Mannerheim Line Welcomes You (2)
After seeing the two corpses on the ground, Zhang Heng realized that he was in serious trouble this time.
There was no helping it. Soviet uniforms were far too recognizable: field shirts with red piping, blue-gray side caps, and conspicuous insignia above the cuffs... Coupled with the Mannerheim Line in the instance's title, the sense of foreboding in Zhang Heng's heart peaked at that moment.
He was indeed in Finland, but not the Finland of later generations. He was in Finland during the Winter War.
Zhang Heng's usual reading came in handy at this moment. He rapidly searched through everything he knew about the Winter War.
On the eve of World War II, Germany and the Soviet Union signed the notorious Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in Moscow, dividing their respective spheres of influence in Europe. In August, Germany invaded Poland. Not to be outdone, the Soviet Union took the three Baltic states before turning its gaze toward Finland, which had only recently gained independence.
To ensure the safety of Leningrad, which lay only thirty-two kilometers from the Finnish border, the Soviet Union proposed an extremely harsh treaty demanding territorial concessions, port leases, and the dismantling of defensive lines. After Finland refused, the Soviets brazenly launched war on November 30 under the pretext of the Mainila shelling. Given the disparity in military strength, international opinion generally believed the war would end within two weeks.
Yet in reality, the war dragged on until February of the following year, when the Soviet army finally breached the Mannerheim Line. In March, Finland, exhausted of ammunition and supplies, signed the Treaty of Moscow with the Soviet Union. It lost Karelia, 10% of its territory including Vyborg, Finland's second-largest city, one-fifth of its industrial output, and 30% of its economic assets. Two hundred