| Even though Finland was a small nation of 4 million inhabitants, it fought three distinct wars during World War 2 and managed to defend its independence in the post war world, in stark contrast to other nations in the Soviet sphere of influence. The first one, the Winter War, was fought in 1939 and 1940 against an overwhelming Soviet invasion and ended with the loss of territory to Russia. The Continuation War of 1941 saw Finland fight at the side of Germany in order to regain these regions, making it the only democracy in the Axis camp. In September 1944 Finland signed a separate peace with the Soviets, on the condition that they expel all German forces from their territory. This was achieved in the Lapland war, raging until early 1945. |
