Finland’s War of Choice: The Troubled German-Finnish Coalition in WWII by Henrik O. Lunde (2011. Casemate Publishers. ISBN 978-1-935149-48-4)
In researching my novel-in-progress, Sukulaiset: The Kindred, a book that explores relationships (personal and governmental) between Karelia, Estonia, and Finland from 1930 through the end of WWII, I have logged hundreds, if not thousands, of hours on the computer reading web articles about The Winter War, The Continuation War, and related topics on geography, weapons, politics, religion, and the like. I’ve also read a good dozen or more books, both fiction and non-fiction, on the same subjects. This past weekend, I stumbled onto a wonderful resource regarding the political realities, tactics, and battles involving the opposing forces that participated in The Continuation War: Finland and Nazi Germany on one side and the U.S.S.R and its allies on the other. Marge Skube (the mother of my court reporter in my other life as judge) had purchased Lunde’s book with an eye to learning more about her parents’ birthplace and the struggles Finland experienced during the middle of the 20th century. But the book’s emphasis on strategy and military tactics in minute detail didn’t hold Marge’s interest so, knowing of my interest in all things Finnish, she stopped by my booth at the Ely Blueberry Festival and gave me her copy.
As Marge discovered, Finland’s War of Choice is chock full of maps, photographs, and factual text regarding the politics, strategy, and battle plans of Finland’s uneasy collaboration with the Nazis. For me, a fiction author trying to “connect the dots” regarding one of my protagonists (an American Finn serving in the Finnish Army on the Karelian Front) the book is an invaluable resource. I will be able to accurately link my fictional character to real events in ways that bring life to make-believe because of Lunde’s exhaustive work. The book is a gold mine of information and a definite 5 star resource. But how does the book stack up as general reading fare?
Well, Marge is partially right: There is so much detail involving the placement and movement of military units that, if you’re looking for a single volume written in English that tells the complete tale of Finnish participation in The Continuation War in broad, sweeping terms, this isn’t the book for you. But if you’re interested in how and why the Finns, under Mannerheim and Ryti’s leadership got themselves involved in an attack on a nation forty times the size of little Finland, then Finland’s War of Choice will give you an invaluable perspective into whether the war was necessary (to prevent the Soviets from striking first) or a total mistake (because the Germans were never going to win, which meant that Finland would once again have to kowtow to Russia). Well researched and written, I highly recommend the book to anyone interested in Finland’s long forgotten role in WWII.
4 stars out of 5.
