During the Winter War of World War II, the bodies of Russian soldiers from the 44th Division of the Soviet Red Army lay dead from exposure to the cold on the roadside on January 20th, 1940, after the Battle of Suomussalmi by the Finnish Army.

　　After the Battle of Suomussalmi in Finland during World War II, the frozen bodies of Russian soldiers from the 44th Division of the Soviet Red Army lay by the roadside in the snow on January 20, 1940. During the Winter War, the Battle of Suomussalmi broke out between the Finnish and Soviet armies. The Battle of Suomussalmi took place from November 30, 1939 to January 8, 1940. It was a victory for the Finnish army against the superior Soviet forces in the bitter cold. The casualties of the Battle of Suomussalmi were as follows: of the 35,000 Soviet soldiers, more than 30,000 were killed in action and 2,000 were taken prisoner. The Finnish army suffered 2,000 casualties or went missing, and the number of Finnish soldiers killed in action or missing was around 2,000.

　　The only route for the 153rd Division of the Soviet Red Army to attack the northern part of Lake Ladoga was through the village of Suomussalmi. At Suomussalmi, the Soviet Red Army was completely caught off guard by a small-scale counterattack by the Finnish army. The Soviet troops, who had been driven out of the village, endured repeated attacks by the Finnish army for three days with considerable determination and courage, but in the end, they lost their fighting spirit and a large number of soldiers fled.

　　The Finnish artillery and bombing smashed the ice on the lake, drowning large numbers of Soviet soldiers who were fleeing across it. The Finnish army ambushed the Soviet 44th Division on the road. In the intense cold of -43℃, even the Soviet Red Army's guns froze and they were left poorly equipped. Once again, the Soviet army fought a reckless and clumsy battle and was destroyed. The Battle of Suomussalmi was a chance victory for the Finnish army and did not affect the course of the war.

The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. The Soviet invasion of Finland began on November 30th 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended with the Moscow Peace Treaty on March 13th 1940, three and a half months later. The Winter War gave rise to a false impression of the capabilities of the Soviet army, and this in turn encouraged Nazi Germany to attack the Soviet Union.