None of the troops stationed in the area of Vyborg's front were actually Finnish troops.

The reason for this was not that Marshal Mannerheim was not aware of the importance of Vyborg.

However, even if he knew that Vyborg's defense was a top priority, Mannerheim would not be able to mobilize a single soldier there. After two months of bitter fighting, although the Finnish army achieved a great victory, it defeated more than ten divisions of the Soviet army and annihilated tens of thousands of enemies. The strength of the Finnish army itself was also depleted by more than 30 percent compared with the beginning of the war. The continuous losses have long exceeded Mannerheim's psychological bottom line.

If it were not for the military support of the countries of the League of Nations, as well as some of the technical equipment shipped by Germany from non-members of the League of Nations. Perhaps, the Mannerheim Line, named after him, has long been unsupportable.

Now, the Finnish troops, who were familiar with the complex terrain of the Mannerheim Line, were filled in according to their aptitude. The monotonous terrain around Vyborg, due to the lack of troops, had to be defended by the newly arrived volunteers of various countries.

Besides, the defenders in Vyborg now seem to be somewhat capable.

First of all, in addition to Finland itself, the volunteer troops of the other three Nordic countries were all assembled in the area of Vyborg, and they were piled together, known as one army - the Nordic Army.

This army has a total of 8,000 Swedish divisions, a 1,000-strong Danish regiment, and a 700-strong Norwegian battalion.

The weapons and equipment of this Nordic army, except for the Swedish division, which accounts for the majority, are quite passable, and the weapons used by the volunteers sent by Denmark and Norway are basically on the same level as the weapons of the Soviet artillery fodder division.

The only thing worth mentioning is that the Nordic Army has a small independent Swedish Air Force volunteer unit under its command. Although they use old-fashioned fighters, it is better than nothing for Finland, which lacks guns and artillery.

In addition, the volunteer division sent by Sweden also carried a small amount of artillery, so that the Nordic army did not have only light weapons to use. And the volunteer troops sent by Denmark and Norway really feel like millet plus rifles.

"Let's hope that the Nordic army can hold it!" In his operational headquarters, Mannerheim worriedly analyzed with several staff officers.

Just now, they received a report that the Soviet troops had launched a large-scale artillery bombardment in the direction of Vyborg and concentrated air raids and bombardment.

In fact, for this operation, Timoshenko dispatched more than 500 planes and more than 440 artillery pieces at one time, and carried out fierce advance aviation fire and artillery fire preparations for the positions of the Danish regiments of the Nordic Army in front and their rear. Shortly after Mannerheim received the report of the battle, the news of the defeat of the Danish forces followed.

"The Nordic Army has sent an entire Swedish division to launch a counteroffensive, and even the air force of the Swedish Volunteers has followed." A young staff officer with glasses tried to cheer everyone up: "Sweden's troops are known as the strongest of our four Nordic countries. With them on the move this time, the Soviets' plans may have been frustrated. ”

The morale-boosting words of the young staff officer brought a touch of self-comfort to the command. Before this time, the Swedish volunteer division, which was the main force of the Nordic Army, had never made a move. And Mannerheim, the Finnish marshal, actually did not have command over the Nordic army.

Although they had never seen Swedish troops fighting, everyone thought that the Swedish volunteers must be very capable of fighting. It was even rumored that the Swedish Volunteers had a large number of independent air forces and countless artillery pieces.

For the struggling Finnish army, with reinforcements from the largest Nordic power behind them, this was already a strong psychological support for them. No one would object to even self-deception, even if the support was deliberately exaggerated, or even fabricated to the point of being ridiculously powerful.

They need a hope so badly, even if it's a fragile, ethereal, bubble-like unreliable hope, they want to believe.

Since there have been high hopes, it is rumored that the miraculous German army did not come. That could only boast of the volunteer force sent by Sweden as an ideal substitute for German reinforcements. What "No. 1 in Northern Europe", "industrial power", "European power" and the like, simply add them all in one go.

If it weren't for the onslaught of the Soviets in Vyborg, Mannerheim would have been willing to keep this support there all the time, as a beautiful ornament to support the will of the Finnish army.

"The Swedish division launched a counterattack?" Mannerheim was not as optimistic as the young staff officer. Instead, he closed his eyes in pain and smiled bitterly: "Where do they get their confidence?" Is it by their dozens of planes, or by their dozens of artillery? ”

No one could answer Mannerheim's question, for everyone here understood that neither planes nor artillery had enough for the Soviets.

Even the Finnish high command for the sake of propaganda blew the Swedish volunteers into the sky. But their real strength is still that.

Mannerheim now wants to scold the commander of the Swedish Volunteer Army, how many pounds and taels do he have, but he doesn't have a number in his heart? Holding the position may not be able to hold on, what kind of counterattack is there to do!

This is a typical manifest long, who wants to find death!

It is estimated that the troops at the front will soon get the news of a strong counterattack by the Swedish division, the main force of the Nordic Army.

This kind of news can never be hidden. Moreover, by the time the Norsemen informed Mannerheim, they would have already set off. Mannerheim, even if he wanted to, missed the best time.

He could even imagine the eagerness of the struggling troops on the front line to get the grapevine and hope that the Swedish volunteers would make a beautiful counterattack and stabilize the situation a little.

And then, after the expected rout of the Swedish expeditionary force, the soldiers on the front line had disappointed, hopeless, painful expressions that Mannerheim did not even dare to imagine........

After a long time, when Mannerheim realized that everything now was an established fact. He slowly opened his eyes, rubbed his forehead vigorously and asked, "Forget it, you can't call this group of Swedes back....... By the way, they ran to the whole army to counterattack, and what about the Vyborg defense mission handed over to the Nordic Army? ”

"They said in the telegram that the defense was entrusted to the reinforced battalion of volunteers sent by Norway." The young staff officer, who had just spoken blindly for the Swedes, swallowed his saliva, took the telegram in his hand and whispered: "The Nordic army also said that as long as the front line is going well, there is no need to worry about defense. They believe that the best defense is offense. Once the battle situation is favorable, they will continue to mobilize the Norwegian volunteer troops in the rear to expand the results......."

A bunch of idiots! Thinking of those Swedish volunteers who did bad things with good intentions, Mannerheim pinched the bridge of his nose with a smile and said: "Let our nearby detachment collect the rout of the Danish volunteers and cooperate with the Norwegians to hold Vyborg." ”

"As for the Swedish ........division," Mannerheim took a deep breath and said slowly, "Wait for their corpses." ”