Davids vs Goliaths part I: The Winter War

When little Finland absolutely pwned the Soviet Union

Simo Häyhä lay in the snow at -40°C. A farmer from southern Finland, he’d killed somewhere north of 500 Soviet soldiers with his iron-sighted rifle. No scope. No fancy equipment. Just patience, white camouflage and an intimate knowledge of frozen wilderness survival. The Soviets called him “White Death.” He preferred to stay quiet and let his rifle do the talking.

Häyhä wasn’t alone. In the winter of 1939-1940, an entire nation of farmers, hunters, and reservists was about to give Joseph Stalin the most embarrassing military lesson of his career.

Welcome to our next big series!

Islands of Blood is finished. It took two and half years to explore the island battles of the Pacific War. Now, we’re moving on to the next series: Davids vs Goliaths. This time we’ll be exploring when smaller nations or armies defeated much larger opponents. And to kick off the series we’re looking at one of the most definitive modern David vs Goliath stories around: the 1939-1940 Winter War between the giant USSR and little Finland.