DISINFO: UK and France had troops ready to help Finland already in 1939
SUMMARY
Before the Winter War, Finland had 15 divisions, and snipers, prepared on the border with Russia. UK and France had troops ready to help Finland already in 1939. There were German soldiers at the Mannerheim line supporting Finland.
RESPONSE
A "documentary" repeats at least ten lies about the 1939-1940 Winter War and Finnish-Russian relations.
When the Winter War started in 1939, Finland could deploy eight divisions to the Karelian Isthmus and other parts of Karelia. In addition, there were two reserve divisions. Emphasising the cunningness of the Finnish snipers was part of the Soviet propagandistic historiography that aimed to explain the losses of the Red Army in the Winter War.
UK and France decided that they would be ready to support Finland only in February 1940. Finland did not receive support from Germany during the Winter War, only in the following Continuation War. A secret protocol of the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact divided the whole of eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence. The Nonaggression Pact became a dead letter only on June 22, 1941, when Nazi Germany, after having invaded much of western and central Europe, attacked the Soviet Union.
Debunked by the newspaper Ilta-Sanomat.