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The Winter War
The Winter War (Talvisota) is a Finnish movie from 1989. The film begins with the mobilization of the Finnish Army in October 1939 and ends on 13th of March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty. We follow a few soldiers from their mobilization through the trench warfare and massive Soviet artillery barrages until their surrender. It's the most costly Finnish film to date and its historically very accurate considering they interviewed Finnish veterans prior to the filming.
WARNING! THIS PAGE CONTAINS SPOILERS!
The following weapons were used in the film The Winter War:
Handguns
Mauser C96
This weapon is never seen used on film, but the holster of the Mauser C96 (which distinct appearance is a tell-tale sign of it being a Mauser C96) can be seen on the belt of a Finnish officer in few scenes.
Luger P08
The Luger P08 makes an apperance at the end of the movie in the hands of a Finnish officer.
Tokarev TT-33 Pistol
2nd Lieutenant Jussi Kantola (Vesa Vierikko) carries a Russian Tokarev TT-33 Pistol
Rifles
Mosin Nagant M1891/30
The Mosin Nagant M1891/30 is the main rifle used by Red Army soldiers throughout the film. The rifle is also seen in the hands of some Finnish soldiers. Historically the Finnish Army during the war had a severe lack of equipment and weapons and they used Russian weapons whenever practible.
Finnish M/28-30 Civil Guard Mosin-Nagant Rifle
The main character, Martti Hakala (Taneli Mäkelä), his brother Paavo (Konsta Mäkelä), and a few other characters are members of Suojeluskunta ("Civil Guard", also known as "White Guard") and can be seen using the M/28-30, a variant of the Mosin-Nagant designed for the members of the organization. The "White Guard" was a voluntary militia that had its roots in the Finnish Civil War of 1918, and later acted as a training organisation for Finnish reservists who wished to improve their military skills. In the beginning of the movie, the Hakala brothers are seen leaving their home as the Finnish army mobilizes, and they bring with them their own M/28-30 Mosin-Nagant rifles. The M/28-30 was an improved version of the earlier M/28 Mosin-Nagant variant designed by the White Guards, which can be distinguished from other Mosin-Nagant rifles by their distinctive foresight guards and shorter stocks, among other things. It is similar to the M/27 Infantry Rifle adopted earlier by the Finnish Army, the main differences being the barrel band design, which is a single piece compared to the M/27's hinged band, and an improved trigger design. In turn, major improvements of the M/28-30 over the earlier M/28 were the straight Mansner rear sight and screw-adjustable front sight.
Mosin-Nagant Model 1891 Rifle
Several Finnish soldiers can be seen using earlier Model 1891 rifles. The rifles are either Russian M91s, Finnish M91s, Finnish M24s, or Finnish P26s.
Tokarev SVT-40 Rifle
The Tokarev SVT-40 Rifle is seen in the hands of both Russian and Finnish soldiers as a stand-in for the historically correct SVT-38. The SVT-40 did not enter into Red Army service until July 1940, several months after the end of the conflict. During the war the Finns did use captured weapons such as the SVT-38 due to a lack of equipment and weapons. However, since SVT-38 is a much rarer weapon, it's understandable that the SVT-40 was used in production as a "stand-in" for the 38.
Submachinegun
Suomi KP/-31
The standard SMG of the Finnish Army was the Suomi KP/-31 and it is frequently seen during the movie.
Light machine gun
Lahti-Saloranta LS/26
Lahti-Saloranta LS/26, the standard light machine gun of the Finnish army in that period, is used by the Finnish soldiers.
Degtyaryov DP-27/28
The DP LMG is used by both the Red Army soldiers and the Finnish soldiers.
Machine gun
Maxim M1910
The Maxim M1910 is used by Finnish soldiers against Red Army soldiers in one scene.
Explosives
Finnish stick hand grenade M32 (practice grenade mockup)
The Finnish soldiers during the Winter War made good use of the M32 stick hand grenade. In the movie though it is replaced by the a practice grenade, official designation "Harjoituskranaatti m41" ("practice grenade M41"). It is identifiable via the hole at the top of the cylinder and the rimmed top and bottom part of the cylinder which the original M32 hand grenade did not have. The practice grenade was fitted with a small blackpowder spotting charge which gave alot of smoke and noise but were small enough not to damage the cylinder and enable "reloading" of the grenade for further training use. The practice grenade was originally painted yellow.
Molotov Cocktail
The Finns are also seen using the "Molotov Cocktail" against tanks. Although the "Cocktail" was an historical incendiary device named after the Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov it was not invented by the Finns except for the name and the specific "recipie" used in this case. The first recorded use of such devices was during the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39. It is basically a bottle filled with a mixture of incendiary substances and has a stick-fuse attached to the side for ignition.
RGD-33 stick grenade
The Russian RGD-33 stick grenade is also featured in the movie briefly.
Other
Anti-tank gun
The Finns use Swedish Bofors 37mm anti-tank guns.
Tanks
The movie features authentic T-26 tanks, originally captured by the Finnish Army in WW2.
