MessageToEagle.com – On September 19, 1944, the Moscow Armistice was signed between Finland on one side and the Soviet Union and United Kingdom on the other side.
This marked the official end of the Continuation War (1941 – 1944) that lasted 3 years, 2 months, 3 weeks and 4 days and resulted in the loss of over 1 million people.
The Finns wanted to make it clear that it perceived the action as continuing from the preceding Winter War. (Talvisota), the Soviets on the other hand, saw it as an addition to their battle against the Third Reich and its allies, called the Great Patriotic War.
Finland only wanted to retake the areas which they lost as a result of the Winter War; which they had regained by September 1941. The advanced on the Karelian Isthmus stopped at the pre-winter war boarder which was 30km from Leningrad and as such did not participate in the Siege of Leningrad.
They held all pre-Winter War land and secured their boarder for nearly two years, it was not till the Soviet Vyborg-Petrozavodsk Offensive which started in the summer of 1944; that Finland started to struggle in its defence.
Finland recorded some major victories against the Soviets but the Finns knew they could not hold of the massed ranks of Russian Soldiers.
A cease fire was declared on the 5th September with the Moscow Armistice being signed on the 19th September.
The Armistice restored the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940, with a number of modifications. The final peace treaty between Finland and many of the Allies was signed in Paris in 1947.
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