Team Yankee/WWIII: Nordic Forces - Finnish forces

It’s 1985 and the Cold War just got hot!

Both Norway and Denmark were quick to join NATO after its establishment in 1949. However, Sweden and Finland remain neutral, each for their own reasons, but always wary of their massive Soviet neighbor.

 Finland

The Soviet high command had a number of wartime plans for Finland. Some involved the invasion and conquest of the whole of Finland, with Helsinki, Vaasa, and Oulu as the primary Soviet objectives and even involved the use of Finland as a launch point for the invasion of Sweden. Other plans varied between limited offensives, allowing Finland to maintain its neutrality, or requests for access to Finnish territory for troop movements.

However, the Soviet Union’s main goal was the domination of the Norwegian Sea and Northern Norway to support the free passage of its Northern Fleet into the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. For this, they initially demanded the Finns give them free passage across Lapland for Soviet northern forces attacking Norway. When the Finns refused, the Soviets instead attacked through Lapland towards Norway.

Other Soviet forces also attacked southern Finland, tying down the bulk of the Finnish Defense Forces around their main population centers.

The Finnish armoured forces field T-72FM1, T-72FM2, and T-55M Soviet tanks with local improvements and newer Western technology applied. Their Jääkäri (Jäger) infantry are mounted in BMPs and BTR-60s with missiles, recoilless rifles, and mortars for fire support.