In contrast to the days of Tsarism, he had the advantage of superior weapons, but for all that he could never have brought the campaign to its decisive conclusion had it not been for the fighting qualities of the rank and file of the Red Army. At this bottleneck supply trains must have been passing at the rate of at least one an hour throughout the campaign.” >He correctly concludes: >“General Meretskov’s plan, well conceived and boldly executed, was on a scale worthy of the past great masters of the art of war. The two railways for this area merged into one over the Neva bridge at Leningrad. But more remarkable as a feat of good railway work, as well as good staff work was the supplying of the fighting divisions on the Mannerheim front during the rapid advance. The Murmansk railway carried out the task for all forces of the thrusts north of Lake Ladoga. Much doubt had been expressed outside the Soviet Union as to the capabilities of the Soviet railways to stand up to the strain of war and the movements of mighty armies. The speed of the follow-up of the Red Army surprised the Finnish Command. This is how he sums up these aspects, among others, of the campaign: >'The Red force on the Isthmus consisted of 14 divisions of infantry, and some idea of the difficulty of rail communications and the necessity for smooth staff work can be gained when it is noted that 30 trains alone are needed for the transportation of one division. >Major H S Hooper, an expert who paid close attention to Soviet military affairs, gives us an objective and truthful account of the lightning speed of the Red Army’s operations and the capabilities of Soviet railways, which played a crucial role during this campaign. The French and British didn't attack German defences in winter 1939.The USSR had to smash the white Finnish fortifications in horrendous conditions, and they did.

It was not like France and Belgium in 1940. The Red Army did what no other army had done and successfully breached a modern defensive line.

Half life 2 conscripts