On paper, the Soviet Baltic Fleet entered the Winter War with battleships, cruisers, and a strength the small Finnish Navy could not match. Direct contact between the two navies remained limited, and the fleet's principal task became bombarding positions that the army was trying to capture. The repeated attacks show how little operational freedom the naval force enjoyed. Finnish defensive skill and the land campaign determined what the fleet was asked to do more than its nominal order of battle did. Soviet sea power could be substantial while functioning mainly as artillery for an army-led war.
Notable Point · 4:47-7:37
The Baltic Fleet's repetitive Winter War fire-support mission
The Winter War shows a powerful Baltic Fleet reduced largely to repeated bombardment of Finnish positions in support of the Red Army.