{"product_id":"winter-war","title":"Winter War","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis fascinating millitary history tells the intriguing tale of the bitter and attritional Winter War between the USSR and Finland in the midst of World War II.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn 30 November 1939, Soviet bombers unloaded their bombs on Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Stalin's ultimatum, demanding the cession of huge tracts of territory as a buffer zone against Nazi Germany, had been rejected by the Finnish government, and now a\u003cb\u003e small Baltic republic was at war with the giant Soviet military machine.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut this forgotten war, fought under brutal, sub-arctic conditions, often with \u003cb\u003egreat heroism on both sides\u003c\/b\u003e, proved one of the most astonishing in military history. Using g\u003cb\u003euerrilla fighters on skis\u003c\/b\u003e, even reindeer to haul supplies on sleds, heroic single-handed attacks on tanks, and with\u003cb\u003e unfathomable endurance\u003c\/b\u003e and the \u003cb\u003echarismatic leadership\u003c\/b\u003e of one of the 20th century's true military geniuses, Finland not only kept at bay but won an epic, if short-lived, victory over the hapless Russian conscripts.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIts\u003cb\u003e surreal engagements\u003c\/b\u003e included the legendary \"Sausage Battle\", when starving Soviet troops who had over-run a Finnish encampment couldn't resist the cauldrons of hot sausage soup left behind by their opponents - and were ambushed as they stopped to sup.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlthough by \u003cb\u003esheer attritional weight of numbers\u003c\/b\u003e Stalin eventually prevailed over the Finns, their pointed resistance enabled their country to remain free, even as other countries fell one by one.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis book gives a telling insight into the military history of Russia, as \u003cb\u003eonce again Russian troops march on foreign soil\u003c\/b\u003e, and a nation at Russia's borders\u003cb\u003e fights to retain its independence.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"MediaPlace","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57304462688638,"sku":"NW9781781312261","price":11.43,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1379\/1261\/files\/9781781312261.jpg?v=1778650978","url":"https:\/\/mediaplace.com\/products\/winter-war","provider":"MediaPlace","version":"1.0","type":"link"}