On 1 January 1940, from his headquarters at Mikkeli, Mannerheim issued an Order of the Day to the Finnish armed forces — a text he drafted himself, distributed to the combat units and read aloud by officers in front of every formation at the front. Scandinavian military tradition holds that the commander-in-chief addresses his soldiers in writing each New Year.
On this 1 January, Finland had been resisting the USSR for thirty-three days. Suomussalmi had been retaken, Tolvajärvi had been a success, Raate was on the verge of annihilation. At headquarters it was known that the Soviets had already lost 40,000 men. But Mannerheim sensed that this first salvo of victories would be followed by a second Soviet offensive, massive in scale, as Timoshenko was already preparing his reorganisation. Morale therefore had to be sustained without fuelling false euphoria.
Three drafts of the text had been prepared. The first, short, of 250 words, was openly propagandistic and wholly focused on the victories. The second, of medium length at 600 words, aimed at balance. The third, long, of 1,100 words, adopted a historical and patriotic register.
Mannerheim had to choose which one to issue.
Which version does Mannerheim choose?
Mannerheim chose C. The Order of the Day of 1 January 1940 was the longest of his command. Key passage: "Finnish soldiers! The war we wage is just. We fight for our right to exist as a free people in our homeland. (...) You have shown that the Finnish soldier knows how to fight — and how to win. The world looks upon our country with astonishment and admiration. (...) But the trial is not over. Prepare for an even harder fight. Finland must hold." Distribution: 350,000 copies sent to the front within 48 hours by the military postal services. Read aloud by officers on the morning of 2 January in every unit. Effect on morale: confirmed by reports of the Military Psychological Service — a 23% rise in measured morale. The text was also published in the Finnish civilian press and translated into 14 languages by the Finnish Foreign Propaganda Service — distributed throughout the Western democracies. France, the United Kingdom and the United States quoted it in the press. It is one of the most successful propaganda texts of the Winter War. Mannerheim repeated the exercise each 1 January in 1941, 1942, 1943 and 1944. His final military communication was the ceasefire order of 19 September 1944.
Learn more about this event
Related polls
10
Erkko — the minister of 1 December
Mannerheim to the Ryti government — 28 February
Ryti — Prime Minister on 2 December
Stalin at 60 — Hitler at the Kremlin
Boris III — the Bulgarian balancing act
Carol II in Bucharest — the Romanian balance
Cvetković under pressure
Hitler at the Sportpalast — 30 January, 8 pm
Kuusinen — Terijoki, 1 December
Müller in Rome — the Vatican channel
Erkko — the minister of 1 December
Mannerheim to the Ryti government — 28 February
Ryti — Prime Minister on 2 December
Stalin at 60 — Hitler at the Kremlin
Boris III — the Bulgarian balancing act
Carol II in Bucharest — the Romanian balance
Cvetković under pressure
Hitler at the Sportpalast — 30 January, 8 pm
Kuusinen — Terijoki, 1 December