Old Allies Turn Into New Enemies -- The Lapland War (M/23 Luger)

​On this day in history, 27 April 1945, the Lapland War officially came to a close. Most folks who are only casually aware of WW2 history probably don't have Finland pop into mind as an Axis co-belligerent. Fewer likely know the reason for this alignment, which was driven primarily by Finland's belligerent, communist, and land-grabby neighbor -- the Soviet Union. Fewer still (including myself until quite recently) are aware that the Finns eventually turned on their former German allies in the last year of the war in a bid to retain Finnish independence from a resurgent Red Army.

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Finland shares a long border with Russia that was a source of contention following the Finnish independence from Russia in 1917. The Soviets invaded Finland in 1939, and while the Winter War saw the small Finnish military inflict horrific casualties against the Soviets, it ultimately resulted in Finland ceding a chunk of its territory. 

​15 months after the end of the Winter War, and just 3 days after the Germans launched Operation Barbarossa, Finland launched an offense against the Soviets -- known as the Continuation War. Finnish troops quickly regained the territory lost in the Winter War and drove to within approximately 30 kilometers of Leningrad. From that point on Finnish troops didn't engage in any major offensive operations against the Soviets, instead establishing strong defensive positions in the newly occupied territory. 

​That is until the Soviet offensive of 1944. The Red Army, having been seriously knocked back on its heels, began grinding westward on all fronts. The Reds, especially their armor formations, battered their way through numerous defensive lines -- eventually resulting in Finland suing for peace and requesting an end to hostilities with the USSR. ​

This came in the form of a September 2nd, 1944 ceasefire, eventually formalized by the Moscow Armistice signed  on September 19th. This end to fighting didn't come with hand-holding and kumbayas however, it came with conditions. Chief among those were relinquishment of land, and the mandate to kick German troops out of Finland. 

The Soviets set an impossibly short timeline for the proposed withdrawal, and eventually started threatening Finland with occupation if they didn't begin military operations in earnest to expel the 200,000+ German Soldiers on Finnish soil. What followed was a somewhat half-hearted but still bloody conflict that lasted over seven months. Ultimately both sides suffered around 4,000 casualties, and large swaths of Finnish countryside was destroyed by the Germans as they withdrew. 

​The Finnish decision is not the thing heroic movies are made of, but it was a pragmatic move to ensure Finland's existence and relative independence in the coming Cold War (and remember, King Leonidas died along with his 300). Until the fall of the Soviet Union it had to walk a fine political line, careful not to upset the surly bear on its border. 

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​One weapon that soldiered through the Winter War, Continuance War, Lapland War, and the Cold War is this Finnish M/23 Luger chambered in 7.65 Parabellum (.30 Luger). Finland, as a newly independent nation in 1917, needed to arm themselves to prepare for the eventuality of war. While rifles were covered by using Imperial era Russian Mosin Nagants -- either used as-is or improved by Finnish arsenals -- Finland looked elsewhere for handguns. The most common by the WW2 era were Lugers produced by the German firm DWM. These generally followed the pattern for the 1920 Commercial model Luger, and were given the nomenclature of M/23 by the Finns. 

They first took shipment in 1922, eventually acquiring 8,000 such pistols. Despite Finland developing a home-grown pistol in the Lahti, the Lugers continued in service into the 1980s. However the years and battlefield losses had taken their toll on the weapons resulting in only 3,724 of the original 8,000 pistols remaining in military stores. 

As a fun fact these were issued and used with "Artillery" style board shoulder stocks, making them the only factory 4" barreled Lugers in the US that you can attach a proper stock to  without creating a SBR. These are actually a relatively new addition to the ATF's curio and relics NFA exempt list (exemption in 2012, and I didn't see it published until the ATF 2018 update). Proof that dedicated collectors with historical documentation can still change minds over at ATF! -- There is a forum thread that chronicles the tale if you search "Finnish Luger Stock". -- Thanks to the user "Nap" for helping out the community!