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The Winter War
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The Winter War (Talvisota) is a 1989 Finnish war film depicting the Winter War of 1939-1940. The film begins with the mobilization of the Finnish Army in October 1939 and ends on the 13th of March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty. The film follows a few soldiers from their mobilization through trench warfare and massive Soviet artillery barrages until their surrender. It was the most expensive Finnish film production to date and produced with the consultation of Finnish veterans of the actual conflict and utilized authentic period vehicles.
WARNING! THIS PAGE CONTAINS SPOILERS!
The following weapons were used in the film The Winter War:
Handguns
Mauser C96
While never actually seen on screen, the distinct shoulder stock/holster of the Mauser C96 is seen on the belt of a Finnish officer in a few scenes.
Luger P08
The Luger P08 makes an appearance at the end of the movie in the hands of a Finnish officer.
Tokarev TT-33
2nd Lieutenant Jussi Kantola (Vesa Vierikko) carries a Russian Tokarev TT-33
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 suffered from a severe lack of equipment and weapons and thus used captured Soviet weapons whenever possible.
M/28-30 Civil Guard Mosin Nagant
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 the "White Guard") and can be seen using the Mosin Nagant M/28-30, a variant of the Mosin Nagant designed for 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 organization 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 Nagants. 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 M1891
Several Finnish soldiers use the older Model 1891. The rifles are either Russian M91s, Finnish M91s, Finnish M24s, or Finnish P26s.
Tokarev SVT-40
The Tokarev SVT-40 is seen in the hands of both Soviet 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 the 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.
Submachine Guns
Suomi KP/-31
The standard SMG of the Finnish Army during the Winter War was the Suomi KP/-31 and it is frequently seen in the movie.
Machine Guns
Lahti-Saloranta LS/26
The 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
The Degtyaryov DP-27 is used by both the Red Army and the Finnish soldiers.
Maxim M1910
The Maxim M1910 is used by Finnish soldiers against Red Army soldiers in one scene.
Explosives
m/32 stick hand grenade (practice grenade mockup)
Several Harjoituskranaatti m/41 ("practice grenade model 41") are seen standing in for m/32 stick hand grenades. They can be identified as practice grenades from the rims and hole on the metal casings.
Molotov Cocktail
The Finns use Molotov cocktails against tanks. Though the Finns didn't invent the improvised incendiary device, which was first recorded as being used in the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39, it was the Finns who named theirs after Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov. While the popular image of a Molotov cocktail uses a burning rag at the mouth of the bottle, Finns improved on the construction by attaching storm matches on the side of bottles, allowing a Molotov to detonate upon shattering, and is shown such in the film.
RGD-33 stick grenade
The Russian RGD-33 stick grenade is also featured in the movie briefly.
Other
37 mm Bofors L/45/M
The Finns use Swedish Bofors 37mm anti-tank guns.
Tanks
The movie features authentic T-26 tanks, originally captured by the Finnish Army during the Continuation War.
