Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Finland's War Of Choice: The Troubled German-Finnish Coalition in World War II” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

Finland's War Of Choice: The Troubled German-Finnish Coalition in World War II

Henrik O. Lunde

3.56 · Rating details · 272 ratings · 38 reviews

This book describes the odd coalition between Germany and Finland in World War II, and their joint military operations from 1941 to 1945. This is a topic often missing in English, though in stark contrast to the numerous books on the shorter and less bloody Winter War. That conflict represented a gallant fight of a democratic "David" against a totalitarian "Goliath" that c ...more

Get A Copy

Hardcover, First Edition, 432 pages

Published March 19th 2011 by Casemate (first published September 1st 2008)

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Finland's War Of Choice, please sign up.

Be the first to ask a question about Finland's War Of Choice

Lists with This Book

Best Non-fiction War Books

1,833 books — 2,198 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 3.56 ·

Rating details

· 272 ratings · 38 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of Finland's War Of Choice: The Troubled German-Finnish Coalition in World War II

Sep 29, 2015 Dimitri rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: one-star-two-star

The Barbarossa Directive of 18 December 1940 already assigned the Fins their old territory around Lake Ladoga & Hanko to tie down the Russians while they pushed towards the Murmansk railroad.
Suffice it to say Finland got back what it wanted by autumn '41, more or less poised along its 1939 borders and on a line between the Gulf and the White Sea, far enough from Leningrad not to piss off the Russians even more.

Consequently, the German commanders could lead a horse to water, but not a Finnish c ...more

flag 35 likes · Like · see review

Mar 30, 2017 Charles van Buren rated it it was ok

"Finland would be swept from the map of history forever."

This review is from: Finland's War of Choice: The Troubled German-Finnish Coalition in World War II (Kindle Edition)

For all practical purposes Finland was already at war, but Finland did have choices. All bad. The wrong choices would lead to the destruction of Finland as a nation. Perhaps as a people (see Stalin's resettlement programs). Try looking at those choices through the eyes of the Finnish people and leaders in 1939,1940 and 1941. "Finland would be swept from the map of history forever."

This review is from: Finland's War of Choice: The Troubled German-Finnish Coalition in World War II (Kindle Edition)

For all practical purposes Finland was already at war, but Finland did have choices. All bad. The wrong choices would lead to the destruction of Finland as a nation. Perhaps as a people (see Stalin's resettlement programs). Try looking at those choices through the eyes of the Finnish people and leaders in 1939,1940 and 1941. They were living a nightmare that Americans never faced and have difficulty understanding.

The Finns tried desperately to make defensive alliances with Sweden and other Scandinavian countries only to be rebuffed by all. Sweden's behavior before and during the war seems to have been governed first by a left leaning government which was in sympathy with the Soviets, then by a government which cooperated with Nazi Germany. Finland was alone.

After the Finnish government joined Germany as a cobelligerent, not an ally, Marshal Mannerheim explained to one of his confidants that he would not allow the Finns to participate in capturing Leningrad because the "Russians would never forgive us and Finland would be swept from the map of history forever"*. From his point of view he had to "win", but he couldn't win too big. For those like Lunde who would second guess the choices and decisions, there is one question. What possible, realistic ending position could the Finns have achieved that would have been better than the one they managed to reach? Particularly in view of the American abandonment of Eastern Europe after WW2 to the not so tender mercies of Stalin.

Other reviewers have already noted Lunde's dearth of Finnish sources, his heavy reliance on German material and his inability to read Finnish, Russian and, apparently, German. He seems to have relied on sources available in English.

Just for the record, Mannerheim was not just anti-Nazi, he wasn't exactly pro-German either. After all, before he again become a Finn, he was an Imperial Russian general. His goal was not German victory but the preservation of Finland. The author seems to believe that the goal was or should have been total victory. The accomplishment of which may have, in the long run, been worse for Finland than was Germany's total defeat. ...more

flag 19 likes · Like · see review

Jul 07, 2011 Lisa rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, history

I consider this book flawed at best- it is a real handicap to not be able to work with primary sources, yet Mr. Lunde starts the book by stating up front that he does not read Finnish with any fluency, strongly implies that he does not read Russian (he states his use of Russian sources is limited to those that have been translated into English), and then mentions later in the book that he does not read German. In other words, he is working with secondary sources at best, as he must rely on sourc I consider this book flawed at best- it is a real handicap to not be able to work with primary sources, yet Mr. Lunde starts the book by stating up front that he does not read Finnish with any fluency, strongly implies that he does not read Russian (he states his use of Russian sources is limited to those that have been translated into English), and then mentions later in the book that he does not read German. In other words, he is working with secondary sources at best, as he must rely on sources that have been translated into English.

Lunde's attitude toward Finland is judgmental throughout, as if they must be condemned and upbraided for getting in bed with the Nazis when they were making what appeared to be the best of bad choices regarding their own self-interest. Finland's primary goal was to retain their independence, which they ultimately succeeded in doing. Finland is aware, in retrospect and most probably also at the time, that Nazi Germany was hardly an ideal ally. But what would Lunde have done if he were caught between Hitler and Stalin? Hitler had already proven he did not respect neutrality, and the Finnish government can hardly be faulted for suspecting that Stalin would not either and hoped to deal with them in the same way he dealt with their neighbor across the way, Estonia (along with Latvia and Lithuania.)

Lunde apparently feels a defensive pact with Norway and Sweden would have been an effective alternative to the alliance with Germany, but this does not appear to be very realistic, in view of combined German and Russian opposition to the idea. Lunde does acknowledge in the prologue that it was a mistake by the Soviet Union to oppose such an alliance, but apparently does not consider with any seriousness that in the face of Soviet opposition, pursuing that alliance might have given Stalin the pretext for an invasion. He feels that the Soviets would not have punished Finland for pursuing this alliance because it would have upset the US and the UK- a laughable argument, given the fate of Poland. Moreover, his conjecture that 'Allied presence' in Scandinavia might have kept Finland from the German alliance is pie in the sky- where does he propose such a presence would have come from? The US was not party to the war at this early stage, and neither France nor England were in a position to offer Finland the protection they needed.

In short, while this might be informative to those who are unaware of Finland's role in World War II, it hardly breaks new ground, and shows a lack of understanding for the Finnish position- which might have been remedied had the author been able to make use of Finnish sources. ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Jan 28, 2012 Nick rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: military_history, ww2

Henrik O. Lunde's book Finland's War of Choice primary purpose is to examine Finnish leadership's political and military decisions during the period 1940 – 1944. As expressed by COL Lunde Finland’s choices were limited as they strove to remain a free and independent Scandinavian nation during the war. COL Lunde delves into the political and economic landscapes of Scandinavia and Eastern Europe as it relates to Finnish developments, the choices with which Finland was faced, Finnish statecraft, an Henrik O. Lunde's book Finland's War of Choice primary purpose is to examine Finnish leadership's political and military decisions during the period 1940 – 1944. As expressed by COL Lunde Finland’s choices were limited as they strove to remain a free and independent Scandinavian nation during the war. COL Lunde delves into the political and economic landscapes of Scandinavia and Eastern Europe as it relates to Finnish developments, the choices with which Finland was faced, Finnish statecraft, and the political maneuvering of the Soviet and Nazi States and to a lesser extent Great Britain and the United States. He utilizes a number of resources to include published memoirs of Finnish and German political and military leaders along with fellow historians’ theories. I won’t state here whether COL Lunde believed the Finns made the correct choice by siding with Nazi Germany. You’ll need to read the book for yourself and decide if his arguments match with your thoughts on the matter.

An interesting choice by COL Lunde was to include a significant amount of military details regarding maneuvers and engagements between Finnish, German and Soviet forces in Finland and surrounding nations. There is so much of this information one could almost state that the book was a military history of what is called in Finland ‘The Continuation War’. COL Lunde provides detailed movements of Finnish and German units, the strategy behind the troop movements, challenges faced fighting and sustaining military units in arctic environments, and the eventual Soviet response to the Finnish / German threat. As an armchair general and amateur military historian I was pleasantly surprised by the inclusion and enjoyed reading about the military campaign of which I know little about. However, the conflict as told through detailed military maneuver and engagements really didn’t add to the book’s primary purpose of discussing Finland’s political choices.

I read the Kindle version of this book and as I have experienced in other volumes the conversion of military geographical charts and maps was very poor in many cases. So poor that place names could not be read and when zooming in the resolution of the chart or map was of such low quality that the names were nothing but a messy blur. Picture resolution quality aside, the quality of the map contents in comparison to the detailed military unit discussion in the text was not up to par. In many cases unit locations were not clearly identified, and in the case of Soviet units they weren’t even represented in the earlier maps. Having adequate maps to help the reader understand unit locations would have significantly aided in the understanding of unit strategic placement and decisions made for maneuver.

Overall I believe COL Lunde’s book is a valuable addition to the literary collection of Finnish and World War 2 military history. Finland is an oft overlooked country in World War 2 discussions and good historical research is always welcome. COL Lunde is criticized by some for his lack of first hand sources. If one believed this book was about the Finnish military campaign – after reading it I can see were one might believe that was the purpose of the book – I can see where one might have a point with regards to primary sources. However, when recalling the primary purpose of the books was to examine Finland’s choice to side with Nazi Germany the selected sources are the primary sources. I recommend this book to anyone interested specifically in Finnish military history and the Eastern Front of World War 2.
...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Oct 26, 2017 Paul rated it liked it

I was looking forward to reading this, but sadly it is too dry. The book reads like a unit war diary.

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Nov 25, 2011 Jimmie Aaron Kepler rated it it was amazing

“Finland's War Of Choice: The Troubled German-Finnish Coalition in World War II” by Henrik O. Lunde tells the little know story of the strange partnership and joint military operations of Finland and Germany between 1941 and 1945. The coalition of these two is rarely included in English books. This is not the more well know “Winter War” of 1940 between the Soviet Union and Finland, but rather the story that has not brought pleasure to that Finns. It was a political decision and union the Finns w “Finland's War Of Choice: The Troubled German-Finnish Coalition in World War II” by Henrik O. Lunde tells the little know story of the strange partnership and joint military operations of Finland and Germany between 1941 and 1945. The coalition of these two is rarely included in English books. This is not the more well know “Winter War” of 1940 between the Soviet Union and Finland, but rather the story that has not brought pleasure to that Finns. It was a political decision and union the Finns would rather forget.

Henrik O. Lunde is an excellent writer. He gives us the necessary background of Finland’s history. He gives a necessary overview covering the country’s severance from the Soviet Union in 1917. He explains Finland’s seclusion after the Winter War in 1940. Finally he explains the decision making process and unbelievable lack of planning and coordination used by both the Germans and Finns in forming this unlikely coalition against the Soviet Union.

We see how bizarre it was for that the German Generals allowed their military machine to accept an unsteady and rickety alliance. We see how the normal planning processes just did not happen. We see the failure to plan their goals and objectives. We see inadequate command and control as well as no overall coordinated plan. We find the normally highly professional German General Staff not following normal procedures and protocol at every turn. We see how Leningrad jaded both the Germ and Finn’s planning and strategy.

We see how the Finns quickly fell into “Goose-Step” with the Germans as the willing followed their leadership without question. We learn that their best trained and most powerful army made almost no major contribution because of its misuse in central and northern Finland. German lack the troop strength in this harsh climate theater to achieve success without the Finns. The Finns were unwell in provide the necessary assistance.

The book concludes with the Finns battling the USSRs counterattack in 19944. We see how Finland lost all military gains. To the German’s dismay the Finns engaged in a separate peace agreement with the Soviets. This resolution gave the German’s no option due to their troop strength levels except to fight their way from the region. The casualties for this theater of operation were a staggering 1,000,000 plus. Compared to the Soviet losses of over 800,000 the Finland/German total of just fewer than 300,000 were meager.

Former US Army Colonel Henrik Lunde has produced a well written, well researched book. It should be part of any World War II students library and is must reading for any student of 20th century European history. It is well done. ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Mar 30, 2018 Kbullock rated it it was ok · review of another edition

First, the good:

The author does a good job exploring the diplomatic and political aspects of the conflict, even if the Soviet and Swedish points of view are not explained in much depth.

His explanation of the consequences of the German-Finnish failure to cut the Murmansk railroad is a real eye-opener. Between 1941 and 1943, before their other supply connections to their allies were established, the Soviets were able to import a staggering amount of raw materials, supplies, and equipment through First, the good:

The author does a good job exploring the diplomatic and political aspects of the conflict, even if the Soviet and Swedish points of view are not explained in much depth.

His explanation of the consequences of the German-Finnish failure to cut the Murmansk railroad is a real eye-opener. Between 1941 and 1943, before their other supply connections to their allies were established, the Soviets were able to import a staggering amount of raw materials, supplies, and equipment through the Murmansk route. The lifeline enabled them to replace the enormous material losses that they suffered during the German 1941 and 1942 offensives. Without the Murmansk route, it is difficult to imagine how the Soviets could have rebounded nearly as quickly as they did.

The description of the near-miraculous withdrawal of the German 20th Mountain Army from northern Finland in late 1944, under heavy Soviet pressure in early winter, is one of the high points of the book.

Then the bad:

In the 21st century, researching and writing a book on the WWII Eastern Front without taking advantage of the Soviet archives is almost an act of historical malpractice. The author lacked language skills in German, Finnish, or Russian, and apparently he lacked research assistants with those skills. Therefore, he relied heavily on secondary sources and postwar memoirs, very few of which were written before the opening of the Soviet archives. In fact, the author's most important sources were published in the late 1940s and 1950s. Therefore, if you want to find out what role Ultra intelligence or the Lucy spy ring played in the allied military and diplomatic decisions, this book does not help.

The accounts of military operations are told from the 30,000-foot level, which makes these passages very dry. The lack of good maps aggravates this problem. The book desperately needs some first-person accounts from front-line soldiers or even civilians who lived through the conflict.

It's an informative book, but we're still waiting for the definitive English-language account of WWII in northern Europe .
...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Nov 20, 2012 Friedrich Haas rated it it was ok

Shelves: war-historical

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

May 20, 2018 Josh Griffiths rated it liked it

Henrik O. Lunde provides an excellent look at the semi-alliance between Finland and Nazi Germany in World War II. It's not a story you typically hear much of, at least outside of Finland, but perhaps one of the most fascinatingly intricate and extensive from the war.

This book detail's Finland's and Germany's ties that go all the way back to World War I, when Germany sent troops to aid the Finnish White Army against the newly established Soviet Russia and Finns loyal to her. We then watch as this Henrik O. Lunde provides an excellent look at the semi-alliance between Finland and Nazi Germany in World War II. It's not a story you typically hear much of, at least outside of Finland, but perhaps one of the most fascinatingly intricate and extensive from the war.

This book detail's Finland's and Germany's ties that go all the way back to World War I, when Germany sent troops to aid the Finnish White Army against the newly established Soviet Russia and Finns loyal to her. We then watch as this relationship spirals out of control, to the point where, with a war with Russia taking place, Finland feels like they have no choice but to continue soliciting help from Hitler.

The best history books are told with minimal or no bias, and Lunde does that well. He talks about how to this day the Finnish people don't see themselves as allies to Nazi Germany, but co-belligerents, and how they didn't fight in World War II, but some made up war called the Continuation War. But he also points out the facts - that Finland fought alongside Nazi Germany against Russia, and at one point had to defend themselves against British attacks as well. It's a fair, honest, and balanced look at why Finland entered the war at all, why they'd align themselves with Hitler, and why they ultimately switched sides.

But this book makes one grave error: it's boring. Finland's War of Choice was an absolute slog to read, as it's written not as a non-fiction novel but more like a textbook. It's incredibly dry, to the point where I started skipping sections that I was less interested in just to finish it. In fact, maybe as a textbook isn't accurate, it's more like an order of battle, or some kind of official document on the course of the war that isn't meant to be consumed by the public. It's very matter of fact, stating fact after fact without setting up much in the way of characterization or setting, throwing you into events without really caring about any of the people involved, or understanding the setting of where these events take place.

Because of this bland writing, an otherwise great book really suffers, and I can't recommend it to anyone but hardcore history buffs, or those with a high tolerance for this kind of bland writing style. ...more

flag Like · see review

Apr 02, 2019 Tad rated it liked it

I think most students of WW2 history are fairly clear on the 1st Soviet-Finnish winter war of 1939-1940, with the post-purge Soviet Red Army trying to sledgehammer the better trained, higher morale, but ultimately overwhelmed Finns. The ski troops, the Mannerheim Line, the Soviet disaster at Suomussalmi are all fairly well known.

What is less well known is the focus of this book, what is known as the "Continuation War", where the Finns joined forces with Nazi Germany in an attempt to reclaim the ...more

flag Like · see review

Mar 28, 2020 Reza Amiri Praramadhan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-ebooks

Finland occupies an unique place within history of World War II, for the Finns were the only democratic power who fought on Axis’ side alongside Germany. Unlike the more David-vs-Goliath-ish Winter War in which the little Finns were pitted against the gargantuan, yet still clumsy Soviet juggernaut, German-Finnish coalition in so-called Continuation War was more complex. Finns desire for revenge, coupled with Hitler’s paranoid obsession to keep Norway safe at all cost, became the main factors for ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

May 26, 2019 djcb rated it really liked it

About the continuation war, where Finland somewhat reluctantly fought on the German side against the Soviets, to win back the Finnish territories lost in the Winter War.

The book describes the general narrative of the various campaigns and why they, after initial success, ultimately failed, and it took quite a bit of diplomatic acrobatics to let Finland survive all of this is an independent state.

The Germans didn't follow some of the Clausewitzian principles (like having clear war goals, clear c ...more

flag Like · see review

Jan 27, 2019 Justin rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: history

Underrated history book on the northern front

This book traces Finland's role in World War 2. Finland was caught between the rock and a hard place, between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. It is easy to say in hindsight what Finland could have done. It entered the War more or less willingly with Germany, but at the end of the war, there was no equivalent of a Nuremberg Trial, the leadership remaining the same, and never occupied.

Lunde comes up short in some of the analysis and on the whole the ...more

flag Like · see review

Jun 14, 2017 Lawrence L Czachor rated it liked it · review of another edition

A tough read

I have read more than 3 dozen books on WW II. Nearing the end of my interest, I was intrigued to learn why Finland had fought on the German side. The author obviously spent an incredible amount of time researching. His details of every event and troop movement forces the reader to slog on because , occasionally, his interpretation of the events is clear and concise. If your are curious why Finland fought with Germany, simply read the epilog and save a lot of time.

flag Like · see review

Feb 14, 2018 Matthew rated it it was ok

Excellent ... statistical? research on the topic but not at all fun to read. Even the dramatic political schism between the Finns and Germans comes off bland. I hate to admit i didnt enjoy this but i didnt enjoy this. This great person goes to all the trouble to do this incredible research and translation and all of that hard work is in here, it is a bona fide scholarly work, but the attempted translation into a gripping narrative and bringing these generals and divisions, corps, regiments to li ...more

flag Like · see review

Apr 30, 2017 Laurance rated it liked it

What a slog of a book.

This is essentially an operations overview with politics mixed in.

The Author openly admits in the preface upon his lack of Finnish skills and thus the limiting of Finnish sources in his work. This is a big mistake for anyone writing about Finland and its involvement in the Second World War.

Mr Lunde (as pointed out by another reviewer) leans extremely heavily on Ziemke's German Northern Theater of Operations, with sprinklings of Mannerheim's memoirs and the Halder Diaries. ...more

flag Like · see review

Aug 15, 2018 Robert R. Anderson Jr rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Readable, thoughtful, well documented

Well written, greatly researched, heavily footnoted,, logical in presentation, and insightful in a very complex political, military, national objective of survival of a small Democratic nation in a risky geopolitical situation.

flag Like · see review

Sep 05, 2018 Alan rated it liked it · review of another edition

This part of the war is often neglected, it provides information that I was not fully aware of in my previous readings on World War II. My problem with the book was that at times it was hard to follow....and sadly, boring. That said I am glad to learn more about these events.

flag Like · see review

Feb 23, 2021 Carol Palmer rated it it was ok

Another lesson in "read the book blurb carefully before buying". I thought this book was about the Winter War, but it was a book about the German offensive in the Arctic and what role the Finns played. A WWII buff may find it vastly more interesting than I did. ...more

flag Like · see review

Nov 09, 2017 Hunter rated it liked it

Shelves: wwii, german-history, military-history, soviet-army, german-army, history, russian-history, finnish-history

An OK military history, likely held back significantly by Lunde's self-admitted inability to read Finnish or Russian. ...more

flag Like · see review

Jun 17, 2019 Nancy_wayne Didelko rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Thorough and thoughtful

Thorough and thoughtful. Lunde describes vividly the battles, logistics and strategies that marked this often overlooked theater. Well written and engaging.

flag Like · see review

Mar 23, 2014 James Klagge rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: history-military

While I am a WWII military history fan, this front never seemed to have much interest. But 2 years ago when we were in Helsinki, we wondered about the Finnish role in WWII and how they had fared after opposing the Soviet Union. The Russians have always threatened the Finns, and this came to a head in late 1939 when they attacked the Finns as part of a land grab along with the Germans. The Russians bogged down and suffered horrible loses, but still managed to occupy important chunks of border ter ...more

flag Like · see review

Apr 22, 2011 J. rated it liked it

Many people know about the gallant resistance plucky Finland put up against Russia in the winter war of 1939, but what did Finland do after that in WWII? I certainly had no idea. Since we have a Finnish exchange student this year (a marvelous young lady) and this book came up in an advertisement, I figured it was time to find out.
The Finns had to give up a lot of territory in the peace settlement with Russia in 1939 and were naturally afraid that Russia would soon swallow them whole, like the o ...more

flag Like · see review

Apr 26, 2016 Jim rated it really liked it

Finland's War of Choice is a welcome addition to the literature on Finland in World War II.

Although not much new ground is broken in terms of archival findings, the book provides necessary interpretation of Finland's geopolitical and diplomatic maneuvers in the period after and during World War Two. Lunde interweaves the battles and tactics with Finland's attempts to secure its safety vis-a-vis its neighbor to the east. It did so by making a military alliance with Nazi Germany.

Here's the twist ...more

flag Like · see review

Jan 29, 2018 Clayton Brannon rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Very little is written about the war in Finland. This is an excellent book that contrary to the authors own words seems to be a well researched and documented account of Finlands participation during WWII. The only thing I would recommend is that you have a good map of the area on hand in order to better follow the movements of the armies involved. I am not familiar with Finnish or any other Scandinavian names and places outside the major cities and even less so of the places in the far northern ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Aug 09, 2011 Erika rated it really liked it

I was looking for more of an anecdotal account of Sweden/Norway/Finland in WWII, and this book was highly technical, and not anecdotal at all. The military lingo was WAY over my head, but I think it was still really interesting, and probably great for what it is. However! The author had a serious lack of commas, which really confused the meaning of some of his sentences, and with a less than stellar understanding of the context, this was a big problem for me.

flag Like · see review

Nov 11, 2012 Christoph Fischer rated it liked it

Three stars probably not the author's fault but maybe my expectations of the book. I found the book hard to follow and would have liked more maps of the big picture. The very detailed description of war tactics and troop movements was for my purposes over done and did not always add to the analysis that followed. I was more keen on the troubles in the coalition and found that aspect underdone in comparison. ...more

flag Like · see review

Oct 03, 2011 Eric rated it liked it

An interesting look at an aspect of WW2 that I didn't know anything about. I'm not a huge military buff, so after a while the catalog of military movements (and there are a lot) becomes rather numbing. That said, the details presented as to what went wrong and why, and how it all happened, were very intriguing to read about. If you like reading about troop movements, you'll probably love this. ...more

flag Like · see review

Sep 11, 2012 Jon rated it liked it

Overall it was an interesting book. I was a bit disappointed with the emphasis on the battles and the numbers of troops involved. I had believed it would be more of an inside look into the thoughts and decision making process of the leaders of the nations. Entertaining but it could have been so much more.

flag Like · see review

Nov 14, 2012 Kyle Worlitz rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-i-own

This is the most comprehensive English account of Finland's Continuation War out there. Also detailed are the trials and tribulations of the German Army of the Lapland. The combined force suffered 290,000 casualties while inflicting some 830,000. During this "continuation" of the Winter War of 1939-40, the Finns showed themselves to be among the best soldiers the world has ever seen. ...more

flag Like · see review

« previous 1 2 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend It | Stats | Recent Status Updates

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

About Henrik O. Lunde

Henrik O. Lunde

6 followers

HENRIK O. LUNDE, was born in Norway, moved to America as a child and thence rose in the U.S. Army to become a Colonel in Special Forces. Highly decorated for bravery in Vietnam, he proceeded to gain advance degrees and assume strategic posts, his last being in the Plans and Policy Branch of Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers Europe. After retirement from the Army he turned to writing, with a focu ...more