Chapter 297: Finland's Preparations
The meeting came to an end.
Rommel, who had been away from his family for far too long, returned to his private residence in the suburbs of Berlin, not far from the Ministry of National Defense.
On the lawn, Manfred Rommel was playing with his toys.
The moment he recognized his father, the boy cheered, ran across the grass, and climbed onto Rommel's shoulders.
"Father, you have been gone for so long."
Manfred clung to him excitedly.
"Did you bring me a gift?"
Buried in military affairs for months, Rommel had completely forgotten.
Just as he was preparing to escape with a promise of a future present, his adjutant opened the car door and handed him two gift boxes.
Leaning closer, the adjutant whispered, "Commander, you forgot the gifts you brought with you."
Rommel patted him on the shoulder.
"When the Egyptian campaign is over, I will give you a raise, Flamand."
Manfred seized the boxes and ran away laughing.
For a child his age, happiness was often that simple.
The other commander of the household, however, was not so easily fooled.
Morlin stood nearby in an elegant velvet coat. She rolled her eyes, took Rommel's coat from his shoulders, and led him into the house.
"You promised that you would return for Christmas and celebrate with us."
"Manfred waited for you until he fell asleep. In the end, all he received was a cold telegram."
A table covered with Rommel's favorite dishes awaited him.
Discarding all concern for manners, he sat down and began eating at once.
"I was dealing with French colonial troops at the time."
He cut into the food with obvious hunger.
"Were you able to calm Manfred down?"
"I do not possess that kind of ability."
Morlin sat across from him.
"He remained angry for several days."
"In the end, Herr von Roman came to offer his regards and managed to comfort him."
A faint smile touched her lips.
"He is remarkably good with children."
Thinking of Jörg, and of the commander he served, Rommel cut his steak into smaller pieces and added, "He is also remarkably good with soldiers."
"If I were a woman, I would certainly fall in love with him."
Morlin lightly twisted his shoulder in response, then walked away with a smile.
Left alone at the dining table for a moment, Rommel remembered something and shook his head in amusement.
Within the military, Commander Jörg was an almost faultless superior.
He possessed the patience to listen to differing opinions and the ruthlessness to make decisive choices when the situation demanded it.
Two memories flashed through Rommel's mind.
In one, Jörg had ordered him to drive tanks into Berlin and place the capital under military control.
In the other, Jörg had deliberately given a mistaken staff officer a dignified way to retreat from his argument.
"When are you leaving again?"
Morlin returned carrying a plate of fruit.
"In five days."
Rommel looked toward the lawn, where Manfred was already tearing open one of the gift boxes.
"Until then, I will spend proper time with you and Manfred."
Wherever there was reunion, separation inevitably followed.
Meanwhile, in Helsinki, Prime Minister Kallio stood beside his wife and daughters.
He gently wiped the tears from their faces.
"Do not cry."
His voice was soft, though the strain beneath it was impossible to hide.
"Go with Uncle Karl. It is no longer safe here."
After watching his family leave, Kallio hurried to the Ministry of National Defense without delay.
Mannerheim had already been waiting for some time.
When Kallio entered, the Marshal was looking down at a newspaper and did not seem to notice him at all.
Unlike many government officials burdened by concern for their families, Mannerheim appeared far more detached.
As a soldier and statesman, the Marshal was almost beyond reproach.
His private life was another matter.
His early divorce had been followed by a long series of scandals.
Yet that life had given him one advantage.
Mannerheim could devote nearly all his strength to military affairs instead of what he dismissively called useless domestic trivialities.
"Commander."
A young officer entered with a file bag and reported quickly.
"The first shipment of European Union supplies has arrived."
"It includes more than fifty thousand rifles. Aircraft and tanks have also begun arriving."
The officer hesitated.
"Marshal Mannerheim, may I ask something?"
Mannerheim looked up from the newspaper.
"Go ahead."
"Why do you not issue a direct warning to the European Union about Finland's crisis?"
The young officer's tone became more urgent.
"If we completely transform the Soviet Russian threat into a common threat against the entire Union, Germany will be forced to provide military assistance."
"German soldiers would come in great numbers and fight the Russians for us."
Mannerheim shook his head.
"Politics is not so simple, Martti."
"My lobbying alone did not secure these supplies."
"None of this would have happened without Germany's approval."
He folded the newspaper and placed it aside.
"And Germany approved because, during my private meeting with Jörg, I accepted his concept of Finland as Europe's northern fortress."
"That agreement allows Germany to station a limited number of troops in Finland after the war."
Martti listened in silence.
Mannerheim continued, "If we allow Germany to fight the entire war for us, the price will be unimaginably high."
"You must remember this."
"We are Finns."
"Finland is an independent nation."
"We are not anyone's colony."
"The result of winning this war and the result of winning it ourselves are not the same thing."
The political discussion ended there.
Mannerheim accepted the file bag and pulled out several photographs of the Mannerheim Line.
Fortifications lay hidden within deep forests.
Minefields expanded each day.
These defenses were the result of years of preparation, and the foundation upon which Finland intended to resist Soviet Russia with its own strength.
"Commander, do you believe Soviet Russia will attack next month?"
Finland's winters were long.
Snow usually covered the country from December through March.
April marked the transition between winter and spring. Although temperatures began to rise, that did not mean the season was suitable for military operations.
Melting snow mixed with rain during the day.
At night, the sudden drop in temperature froze the ground again, turning roads and fields into treacherous mud and ice.
"Yes."
Mannerheim's answer was immediate.
"We know European supplies are pouring into our warehouses."
"Soviet Russia knows it even better."
"If they intend to fight, they will act quickly."
"If they intended to negotiate, an invitation to resume diplomatic talks would already be on my desk."
He turned toward the map.
Along the Soviet-Finnish border, there were only four realistic invasion routes.
The Karelian Isthmus.
The region northeast of Lake Ladoga.
The central border.
And Petsamo in the far north.
The main Soviet offensive could only fall upon the Karelian Isthmus.
Compared with the forests, broken hills, and narrow valleys farther north, the Karelian Isthmus offered some of the few routes suitable for moving large formations and heavy supplies.
More importantly, it lay dangerously close to Helsinki.
Soviet Russia would not wish to prolong the war.
Once the fighting began, it would inevitably commit a massive force to the Karelian Isthmus, smash through Finland's defenses, and threaten the capital directly.
The goal would be to force Finland's surrender before the European Union could react.
That would give Moscow the advantage at the negotiating table.
Once the main Soviet axis of attack had been identified, the remaining decisions became much simpler.
Mannerheim spread the map across the table, picked up a pen, and drew a prominent circle around Viipuri.
"What is the defensive situation there?"
Viipuri was the largest city in the border region.
It was also the most important passage through the entire Karelian Isthmus.
For Finland, the city was connected directly to the capital by railway and highway, making it essential to the country's supply network.
For Soviet Russia, capturing Viipuri would mean breaching the Mannerheim Line.
From there, the city could be transformed into a major logistical stronghold for the next decisive blow.
"We have deployed all our armored forces and most of the Air Force around Viipuri."
Martti answered carefully.
"More than two anti-aircraft artillery regiments have been concealed in the surrounding forests."
Then he asked, "Commander, are we not going to reinforce the other three possible fronts?"
A faint smile appeared on Mannerheim's face.
"It is still snowing in the north."
"The Soviet Army cannot advance quickly through frozen mud and swamps."
"Nor do they possess the transportation conditions required for a rapid offensive in those regions."
He tapped the other three sectors on the map.
"Evacuate every civilian from these areas."
"Leave no food behind."
"Then select small groups of soldiers from every unit."
"They must know the terrain, move well through forests, and be excellent marksmen."
Mannerheim's finger traced the endless wilderness along Finland's frontier.
"Disperse them."
"And let them play hide-and-seek with the Soviets in the forests."
....
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