Good coverage and nice mix of techniques; what is Sweden doing? I once read about secret pacts bounding NATO and Sweden...
The Land of Sad Songs – Stories From Protect and Survive Finland
- Thread starter DrakonFin
- Start date
Actually I think it's more likely that a country with nuclear weapons will use them against an enemy without them in a war. No danger of retaliation after all.
I agree with you Jan, unless (but this is not our case) Soviets didn't pursue a pure nuclear counter-force strategy.
John Farson
Banned
Though a world where all 196 countries have nukes doesn't seem like a particularly safe one either.
No, because that would prompt intervention by other nuclear armed countries.
That was just Sutela making policy. The National Defence Course is a yearly series of lectures given by the Defence Forces to politicians, bureaucrats and the media, bringing them up to speed on different defence-related issues and preparing them for potential dangers to the nation.
The opening speech always gets a fair shair of (at least) national coverage. This time, Sutela took the time to critisize what he termed "a growing tendency (in Western discourse) to treat nuclear bombs as if they should be considered normal battleground weapons". He didn't have to necessarily believe into what he said, as the comment was meant for media consumption. Undoubtably the seasoned veteran of Cold War intrigue was hoping that the speech would spark some discussion as to current nuclear doctrines also beyond the national borders.
Generally, one should read this as yet another example of Finland "running as fast as it could to stay put", like the seemingly unending efforts at pushing a nuclear free zone in the Nordic area.
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A Signals Company prepares for the Oath Parade in Summer 1983. Young soldiers like these conscripts made up much
of the Finnish first line troops in February 1984. FNA archives.
VIII. Before the Storm
Fragment 34.
Logged 24.05.2007
HJK
[This fragment is a part of a semi-autobiographical account by a former FNA administrator. While not an entirely accurate portrayal of events, it does offer some insight into the wartime conditions.]
As motorcades go, this one was pretty modest. The component parts were a worn, blue-white Saab police cruiser, a black recent-model Mercedes and two vans, one of them off-white, the other a green-white one with military plates. It was speeding along a nearly deserted highway, amidst a snowy tourist postcard scenery. Visit the Finnish Lakeland!
Four men sat in the Mercedes. The driver, a stout man with a tad too big jacket and a pistol holster looked intently at both the road and the police vehicle, leading the procession with its lights flashing. Thankfully the sirens were off now that they were in the countryside. Beside him, sat a young man, staring out the window, to all the world as if lost in his thoughts.
On the back seat, two men in smart suits. The boss and his chief aide. They were conversing quietly.
”- And so the first batch of parliamentarians was sent towards Ostrobothnia in the morning. You know they wanted it done by party, and so the SDP was the first to go. Patriotic, eh?”
”- You're one to talk. I remember it was you who said we are not returning to Helsinki.”
”- But it wasn't me, sir. It was the Prime Minister. You talked with him too. He specifically forbade us from returning right now. Besides, we'd have to drive the whole way anyhow, and it would take bloody ages to get there. No first class and a pretty stewerdess with a nice brandy or a few for us. Anyhow, were not the only ones skipping town. Interior is moving to Hämeenlinna as we speak, they had a whole convoy loaded up last I heard. Nice little cellar waiting for them there.”
”- Well, sure, I understand the idea. It just doesn't seem... right.
”- Right, you say? God, sir, it is just the Third World War, in earnest. We're pretty much beyond ´right´and ´wrong´now. If the shit really hits the fan – and it does, mark my words – you'll laugh at yourself thinking that quite soon now. Besides, its not like the ministry needs us – right now, they're no doubt unsealing another wartime supply of bureaucrats, you know, small, serious men in sensible ties and thick glasses, hidden in -44 somewhere the Soviets wouldn't think to look. They'll be just fine.
”- I guess you're right. Let's just get there, I'll shake some hands, give a rousing speech, look reassuring and call it a day. I think the governor[1] has drinks waiting after the program.”
”- I think he might, under the circumstances.”
The radio was on, playing a new single popular with the younger generation.
”- Kontio, turn off that crap. Jesus, it's YLE. Days like these, they should be playing something, I don't know, traditional and uplifting.”
”- Would you prefer the Säkkijärvi Polka, sir, maybe repeated ad infinitum?”
”- Ha.”
The driver/agent started to adjust the radio when he was stopped by the news jingle.
”...news from the STT. According to unconfirmed reports, a nuclear device has exploded in Western Germany...”
The senior aide looked at his boss, all of a sudden dead serious .
”- You know what this means, right? We're off to the races now. Even if my money is on the Americans, it doesn't really matter which side did that. The other will follow suit. And it will escalate.”
It was suddenly very chilly in the car.
”- This doesn't change our plans”, said his boss. ”Where we're going is as good a place to be as any, nuclear war or not.”
The car slowed down. Up ahead, what looked like a military convoy was blocking the road. Two soldiers with assault rifles were waving for the police car to stop.
The agent and the senior aide got out to find out what had happened. Walking past the few white trucks and tractors towing AA guns (two of them were being readied by men withAir Force insignia), they saw that the road ahead was a scene of carnage. Soldiers, dead and merely wounded, sprawled between shot-up vehicles, one of which was still smouldering. At places, the icy road was slick with blood. There were a couple of ambulances and a fire truck; civilian rescue workers as well as a few military medics were hard at work.
Walking up to the man seemingly giving orders, the agent held up a badge. Before he had the opportunity to say anything, the aide launched into a tirade about the importance of the motorcade, chewing up the local fire chief. The agent felt ashamed of his behaviour.
”- Look,” said the fire chief, looking him squarely in the eye, ”I don't care a flying fuck who you are or where you are going. These men have been attacked by Sov aircraft. We have already counted 20 dead and many of the wounded are critical. I am pretty sure we lose the majority of them before we get them to the hospital. Not to mention that the enemy might return any time. So, sir, I suggest you come and give these guys a hand, or shut the hell up and go wait in your vehicles.
Fuming, the aide returned to the Mercedes, to tell his boss what the man had said. Now it was the boss's time to get up.
”- Chief,” he said, buttoning his black overcoat, ”I apologize for my aide. He can be a bit... angular at times. I see you have your hands full here. I am very sorry for these men, and if there's anything we can do...”
The chief looked at him appraisingly.
”- Come and help us clear the road. The sooner we do that, the sooner we can get you moving.”
In a few minutes, the whole group from the motorcade was out helping the rescue workers. Including the agent, the few officers and secretaries and a small squad of military police from the vans. Including the boss himself, the fire chief noted with surprise. The man helped carry stretchers and push broken vehicles off the road. He chatted amiably with a young medic with a bloodstained bandage around his head, helping him along.
Soon enough, all the wounded men had been gathered to a makeshift medical station by the road and a path was cleared to allow the motorcade to move again. The boss shook hands with the chief and the medic and bid fairwell. The group boarded the cars, which then rolled by and accelerated when back on the open road.
The chief and the young medic looked at the receding cars.
”- Wasn't that...?”
”- Yes it was. Strange days indeed.”
Interview nr. 152, 08.09.2007. NRK.
Subject: Man, 41 (M58)
Occupation in 1984: None
Location: [REDACTED], Southern FNA.
[This man is clean shaven, painfully thin. He has patched jeans, a wool blouse and a long discolored raincoat.]
[Do you remember when the war started?]
Do I? Damned well I do. I was in a foxhole with a rifle in my hand and wearing a bloody gas mask. In February. I was damned lucky it didn't freeze and get stuck to my cheeks. This happened to some guys I know.
[You were in the army?]
Are you kidding? We all were. Me, I was an ordinary grunt, a corporal in a mortar squad. I was among those lucky guys who went to the army in late ´82. We continued to the ”refreshers” directly after our ordinary service and then on to war. Yippee.
[Where were you?]
Somewhere south of Imatra. Did I say it was damn cold? We had been sleeping in a school, just before, but then we had to do with tents.
[Did you see action?]
You mean during the first days? Well yes, sort of. They got us running, for a while. But then we regained enough backbone to make a stand, after Lappeenranta. The Ruskies got close enough that we lobbed some granades at them, before it ended... Don't know if we killed anybody, though. Received some incoming fire, too. Lost a squadmate in the first barrage. A real shame, that. I had known him for years.
You know what? The Ruskies would have trounced us had the war continued. It was like going against the ”Red Machine” with a Second Division hockey club... Oh, I am sorry. You must be too young to remember international ice hockey. Well, anyway, they were professionals and we amateurs. Can't say that what happened saved us, though. I guess living in the Soviet Union, pre-war, wouldn't have been so bad, considering...
[Right. And then came the armistice?]
You call it an ”armistice” as much as you like. I know the honchos in [REDACTED] do. More than anything, we just stopped fighting after we saw the Bombs go off, in several directions almost at once. On both sides. There was a lot more of them in the east, though. Explosions. Believe me, nothing brings men together like than seeing one's nation destroyed with atomic weapons.
It was bad for us, obviously. Devastating. But, as it turned out, we were the ones that still had something like a place to go back to. Even if it was... all fucked up.
Notes
[1] The Finnish term is maaherra, corresponding to landshövding in Swedish. Arguably the position could be better translated as prefect.
(filler)
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IX. Life Support
Fragment 11.
12.06.2007.
HJK
[This fragment is held at the FNA archives in [REDACTED]. There is no information on how it ended up there, and the local archivist could or would not help us in finding more information about it.]
The base is now up-and-running. During previous exercises, I have been amazed how well we can operate such a thing on almost purely reservist manpower. Guys who practise this only a week every year or two. But this is no exercise. And damn how fast we were this time! Even if we had to do everything by night and in these freezing temperatures. The Captain is not saying anything, but I think he is proud of his crew.
…
”RATAS - SULTTAANI.”
”SULTTAANI”
”Keep your crews ready, KALAKUKKO knows we are up and running. We are receiving hardware.”
”Roger that.”
”RATAS - PEKKA 1.”
”PEKKA 1.”
”Stand by to receive MG in ten minutes.”
”PEKKA 1 copy.”
”RATAS out.”
…
It still feels like an exercise, especially now after the first rush is over. Were settling into a sort of a routine, putting down roots. More troops keep pouring in, more infantry and military police now. They are setting up accommodation. Woe to those who have to sleep in tents! Luckily we have prefab bunkers here at the command post, all set up by the Engineers before we even arrived. And to think I was making plans how to use these elements just last month. When we have the time to listen to the radio here, it always sounds worse.
...
I put up Anne's picture at the head of my cot. A couple of the guys ribbed me for it, but had to admit she is pretty.
…
We just got the first air raid alarm. It seems to have really started now.
…
After Rovaniemi was abandoned, we have had more work in our hands than we really can do. The rotation of the MGs and the DKs is hectic, there have even been HWs now. We are trying to take some load off Rissala because KALAKUKKO expects it to be bombed anytime. They have not yet touched us, which we all think think is a wonder of the first order. I think both KALAKUKKO and MÖRKÖ consider that this quiet proves Red is up to no good. The AA crews are staying sharp, as are the MP:s.
…
Yep, Rissala got hit hard. They are down to the secondary runway, trying to fix the primary by night.
...
Talked with a pilot today, he said they have lost a lot of planes already. I had figured as much. He had LapLsto[1] patches.
...
We got the warning from KALAKUKKO at noon. Packed everyone into the bunkers and the barracks (we have a couple now), its pretty crowded down here. Sitting inside in raincoats with the masks on. Hope it is a false alarm.
...
Holy fuck. It seems they really went and goddamned did it. I wonder what we see when we get out of this hole. If we do.
…
One of the Maintenance guys just lost it, we had to sit on him to keep him down. He sits in the corner and just moans, now.
...
Notes
[1] Lapland Air Command, responsible for the northern part of the country.
Fragment 48.
Logged 09.02.2008
HGG
[This fragment was received by a Minne 1984 researcher from an unnamed civilian in Western FNA. It is certainly fictional. The fragment is included here as an illuminating example of the Finnish story tradition about the nuclear exchange.]
The man dreamed of war. He was young, his country was young and he had just killed a man, a Red. It was his first time. While washing the blood off his hands he realized his home was on the other side of this placid lake. It was an eternity since he had been home, and he could see his mother smiling by the door with a basket of fresh bread...
The man woke up. He was lying in a hospital bed, in a big room next to some machines. A tube went into his arm. A somewhat familiar man was standing there, looking at him.
”- Father, you spoke in your dreams again”, he said.
The old man looked at his son with blank incomprehension.
”- Remember, we can't give you bread, or any solid foods, the doctors won't have it. But here, take some juice. The nurse will be here soon.”
The old man nodded. This was his son, this middle-aged man, and he was ancient. Older than his nation. And it had been his nation, somehow, once. Memories came to him, like flashes, memories of power, wielded and witnessed. Memories of love and hate, memories of war. He sobbed quietly.
He looked out of the window, into the bright winter day. Snow covered the trees and the sky was blue, so clear. The old man wished he could take a walk, or go skiing. It would be Christmas soon, wouldn't it! Now, that was wrong. This was a new year already, 1984.
He had never planned of living for so long.
It was such a beautiful day.
There was some commotion by the door. It was that familiar-looking man from before, with another that looked like a doctor. They were arguing.
”- All that I am saying is that it will make him anxious, and we don't want that. Think of his heart.”
” - But he has the right to know. You can't keep this from him!”
The man, his son, pushed the doctor aside and entered, bringing along another man pushing a TV set on wheels. He plugged it in and adjusted and pushed buttons. Put in a tape.
”- Father, I must show you something. In this television. Do you understand?”
The old man really didn't, but he nodded anyway. He remembered appearing on television.
There were pictures. Men in suits, serious men. Crowds and protests. Soldiers, tanks, fighting.
”-Father, this is from this morning. Its news.
The old man didn't understand. War. It wasn't now, it was history. He said it.
”-Istory...”
”- No, Father, this is the Third World War. We are at war, and the Soviets are fighting the Americans in Germany.” He looked pained.
World war? It can't be, it would be madness. What about all the... atomic bombs?
It was as if his son read his thoughts.
”- Father, they have already used a nuclear weapon, in Germany.”
On the TV, a map of Germany, with menacing red arrows. Pictures of explosions.
So this is what it came to, the old man thought. Nuclear war, now, after everything we did – after everything I did, my life's work.
It played like a reel inside his head – lunches with diplomats, statesmen and shady operators. Motorcades, conferences, handshakes and cameras. Resolutions, neutrality, disarmament.
All for nothing. Absolutely nothing.
The old man was suddenly enraged. He wanted to break things. He could barely make a fist.
The doctor looked at the urgently beeping machines.
”- I told you he would become anxious. His heart...”
Suddenly, a flash of light. The men turned their eyes instinctively to the window.
It was just seconds until the blast wave would hit the house.
Such a beautiful day, this day I die, thought the old man.
But there was no peace in that though. None at all.
(filler)
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Falkenburg
Monthly Donor
Sad. Made me think of Urho Kekkonen.
Although to be fair my knowledge of Finnish Statesmen is scanty (at best).
The tone echoed Protect & Survive. A compliment in my estimation.
Falkenburg
Although to be fair my knowledge of Finnish Statesmen is scanty (at best).
The tone echoed Protect & Survive. A compliment in my estimation.
Falkenburg
Sad. Made me think of Urho Kekkonen.
Although to be fair my knowledge of Finnish Statesmen is scanty (at best).
Falkenburg
Yeah, sounds like Urho Kekkonen and one of his sons (I guess Matti Kekkonen). He was at pretty bad shape at that time (suffering from dementia etc.). Died in 1986 OTL.
EDIT: The place is Tamminiemi in Helsinki. So Helsinki definitely got just nuked
Given the circumstances? I wouldn't be surprised to say by both sides. By NATO because it was never really removed from the targetting list and by the Soviets because the Finns are still resisting. Of course there would be differences: the NATO bombs would likely be longer-ranged simply because of the difference in distances. I would expect the actual yields to be more or less the same.
I think this story really shows how naïve Finns can be sometimes. Finns like to play by rules and expect that everybody else does the same; unfortunately sometimes it backfires. There's also a strong mentality which can be summed by a phrase "it can't happen here" which is actually what even today many experts or politicians usually say in TV when something bad happens abroad.
Great work overall, I'm waiting to read more.
Great work overall, I'm waiting to read more.
General Tirpitz said:
I more or less agree with General Tirpitz's summation of Finnish mentality. Everything I have read about the views on nuclear war in Finland in the early 1980 says that the national leadership considered it highly unlikely, and even if it took place, the biggest threat to Finland would be fallout from neighbouring areas (read the USSR). This is one of the reasons for the delayed response of the authorities in the TL and the dithering of the political leadership. There is also the political side: this is early days in the Koivisto presidency, after the epic Kekkonen era, and the new president is not quite clear on what he can or must do. The cabinet has also just started after the elections of 1983. The crisis hits Finland during a transitional period, and in the winter when any concrete preparations are the hardest to do.
There are two sides to preparation, the tangible assets and the implementation of various measures. With regards to infrastructure and stockpiles, Finland is quite well-prepared; it is the human component in the event that acts as the weak link in this scenario. I may well be unfair to the civilian authorities in my depiction of the events, operating as I am on limited sources. This is (admittedly) somewhat intentional, part of my effort to keep with the spirit of the P&S universe.
We love as if
The story'll still continue
For a happy ending
We are waiting, here
Where God laughs to churches
To priests and rituals
To beautiful altarpieces
To the whole world
(chorus)
I can't offer you any solace
Because I am just a man
Can't offer you any warmth
I feel so cold myself
We all strive for
Just a tiny piece of Heaven
Embraced by death
In this Land of Longing
In a world where
A hand turns to a bony fist
Fantasies to dust
To pale dreams
(chorus)
I can't offer you any solace
Because I am just a man
Can't offer you any warmth
I feel so cold myself
Walking this land
Is the shadow of a darkening sky
Wearing the cold song of the night
Kotiteollisuus: Kaihola (2005)
A nuclear weapon has exploded in Kuopio. FNA archives.
X. The Shadow of a Darkening Sky
"...to unconfirmed reports, a nuclear device has exploded in Western Germany. No official comment by NATO or Warsaw Pact leadership is available at this time. According to the Department of Seismology at Helsinki University,..."
In Europe, Finland was one of the few countries to send live television broadcasts until the very end. The state broadcaster, YLE, was kept in the air under an express decision by the government, even if the majority of its governing council would have evacuated the personnel of the broadcast centre, just north of central Helsinki, to the Western countryside already in early January. The reasons, it seems, were related to upholding the national morale. The personnel was just moved to the underground parts of the facility instead.
Swedish State Archives holds a tape of the last Finnish broadcast, a special news report. The seasoned middle-aged newscaster, while appearing immensely tired, never slips or falters in his crisp delivery. We see a bespectacled man relaying Defence Forces bulletins about Finnish units still engaging the enemy near Hamina and Lappeenranta, civil defence orders and finally the news of very fast unknown targets picked up by radar all along the border.[1]
This is when the General Emergency Alarm is given by the authorities.
A Soviet tactical weapon has exploded in Kotka.
In the end, the newscaster is cut off in mid-sentence and replaced by static. This was when, at 20.53 local time, the first American weapon hits central Helsinki.
The majority of the government and some of the highest leadership of the Defence Forces have made it into secure bomb shelters in the network of tunnels and caves running under the greater Helsinki area. It will take some time before anything is heard from them again.
The capital area is hit by two American weapons and just minutes later a Soviet short-range missile launched from a base in Valga, Estonia that itself is destroyed within the next 15 minutes.
Turku likewise gets three – that one of them is aimed at the oil refinery in nearby Naantali instead is academic.
A Soviet missile explodes near Mariehamn in the not-so-demilitarized-anymore Åland.
Sodankylä, already destroyed by Soviet conventional bombing gets two, both American.
Four more American weapons hit targets in Lapland. One of them, an elderly bridge that has been haunting various target lists since the early 60s is soundly destroyed. Another weapon explodes in Inari. As a testament to successful US pre-war planning, Red Army formations that have just passed the small town on their way to the Norwegian border are instantly vaporized.
(Pori, Loviisa, Tampere, Hämeenlinna, Kouvola, Lappeenranta, Jyväskylä, Kuopio, Joensuu, Kauhava, Oulu, Kemi and Rovaniemi are struck by one weapon each.)
In Joensuu, on the eastern border, the ground zero is near a Jaeger battalion command post some kilometers outside the town proper. The blast ignites a massive forest fire, very rare at this time of the year. This would have been an impressive sight viewed from the Soviet side of the border – if anyone was alive to see it.
In Kouvola, the blast wave catches the last evacuation train out of Helsinki, throwing it off the tracks like a big red-and-blue toy.
A Soviet theater missile destroys otherwise untargeted Hämeenlinna with pinpoint accuracy, unexpectedly and as of yet unexplainably - some say it was meant for Tampere instead.
Altogether over twenty nuclear weapons have struck targets in Finland, the majority of them American...
Notes
[1] Most of these are outbound Soviet missiles with targets farther afield.
(fille[r)
The story'll still continue
For a happy ending
We are waiting, here
Where God laughs to churches
To priests and rituals
To beautiful altarpieces
To the whole world
(chorus)
I can't offer you any solace
Because I am just a man
Can't offer you any warmth
I feel so cold myself
We all strive for
Just a tiny piece of Heaven
Embraced by death
In this Land of Longing
In a world where
A hand turns to a bony fist
Fantasies to dust
To pale dreams
(chorus)
I can't offer you any solace
Because I am just a man
Can't offer you any warmth
I feel so cold myself
Walking this land
Is the shadow of a darkening sky
Wearing the cold song of the night
Kotiteollisuus: Kaihola (2005)
A nuclear weapon has exploded in Kuopio. FNA archives.
X. The Shadow of a Darkening Sky
"...to unconfirmed reports, a nuclear device has exploded in Western Germany. No official comment by NATO or Warsaw Pact leadership is available at this time. According to the Department of Seismology at Helsinki University,..."
In Europe, Finland was one of the few countries to send live television broadcasts until the very end. The state broadcaster, YLE, was kept in the air under an express decision by the government, even if the majority of its governing council would have evacuated the personnel of the broadcast centre, just north of central Helsinki, to the Western countryside already in early January. The reasons, it seems, were related to upholding the national morale. The personnel was just moved to the underground parts of the facility instead.
Swedish State Archives holds a tape of the last Finnish broadcast, a special news report. The seasoned middle-aged newscaster, while appearing immensely tired, never slips or falters in his crisp delivery. We see a bespectacled man relaying Defence Forces bulletins about Finnish units still engaging the enemy near Hamina and Lappeenranta, civil defence orders and finally the news of very fast unknown targets picked up by radar all along the border.[1]
This is when the General Emergency Alarm is given by the authorities.
A Soviet tactical weapon has exploded in Kotka.
In the end, the newscaster is cut off in mid-sentence and replaced by static. This was when, at 20.53 local time, the first American weapon hits central Helsinki.
The majority of the government and some of the highest leadership of the Defence Forces have made it into secure bomb shelters in the network of tunnels and caves running under the greater Helsinki area. It will take some time before anything is heard from them again.
The capital area is hit by two American weapons and just minutes later a Soviet short-range missile launched from a base in Valga, Estonia that itself is destroyed within the next 15 minutes.
Turku likewise gets three – that one of them is aimed at the oil refinery in nearby Naantali instead is academic.
A Soviet missile explodes near Mariehamn in the not-so-demilitarized-anymore Åland.
Sodankylä, already destroyed by Soviet conventional bombing gets two, both American.
Four more American weapons hit targets in Lapland. One of them, an elderly bridge that has been haunting various target lists since the early 60s is soundly destroyed. Another weapon explodes in Inari. As a testament to successful US pre-war planning, Red Army formations that have just passed the small town on their way to the Norwegian border are instantly vaporized.
(Pori, Loviisa, Tampere, Hämeenlinna, Kouvola, Lappeenranta, Jyväskylä, Kuopio, Joensuu, Kauhava, Oulu, Kemi and Rovaniemi are struck by one weapon each.)
In Joensuu, on the eastern border, the ground zero is near a Jaeger battalion command post some kilometers outside the town proper. The blast ignites a massive forest fire, very rare at this time of the year. This would have been an impressive sight viewed from the Soviet side of the border – if anyone was alive to see it.
In Kouvola, the blast wave catches the last evacuation train out of Helsinki, throwing it off the tracks like a big red-and-blue toy.
A Soviet theater missile destroys otherwise untargeted Hämeenlinna with pinpoint accuracy, unexpectedly and as of yet unexplainably - some say it was meant for Tampere instead.
Altogether over twenty nuclear weapons have struck targets in Finland, the majority of them American...
Notes
[1] Most of these are outbound Soviet missiles with targets farther afield.
(fille[r)
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