WI Finland accepts British/Soviet peace

During the early stages of Barbarossa, Finland was offered a deal from the Soviet Union, and Britain, I believe. The Soviet suggestion was peace for Finnish territories lost in the 1939 war. Finland, because of general euphoria from German 'victories' in Barbarossa, refused, and took the worst course of action. It stalled, and lost its chance to get out of the war, sealing its fate for the time.

But what if it hadn't? What would the Germans do?
 

GTAmario

Banned
This makes no sense and might be myth. The Finns didn't advance beyond the 1938 borders (crucial in the failed seige of Leningrad)
 
This makes no sense and might be myth. The Finns didn't advance beyond the 1938 borders (crucial in the failed seige of Leningrad)

The Soviets still offered the peace deal. I'm using A world at arms by Gerhard Weinburg as a reference. This may have been because they were fearing that they would lose the Murmanask railway.
 

GTAmario

Banned
I'm not saying you're bullshititing but that given Finnish war aims, it seems that if such a deal was offered they would jump in joy, accept and sisu back the Germans if they got pissed. The Finns never wanted all of Karelia (which would mean no world sympathy and the soviets curbstomping them later), they only wanted their losses back.
 
I'm not saying you're bullshititing but that given Finnish war aims, it seems that if such a deal was offered they would jump in joy, accept and sisu back the Germans if they got pissed. The Finns never wanted all of Karelia (which would mean no world sympathy and the soviets curbstomping them later), they only wanted their losses back.

It does seem strange. However, I'm sure the Finns were under German pressure. After all, there was a significant German presence in Finland? Perhaps they had an irrational fear of the Germans taking direct control if the Finnish tried to make peace?
 
The Lappland war happened when the German army was already pretty much crumbled.

I don't remember anything like that peace offer, though.
 
Stalin did offer peace in 1941 and 1942, at least in some point with terms returning to the pre-Winter War borders. But Finland refused, because at this point there was still the possibility Germany wins the war and in the end a separate peace would have made Finland worse off in the aftermath. There also were the German troops in Finland, in Norway and already by late 1941 in Estonia. The Finnish army in 1942 would have been in deep trouble with the circa 200 000 German soldiers that were within Finnish borders and could have ordered reinforcements and air support at will, at least in comparison to the Finns.

Geopolitically, in 1941-42 Finland was dependent on Germany or in the USSR's mercy. For war materiel as well as food. Without German food shipments, Finland would have seen famine in these years due to failed harvests and severed trade connections to the rest of the world. As long as Germany was strong enough to hold its own on the Eastern Front, it could starve the Finnish people and raze most of Finland to the ground if Finland stepped out of the line. Realistically, the only military help against the German troops inside Finland would come from the Red Army. And allowing Soviet troops freely roam on Finnish soil was, to the people who had lived through the Winter War, tantamount to national suicide.

Changing sides in 1942 would mean having the Finnish interior become a part of the Eastern Front overnight. Not much of an option to any sane leadership, I'm afraid.
 
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