On March, 10th they held a military reconstruction outside Zelenograd to celebrate another anniversary of the Winter War’s end. Check out the photo coverage of the event.
It started with a formation.
The Soviet army included several divisions.
The Finnish soldiers listened to some instructions as well.
There was a machine-gun team there too.
There was a short break…
And the participants of the reconstruction checked their arms…
Had a cup of tea…
And snacked on some food.
Raising glasses for the victory!
This guy really enjoyed eating his pork fat sitting in the snow.
Medical orderlies.
This sniper has put on his camouflage gown and is camouflaging his riffle.
Let’s check out what’s going on with the Finns.
They put on their camouflage uniform too.
Warming themselves by a fire and a samovar.
Taking care of their machine guns…
And making sure everything’s Ok with their riffles.
A picture to remember the event by.
Victory? You captured a piece of land with over 300 thousand unit dead or captured. While our total losses were about 70 thousand.
whats with those little bumbs on the finns helmets? do they have some practical use?
To fix the inside leather part of the helmet.
They were used to support a gas mask kit or extra armor plating. (StirnHelm) over the face. If you look at the same helmets in WWII you notice the lugs are missing, different masks and no armor.
The armor I am referring to was issued to machine gunners in WWI. It consisted of a brow plate and a segmented body covering.
The lugs are found on the older helmets of that particular model.
Nice uniforms and equipment
I like the big blonde medical orderly. She would keep you warm in the snow!
Looking at these photos I can clearly see why the USSR failed so miserably in the Winter War – if the commanders were stupid enough to show example by standing up as an easy target + show the enemy exactly where the other side was, the Soviet troops were doomed long before they even got in the fight. 😀
but then, soldiers would be more inclined to follow orders from someone willing to share the same risks as them.
celebrating a major defeat?
Finnish kicked soviet as**s even with a LOT LESS mens and equipment. It was an epic victory for Finland.