Fighting Finns - the good way!

I'm really enjoying reading about the Flames of War tabletop miniatures war game system. I never got into modelling to play war games, but if you are at all interested in military history and making models you can't help but be inquisitive about this aspect of scale model making. FoW is very handy as it gives people like myself interesting ideas for model subjects, highlighting military themes which aren't usually covered in mainstream histories and documentaries.

Take the role of Finland for example. I have already mentioned my interest in this near forgotten theatre of World War 2 and have already started a few models to represent this theme. However, as I also indicated, I am a bit uncomfortable dealing with a faction that allied themselves to the Nazis - whether their motives be self-preservation or not (luckily Britain never had to make such decisions).

Well, while trawling through the very entertaining Flames of War web site I came across a wonderful article on the 1944 Finnish campaigns which begins with a briefing called 'Jatkosota 1944', covering the final conflict between Finns and Soviets. But, if you read to the end of this article you reach an appendage - or epilog - describing what happened after this campaign ended, when Finland came back into the 'allied' fold and took on the Nazi forces in Lapland.

Jatkosota 1944: Finland at War in 1944 - Part Three: Lapin sota – the Campaign against Germany By Scott Elaurant and Jyrki Saari gives a short overview of operations conducted by the Finns against German troops who remained in their territories following the armistice between Finland and the Soviet Union.

Right: German withdrawal from Finland in 1944 (picture sources in this post are Wikipedia)

Playing out a game senario, or indeed modelling subjects, based on this campaign certainly takes the curse off any reservations one might have about playing the 'baddies'. FoW provides a lovely free PDF intelligence briefing design to help the war gamer to build a Finnish force from this period which I found very interesting and helpful for planning kit builds based on the subject.

Related Links: 

> Jatkosota 1944: Finland at War in 1944 - Part Three: Lapin sota – the Campaign against Germany By Scott Elaurant and Jyrki Saari 

> Jatkosota 1944: Finland at War in 1944 By Scott Elaurant and Jyrki Saari

> Lapinsota: Official PDF Briefing (Lapland Campaign 1944)