740.0011 European War 1939/12236: Telegram
The Minister in Finland (Schoenfeld) to the Secretary of State
[Received 5:45 p.m.]
203. A well-informed reserve officer of the Finnish General Staff has expressed the opinion that Finnish mobilization is entirely defensive in character and that the Finnish armed forces will take no initiative should hostilities between Russia and Germany ensue. The purpose of the Finnish mobilization, he said, is to meet the eventuality of a Russian offensive across Finnish territory. Present plans call for any attack upon Russia from Finland to be carried out solely by German troops. This attack, our informant thought, would be in the North.
He expressed the opinion that the high command of the Finnish Army, as well as the members of the Government, are under no illusion as to the predicament Finland is in and that there is no desire for Finnish participation in a war against the Soviet Union. However, Finland has been caught in the vortex of German plans. He thought that by reason of recent events Finland now has lost moral hold on Sweden which might have resulted in Swedish assistance in the event of further Soviet aggression and that the Swedes are now in a position to refuse such support on the ground that Finland has gone too far.
The degree to which the Finnish Army is subservient to German pressure is revealed by the part that our informant says he was not called to his former position on the General Staff because he was persona non grata to the Germans.