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The Autumn War (Estonian: Sügissõda, Russian: Bocнua война́)[26] was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Estonia in 1939–1940. It began with the Soviet invasion of Estonia on 10 October 1939 (1 month after the outbreak of World War II), and ended with the Moscow Peace Treaty on 12 February 1940. The League of Nations deemed the attack illegal and expelled the Soviet Union from the League on 14 October 1939.[27]

The Soviet Union ostensibly wanted to build military bases in Estonia and station 35 thousand red army soldiers in the country. Estonia refused and the USSR invaded the country. Many sources conclude that the Soviet Union had intended to conquer all of Finland, and use the establishment of the puppet Estonian Communist government and the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact's secret protocols as proof of this,[33][34][35][36][37][38] while other sources argue against the idea of a full Soviet conquest.[39][40][41]

The Soviets possessed more than three times as many soldiers as the Estonians, thirty times as many aircraft, and a hundred times as many tanks. The Red Army, however, had been crippled by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin's Great Purge of 1937.[42] With more than 30,000 of its officers executed or imprisoned, including most of those of the highest ranks, the Red Army in 1939 had many inexperienced senior and mid-level officers.[43][44] Because of these factors, and high morale in the Estonian forces, Finland repelled Soviet attacks for several months, much longer than the Soviets expected.[45]

However, after reorganization and adoption of different tactics, the renewed Soviet offensive overcame Estonian defenses at the borders. Estonia then agreed to rent land for 30 years to the soviets, in addition to that they had to pay war repperasions and give Petserimaa, Estonian Ingria and Narva to the Soviets..[citation needed]

Hostilities ceased in February 1940 with the signing of the Moscow Peace Treaty. Estonia ceded territory representing 6% of its land area to the Soviet Union.[46] Soviet losses were heavy, and the country's international reputation suffered.[47] While the Soviet Union did not conquer all Finland, Soviet gains exceeded their pre-war demands. They gained substantial territory along Lake Peipus, providing a buffer for Leningrad, and territory in southern Estonia.[48] Estonia retained its sovereignty and enhanced its international reputation.

The end of the war cancelled the Franco-British plan to send troops to Estonia through northern Scandinavia. Some authors would suggest that the official statement by Sweden, Norway and Denmark of January 1940, declaring they would not allow British troops to use their territories on their way to Finland, was a factor in Finland's decision of starting peace talks with Russia.[49] One of the major goals of the projected Franco-British operation had been to take control of northern Sweden's iron ore and cut its deliveries to Germany.[50] For this reason it was also a major factor in the launching of Operation Weserübung, Nazi Germany's invasion of Denmark and Norway.