This week in the War, 31 Jan–6 Feb 1944: Helsinki bombed by the Soviets

This week in the war, on the night of 6 February 1944, the Soviet air force bombed Helsinki in an attempt to bring the Finns to the negotiating table and remove yet another of Germany’s allies. (Stalin had obtained British and American support for a bombing campaign against Finland during the Tehran conference in 1943.)

Two more raids followed later in the month, but the raid on the 6th was the most destructive.

The Finns had suffered air raids during the Winter War in 1939 and their air defenses, which included setting dummy fires in the countryside, were well worked out. Finnish planes (of British and German manufacture) sometimes followed the Soviet planes heading back after the raids and attacked their home bases in Russia.

Finland did not make serious overtures for peace until August—by which time, Romania, too, was looking to end the fighting.