consideration since the British military strength is mostly navy and air force but no ground troops.
The British planned on bombing Baku, the principle oil fields that was vital for Soviet economy. And the planned on sending troupes to Finland.
Finland has to take friends where they could find them. They used Germany to get back their land but only supported them as far as they needed to. The Fins could have done way more, and Germany was constantly pissed that they couldn't convince them to do more.
Mannerheim dealt with Hitler as a statement mostly. The recording doesn't prove they were friends. Its a discussion about military that does not sound that different from many other such meeting between Stalin and Allied officials.
There were German-minded Finns, also in government (eg interior minister 1941-1943 Horelli) but president from 1940, Ryti, was an Anglophile, and Mannerheim was cosmopolitan, a veteran officer of the Tsar's army, and had long considered St. Petersburg his home city. He had a hard time not showing how he disliked Hitler. Diplomacy with co-belligerents - and opponents - is then another matter.
And the swastika was, of course, the Finnish Air Force logo already in 1918 when Hitler was still in trenches on the Western front and no one knew anything of Nazis.
"Very close" is still rubbish. As that article of the recording says, "Mannerheim did not wish to greet Hitler at his headquarters, as it would have appeared like a state visit." But they of course did have a discussion about the war with a common enemy.
Finns and Germans definitely were not allies in 1939-1940: Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was in force, and when Soviets attacked Finland, Germany acted on its part and blockaded the Baltic Sea so that any aid from Western allies to Finland would have had to come through Sweden and/or Norway. That was a no-go.
I am not trolling. But I agree with you that I was wrong in saying that the Finns were German allies throughout. They were not allies from 1939-1940 and started to be German allies in 1941.
The Finns were German allies throughout. The pre-war Germans were supplied by Nordic steel while during the war they were supplied by French wheat.
The British/Russians were supplied by US tech, food, and arms