General Mannerheim was urging that the president prepare for the possible war to the East. Sweden had already offered military support if the USSR tried to intervene in Finland. Mannerheim looked out the window of his office at Tälii Military Academy. He could only hope that it would not come to war, Finland was a small country with a small military. Russia was a brute when it came to war be it the first world war or the Manchurian Conflicts. Finland had a small army consisting of 25,000 soldiers including reserves, and it had few outdated tanks and planes that they had received from the Soviets and Germans in the early 30's. "Mr president, we need to start preparing now. Even if the war does not come, it will only help strengthen our nations defense. We have nothing to lose by being prepared. It is better to be safe than sorry." The president sat in a chair in Mannerheim's office in deep thought. He did not want to provoke the Soviets by mobilizing their armed forces. However, it was necessary for the defense of Finland to do it. He let out a long sigh... "Mobilize no more than 10,000 soldiers and don't place them with in 50Km of the Russian borders. We have no need to provoke them."
With that Mannerheim left his office putting on his coat and hat as he exited the building and walked into the blizzard outside.
Soldiers of small units were being placed in the towns of Ivalo, Kellosselkä, Taivalokoski, Tiiarnen, Lieksa, Ilomantsi, Imatra, and Kotka. There were little more than 1,000 men per town, but at least it was something