Fighting the Russians in Winter: Three Case Studies

This study recounts three winter campaigns that the Red Army fought during the first quarter century of its existence. In the earliest case, 1918-19, neither the Russians nor their Allied enemies were properly trained or equipped for combat in deep snow and temperatures as low as –40°, and both sides paid heavy penalties for their unpreparedness. Because the defender enjoys great advantages in winter warfare, the Russians paid a higher price, for they undertook more offensive operations. This campaign is also noteworthy because about 5,000 Americans were involved in combat in northern Russia with the new Red Army.

During the initial fighting in Finland in 1939-40, the Red Army, although enjoying great superiority in numbers and firepower, was hopelessly unprepared for that sub arctic environment. In contrast, its Finnish opponents, who were superbly trained and equipped for winter warfare, inflicted severe and humiliating losses on the Russian invaders. The most spectacular of those debacles was the destruction of the Soviet 44th Motorized Rifle Division.

The final section deals with the monumental problems the German Army encountered in Russia during the winter of 1941-42. In this conflict the Russians were far better prepared to cope with nature's perils than were their antagonists, who suffered about 250,000 frostbite casualties during that first terrible winter on the Russian front.

All three case studies illustrate certain common lessons and the need for thorough preparations, specialized training, and appropriate equipment for any winter operations in an environment similar to that of European Russia. They also present dramatic proof of the cost of ignoring those lessons.

• Introduction

   

• Chapter 1: Selected Examples and Lessons from the Undeclared Allied-Soviet War in Northern Russia During the Winter of 1918-19

• Chapter 2: The Destruction of the Soviet 44th Motorized Rifle Division

• Chapter 3: Pertinent Aspects of Nazi-Soviet Warfare During the Winter of 1941-42

• Chapter 4: Conclusion

• Notes

• 57 pages

• 7 photos

• 7 maps