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@SvenSvensonov @Víðarr
This thread is awesome !
Thanks.



fransk soldat :p:

:lol:Yes he is:partay:. I've thrown in a few Germans too, those pics are from NATO Exercise Cold Response, which is held in Norway every year.

Cold Response

So long as they are participating with the Nords in a joint exercise, the French (and the Dutch, Brits, and anyone else) are welcome in this thread too.

Just don't go overboard with the non-Nords or I'll go :taz:on you!

:yahoo:

Stand-by for pics from Cold Response 2015, when they are made public:(.

Yes....yes @Víðarr has all the time in the world to talk about Nordics but she has no time for her Pakistani brother ! :cry:

*Sad music plays in the background as Armstrong stares into the abyss and sighs heavily to himself*

Too many people helping with the Pakistani military threads, same reason I don't touch the Russian Defense Section, despite being a Russian and living there for half my life. This thread isn't updated by anyone except Kai and I, doing what I can to help him out.

:cheers:
 
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Norway RULES !

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I know it's a look at the past, but no Nordic military thread could be complete without the inclusion of this man, Simo Haya. The greatest sniper in military history. He was a farmer, hunter, soldier and patriot.

He fought for his country during the Winter War of 1939-1940.
Credited with 505 kills using a modified Mosin Nagant M28 rifle, the Finish White Guard M/28-30 "Pystykorva" and a Suomi 9mm 9mm submachine gun.
He preferred to use iron sights to present a smaller target for the enemy, even though he was 5ft 3 :-), (a sniper must raise his head higher when using a telescopic sight), to increase accuracy (a telescopic sight’s glass can fog up easily in cold weather), and to aid in concealment (sunlight glare in telescopic sight lenses can reveal a sniper’s position).

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He had part of his face blown off during the war and lived with a disfigurement.
The Finns fought against incredible odds, at one stage during the battle of the Kollaa River, there only 32 Finns fighting against over 4,000 Soviets troops. Despite being outnumbered they were still victorious at the conclusion of the battle.
By the War's end in 1940 Finnish troops had inflicted 323,000 casualties on the invading Russians, while sustaining only 70,000 casualties themselves.


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He retired to quiet life and continued hunting. Although a national hero, he was a humble man who never liked to revel in the limelight.

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When asked about his exploits he replied "“I only did my duty, and what I was told to do, as well as I could.”

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RIP soldier.
 
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@waz

This guy was hardcore,what a SOLDIER !

Humble Beginnings


Depending on the record, Simo Häyhä was born in either 1905 or 1906 in the farming town of Rautajärvi. Once the Soviet Union was formed and Finland had gained its independence, the town in which he lived found itself to be only a very short distance from the Russian border. His childhood was filled with plenty of hard work on the farm, which coupled with the Finnish wilderness made him a very tough – yet patient – man. A few years later in 1925, Häyhä served a mandatory one-year service in Finland’s army. While one year may not be a long time, he obviously made the best of it: by the time he was honorably discharged, he had been promoted to the rank of corporal.



Later on, Häyhä joined the Finnish Civil Guard, a military organization comparable to the National Guard in the United States. During his time with the Civil Guard, he received a great deal of training, which included target shooting. Shooting was always an interest for Häyhä, and any spare time he had was spent outdoors shooting at whatever targets he could find. His first rifle was a Russian-built Mosin-Nagant bolt action M91, and was later introduced to the better-performing M28/30 and the 9mm Suomi submachine gun. Thanks to both his training and natural enjoyment of shooting, Häyhä was eventually able to hit a target 16 times per minute at about 500 feet away, making him an excellent sniper—a skill that would later serve him very well.

The Winter War
In 1939, the Soviet Union attempted to invade Finland. Being a member of the Civil Guard, Häyhä was called into service, serving under the 6th Company of JR 34 on the Kollaa River. Commanded by Major General Uiluo Tuompo, the Finns faced both the 9th and 14th Soviet Armies, and at one point were fighting against as many as 12 divisions— about 160,000 soldiers. Also at one point in the same area, there only 32 Finns fighting against over 4,000 Soviets!

Despite being outnumbered, however, the Finns were still victorious at the end of the day. The invading Soviets weren’t as organized as one would expect: they spoke many different languages, and they weren’t used to the harsh Finnish winters either. In fact, the winter of 1939-40 was very snowy, and had temperatures ranging from -40 to -20 degrees Celsius.

The Finns were also smart in their tactics, the most notable of which were known as “Motti”-tactics. Since the Soviets would invade by the roads, the Finns would hide out in the surrounding wilderness. They would then let the invaders cross the border, and attack them from behind!

Becoming “The White Death”
Hayha’s involvement in the Winter War was very extraordinary. With his Mosin-Nagant M91 rifle, he would dress in white winter camouflage, and carry with him only a day’s worth of supplies and ammunition. While hiding out in the snow, he would then take out any Russian who entered his killing zone. Hayha preferred to use iron sights on his gun instead of scopes, as scopes had a tendency to glare in the sunlight and reveal his position. While he may sound like an ordinary sniper, this was far from the case: over the course of 100 days during the winter he racked up over 500 kills, earning him the nickname “The White Death”. The Soviets feared him so much that they mounted numerous counter sniper and artillery attacks to get rid of him, all of which failed miserably. However, on March 6th, 1940, he was hit in the jaw by an explosive round from a counter sniper. He fell into an 11-day coma, awakening on the day that the war ended.

Legacy
Hayha was given numerous awards, and was also promoted from corporal to second lieutenant, a jump in the ranks that had never been seen in Finland’s history. Despite being slightly disfigured, he recovered from his injury, and went on to live until the age of 97. He allegedly attributed his deadly sniping skills to “practice”.

Despite gaining around 22,000 square miles of Finish soil, the Soviets lost the Winter War, with 1,000,000 of their original 1,500,000 troops having been killed by the defending Finns. A Russian general later remarked that the land they had conquered was “just enough to bury their dead”.

The Incredible Story of Finnish Sniper Simo Hayha - Simo Hayha
 
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@SvenSvensonov @Víðarr I read somewhere that Sweden's total active military personnel are around 60,000 ! Does that really provide a minimum credible deterrence ? Or does Sweden have a large reserve that can be called up in times of war ?
 
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@SvenSvensonov @Víðarr I read somewhere that Sweden's total active military personnel are around 60,000 ! Does that really provide a minimum credible deterrence ? Or does Sweden have a large reserve that can be called up in times of war ?

The military is small right now, especially as conscription ended and the Forsvarsmakten (Swedish military) transitioned to a purely volunteer-based military.

At any point in time there are only 15,000 active troops, with as many as 20,000 in reserve, so it's actually less than 60,000. Still, the militaries of the Nordic nations fight as one and contribute troops to each others defense at all times, so responsibility is shared between several nations.

it's a small force, but a credible one. No one has yet dared to mess with the Nordic nations.

:taz:

The Swedish Armed Forces
 
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The military is small right now, especially as conscription ended and the Forsvarsmakten (Swedish military) transitioned to a purely volunteer-based military.

At any point in time there are only 15,000 active troops, with as many as 20,000 in reserve, so it's actually less than 60,000. Still, the militaries of the Nordic nations fight as one and contribute troops to each others defense at all times, so responsibility is shared between several nations.

it's a small force, but a credible one. No one has yet dared to mess with the Nordic nations.

:taz:

The Swedish Armed Forces

I was thinking of conquering Sweden with @Nihonjin1051 but then when we saw @SvenSvensonov 's teary eyed face and your angry glare that reminded us of a Siberian tigeress we decided not to ! :(

Plus the weather was so cold that both Nihonjin and I being warm blooded mammals didn't really fancy being turned to Viking Popsicles over there ! :tongue:

I hear that @SvenSvensonov beard once froze in Malmo when he stood in line to buy some eggs ! :o:

I bet if either of you guys - who hail from cooler regions - were to come to Lahore - my city - in the summers where the temperature can be as high as 104 F + you'd probably melt ! :p:

But I wouldn't have it any other way; I suppose we all love our hometowns don't we ? :smitten:
 
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Miscellaneous pictures of the Forsvarsmakten

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I bet if either of you guys - who hail from cooler regions - were to come to Lahore - my city - in the summers where the temperature can be as high as 104 F + you'd probably melt ! :p:

You'd be surprised. It gets really hot in Virginia, plus humidity it can feel upwards of 120f in the Summer. He lived in Utah too. It's -10 for half the year and 110 the other half

:p:

I got to get back to work now:(. I'll see you later today:yahoo:.
 
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