In the years preceding the Great
Patriotic war, the Soviets found themselves engaged in a number of
small conflicts at their borders. The first was a far off border
dispute with the Japanese. It was a small, but bloody struggle that
convinced the Japanese expansionists to look to the south instead of
to Russia. That conflict was followed by the invasion of Poland,
which was undertaken as part of the Stalin-Ribbentrop non-aggression
pact. It resulted in the partition of Poland between the two sides.
Bolstered by these successes, the Soviet government threatened the
nation of Finland. When threats ceased to produce results the war
began. Unlike the previous two conflicts of this era, the Winter War
was to become a nightmarish experience for the Red Army. The Red Army
encountered fierce resistance and lost many men. A renewed offensive
with more soldiers later crushed Finnish defenses, but the victory
gained at a very high price.
