Reference, Leander & Ekholm, Tanks in the Winter War, 1939-1940

LEANDER & EKHOLM


Tanks in the Winter War, 1939-1940. By Masym Kolomyjec. Hard covers, 8 x 10.25-inches, 224 pages. Contains 188 B&W photographs, eight line drawings, 44 pages of color plates, four color maps, 11 tables, vehicle specifications and bibliography. ISBN 91-975895-2-7.


Stalins Soviet Union and Hitlers Nazi Germany began the Second World War by carving up Poland between them in 1939. As part of their devils bargain, the two despots also divided north-central Europe into zones of influence, with Finland falling under Stalins sphere. When political overtures demanding Finnish territorial concessions came to naught, the Soviets attacked on the morning of November 30, 1939.


The so-called Winter War had begun.


This book from the Swedish publishing house of Leander & Ekholm is a translated-into-English reprint of a book originally published in Russian, by Mr. Kolomyjec, in 2001. It tells the story of the Winter War from the Soviet perspective, with emphases on the use of AFVs by the Red Army against the Finns.


The text begins by laying out the historic and political background that led to the subsequent war. It then follows with segments devoted to the onset of hostilities, and the available AFV forces on both sides. The various fronts that saw action are described in turn, to include the Karelian, Ladoga, Murmansk and Soviet 9th Army sectors. Another chapter details how local facilities in Leningrad provided material to the front. Within each chapter, many other items are discussed, to include the tactics used by the protagonists as well as the unique character of the weather and the terrain, and how it affected the operations of armor. Other segments provide detailed unit information on the Red Armys tank formations, while another describes the operation of some of the experimental tanks such as the KV-2. Bridge-laying tanks (engineered tanks) as well as chemical tanks (read: flame-throwers) are also detailed both technically and operationally. Several tables spaced throughout the text detail unit strength and losses.


There are several lapses within the text, which I think are there because of the authors nationality. He describes Stalins territorial demands as reasonable (Stalin? Reasonable??) and shows nothing but a string of inexorable Soviet victories, leading up to their suppression of the Finns. Very little mention is made of the approximately 200,000 Soviet deaths from battle or other causes, let alone the numbers of wounded and missing. Set-backs are not addressed as well as the Red Armys successes. Some translation errors creep in to the text, which may slow the reader. Also, in two instances, complete blocks of text have gone missing, leaving the ends of paragraphs dangling in mid-air.


It is the graphic content of this book that is its most attractive aspect. Unfortunately, it is in the presentation of the graphic content where the book is extremely weak. Many images were copied from other books, so the screening pattern shows, particularly since the books designer inexplicably chose to print many of them in larger sizes, sometimes as two-page spreads, thereby further weakening their integraty. On the other hand, there are a number of images that are of excellent quality, many of which are completely new to this reviewer. Captions are basic and rather un-inspired.


The line drawings are said to be in 1/35th-scale, but most are obviously no where near the stated scale. Several vehicles have specification charts that come with photographs. However, all of the photos are overly cropped in an extremely poor fashion. The color art is nice, featuring schemes that are backed by photos seen within the books covers, but it would seem that the printing resolution is less than optimum; the few small maps are so poorly rendered, that they are all pixilated. These errors, and those in the text, are squarely the responsibility of the books designer and the editor; this seeming lack of attention to production quality issues does their product a disservice.


In conclusion, this book is still a worthy addition to the library, especially considering the paucity of coverage usually given to the subject. There are a number of very fine archival images on the pages, as well as some excellent information within the text. Luckily, these bits have conspired to make the book attractive, despite the lack of attention to production values shown by the publisher.


Recommended with reservations.


Frank V. De Sisto


Leander & Ekholm books are available in North America from Casemate Publishing at: www.casematepublishing.com.


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