The Lions of Finland the Military Commanders of Finland 1918 - 1945 After more than 100 years of subjugation by Russia, Finland took advantage of the power vacuum created by the Bolshevik uprising and resulting demise of the royal house of Romanov in 1917 to proclaim its independence. The preservation of this independence was not an easy task. The Finnish military had to fight a civil war against the Reds in 1918, and was again called into action in 1939 at the outbreak of the so-called Winter War, when the Soviet Union invaded Finland, disregarding the provisions of the previously signed Treaty of Tartu. The Winter War lasted only a few months before a peace treaty was signed, but the cost to Finland was the loss of 11% of its territory. It is therefore no surprise that when Germany launched an attack on the Soviet Union in June 1941, Finland saw an opportunity to regain what had been lost and allied itself with Germany. This alliance lasted only until 1944, when Finland, realizing