It is November of 1939 and Stalin decides that the resources in the smaller nation of Finland present a strategic advantage as well as geography the Kremlin can use. Much like the modern day war between Ukraine and Russia where the smaller military must adapt, outsmart, and out maneuver a larger and better equipped Army, Finland achieves the element of surprise and uses the terrain effectively to counter the brute numbers and firepower of the Russian military machine. Led by General Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, a specialist in surprise attacks and guerilla warfare, the Finland “Winter War” becomes more challenging and bloody than the Russians could possibly have anticipated!

The Russian forces are frustrated, the Finland fighters launch hit and run tactics disappearing back into the heavy forest before the Russians can catch up to them! Their mastery of their home terrain has the Russians chasing their enemy exhausted in the face of freezing temperatures that reach 40 degrees below zero. They find the fighting under these conditions maddening. .Stalin was under the assumption that his superior forces would simply overpower the Finnish army proved arrogant and ill advised! The heroic resistance of the highly mobile and efficient enemy proved to be an obstacle that would lead to a short lived war with the signing of an armistice within a little more than 3 months of the conflict. But, here’s where the bloody mystery arises.

The Russians had the largest divisional strength of any WWII army at 20,000 men whereas the US had 15 thousand infantry in each division, and Germany with around 12,000 troops per division strength. The Russian division probed deep into the Ukraine wilderness confident that their sheer numbers would ensure success, but they were to find out differently! There in the bitter cold of the winter, in a stranger terrain they were unfamiliar with, something went wrong. Some soldiers complained of feeling uneasy and anxious. They set up bivouac and prepared to settle down for a long cold night.

Reports are sketchy and there are no known documents that indicate that any Finnish attack or ambush was ever initiated in this unusual region. The area is considered unholy ground by a tribe of pagans known as the Sami, who inhabit the adjacent area. Although the Finnish are a largely Lutheran and some Jewish worshippers, the Sami are completely into mysticism and ancient folklore thinking that demons inhabit the forest, or protectors of the woods, as they believe. What happens next will seem like a chapter out of a horror novel!

In the depth of the night a sudden and fearsome attack completely surprises and unnerves the Russian troops who are aroused from their tents as an unseen force exacts a terrible carnage upon the foot soldiers. Men are brutally slaughtered from all directions as the soldiers fire into the forest at an invisible enemy trying to resist the enigmatic attacker! Some Russians are brutally mutilated beyond recognition in the malaise! Others are chased and run down by a seemingly paranormal force!  In the confusion and death, tents are ripped apart, rifles are strewn on the ground, and explosions decimate the Russian ground forces, but from where and by whom? A massacre ensues as the Russian infantry becomes disorganized in the midst of a rout by the unknown! Did the Sami tribe evoke the spirit gods of the forest to wreak havoc upon the Russian division? In the folklore of the Finnish they believe in werewolves and an all-powerful god that can defeat any invading force that Finland residents are attacked by. “Role” the hunting god, who blesses the warriors who seek game in the forest is said to inhabit the region and has an appearance almost like a tree.

In all, one hundred Russian soldiers die mysteriously from wounds that are not similar to injuries associated with combat. They appear to be mauled savagely. Their bodies are strewn across the forest floor in odd positions that did not seem like battle casualty dead. As though something or someone had swooped down upon them! The Russian Army did record the ill-fated mission in their files, but were vague about the events. A victory against the Russians that had thoroughly massacred a hundred troops was never claimed as an operation by the Finland military!

Much like the Dyatlov Pass incident in 1959 Twenty years later, this inexplicable loss of Russian foot soldiers deep in the Finnish wilderness, could only be speculated about. This tragic operation for the Russians was a contributing factor to shortening the length of the war and bringing about a negotiated settlement. Theories continue to attempt a logical explanation to this day. Had a pack of hungry and desperate wolves attacked the camp? Had the Finnish guerillas pulled off a sneak attack? Had the Sami tribe taken it upon themselves to assault the Russian division? Had werewolves come out of the darkness and ripped into the Russian force? Maybe the demonic spirits of the Sami tribe over this forbidden ground had been conjured up by a tribal Shaman? These questions remain over the bloody defeat of a modern expeditionary force that should have enough manpower and fire power to defend themselves! To this day, no clear evidence has been found.