Stalin's infantry in the Winter War: bypass the Mannerheim line. Biryuk S.N.

About 95% of those who died on the Karelian Isthmus in December 1939 - the first month of the Winter War - the Red Army soldiers falls on the Rifle troops. There is no doubt that in the subsequent battles of the “unconferennial”, the Soviet infantry suffered the main losses, because of the 166 rifle divisions of the Red Army in battles with our northern neighbor, 52

a well -known military historian is debunk one of the main myths The Soviet-Finnish war is a firmly rooted idea that the battles went only on the Mannerheim line. Soviet propaganda made the “line” insurmountable, and a logical question arose: why did the Red Army simply not bypassed Finnish fortifications? In fact, such attempts were repeatedly made by the Soviet command. The actions of the Red Army during the manner of Mannerheim, in detail on the basis of archival materials, are examined in detail in this book on the example of the 43rd, 56th, 75th, 155th rifle and 25th motor-cavalry divisions (56 -I and the 75th rifle divisions with their artillery were the best military units of the 8th Army, and the 25th Moto-Cavalry Division was considered heroic). A thorough analysis of the documents allowed the author to finally answer the question of why, despite all the Titanic efforts spent by the truly Titanic effort, turned into not only collapse, but also significant losses of the Soviet troops to get around the Mannerheim line.