Visit Finland is offering the opportunity for a UK journalist to experience a brand new Military History Tour in the eastern region of Wild Taiga, exploring authentic battle sites, exhibitions and memorials of the 1939-1940 Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union. The tour also explores the Continuation War of 1941-1944 and how the lives of the families living across the border were affected by the war. Furthermore, as geopolitical issues on the EU's border remain topical in today's global news, the trip will take a look at Finland's own border surveillance methods. 

This press trip is organised in collaboration with Wild Taiga (Kuhmo-Suomussalmi Travel Trade Association) and will be three to four days. The dates are flexible in October and November 2014. The programme will consist of visits to war museums and war sights out in the Finnish wilderness, local food (both in forests and restaurants), as well as some light hiking and bear watching (for which the area is well-known).

This is the first time that a battlefield tour has been packaged together for the international market in Finland and explores an engaging part of the country joining the East and West; a location that has made the Kuhmo-Suomussalmi region a battleground several times over the centuries.  The unexpected Winter War began when this remote rural area became one of the targets of the Red Army's major offensive on 30th Nov 1939.  The district was singled out due to one geographical fact: the shortest route to the city of Oulu, located on the west coast of Finland, passed through Wild Taiga and, had it been successful, would have split Finland in two and made a perfect gift for Stalin's 60th birthday in December.

The name of this new military history tour, 'A Frozen Hell', is based on the American writer William R Trotter's book of the same name which describes the fierce fighting against superior numbers in temperatures as low as -40°C during the 1939-1940 war. The Finns exploited their knowledge of the locality, skiing skills and creativity to surround several pockets of the enemy (a Finnish military tactic called Motti). The freezing cold and hunger broke the Red Army's fighting spirit. To the surprise of the international media, tiny Finland did not surrender, like many other countries had at that time, but drove the foreign invaders from their land. The border remained in the same place as it had been since 1595 and the battle grounds stayed within Finland's territory.

For more information, please see http://www.wildtaiga.fi/en. 

Visit Finland is inviting UK media to experience this new tour subject to a confirmed commission and tour availability. Please get in touch if you're interested in participating.