Wikipedia talk:Requests for mediation/Continuation War

Parties' agreement to mediation
I could agree to mediation on the matters related to the listed topics but as it stands issues list does not list issues instead it lists what user YMB29 wants them to state without any indication of user's willingness to compromise. I will agree to starting the mediation on actually neutral basis but i can not agree to it on the basis of the currently issued list of demands by user YMB29. I see no point starting mediation under such loaded terms. - Wanderer602 (talk) 21:27, 28 August 2012 (UTC)
 * What exactly do you not agree with?
 * Perhaps you should have filed for this? However, you did not want to file for dispute resolution and seemed uninterested in filing for mediation too, so I had to do it... -YMB29 (talk) 22:14, 28 August 2012 (UTC)
 * If the topic lists only and nothing but the issues (e.g. 'result of the VP-offensive' & 'Novyi Beloostrov 4-5 September 1941') and none of your personal POV behind them, ie. would actually be neutral, then i have no problem agreeing to mediation. And to the compromises involved as stated in RfM Guide. I saw no need for it since there already was WP:3 which you have refused accept. In similar manner DRN offered the very same solution which you again refused to accept. - Wanderer602 (talk) 22:27, 28 August 2012 (UTC)
 * No, you are again manipulating what others have said. The only thing clear from DR is your OR with the war diaries.
 * The descriptions are more neutral now. -YMB29 (talk) 03:49, 29 August 2012 (UTC)
 * How do you both intend to resolve this dispute, if not through mediation? Please also be aware that, as part of the mediation proceedings, the mediator will establish the issues in dispute, so the current list of issues is likely to be changed. AGK  [•] 10:44, 31 August 2012 (UTC)
 * I do welcome mediation even if I'm not certain that it is needed after what WP:3 has stated and what took place at DRN. What i objected to was the clearly non-neutral and non-compromising way the issues had been placed forward. - Wanderer602 (talk) 11:03, 31 August 2012 (UTC)
 * If you want to take third opinions and dispute resolution into account, then you agree with the OR for issue #2? -YMB29 (talk) 16:31, 31 August 2012 (UTC)
 * Except it is not OR as per what was discussed with other editors earlier since i provided a secondary source as well. Just because the view differs from yours does not make it OR. But since you included the matter to mediation there is little point to discuss it until mediator comments it. - Wanderer602 (talk) 16:56, 31 August 2012 (UTC)
 * If the two issues will be rephrased or broken down further, it is ok with me. -YMB29 (talk) 16:31, 31 August 2012 (UTC)

User 1
The offensive was a Soviet strategic victory and this is backed up by many reliable sources, such as books by well known historians Glantz and Erickson. They clearly talk about the goals and results of the offensive, not the war. The main goal was to force Finland from the war on Soviet terms and this was accomplished. Only one or two Finnish sources provided by Wanderer602 say that the entire offensive was a failure. His other sources talk only about a part of the offensive or are quoted out of context; one quote from a book by Ziemke is outdated since the quoted text was corrected in a newer version of the book. I originally wanted the result to be just Soviet victory (without the word strategic). Third opinions agreed with me, but also suggested not writing a result as a compromise. I then suggested strategic victory, but there were no further comments on this. I see no reason that the result should not be Strategic Soviet victory when there are so many sources supporting it. I don't like it is not a valid reason.

The second issue is a clear case of original research by Wanderer602. He explains it well himself. -YMB29 (talk) 12:39, 22 October 2012 (UTC)

User 2
Several sources have been provided which state that the operation was a Soviet failure (operationally). Most of the sources provided by YMB29 discuss the result of the war not the result of the offensive, and the article in case (i) is about the offensive not about the war. Since there are now sources with opinions of the result on different levels it seems that most practical solution would be to blank the result entry and discuss the result itself in the article, that was also the one recommended by WP:3 (requested by YMB29 who subsequently rejected the said recommendation) and also by guidelines for the use of military conflict infobox. Finnish primary documents (war diaries) do not mention the fighting in the village (not a town) of Novyi Beloostrov (Valkeasaaren asema - lit. Valkeasaari station), not in any level, starting from General HQ down to regimental at that time. Neither do Finnish secondary sources which give an overview to the fighting in the area while they note other fighting of similar scale nearby. All sources have since been marked 'OR' by YMB29 without any basis for such an action. Finnish documents do state that Finns advanced up to the small stream just north of the village however. Also meanwhile there was fighting at Staryi Beloostrov (Valkeasaari) (other village some 6 km north of the first one) which Finns did capture and in where Soviets counterattacked though that village was in the end still in Finnish control. - Wanderer602 (talk) 07:07, 21 October 2012 (UTC)

Comment from uninvolved user
It looks like there's a very easy solution to this dispute. Rather than oversimplifying the issue by labeling victory for one side, use the "result" section of the infobox to be more specific, such as in this article: Battle of Damascus (2012). Since it looks like the operation was not a complete victory, break the operation down and list in the "results" section what territory the Soviets gained and what territory they failed to gain. A "decisive victory" does not need to be labeled for one side for every battle article. -- FutureTrillionaire (talk) 23:48, 21 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Yes, we can do that. Also, strategic victory does not mean that one side won decisively. -YMB29 (talk) 12:46, 22 October 2012 (UTC)

Next steps
I am going to read over the whole history of this dispute (i.e., the prior DR attempts) and then begin the discussion process. Thank you both for posting your statements quickly. Best, Lord Roem (talk) 15:59, 22 October 2012 (UTC)

Issues to be resolved
I have read over the discussions on the talk page and all your statements to gain a better understanding of the dispute at hand. Before we move on, we need to first agree to the two issues we will actually discuss. If my short summary below is satisfactory, please sign below.


 * Issue One: Was the offensive a strategic victory? If it was not, is the better alternative to note how partial it was in the infobox, or refer to the Aftermath section for discussion.


 * Issue Two: Was there small fighting near that Finnish town in September 1941? How much weight should be given to the primary and secondary Finnish sources?

Parties endorsing this summary

 * 1) I'm ok with them, but not with YMB29's suggested change. - Wanderer602 (talk) 07:27, 23 October 2012 (UTC)
 * 1) I'm ok with them, but not with YMB29's suggested change. - Wanderer602 (talk) 07:27, 23 October 2012 (UTC)

For the second issue the problem is how the Finnish sources can be used, whether the statement that there was no fighting according to these sources is original research or not. -YMB29 (talk) 05:17, 23 October 2012 (UTC)
 * So far i haven't been able to find any evidence supporting the fight, and neither have other users (Whiskey) who have tried. There isn't even indirect support for it which i have left out from the article since it would OR to use it, but for example casualty reports have nothing of a kind listed in them for the formations which were at the site at the time. Using Finnish information of the units which were at the site, of whose location and the absence of other units being verified by primary and secondary sources, is not OR. It simply states what Finnish sources state of the site at the time, which is that nothing happened. - Wanderer602 (talk) 07:27, 23 October 2012 (UTC)
 * That is your conclusion based on your own research and analysis of sources, so it is OR. -YMB29 (talk) 12:14, 23 October 2012 (UTC)


 * Woah. Hold on a second there fellas. We'll get to these issues in an orderly fashion. Now YMB29, I understand you disagree with his use of those sources. Is that an issue you want us to talk about in this mediation? If yes, please sign an endorsement of the issues for us to review. If not, please tell me what things you want to change specifically about the summary. If you're concerned about those sources, we'll get there. -- Lord Roem (talk) 13:21, 23 October 2012 (UTC)
 * I am not concerned about the sources, but about how they are used. I think this should be stated in the summary. -YMB29 (talk) 14:37, 23 October 2012 (UTC)

"How much weight should be given to the primary and secondary Finnish sources?" This would address the usage of those sources. Lord Roem (talk) 17:05, 23 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Yes, but the issue is not about their weight (I am not saying that they are less important than others), but how they are used or misused for the statement that there was no fighting. -YMB29 (talk) 17:22, 23 October 2012 (UTC)

Revised issues to be resolved
Small revision/addition based on discussion above.


 * Issue One: Was the offensive a strategic victory? If it was not, is the better alternative to note how partial it was in the infobox, or refer to the Aftermath section for discussion?


 * Issue Two: Was there small fighting near that Finnish town in September 1941? How should the primary and secondary Finnish sources be used in relation to that event?

Parties endorsing this summary

 * 1) The summaries are fine now. -YMB29 (talk) 17:58, 23 October 2012 (UTC)
 * 2) I suppose i can accept them. - Wanderer602 (talk) 21:49, 23 October 2012 (UTC)


 * Comment: If it's unclear or disputed that fighting took place in the Finnish town, can't you guys just simply mention in the article that it's unclear whether clashes occurred there? Do we really need to decide whether it happened or not?-- FutureTrillionaire (talk) 18:22, 23 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Well there are sources that clearly state that there was fighting and there are no sources that dispute this. Wanderer602 himself came to the conclusion that there was no fighting after he looked at several Finnish sources. -YMB29 (talk) 19:11, 23 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Problem is that there can not be sources discussing an absence of something. Reports and later on documents discuss on what took place, not what didn't - in other words military reports do not make note unless something happened. Or if they do it does go anywhere apart from the lowest level sources. - Wanderer602 (talk) 21:49, 23 October 2012 (UTC)

Strategic Victory?
We have to first determine whether the offensive was a "strategic victory". There are several sub-points here for us to discuss to reach a decision. The reason you both are here in formal mediation is because prior attempts at working this out have failed. Please keep an open mind, be willing to compromise, and understand the structure I am using to help guide you two to a result you both can live with.

Sub-issues: (1) Do Glantz & Erickson conclude that the offensive was a "Soviet strategic victory"; (2) If Yes, what specific 'strategic' goals were accomplished; (3) What weight should be afforded the Glantz & Erickson paper; (4) What, if any, sources conclude that it was not a strategic victory; (5) Are these sources to be afforded any weight; (6) Drafting a compromise

Let's first begin with the preliminary question of whether Glantz and Erickson conclude that the offensive was a "strategic victory" for the Soviets. For this, and all discussions, I want to minimize blocks of text. Find a quote from the source to support your position, and we'll see where it goes.

It's not a bad thing to agree with each other on any of these small points. Don't have a battlefield mentality (no pun intended). -- Lord Roem (talk) 03:31, 24 October 2012 (UTC)

Glantz & Erickson's conclusions
Glantz: (When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler, pp. 202-203):
 *  The Karelian operations of 1944, the first phase of the summer campaign, were designed to drive Finland from the war, divert attention from Soviet offensive preparations further south, and embarrass the Germans by driving one of their allies from the war. The Stavka ordered the Leningrad and Karelian Fronts to secure the Karelo-Finnish isthmus and the expanse of Karelia north and northwest of Leningrad. Govorov's front, supported by the Baltic Fleet, was ordered to attack on 10 June 1944 to secure Vyborg within 10 days and Meretskov's front was to strike north of Lake Ladoga beginning on 21 June... By 21 June, the left flank of his 21st Army had secured Vyborg despite intense and sordid negotiations between the Finns and Germans over the possible dispatch of German assistance. Govorov then reinforced his forward forces at Vyborg with units of 59th Army, which were transported by ship to the Finnish city. The same day Meretskov's 7th Army commenced operations into Central Karelia from its positions along the Svir River. The combined Soviet operations north and south of Lake Ladoga ultimately forced the Finns to sue for peace in September, and although token German assistance finally did arrive, the die was already cast for the Finns. Soon events elsewhere rendered the Karelian operations a distinct sideshow to the main military effort taking place to the south of Belorussia. For their efforts against the Finns, both Govorov and Meretskov were promoted to the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union. The Finnish campaign had the added bonus of keeping German attention focused away from Army Group Center. In fact, an organized strategic deception campaign portrayed major Soviet offensives on the northern and southern flanks, with only limited attacks on Army Group Center expected later in the summer.

Erickson (The Road to Berlin: Stalin's War with Germany, pp. 197, 329-330) :


 *  The General Staff plan envisaged the summer offensive being opened with the Leningrad Front attack, timed for the beginning of June and aimed at Vyborg, to be supplemented by the Karelian Front striking out for Svirsk—Petrozavodsk to knock Finland right out of the war... 
 *  The moment to tighten the screw on Finland had finally come; the first June attacks, though ultimately contained, virtually exhausted Finnish reserves (so Marshal Mannerheim reported to Hitler), and after another month of ceaseless hammering the situation had grown desperate. The Finns struggled furiously to seal up every path and passage from the defile between the two great lakes but it was, as Meretskov observed, a losing battle. Soviet troops bored on with Finnish resistance stiffening nearer to the frontier; roads were mined and barricaded, bridges blown, stretches of open country mined. The Red Army pounded the Finns into asking for an armistice and into repudiating the Waffenbrudenchaft with Germany. Already on 28 July President Ryti appeared at Finnish Headquarters to inform Mannerheim of his decision to lay down his office and begged the Marshal to assume the presidency. President Ryti resigned on 1 August and Mannerheim took up his new post, intent on leading Finland out of the war. 

So they state the main goal of the strategic offensive (forcing Finland from the war) and then say that it was accomplished. Obviously this means strategic victory and Wanderer602 even agreed with this. -YMB29 (talk) 07:01, 24 October 2012 (UTC)


 * I think these sources do conclude that the offensive lead to the armistice. They don't, though, use the term strategic victory - a term of art - in their language. Both those points I feel are a fair reading of the text. Thoughts? Lord Roem (talk) 15:12, 24 October 2012 (UTC)

You both need to stop your side conversations and follow the structure. We will get to all issues in time, but you must follow the process I have set out. The reason you are here is because your discussions haven't worked in the past.

The only question right now is whether the statement I made above is a fair reading of this source. Namely, that the mission of the offensive lead to the peace and succeeded in that regard, but that it doesn't explicitly say it was a "strategic victory". Lord Roem (talk) 17:18, 24 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Technically no to both. To be precise the source states only that Red Army achieved something, not that the offensive in question would have do so on its own. - Wanderer602 (talk) 18:15, 24 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Wanderer602, just a tad confused. You agree that it says the Russians got something out of the offensive, but that the offensive wasn't the necessary element of that success, i.e. it was just part of the elements that led to victory? I just want to make sure I know where you're coming from. Lord Roem (talk) 22:26, 24 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Yes, exactly so. - Wanderer602 (talk) 05:11, 25 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Cool.
 * So, what's your take on this sentence: "The combined Soviet operations north and south of Lake Ladoga ultimately forced the Finns to sue for peace in September, and although token German assistance finally did arrive, the die was already cast for the Finns." -- Lord Roem (talk) 05:21, 25 October 2012 (UTC)
 * That it is discussing that the offensive contributed to the armistice, eventually. More so because offensive ended for most parts already in July and the source is discussing event that took place in September. - Wanderer602 (talk) 05:36, 25 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Yes, your statement is accurate. The sources don't explicitly say that it was a strategic victory. However, if they say that the main goal was achieved then it is obviously a victory, and it is acceptable to conclude that, as I verified on the military history talk page. -YMB29 (talk) 19:55, 24 October 2012 (UTC)

It appears we have some agreements between the two of you on a few points. First, you both agree the sources don't explicitly use the term "strategic victory" to define the offensive. Additionally, you both agree that the offensive resulted or help result in the peace. YMB29 said "the main goal was achieved" and Wanderer602 said "it is discussing that the offensive contributed to the armistice, eventually" and that the Russians "got something out of the offensive". That's fertile ground for compromise!

But let's leave that aside for now, we don't want to jump the gun without addressing everything.

We need to discuss what exactly these sources say was the goal of the offensive. YMB29, could you please post the most pertinent part on that subject? Thanks, Lord Roem (talk) 05:43, 25 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Well the sources quoted above clearly say what the main goal was (to drive Finland from the war, to knock Finland right out of the war). -YMB29 (talk) 14:35, 25 October 2012 (UTC)
 * I think that's a fair reading of the text. Wanderer, your thoughts? Do you agree that these sources say this particular offensive was to get Finland out of the war, as part of a larger effort to attack the "Army Group Centre" of the Germans? Lord Roem (talk) 16:07, 25 October 2012 (UTC)
 * From these particular sources at a certain level, yes. - Wanderer602 (talk) 05:04, 26 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Alright then, looks like we have an understanding on what this source says. I'm glad both of you have kept an open mind so far. Next, we'll move on to any source that says the opposite of Glantz. Wanderer, if would like to post any text from any sources you think conclude that the offensive did not accomplish its goals/was not a strategic victory/wasn't the real cause of the peace, please post them below. -- Lord Roem (talk) 05:13, 26 October 2012 (UTC)

Sources contrary to Glantz
German Northern Theatre Of Operations 1940-45, by Ziemke, p.288 & Hitler's Forgotten Armies: Combat in Norway and Finland, by Bob Carruthers (2012)
 * It appeared that as in the Winter War, although the Soviet Union could claim a victory, its offensive had failed, largely for the same reasons - underestimation of the Finnish capacity to resist and rigid, unimaginative Soviet tactical leadership.

Kun hyökkääjän tie suljettiin, by Moisala & Alanen (1988) (When attackers road was blocked)
 * ''Which quite bluntly states that Stalin's great offensive against Finns failed to reach its conclusion: Finland was not defeated militarily. In fact from military strategic view point the offensive was Soviet Union's failure, which was caused by the fact that neither of the fronts participating to the offensive managed to accomplish their respective operational/strategic missions...

The Battle for Leningrad, by David Glantz
 * During the final assault on Vyborg, the Stavka radioed a directive to the Leningrad Front promoting Govorov to the rank of Marshall of the Soviet Union and both Zhdanov and Gusev to the rank of Colonel General. Although the capture of Vyborg and the Red Army advance to the Vuoksi River line essentially ended the Vyborg operation, it did not satisfy the STAVKA's strategic aims. & By 14 July it was clear to Soviet and Finn alike that Govorov's offensive into Southern Finland had failed.


 * Like I said before, the Ziemke quote is wrong, since it was corrected in the newer version of the book:
 * Ziemke (Stalingrad to Berlin. The German Defeat in the East, p. 388):
 * It appeared that as in the Winter War of 1939-40, although the Soviet Union could claim a victory, its offensive fell short of the success it ought to have had, largely for the same reasons — underestimation of the Finnish capacity to resist and rigid, unimaginative Soviet tactical leadership.


 * The Glantz quote is taken out of context. The did not satisfy the STAVKA's strategic aims refers to the capture of Vyborg on June 20, when the offensive was going according to schedule. Glantz means that the capture of Vyborg alone (not the whole offensive) was not enough to achieve the strategic aims, so the operations of the offensive needed to continue.
 * The second sentence, Govorov's offensive into Southern Finland had failed, again refers to only one part of the offensive and not to the entire offensive. Invading southern Finland was not a strategic goal, and so the failure does not contradict strategic victory in any way.


 * So without all the misquoting, only one Finnish source is left. -YMB29 (talk) 06:32, 26 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Could you please abide by the agreed rules of the mediation? Or is it too much to ask? I was asked to provide sources and i did. You were not asked to do anything. If you can't handle the rules then why did you agree to take part to mediation? - Wanderer602 (talk) 12:14, 26 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Who said that I can't comment? If you are going to keep on misquoting sources, I think I am allowed to point this out... -YMB29 (talk) 12:55, 26 October 2012 (UTC)

Let's take one source at a time. In this section, we'll start with Carruthers. I think, if the source says the offensive failed, that's explicit. But we do need to ensure that it is taken into context. Wanderer, is it possible you could quote the immediately preceding paragraph (or the next paragraph, whichever provides more context). -- Lord Roem (talk) 13:48, 26 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Whole paragraph it is then
 * With the Army Group North making its stand on the shores of the Narva River and Lake Peipus and with the Soviet summer offensive degenerating into local attacks on the Isthmus of Karelia, the military position of Finland in August was, if only for the time being, as favorable as even a confirmed optimist would have dared to predict a month or so earlier. Between mid-July and mid-August the Russians reduced their forces on the Isthmus by 10 rifle divisions and 5 tank brigades. On 10 August in East Karelia the Finnish Army ended its last major operation in World War II with a victory when the 14th Division, the 21st Brigade and the Cavalry Brigade trapped and nearly destroyed Russian divisions in a pocket east of Ilomantsi. It appeared that as in the Winter War, altough the Soviet Union could claim a victory, its offensive had failed largely for the same reasons-underestimation of the Finnish capacity to resist and rigid, unimaginative Soviet tactical leadership.
 * Following paragraph discusses the relation of the offensive to the Normandy landings. And one preceding the paragraph i copied here discusses the problems of German Army Group North. - Wanderer602 (talk) 14:27, 26 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Author, as the text is seemingly direct copy of earlier text by Ziemke, makes here clear separation between the offensive and the war as well as of their respective results. - Wanderer602 (talk) 14:29, 26 October 2012 (UTC)
 * It is from Ziemke.
 * If the exact sentence was changed for a new book, we should go by the updated text. -YMB29 (talk) 14:54, 26 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Two things. First, the text above I think makes the claim Wanderer is speaking of, in a fairly direct way. Second, YMB29, which sentence was changed? Lord Roem (talk) 14:57, 26 October 2012 (UTC)
 * As I said above the text was changed to this: It appeared that as in the Winter War of 1939-40, although the Soviet Union could claim a victory, its offensive fell short of the success it ought to have had, largely for the same reasons — underestimation of the Finnish capacity to resist and rigid, unimaginative Soviet tactical leadership.
 * This makes a big difference. -YMB29 (talk) 15:10, 26 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Wanderer, what's your response to that change? I personally think the paragraph still says stuff didn't go right, but I'd like to hear your thoughts on this last sentence thing. Lord Roem (talk) 15:24, 26 October 2012 (UTC)
 * To me it seems cosmetic change. It does not matter which version is used as both seem to state that offensive failed to achieve its goals - first outright states that it failed and other that it fell short of its goals (i.e. failed). - Wanderer602 (talk) 16:03, 26 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Did not have the success it should have had is not the same as failed. I don't know how anyone can claim that it is the same as failed.
 * Some things not going right contradicts decisive victory, not strategic. -YMB29 (talk) 16:14, 26 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Actually that can be done quite easily, since 'fell short of the success' is a flowery phrase for saying 'unsuccessful', which is defined in various dictionaries as wiktionary, Free dictonary, Websters online dictionary - common expression being 'failed'. Or should you insist on 'fall short' expression then, Free dictionary: fall short ~ To fail to..., Websters: fall short ~ Fail to... - Wanderer602 (talk) 17:04, 26 October 2012 (UTC)
 * The phrase is fell short of the success it ought to have had, not just fell short of success and not unsuccessful or fell short. You are really trying hard to twist this. -YMB29 (talk) 17:23, 26 October 2012 (UTC)
 * , and what exactly does that expression ('ought to have had') mean according to you? Dictionaries seem to indicate that the whole expression is nothing but different wording for 'offensive failed to attain its goals'. Even more so with explicit 'the success' which indicates that the goal of the offensive was known but that the offensive failed to reach it (i.e. ought to have had). To be precise it does not in any way or level indicate success. - Wanderer602 (talk) 18:03, 26 October 2012 (UTC)
 * It actually does, just not the success it could have had. What it does not indicate is that the offensive failed, which is what you are claiming. The author obviously changed the sentence for a reason... -YMB29 (talk) 18:24, 26 October 2012 (UTC)
 * And on what do you actually base that claim on? Because the dictionaries disagree with your interpretation. Even more so with your statement of 'could have had', since 'ought to' can be understood synonymous to 'should' not to 'could'. Hence closer would be 'should have had' (with implied 'according to plan') which has totally different meaning than the phrase you suggested since it means that the offensive failed to accomplish its goals. - Wanderer602 (talk) 18:53, 26 October 2012 (UTC)
 * That is quite a jump by you from should have had to failed... Whether it is could or should does not even matter. It just cannot be interpreted as failed, and it does not make sense for the author to change it if he still meant failed. -YMB29 (talk) 19:39, 26 October 2012 (UTC)
 * If you can not recognize the difference between should and could then i think this discussion has run its length already. Also for the record only you have claimed so far that it would have been from should have had to failed, please read what was discussed above again. Before that only 'jump' there has been was your claim that ought to would have been the same as could. Also authors can to change their wording if they so choose to do without changing the meaning. - Wanderer602 (talk) 20:04, 26 October 2012 (UTC)
 * So why did he leave the other parts of the sentence and other sentences unchanged?
 * You did not write - Hence closer would be 'should have had' (with implied 'according to plan') which has totally different meaning than the phrase you suggested since it means that the offensive failed to accomplish its goals?
 * Of course there is a difference between could and should, but in the context of what we are discussing it does not matter. -YMB29 (talk) 20:21, 26 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Because he chose to (freedom of expression). It is not up to me - nor to you - to judge why certain changes were made by the author. And yes i wrote that as a reference to the whole of the contested expression of which includes the phrase "fell short" which is analogous to "to fail to". What I meant with it was that instead of your suggestion, success it could have had, it turned into something else, success it should have had. With "could" it would have implied that offensive would have had chances to achieve better results however with the "should" it is merely a notation that the offensive failed to accomplish its set goals. Hence the difference between could and should is important. - Wanderer602 (talk) 20:49, 26 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Sorry but you are not making sense. You are still jumping to failed... -YMB29 (talk) 21:06, 26 October 2012 (UTC)
 * I already said it above (several times over): "fall short" is analogous to "to fail to". Try this: offensive fell short of the success it ought to have had ~ offensive fell short of its goals ~ offensive failed to achieve its goals. - Wanderer602 (talk) 22:10, 26 October 2012 (UTC)
 * No, that is not what it means. Again, you can't make that jump. I don't know if you are having trouble with English or just refuse to understand. -YMB29 (talk) 00:32, 27 October 2012 (UTC)
 * There is no jump. So far only false conclusion was your usage of could as synonymous to ought to. Just because you don't like it does not mean it wouldn't be so. And also given the comments from the mediator it appears only you have the opinion that it would have a different meaning from the expression used in the earlier book. Don't get me wrong here, you are entitled to have your opinions but it would be beneficial to all of us as well as to the mediation if you could base them on something other than to emotional appeals. - Wanderer602 (talk) 06:46, 27 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Also you have so far not provided any versions of your own of the phrase apart from the one which was already shown to be wrong due to the use of could. So, can you provide an explanation on what the phrase means now that you are aware that ought to is synonymous to should instead of could? - Wanderer602 (talk) 07:04, 27 October 2012 (UTC)
 * What are you talking about? It is a simple phrase...
 * Why don't you explain how fell short of the success it ought to have had means failed? I don't know how that can be made to be the same thing? Maybe you are using an online translator and it is mistranslating it?
 * Funny how you are trying to accuse me of misinterpreting it, when you are guilty of that. Just admit that you are wrong. -YMB29 (talk) 07:22, 27 October 2012 (UTC)
 * So far you have been totally unable to explain what it means which casts doubt on your claim. And no, i don't use online translator. Fall short = fail to; ought to = should fell short of the success it ought to have had -> Failed to have the success it should have had. Since we are discussing a military operation the success it should have had is the same as achieve its goal since that is how the planned (what it 'should have had') success of the operation is defined. And we get failed to achieve its goals. Trying to once again redirect the discussion does not help with the mediation. So far you have not provided any valid interpretation for the phrase. - Wanderer602 (talk) 07:47, 27 October 2012 (UTC)
 * As I said, the phrase is clear, but you are making out of it something that it is not.
 * The phrase success it should have had is not the same as achieve its goals. This is where you are getting lost.
 * I think we should wait for Lord Roem to comment... -YMB29 (talk) 11:20, 27 October 2012 (UTC)
 * If it is clear then it should not be difficult for you to explain it. Please do so. Also you haven't pointed out what exactly was wrong in what i stated above, just because you dislike it does not make it wrong. - Wanderer602 (talk) 12:42, 27 October 2012 (UTC)
 * How many times must I tell you why you don't make sense?
 * All that phrase means is that the offensive could or should have had more success than it did, not that it did not have success or failed. -YMB29 (talk) 17:31, 27 October 2012 (UTC)
 * So far you have not provided anything apart from emotional appeals. As for your statement, it can not be could, as per definition of ought (see dictionaries - like answers.com: Syn. -- Ought, Should. Usage: Both words imply obligation, but ought is the stronger. Should may imply merely an obligation of propriety, expendiency, etc.; ought denotes an obligation of duty.) Also explicit expression of "the success" indicates that the offensive had definite goal(s) and goes on stating that offensive fell short of having them, i.e. failed to accomplish. All which comes around to statement that offensive failed to achieve its goals. Technically you could claim that it indicates that offensive failed to complete its duty but that also comes back into same statement since duty of an offensive is to achieve its goals. - Wanderer602 (talk) 18:09, 27 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Well you still not making any sense... -YMB29 (talk) 18:27, 27 October 2012 (UTC)
 * In where exactly? Vagueness does not help here. If you are so unwilling to take part to the mediation why did you agree to it in the first place? - Wanderer602 (talk) 18:57, 27 October 2012 (UTC)
 * If you fail to understand what has been explained to you many times, what can I do? Just wait for Lord Roem to comment. -YMB29 (talk) 19:28, 27 October 2012 (UTC)
 * So far your explanations have not been supported by dictionaries and have hence been solely emotional appeals. As for Lord Roem:
 * Two things. First, the text above I think makes the claim Wanderer is speaking of, in a fairly direct way. Second, YMB29, which sentence was changed? Lord Roem (talk) 14:57, 26 October 2012 (UTC) Wanderer, what's your response to that change? I personally think the paragraph still says stuff didn't go right, but I'd like to hear your thoughts on this last sentence thing. Lord Roem (talk) 15:24, 26 October 2012 (UTC)
 * So according Lord Roem the two statements are roughly equal and support the claim i made (even the second one still does so). - Wanderer602 (talk) 19:44, 27 October 2012 (UTC)

I am mostly off-line today. Stuck with little access to internet, stuck by Hurricane Sandy. I'll read through your discussions likely tonight. Please freeze your discussion until then, because it appears my short absence was too long. Lord Roem (talk) 20:02, 27 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Okay people. I read through your extended debate over definitions. Let's refocus discussion from interpreting that one sentence to seeing whether there are any other significant changes to the text on this issue. If all the surrounding information remained the same from one version to the other, then we'd probably have to say he concludes that the offensive failed. If, on the other hand, there were numerous other changes that, read through the lens of a switch to 'didn't do everything and actually worked', we could say this change was major and deserves a different reading. Is there any evidence to suggest such an expansive change? (FYI, I have internet access now, so please feel free to engage in discussion below). -- Lord Roem (talk) 20:30, 29 October 2012 (UTC)
 * It seems largely the same. See for example via Google books preview. Apart from reordering some of the contents of that paragraph and adding more specific designation for certain units they are the same as far as i can see. - Wanderer602 (talk) 21:13, 29 October 2012 (UTC)


 * Well if the surrounding text is almost the same and only the disputed part was significantly changed, would not this change be important?
 * Do you see a difference between offensive had failed and offensive fell short of the success it ought to have had? -YMB29 (talk) 21:44, 29 October 2012 (UTC)


 * Obviously, that depends on what he thinks the objectives of the offensive were. By saying it could claim a victory but didn't achieve what it sought -- however you look at the change in language -- it seems he thinks the broader success in pushing the enemy out of the war was not the primary objective.
 * Could you both agree, at least, that this source is not as positive of the effort of the offensive, that it wasn't a complete success that it was fully desired to be? Lord Roem (talk) 16:38, 30 October 2012 (UTC)
 * I agree that it is not positive of the effort of the offensive. And that it was not the success it was intended to be. - Wanderer602 (talk) 17:24, 30 October 2012 (UTC)


 * Yes, I agree with that.
 * From the text we can tell that the author thinks the offensive did not meet all of the expectations, but, as far as what we are discussing, that does not contradict strategic victory. -YMB29 (talk) 17:36, 30 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Except same exact reasoning you used with Glantz applies here, either both refer to strategic level or neither do. - Wanderer602 (talk) 23:06, 30 October 2012 (UTC)
 * No, Ziemke is unclear about the goals and results of the offensive. All we can conclude from his text is that he thinks that it was not a decisive victory. -YMB29 (talk) 03:55, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * He is not unclear, as in his writing "...the success it ought to have had" Ziemke remarks that it had explicit goal that it failed to achieve. - Wanderer602 (talk) 05:49, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * No, that is your interpretation.
 * And what goal would that be? -YMB29 (talk) 07:28, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * That is what the text is stating. Ziemke is clearly saying that offensive had clear goal which it failed to accomplish. He simply chose not to discuss what that goal would have been. - Wanderer602 (talk) 10:02, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * The text does not say anything about goals... -YMB29 (talk) 13:45, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Except for the definite and explicit the success that the offensive failed to reach. You do understand the significance of 'the' in that statement. - Wanderer602 (talk) 14:26, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * You are trying too hard to interpret it the way you want it. -YMB29 (talk) 14:55, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * In which exact way to be precise? By actually reading the statement as it was written? - Wanderer602 (talk) 16:17, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * By not reading the statement as it was written... -YMB29 (talk) 18:23, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * And how exactly is that so? I have presented what the source is saying several times using dictionaries while you have not shown anything apart from your personal opinion. Please do understand that trying once again to be more and more vague does not benefit any one. If you refuse to accept what the source is saying then say so. However regardless of your opinion Ziemke makes it clear that offensive had a goal (i.e. the success the source refers to) which it failed to accomplish. - Wanderer602 (talk) 18:30, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Well you can see what you want in that statement and use dictionaries or whatever you want to try to prove your point, but that is not going to change what the text says. -YMB29 (talk) 19:55, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Both of texts are quite clear to be honest, with both versions stating that offensive failed. - Wanderer602 (talk) 20:08, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Only one says that it failed and that was corrected by the second. -YMB29 (talk) 20:58, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * They are two separate sources by the same author. First one is just as valid as a source as the latter. And also in the above discussion it was already shown that the meaning of the phrase used in the second was the same as in the first. - Wanderer602 (talk) 21:29, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * No, you attempted to show this, but you made no sense. Second source makes the first one outdated. -YMB29 (talk) 22:40, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * It made sense to every one else but to you. Also you would be correct if the second source was a new edition of the same exact book as the earlier one, however it is not (German Northern Theatre Of Operations 1940-45 vs. Stalingrad to Berlin. The German Defeat in the East). They are from two separate books so your claim it second would somehow mysteriously outdate the earlier is invalid. - Wanderer602 (talk) 05:35, 1 November 2012 (UTC)
 * No, the text was changed for a reason. You can continue to claim that the first quote is as valid, but that is weak argumentation. Well I guess you are desperate for sources that support you...
 * And your explanation of how the two quotes are the same probably did not even make sense to you. -YMB29 (talk) 07:17, 1 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Texts are from two separate books. You can not claim that it is the same book. If it is not the same book then it is not a correction to the earlier statement. Given the Lord Roem also commented that the entries were roughly the same i fail to see the point in your other comment other than that you refuse to accept any views that contradict your personal beliefs. This even when you initial interpretation of the source was based on false conclusions (the should vs. could). - Wanderer602 (talk) 08:43, 1 November 2012 (UTC)
 * You are the only one who is making false conclusions and interpretations here.
 * It does not matter if the books are different, when the author is the same and the whole section of the newer book is almost the same.
 * Lord Roem did not say that the two quotes are the same, and only you can make such a claim... -YMB29 (talk) 17:39, 1 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Actually he did, reposting for your convenience:
 * Wanderer, what's your response to that change? I personally think the paragraph still says stuff didn't go right, but I'd like to hear your thoughts on this last sentence thing. Lord Roem (talk) 15:24, 26 October 2012 (UTC)
 * If it is not the same book then you can not claim that it would have been a newer edit of it. They are separate books and need to be considered as such. Simply because you prefer not to see them as such does not mean they would not be. - Wanderer602 (talk) 17:55, 1 November 2012 (UTC)
 * The same person wrote them both and he fixed his mistake in the second book.
 * Stuff not going right is not the same as failed, well for you maybe it is... -YMB29 (talk) 23:05, 1 November 2012 (UTC)
 * It is a separate book not another improved edition of the earlier one. There are no grounds for your unfounded (i.e. OR) claim that it would have been a correction to an earlier book. You are once again conveniently ignoring words when they do not fit into your version of the events. While the statement you made would be accurate you deliberately left out the one little thing which makes all the difference: "still says stuff didn't go right" which means that it was referring the earlier text and notes that they carry the same meaning. - Wanderer602 (talk) 05:50, 2 November 2012 (UTC)
 * No it does not... All I can say is that you have trouble reading English. -YMB29 (talk) 17:28, 2 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Again to the dictionaries then; as in the preceding time; as previously; ; . So no, according to what merriam-webster, oxford, wiktionary and other dictionaries state the problem is not in my reading of English just like it wasn't in earlier case with could and should. - Wanderer602 (talk) 19:50, 2 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Using dictionaries to look up a word from a phrase or a part of a phrase and then claim that the definition refers to the whole phrase is just absurd. This is good evidence of your attempts at manipulation. -YMB29 (talk) 22:46, 2 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Using dictionaries to look up a word from a phrase or a part of a phrase and then claim that the definition refers to the whole phrase is just absurd. This is good evidence of your attempts at manipulation. -YMB29 (talk) 22:46, 2 November 2012 (UTC)

Great! Before we move onto more of the sources, I think it may be worthwhile to see if there are any sources that define the term strategic victory. If it's a term of art (and not just a subjective description), that's something to keep in mind through this discussion. Lord Roem (talk) 23:21, 30 October 2012 (UTC)

'Strategic victory' definitions
Here is some information about strategic victory, strategic aims (or goals), and tactical vs. strategic success:


 * A strategic victory is achieved when a defeat of the enemy military forces compels the enemy government to modify its political aims. In other words, a tactical victory, defeating the enemy on the field of battle, is different from a strategic success. The victory is strategic when it has repercussions on the enemy's political desires and prompts a change in the enemy's political objectives.


 * The strategic aim (strategicheskaia tsel') of any conflict dictates the nature, scope and form of military operations. Established by the political leadership of a nation, strategic aims represent the desired end of strategic-scale military actions. Achievement of strategic aims generally leads to significant, and sometimes fundamental, changes in military-political and strategic conditions, which, in turn, can contribute to the victorious conclusion of a war. The Soviets subdivided strategic aims into overall (obshchie) strategic aims which represent the "fundamental results of the war" and particular (chastnye) strategic aims, which result from successful campaigns or strategic operations. The strategic war aims determine the size and nature of strategic groupings of forces within a theater of military operations or on a strategic direction and determine the form of military actions undertaken. These aims transcend all other considerations.


 * In modern times, the result of a single battle is seldom sufficient to achieve strategic victory, as it often was in Napoleon's time. In fact, a single battle alone can rarely resolve the outcome of a campaign, much less an entire war. One example in which a single tactical victory did end a campaign ironically demonstrates that tactical victory does not necessarily even result in strategic advantage. Robert E. Lee's costly tactical victory at Antietam in 1862 was an operational defeat in that it compelled him to abort his offensive campaign into the North. Even a succession of tactical victories, taken together, often does not ensure strategic victory, the obvious example being the American experience in the war in Vietnam. Thus, we must recognize that to defeat the enemy in combat cannot be an end in itself, but rather must be viewed as a means to a larger end.

-YMB29 (talk) 03:59, 31 October 2012 (UTC)


 * Great work, YMB29.
 * Wanderer, what's your thinking on that definition. For easy-access: "strategic aims represent the desired end of strategic-scale military actions" (the second para. above). -- Lord Roem (talk) 04:04, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * As a blanket statement, sure. However, what exactly constitutes which specific level of operation is different story. See . Irony is that according to those strategic goals - such as forcing Finland from the war - exist outside and above the aims of individual campaigns or operations, and article discusses just one single campaign, not the whole of the war. - Wanderer602 (talk) 05:46, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * It is a strategic campaign/offensive, not an individual operation, and so its main goal is the strategic one. We already agreed that forcing Finland from the war (strategic goal/aim) was its main goal.
 * If there is still doubt, we can refer to the other source (Gebhardt), which directly refers to the main goal and result of this offensive as strategic. -YMB29 (talk) 07:28, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * On the other hand Gebhardt explicitly states that "This offensive... ...was strategically significant..." not that the offensive would have been a strategic victory. - Wanderer602 (talk) 10:02, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Well that means that the goal was accomplished... -YMB29 (talk) 13:26, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * As per YMB29 (in this occasion its actually true): "The text does not say anything about goals". Just because something is significant does not mean it would be a victory for either side - it simply states that offensive had an effect not that it would have been in accordance with strategic goals. - Wanderer602 (talk) 14:26, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * It clearly says that the strategic goal was to force Finland from the war, and then it says that the offensive was strategically significant since it led to the restarting of negotiations to end the war (accomplishment of the strategic goal). -YMB29 (talk) 14:55, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Except it is only saying that it led to restarting of negotiations, not that it would have forced Finland from the war which had been its goal. So, no, still not saying that it would have accomplished the strategic goal. - Wanderer602 (talk) 16:17, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * And why did Finland restart negotiations? It was a required step to end the war. Right after that it says that an armistice was signed and Finland had to kick the Germans out of its territory. -YMB29 (talk) 18:23, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Now you are doing deductions on what the sources is saying and not reading what it is actually saying. Source in itself does not say that that it would have accomplished its strategic goal. - Wanderer602 (talk) 18:30, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * If it says that the goal of the offensive was to force Finland from the war and the offensive led to negotiations which resulted in an armistice, then it is obvious that the goal was accomplished, unless you think that the armistice did not mean that Finland stopped its war against the USSR...
 * Are you going to continue denying the obvious? I thought that you would not behave like this for the mediation; I guess I was wrong... -YMB29 (talk) 19:55, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Again, source is not saying that, the part in which describe as 'obvious' is already your own deduction, not what the source is stating. Just like you demanded earlier, I'm merely reading the text from the source without making deductions based on it. Just because certain jump for a conclusion seems obvious to you does not mean that it would be what the source is saying. Source is quite explicitly stating it as 'strategically significant' without making any notions of the result to either side. - Wanderer602 (talk) 20:08, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Is 2 + 2 = 4 also my own deduction? Are you saying that the armistice did not mean that Finland exited the war? -YMB29 (talk) 20:58, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Trying to misdirect the discussion does not really benefit any one. All i stated was that the source does not state that offensive would have accomplished its strategic goal. Your argument on the other hand is based on your own deduction, not on what the source is actually stating. - Wanderer602 (talk) 21:29, 31 October 2012 (UTC)

Chill Pill I'd like to hear a specific reply from YMB29 about Wanderer's point about the different levels of strategic thinking in operations. -- Lord Roem (talk) 22:01, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * I already replied. He said that the offensive did not have strategic goals (that it was not a strategic level operation). I pointed out that it was a strategic operation and that the sources prove him wrong. He tries to argue this by making his own strange interpretations of the text and claiming that any simple logical conclusions derived from the text (such as Finland concluding an armistice with the USSR = Finland exiting the war against the USSR) are personal interpretations. He is just in denial mode, and that is what got us here. -YMB29 (talk) 22:40, 31 October 2012 (UTC)


 * Here is the text we were talking about:
 * The Soviet General Staff then recommended that the Leningrad and Karelian Fronts launch an offensive against Finnish forces in the sector from Leningrad to Petrozavodsk. The strategic objective of the offensive was to defeat the Finnish Army and force Finland from the war. On 10 June 1944, the Red Army began the offensive against Finnish forces north of Leningrad and quickly captured Vyborg, thereby threatening the capital, Helsinki. As soon as the Finnish military command transferred forces from southern Karelia to meet this threat, Soviet forces of the Karelian Front, under Army General K. A. Meretskov, attacked northward and westward out of Soviet Karelia and quickly advanced through the area between Lakes Ladoga and Onega. This offensive, known as the Svir-Petrozavodsk Operation, continued until 9 August and was strategically significant in that it led to the reopening of bilateral negotiations between Finland and the U.S.S.R. on 25 August. On 4 September, the two sides signed an armistice that required Finland to expel or disarm all German troops still on its soil by 15 September.
 * -YMB29 (talk) 22:43, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * YMB29, I see your argument and I think it's a fair one. But please avoid saying "he is just in denial mode". I know you both want to avoid anything more than Formal Mediation. Now, Wanderer, what's your response to YMB29's point that it is irrelevant the distinction of different levels of strategy because it is possible to say the goal was to push Finland from the war? That's his argument, and I'd be grateful for your reply. Lord Roem (talk) 22:55, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * To put it simply, which of the strategic goals are actually those of the war and which are those of the offensive. Since the Soviets had bombed Helsinki in early 1944 and exerted diplomatic pressure via USA delegation it can be stated that goal of getting Finland out of the war superseded that of the offensive. Last time when YMB29 provided sources to support his view of this most of them discussed the result of the war instead of that of the offensive. When we get down to individual sources it gets even more muddled up, even the one used as an example by YMB29 clearly states that offensive "was strategically significant in that it led to the reopening of bilateral negotiations". Not that it would have been strategic victory. Especially when keeping in mind that those same negotiations had existed before the offensive. - Wanderer602 (talk) 05:35, 1 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Negotiations had to happen before Finland could exit the war you know, unless Finland wanted to surrender unconditionally... Finland was negotiating its exit from the war and, because the negotiations resulted in an armistice, the main strategic goal was accomplished.
 * The sources clearly say that forcing Finland from the war was the goal of this offensive and you agreed with this above, but now you are back to denying it? This mediation won't get anywhere if you are going to continue doing this. -YMB29 (talk) 07:19, 1 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Source only states that offensive led to restart of negotiations, not that it would have led to anything else. By using claims and deductions from other books you are already performing synthesis on what the source is saying. Source merely states that offensive led to reopening of negotiations. Nothing beyond that. Any extrapolation on that is either OR or SYN depending on how you perform it. And last i checked that is not what should be done. I agreed what that particular source said, nothing else. I didn't agree to anything beyond that. Also for that matter, in mediation both sides are required to compromise, unless you show willingness to compromise i see very little point to compromise either. - Wanderer602 (talk) 08:43, 1 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Compromise is only possible when each side has a clear position backed up by sources.
 * You agreed on what the goal of the offensive was according to those sources, so don't say now that it was not the goal.
 * Also, simple logic is not original research. -YMB29 (talk) 17:36, 1 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Both sides have sources so i fail to see your objection about this issue. I agreed on what the source said of the issue, not that i would have agreed with the source. Also by combining the sources and then forming your opinion of them you are already performing synthesis. Actually using logic to extrapolate what source is saying is exactly what OR is by definition if it is not supported by the source itself. - Wanderer602 (talk) 17:55, 1 November 2012 (UTC)
 * So if it is known that you live in Finland, it would be OR to say that you live in Europe...
 * You were disagreeing on what the sources say was the goal, not with the sources in general.
 * As for sources, you have only one or two Finnish sources supporting your denial of strategic victory. -YMB29 (talk) 18:29, 1 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Regardless of your opinion you can not go linking up the sources by cherry picking the statements from them and combining them later on, that is specifically what synthesis is. Also, I didn't realize you consider Glantz and Ziemke to be Finns. - Wanderer602 (talk) 18:48, 1 November 2012 (UTC)
 * No, Glantz and Ziemke don't support you...
 * There is no cherry picking or combining. The sources are clear in what they say, but you refuse to accept this. -YMB29 (talk) 19:12, 1 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Source in question only states that offensive led to reopening bilateral negotiations. Nothing beyond that. Anything more like you have tried to attribute to that source is either OR or SYN depending if you use logic or combine other sources to it. As for Ziemke: offensive had failed & offensive fell short of the success it ought to have had and Glantz: it did not satisfy the STAVKA's strategic aims. Do note that while Glantz is discussing the Vyborg operation he specifically mentions that it failed to accomplish strategic aims of STAVKA (i.e. Soviet supreme command). So he is stating that offensive failed to achieve its strategic aims of the highest level. - Wanderer602 (talk) 19:18, 1 November 2012 (UTC)
 * No, you have no idea what you are talking about once again... Glantz is talking about the situation right after the Vyborg operation was completed successfully, not about the entire offensive; the capture of Vyborg by itself was not enough to force Finland to ask for peace, so the offensive had to continue. With Ziemke I already explained to you how you are wrong. So all you are left with are a couple of patriotic Finnish sources...
 * About the Gebhardt source, well what can I do if logical conclusions on the level of 2+2=4 are OR or SYNTH to you... -YMB29 (talk) 23:00, 1 November 2012 (UTC)
 * I already said as much of Glantz, however he also explicitly and specifically notes that "Although the capture of Vyborg and the Red Army advance to the Vuoksi River line essentially ended the Vyborg operation, it did not satisfy the STAVKA's strategic aims... ...By 14 July it was clear to Soviet and Finn alike that Govorov's offensive into Southern Finland had failed". In other words while Vyborg was reached the offensive failed to reach the strategic goals set by supreme Soviet command. Also so far your claims regarding what Ziemke have been based on erroneous translation you made yourself and to your unfounded claim that one book would somehow supersede another even though you have not even shown that the second book would have describe the matter in any different from than the first one. As for Gebhardt, you can claim what you will but that does change the fact that source does not say what you claim it does. If you are intentionally extrapolating what the source states then it is nothing but OR by definition - it does not matter how logical or justified it would seem to you. The source does not state that offensive would have led to anything else than to reopening of bilateral negotiations. You simply can not claim anything beyond that without already performing SYN or OR. It is slightly more complex matter than basic arithmetics. - Wanderer602 (talk) 23:25, 1 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Well I don't know, maybe it is more complex for you... It even says that an armistice was signed in the next sentence, so if it is not clear that this means that Finland exited the war with the USSR (accomplishment of the strategic goal), I don't know what to say...
 * Why don't you read the whole section in that Glantz book (Battle for Leningrad) before you make ridiculous claims about what he said. The part where he says that Govorov's offensive into Southern Finland had failed is from another section of the book, so clear SYNTH by you here...
 * Go find an English professor or teacher near you and ask him or her if failed and fell short of the success it ought to have had mean the same exact thing or not. -YMB29 (talk) 00:20, 2 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Yes, it states that the armistice was signed, in a following separate statement, but the source only notes that the offensive led to the reopening of bilateral negotiations, not that it would have led into anything else. I have read the section of the book in question, however it only clearly remarks that the offensive failed to fulfill the strategic aims of STAVKA despite of reaching Viborg and Vuoksi. As for other part of the text, just because it was in a separate section i remarked that part from Glantz as discontinuous from the first statement. It was merely there to remark that Govorov's offensive failed. As for requesting opinion from English professor... As ironic as it is i did so already earlier and according to her opinion the phrases do carry the same meaning. And cut the disparaging tone of your comments, it does not befit wiki let alone the mediation. I do hope that you do not stoop into that level in the mediation again. - Wanderer602 (talk) 05:50, 2 November 2012 (UTC)
 * What does not benefit the mediation are your ridiculous claims... I doubt you asked anyone about this, but we can have an RfC on this and you will be proven wrong once again, just like the last time with your "as it was written" claim.
 * Govorov's failure is a failure on the operational level, not strategic, so you are wrong there too. You have not read the other section fully or fail to understand what is written there. You are claiming that the offensive failed when the Vyborg operation was completed successfully (on June 20)...
 * If it says that an armistice was signed right after it is stated that the negotiations started, it does not take any advanced thinking to see that the negotiations resulted in that armistice... -YMB29 (talk) 17:30, 2 November 2012 (UTC)
 * As instructed by Lord Roem I'll only answer the part that actually had something to do with mediation. Your claim of that Glantz would have referred to Govorov's failure as operational is not exactly accurate since Glantz explicitly states that offensive failed to accomplish STAVKA's strategic aims, not operational aims of some lower level formation. Problem with your use of logic in this case is that the source didn't say that. Which makes your claim of that chain of events nothing but extrapolation, i.e. OR, when you are using the source in question to prove it. - Wanderer602 (talk) 19:50, 2 November 2012 (UTC)
 * The problem with you is that you have not read the book. You are taking two sentences from different sections and connecting them, the very definition of synthesis. The operation that did not meet the strategic aims is Govorov's Vyborg operation that succeeded, not the one that failed. What Glantz is saying is that the Vyborg operation, despite its success, was not enough to achieve the strategic goals, and therefore the offensive had to continue. Even if he was referring to the failed operation, it still does not mean that the offensive was a strategic failure since he is only talking about that operation. -YMB29 (talk) 22:46, 2 November 2012 (UTC)

I don't know if I'm allowed to comment here, so if you deem this inappropriate, please remove this. So... few points: 1) There are no documents written before the offensive which state that getting Finland out of the war was an objective of the offensive. That claim was presented only in documents/interviews/memoirs written after the war. 2) It seems, that those sources writing very little about Soviet-Finnish war (couple of paragraphs in 400-pages book) tend to view Soviets more successful than those who provide tens or hundreds of pages about the issue. 3) It is unbelieveable how inaccurately even the most famous modern western historians handle Soviet-Finnish war (I just read a book which claimed Mannerheim was the president already at 1939!). --Whiskey (talk) 09:40, 1 November 2012 (UTC)
 * I guess we should only go by what patriotic Finnish historiography says. Who cares about what Western historians have to say... -YMB29 (talk) 17:36, 1 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Whiskey did not in any way refer to Finnish or other historiography apart from the example of certain gross inaccuracies shown by some of the Western historians with regards to Finland in WWII. It is hardly patriotic to make note of errors of the magnitude described. - Wanderer602 (talk) 18:04, 1 November 2012 (UTC)
 * I am not talking about such errors... -YMB29 (talk) 18:29, 1 November 2012 (UTC)

Suggestion for Compromise
Idea. What do you two think about (1) changing the infobox to say "Partial Soviet strategic victory" and (2) blue-link that phrase to the Aftermath section where more of the discussion of these sources can be brought out. As we all agreed above, the best sources in favor of Soviet strategic victory can be extrapolated to mean that, but don't say those words all together. On the other side, other sources shed doubt on what the actual goal of the offensive was. We all also agree that it succeeded in something, being necessary for the peace although not sufficient.

With all that above, it seems the word "partial" is a fair descriptor and both satisfies the interests of showing the offensive did result in something desired by the Soviets while not being everything. War is never a game of absolutes, nuance is okay.

Additionally, the aftermath section of the page can go more into detail. Discussion of motivations and specifics seem to be suited there.

With this compromise, Wanderer would accede to the label of "partial strategic victory" in the infobox, and YMB would accede to more critical examination in an aftermath section.

Thoughts? (and please, one at a time) -- Lord Roem (talk) 16:37, 1 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Clarification please, replacing the current result entry with 'partial strategic victory' altogether or having 'partial strategic victory' in the result entry? Issue being that there are several sources which explicitly state that Soviet offensive failed at operational level. As to the actual compromise suggested; I am still in favor of using the suggestion made by WP:3 - from the request of YMB29 who since rejected suggestion made by WP:3 in favor of different result entry - which was to leave result entry blank altogether and discuss the result in proper length and manner in the actual article aftermath section instead. This was in the end what both WP:3 as well as the guidelines for infobox military conflict suggested to be done in controversial cases. Furthermore there is distinct problem with the phrasing you used, "being necessary for the peace", since from Finnish POV offensive was never necessary for peace. After all negotiations for Finnish exit from the war existed long before the offensive and Soviet terms were only reduced - addressing the reparations and German withdrawal, the exact points which had been considered impossible to fulfill by the Finns in the spring 1944 - following the offensive. I can agree with the offensive achieving something but i don't agree it being necessary for anything. - Wanderer602 (talk) 17:02, 1 November 2012 (UTC)
 * The result entry keeping the term "Partial Strategic Soviet Victory". Not removing any of the other items, since we haven't discussed any of that (and I haven't read discussion on those points). Sorry about that, is that clearer? Lord Roem (talk) 17:25, 1 November 2012 (UTC)
 * I can accept that but i still would prefer to see totally blank result entry due to its complexity. - Wanderer602 (talk) 17:37, 1 November 2012 (UTC)
 * That's the purpose of the word "partial".
 * YMB, your thoughts, now that Wanderer seems open to some version of this compromise? Lord Roem (talk) 17:40, 1 November 2012 (UTC)

Well Wanderer602 is again being misleading (about WP:3) and making his own conclusions (offensive not "being necessary for anything") contrary to what the sources say. I don't think partial victory is used in any article, since it sounds confusing. As for compromise, like I said above, it is only possible if both sides have a position backed up by sources. Wanderer602 does not have a clear position, besides not allowing any sort of a Soviet victory in the result. He only tries to deny what sources say and makes his own interpretations and conclusions. While strategic victory is backed up by many sources, there are only one or two Finnish sources provided by Wanderer602 that contradict this result.

The aftermath section has criticism of the offensive and I am not against it being more critical. I suggest for the result to be "strategic Soviet victory; operational and tactical stalemate". This is accurate since it reflects some of the Soviet failures on the tactical and operational levels. -YMB29 (talk) 18:16, 1 November 2012 (UTC)


 * That's an interesting idea. First, let me note that you're fine with the Aftermath section being more critical. I think that's important for everyone to see at this point. Now, Wanderer, your thoughts on "Strategic Soviet Victory; operational and tactical stalemate"?
 * I think that could work as well, as it balances elements of the operation that failed and those objectives which likely succeeded. At the same time, more analysis of the dispute of whether it actually led to the peace can be extrapolated in the Aftermath section. -- Lord Roem (talk) 00:28, 2 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Once again sticking my nose where it doesn't belong, but... How about "Partial Soviet Victory, partial stalemate" and a link to aftermath section? --Whiskey (talk) 00:46, 2 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Whiskey, I appreciate your involvement but please leave this process to the parties. I asked a question of one of them as a means of focusing the discussion, and you answered instead. Lord Roem (talk) 01:18, 2 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Regardless of the approach the result entry gets so bloated that it would better to follow the recommendation of WP:3 and guidelines for infobox military conflict and leave the result entry blank (or just a link to aftermath section). However if there can be no agreement in leaving the entry blank then i guess that approach can not be used despite it being recommended by other editors. As to the suggestion of YMB29, no i do not agree with it, given the amount of sources which state that offensive either failed or failed to fulfill STAVKA's strategic goals i don't think "strategic Soviet victory; operational and tactical stalemate" is accurate representation for the result entry. - Wanderer602 (talk) 05:13, 2 November 2012 (UTC)

Let's go back to the idea of "partial". YMB said it wasn't stated in the sources and Wanderer disputes the premise that there was any strategic victory. First- there's an argument to be made that "partial" is an accurate descriptor when not all the goals were accomplished, which could be suggested from the source we looked at after Glantz. Second- all the sources we have say the offensive did something, but they either qualify that statement or not. This idea, combined with the Aftermath section descriptions, seem to be supported by the sources provided. There is no clear and unambiguous statement about the strategic result of the offensive, as both of you have already conceded on this page. This applies weight to both sides, in a manner that seems consistent with the actual sources. -- Lord Roem (talk) 05:47, 2 November 2012 (UTC)
 * I'm not sure if you wanted comments about this or not but at least I can agree with what you stated above. - Wanderer602 (talk) 06:55, 2 November 2012 (UTC)


 * Partial cannot be used for strategic victory, because there was only one strategic goal and it was accomplished (well sometimes the goal of distracting the Germans is also mentioned, but that was accomplished as well). For other goals, on the operational and tactical levels, partial can apply.
 * As I said before, only one or two Finnish sources contradict strategic victory. Claims by Wanderer602 that other sources support him are false, since they are based on quoting out of context and misinterpreting the text.
 * I have quoted about 15 sources that support the strategic victory result, and is not this enough to make the two Finnish sources fringe?
 * One of the principles of mediation is: Mediation will not yield an illegitimate result. While the purpose of mediation is compromise, the committee will not allow compromise with or between illegitimate opinions on content. Views may be illegitimate in terms of site policy, obvious fact, or common sense.
 * So if this mediation is to succeed, Wanderer602 cannot continue to misinterpret sources, make false statements, ignore facts and challenge common sense. -YMB29 (talk) 17:30, 2 November 2012 (UTC)


 * Allegations of deliberate misbehavior have to stop now. You both have already agreed to ground rules to be open-minded and civil in this process.
 * Now, the reason I suggest "partial" is because of the ambiguity of the sources in whether the goal was fully achieved. We've already agreed that (1) no source explicitly labels it the term of art of "strategic victory" in a clear manner and (2) there were other goals that were not achieved. Absent source-explaination that these were operational or tactical, we can not make that judgement ourselves. Because this is supported by the weight to each source, it is a compromise that reflects the clear reading of the evidence.
 * YMB29, take a step back and see where we are. Wanderer has agreed to a change in the infobox that moves the article to a more conclusive reading in your favor. Mediation will never reward either party with everything one wants. Take care to consider that and the actual compromise offer and see whether you support it or want to tweak it. But, at the end of the day, we will end up with some middle-ground. Lord Roem (talk) 18:21, 2 November 2012 (UTC)


 * I can not see how this mediation can proceed if YMB29 considers me nothing else than a liar and a fraud like he openly stated in his earlier post. Without settling that issue i am having hard time seeing myself taking part to this process any longer since from his outburst it is clear that mutual respect between us is at best one-sided. I agreed to take part mediation with all its caveats, not to being insulted. - Wanderer602 (talk) 19:50, 2 November 2012 (UTC)
 * I never insulted you. I only pointed out that you are being misleading and this hurts the mediation. -YMB29 (talk) 20:13, 2 November 2012 (UTC)

Obviously mediation is about finding a middle ground between opposing views, but what if one view is based on fringe sources and the ignoring or misrepresentation of what other sources say? The sources don't explicitly say that the offensive was a victory, but if they state the goals and say that they were accomplished, it clearly means victory. This is just using common sense, and like I said I verified this at the military history talk page. While determining what goals are tactical, operational and strategic can be OR at times, often it is obvious which are which if you understand the terms. Forcing your enemy from the war cannot be a tactical goal... And again, if there is still doubt whether this goal is strategic or not, I provided a source (Gebhardt) that explicitly says that it is strategic. The Ziemke source we discussed suggests that the offensive did not accomplish all of its goals, but it does not state the actual goals, so we can't tell if these goals were strategic or not. It is important to remember that when we are talking about a strategic victory we only care about strategic goals and results. From the sources we discussed, all we can conclude about strategic goals is that they were accomplished, so how can the result be a partial strategic victory? -YMB29 (talk) 20:07, 2 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Will you accept any end-result that does not have the infobox say "Soviet Strategic Victory"? -- Lord Roem (talk) 00:21, 3 November 2012 (UTC)
 * I don't know what other result could be accurate. Maybe Soviet strategic success, but I am not sure if success could be used in a result. -YMB29 (talk) 03:35, 3 November 2012 (UTC)

Comment -Maybe in the result section of the infobox, we just write "ceasefire"? or something like that? Then we can either lists the territorial changes in bullets right below, or provide a link to the aftermath section.-- FutureTrillionaire (talk) 03:18, 4 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Based on other articles about military conflicts, if it was a victory for one side this should be stated in the infobox. The bullet lines can be used to state ceasefire or armistice. These lines can also be used to state something that Wanderer602 is happy with. -YMB29 (talk) 19:39, 4 November 2012 (UTC)


 * If this is the case, then it appears this first issue is intractable and no compromise can be reached. I think it would be prudent then to move to the second issue, raised in the shortlist at the very beginning of this process. -- Lord Roem (talk) 06:31, 5 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Well the issue has to be resolved somehow. What else can be done? -YMB29 (talk) 16:07, 5 November 2012 (UTC)
 * There's two options. One, either you both agree to throw away your current feelings about the infobox and work through the sources to an end-game that you may not agree with; or two, you can open an RfC on the question. Better yet, we can discuss the structure of the RfC here, the specific questions to ask and whatnot. Thoughts? Lord Roem (talk) 17:52, 5 November 2012 (UTC)
 * If Wanderer602 is still completely against strategic victory (since that is what the majority of sources point to) in the infobox, we can have an RfC.
 * However, it won't be easy to formulate a question. We also have to ask users who know something about military history and terms. -YMB29 (talk) 18:09, 5 November 2012 (UTC)
 * RfCs are open to everyone. Yes, the weight of the arguments by those fluent in military history/terminology will likely be higher, but the goal is to find community consensus. Lord Roem (talk) 19:07, 5 November 2012 (UTC)
 * So what should the question be? Are we going to ask users to look at sources and comment if it was a strategic victory or some other result, or are we going to ask if forcing a country from a war is a strategic goal? -YMB29 (talk) 03:38, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

We'll have to discuss amongst ourselves how the questions will be formulated. Are you to open to the idea of an RfC? -- Lord Roem (talk) 04:11, 7 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Yes, if the issue can't be resolved any other way. -YMB29 (talk) 16:11, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

We are waiting for Wanderer602? It looks like he is ignoring this mediation... -YMB29 (talk) 16:43, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

RfC on the "Strategic Victory" question
First and foremost, Wanderer, are you okay with the idea of an RfC on the "strategic victory" question, as a way to get through the impasse between you and YMB? Our brief discussion of the idea is above this post. -- Lord Roem (talk) 01:37, 13 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Like i stated above - until what i stated in my post at 19:50 on 2 November 2012 (UTC) is properly addressed i can not see how i could take part into the mediation any longer. - Wanderer602 (talk) 07:57, 13 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Pointing out that you are wrong or don't make sense is not insulting you, see WP:SPADE. -YMB29 (talk) 17:36, 13 November 2012 (UTC)
 * So what was the claim you made that i deliberately "misinterpret sources, make false statements, ignore facts and challenge common sense." Even Lord Roem considered it as an insult: Allegations of deliberate misbehavior have to stop now. If you can not stand behind your statements why do you insist making them? Especially when this was not the first time this same issue has come up from your postings. Either way until that matter is resolved i won't be taking part to this process since from that outburst from YMB29 it is clear that mutual respect required for the mediation or other processes does not exist from his part. Furthermore as there are sources supporting my view the statement which you presented: "Mediation will not yield an illegitimate result. While the purpose of mediation is compromise, the committee will not allow compromise with or between illegitimate opinions on content. Views may be illegitimate in terms of site policy, obvious fact, or common sense." also means that it is impossible to accept the result you suggest. It does work both ways. That is why there is mediation. However you have openly refused to compromise so what exactly were you after with the mediation since compromises are how the mediation usually gets things resolved. In addition going through RfC solves nothing, as has been seen from YMB29's comments he refuses to accept any result as valid that conflicts with the statement he wants to present in the infobox and refuses from accepting compromises. Since there are opposing sources going through RfC regardless of its result will gain nothing since either party will consider itself wronged. Only way which may actually yield lasting results is working the issue through mediation and compromises. So i oppose RfC, but only because it does not solve anything merely just postpones the matter. - Wanderer602 (talk) 17:55, 13 November 2012 (UTC)
 * You oppose an RfC probably because you are afraid that others won't side with you like last time.
 * Again, compromising with original research, misinterpretation of sources and denial of facts will yield an illegitimate result, which goes against the policy.
 * Anyone can see above what you wrote. You insist that two different phrases mean exactly the same thing, and claimed that Lord Roem says this too. You take two statements out of context from different sections of a book to make up an argument. Also, you refuse to accept that negotiations and armistice mean that Finland was knocked out of the war.
 * What sources support you?
 * For there to be a compromise you have to stop trying to misrepresent what sources say and have strong arguments backed up by sources. -YMB29 (talk) 18:23, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Stop. Wanderer, an RfC would not be a postponement-actually it would be a finite solution. If you want, I can close the RfC after a set period of time, with whatever the consensus is. Then you both agree to abide by the community consensus. Is this a satisfactory approach for both of you? Please respond succinctly. --Lord Roem (talk) 18:40, 13 November 2012 (UTC)
 * No, I do not see it being of use. Not only is the RfC non-binding it is not a vote and hence its results are always open for interpretation. I just can not see it resolving the matter at all. - Wanderer602 (talk) 23:03, 13 November 2012 (UTC)
 * I will accept the consensus, if it is determined by neutral and unbiased users. -YMB29 (talk) 00:07, 14 November 2012 (UTC)


 * If I could give one note of assurance-- the Abortion Titles RfC dealt with a hugely complex and protracted dispute. Despite this, it resolved a content issue without too much drama. I think a structured RfC on this question, closed by either me or an admin, would be beneficial. While not "binding" in the sense of an arbitration process, editors who go against such consensus won't look good at all (may even involve conduct issues against such an editor). If this does not assure you that an RfC has a fair shot of being successful, then I will close discussion on this issue and move to the second. --Lord Roem (talk) 02:53, 14 November 2012 (UTC)


 * If both me and YMB29 would be forbidden to take any part into structuring of the RfC or even having any say in the discussion and/or replying to comments related to RfC there-off until the RfC is closed i suppose it would be acceptable. Also i hope you didn't get me wrong, i did not mean to imply that RfC couldn't yield a result. However the inherent issue of RfC is still there, that is per definition the result of RfC is determined not according to votes but to the merits of the comments, which in a case like this can easily yield a result that is yet again open to interpretations. Furthermore earlier WP:3 was used with regards of this issue (i.e. 'one step short of RfC') which yielded a result (2 out of 2 replies) that favored leaving the result entry blank however this was not accepted by YMB29. And last this still does not resolve the issue regarding the uncivil behavior repeatedly present in YMB29's earlier posts. - Wanderer602 (talk) 07:32, 14 November 2012 (UTC)


 * You still claiming that WP:3 supported you? Both users said that it was a Soviet victory. When one of them suggested to leave the result blank to avoid the dispute, you quickly changed your position to not having a result. Also, nothing was said about strategic victory. -YMB29 (talk) 15:41, 14 November 2012 (UTC)


 * You can check the log if you want to but you will find that i only reluctantly - due to your insistence - gave any result suggestions. Once i read the WP:3 comment which noted that the result entry could be left empty in controversial cases i moved to support that stance since it was closest to what i had originally supported and would have done so all along had i remembered that such an option existed in the first place. Regardless of your later change of opinion the suggestion of both editors who took part to WP:3 was to leave the result entry blank. - Wanderer602 (talk) 16:08, 14 November 2012 (UTC)
 * They did not comment on strategic victory at all...
 * Anyway, your only position was and still is to deny a Soviet victory of any kind in the result, ignoring what most sources say. -YMB29 (talk) 17:21, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

Okay, so it seems like there's some background I was missing. The 3O is not always the clearest way to handle these sort of disputes, when the matters are fairly complex. So how does the following sound to both of you:
 * 1) An RfC, with the wording of a question that is fairly simple, agreed on by both of you. Additionally, a short (150 words strict limit) statement by both of you on the best arguments for each side, as an intro to the RfC.
 * 2) A voluntary agreement for the both of you to not comment on the RfC; this will allow community members to come in and discuss without entering the heated environment existing between you two. If you wanted to comment, you would agree to ask me for permission first, and only in an extraordinary circumstance (i.e. one editor is completely missing the question or you want to link to a prior discussion that the editors discussing may not know of).
 * 3) A deadline: 20 days from the start of the RfC
 * 4) Either I can close the RfC at the end of that timeframe (since I know some of the issues you both are looking for a definitive answer on) or I can see whether another mediator who is completely uninvolved wants to do that. Whichever way you prefer.

Thoughts? --Lord Roem (talk) 21:47, 14 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Ok, that seems fine. You can close the RfC when you think it should be over.
 * Maybe it should be noted that some knowledge of military history is required, but I guess that depends on what the question will be. -YMB29 (talk) 05:43, 15 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Well, those who know this topic area and make compelling arguments, obviously will have more weight than "Yes" or "No" -esq comments.
 * Wanderer? --Lord Roem (talk) 07:11, 15 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Ok, though I would have preferred outside phrasing on the intro section but i guess that will do. - Wanderer602 (talk) 07:47, 15 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Alright then! Both of you, please email me (through the Email this User feature) your proposed question wording for the RfC. I'll then put together something I think both of you will like and we can move forward with that. Lord Roem (talk) 23:19, 15 November 2012 (UTC)
 * I thought we would discuss that first. I am not sure of some things. I don't even know what exactly is Wanderer602's current position on the issue; his position has changed a few times before and might have changed after all the discussion here. -YMB29 (talk) 15:03, 16 November 2012 (UTC)
 * I actually feel Wanderer's position has been fairly consistent, though I believe he's made a good-faith effort to listen to your views. Once we get to the RfC, each of you will have the chance to write out your position in a short manner. Before that though, I'd like you to email me your preferred wording of the RfC's question. What is the specific way we should phrase this issue? Best, Lord Roem (talk) 19:11, 16 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Well maybe in this mediation his position has been consistent. I just want to know if he understands now that some of the sources that he claimed support him (Glantz's book and the newer book by Ziemke) actually don't. This is important since the number of sources that can be said to support his position are few, and this should be considered when forming the RfC question. -YMB29 (talk) 21:00, 16 November 2012 (UTC)
 * It is merely your personal opinion, and nothing beyond it, that they would not support the view i presented earlier. Nothing you have shown so far has convinced me to consider otherwise. Now please stop sidetracking the discussion and do as the mediator has requested and e-mail the preferred wording of the RfC's question to him. - Wanderer602 (talk) 18:26, 17 November 2012 (UTC)
 * I just wanted to be clear if you understand or not. Since you don't, I want to let Lord Roem know that I won't agree to any question that assumes your misinterpretation of sources to be correct or gives equal weight to the very few sources that actually (more or less) support your position. -YMB29 (talk) 19:44, 17 November 2012 (UTC)
 * YMB29, please email me your proposed wording. --Lord Roem (talk) 15:39, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

RfC wordings
Remember, the RfC will also include a short statement by both of you, stating the best points for your respective positions.

Suggestion:


 * What is the best way to accurately describe the result of the offensive? Was it a "strategic Soviet victory" or not? How should that be reflected in the infobox and the article text?"


 * How would anyone decide? Based on what? -YMB29 (talk) 15:46, 20 November 2012 (UTC)
 * I would like more specific wording to make it clear this is only about the offensive and not about anything else. As it stands since the discussion and mediation is done under Continuation War topic it would certainly not hurt any one to clarify the issue. Suggestion: ...result of the offensive (not that of the war)?. After all there is whole article for Continuation War alone. But i leave that up to the mediator to determine. - Wanderer602 (talk) 16:29, 20 November 2012 (UTC)
 * If the question directly says describe the result of the offensive, why would anyone think it asks to describe the result of the war? -YMB29 (talk) 16:43, 20 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Let me answer both your questions. First, editors will "decide" based on their own feelings about the sources provided. Remember, you both will have a small section with your best arguments, so they'll have some sort of introduction to what the issue is. Secondly, how does "...the result of this specific offensive" work? --Lord Roem (talk) 16:51, 20 November 2012 (UTC)
 * That will do fine. - Wanderer602 (talk) 16:54, 20 November 2012 (UTC)
 * So all the sources will be quoted and there will be two sets of quotes? -YMB29 (talk) 18:50, 20 November 2012 (UTC)
 * You certainly can link to the sources in your statements, including links to this mediation page. You decide how to use your 150 words. Lord Roem (talk) 18:52, 20 November 2012 (UTC)
 * I don't know if we can expect users to read through all of the sources carefully...
 * Also, can Wanderer602 agree to not link to quotes that are taken out of context? -YMB29 (talk) 19:05, 20 November 2012 (UTC)
 * That's not really your concern. It's about finding consensus about what's best to do. And you'll both get your single 150-word paragraph for your case. As stated above, both of you agree not be involved after the RfC opens. If this works for you, I'll get an RfC started and give you both time to write your argument. Lord Roem (talk) 19:10, 20 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Well it is a concern to me if he quotes out of context. A user would not know that quotes are out of context, unless he or she read the book. -YMB29 (talk) 19:25, 20 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Specifically I mean this:
 * Although the capture of Vyborg and the Red Army advance to the Vuoksi River line essentially ended the Vyborg operation, it did not satisfy the STAVKA's strategic aims. & By 14 July it was clear to Soviet and Finn alike that Govorov's offensive into Southern Finland had failed.
 * The problem is with the first sentence. The successful Vyborg operation was not meant to satisfy the strategic goals by itself. Glantz simply means that the offensive had to continue after this success. This is only clear when you read the entire paragraph in the book. The second sentence comes from another section of the book. -YMB29 (talk) 19:48, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

Again, you can link to this discussion. The goal of this is to gain outside input without re-starting the drama that inevitably comes into play when you both are debating this. I won't limit how many links you put into your 150-word statement, but I trust editors who would comment to be intelligent enough to do a through job before making a decision. Lord Roem (talk) 19:56, 20 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Ok so if he uses these quotes, I will mention this in my statement. -YMB29 (talk) 20:03, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

Well Wanderer602 has made so much untrue statements that I don't know if I can address them all in 150 words... -YMB29 (talk) 21:54, 21 November 2012 (UTC)
 * 150 words means you need to present the best of your argument, not attack someone else's. You can use the space however you like, but my limit is necessary and will stand. Lord Roem (talk) 20:18, 25 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Well to point out that something is false is not an attack. What if it is five words over? -YMB29 (talk) 21:14, 25 November 2012 (UTC)
 * I don't think that should be a problem. But, I'd like to see your statement first. Lord Roem (talk) 21:46, 25 November 2012 (UTC)

I can't really accept the YMB29's text, since he purposely mixes what the sources are saying and his own opinion or deductions there-off in it. That is unless there is an intention to devolve the argument into a mudslinging contest. All issues related to the last segment. In addition text goes over set limit of 150 words. Unless the rules set for the introductions are there only to be ignored i do not accept going over the limit set earlier. - Wanderer602 (talk) 16:28, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
 * It is only seven words over 150...
 * If you are going to mislead others, this should be pointed out. -YMB29 (talk) 17:23, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
 * I actually wrote what the books state, if you disagree you are free to do so even in your note but you'll need to note which are your personal opinions and which are not. As for the limit, you in other words are saying that you choose to ignore the set rules whenever it is convenient for you. That is telling. Thank you. I think it also concludes this discussion. - Wanderer602 (talk) 17:32, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Read what Lord Roem wrote above about the limit.
 * You are giving your own meaning to what the books state. You did not say that this is only your interpretation, so why are you asking me to note if something is my opinion or not? -YMB29 (talk) 18:14, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Mainly because i pretty much quoted what they said (something you disagree with even though it is written into the book). There is considerable difference between quoted text and your personal opinion of something. - Wanderer602 (talk) 19:30, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Exactly, you quoted it, out of context... -YMB29 (talk) 19:49, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Nope, it is quoted as it was written. Just because you can't accept it does not make it wrong. - Wanderer602 (talk) 20:12, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Well yes, it is quoted as it was written, just out of context... -YMB29 (talk) 20:28, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Except that is solely your opinion that it would have been out of context. And your note does not make it clear. Facts and opinions are two quite different things. - Wanderer602 (talk) 20:30, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
 * As for going beyond the set limits. If the rules are changed after they are already been applied then the rules have been worthless from the beginning and the premise of fairness of this whole RfC nothing but charade or travesty. - Wanderer602 (talk) 20:33, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Why do you care so much that I went a few words over the limit? You are getting desperate...
 * So whatever you claim should be presented as a fact, regardless of how dubious it is, but when I point out that what you claim is not true it is only an opinion? -YMB29 (talk) 20:48, 26 November 2012 (UTC)

After reading the above conversation and the submitted text, I don't think the extra words are needed. Feel free to shrink your statement down over the next 24 hours. I'll work on getting this RfC up within the next few days. Remember, you've both agreed to not comment there without asking me here first -- this is to avoid rehashing the same things we've talked about here. Broadening the conversation may offer us new insight. Let's see what others think. Lord Roem (talk) 23:07, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
 * That still does not resolve issue regarding the fraudulent nature of YMB29's notes last paragraph. First he flat-out lies with the number of the sources and second he still represents his personal opinions of the sources as solid facts. - Wanderer602 (talk) 07:34, 27 November 2012 (UTC)
 * So I am a liar now?
 * If you are going to shamelessly mislead others, I have the right to let them know about this. -YMB29 (talk) 16:35, 27 November 2012 (UTC)
 * With the numbers you have presented in your note, yes. Had you stated 'fewer' or something of a kind i would not have protested. However by intentionally inserting explicit if false numbers you did lie - first, there are already more sources than you noted, and second, any one could easily add more to the list, as there are plenty more. You are free to believe what you will but you should note what part is actually fact based which is based on your own opinions since so far in both cases you are applying your own opinions as facts like the wild claim that a book could be outdated by a different book (not by different edition of the same book). - Wanderer602 (talk) 17:12, 27 November 2012 (UTC)
 * This is not a claim; others should know that the same text was changed by the author.
 * As for the numbers, you listed some sources but most do not support your claim of no strategic victory. You make it seem that there are a lot more sources supporting you than there really are, and I have the right to point this out. -YMB29 (talk) 17:35, 27 November 2012 (UTC)
 * You do understand that they segments are from two different books, not from different editions of a single book? Because that is what they are, separate works. There is no way to claim that passage with identical meaning in later book would have been meant as 'correction' to totally different book. Any claims regarding the similar nature of the passages is nothing but OR regardless of how 'obvious' it would seem to be - unless of course you can find a source stating that one would be 'updated' version of another. Actually they do, exactly on the same premise as your 'strategic victory' claim does. It is essentially the exact same argument. If you choose to interpret sources in order to determine if it 'achieved' strategic victory - like you have done - then it is equally valid to interpret sources in opposite manner. Also you are aware that it is not about the number of sources in exact similar way like RfC is not a vote? - Wanderer602 (talk) 23:05, 27 November 2012 (UTC)
 * It is about the number of sources, see WP:UNDUE. Once again you show that you don't understand the rules or pretend not to when they don't suit you...
 * All my sources state that the strategic goal was accomplished, while most of your sources don't say anything about strategic goals or results.
 * It does not matter if the books are different. The author is the same and the text in the newer book is almost the same, except for one phrase. Such a change in the meaning of a specific sentence indicates that the author fixed his mistake. -YMB29 (talk) 01:34, 28 November 2012 (UTC)

This nonstop back-and-forth is getting us nowhere fast. I'll post a link to the RfC when it comes up, which I'll try to do tonight. Lord Roem (talk) 01:40, 28 November 2012 (UTC)

Getting ready for the RfC
Get your statements ready. 150 words. No limits on links, internal and external. Summaries of your best arguments. When ready, post them here. -- Lord Roem (talk) 20:37, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

Wanderer's position
My solution is simple: leave the result empty as per guidelines. It is important to notice that the RfC is about the result of the offensive and not that of the war. Also Soviet's only eased their demands following the offensive. The existence of various conflicting sources cast doubt on setting clear and definite answer for the RfC especially with YMB29's refusal to accept opposing sources. In addition to Finnish sources also non-Finnish sources discussing the offensive - instead of that of the war - explicitly mention that the Soviet offensive failed (Ziemke) or that it fell short of STAVKA's strategic aims (Glantz). Both answers to the request for third opinion ended up suggesting leaving the result entry blank as suggested in the guidelines for the military conflict infobox (...better to omit this .. than to engage in speculation about which side won or by how much).

YMB's position
The result Strategic Soviet victory is supported by most reliable sources, including books by known historians Glantz and Erickson (see Quotes section here). The strategic goal of this strategic offensive was to force Finland from the war and this was accomplished. Not all the tactical goals were achieved, but for strategic victory only the strategic goals matter.

The guidelines say that the result should reflect what sources say and should be omitted only when it can’t be described by standard terms. Strategic victory is a standard term as it is used in featured and good articles (see Battle of Coral Sea and Battle of Antietam).

Only a few sources linked by Wanderer602 actually dispute this result, but they should not be given undue weight. Please note that Wanderer602 uses an outdated quote from Ziemke and deliberately quotes Glantz out of context. -YMB29 (talk) 15:50, 26 November 2012 (UTC)

RfC open
You can find the RfC here. Remember not to comment there without asking me first, as agreed above. --Lord Roem (talk) 04:21, 28 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Requesting permission to edit the intro section to fix the links due to recent archival of material from the relevant talk pages (ie. either to permalinks to past versions of said talk pages or to archived versions). - Wanderer602 (talk) 05:20, 29 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Not a problem, go ahead. Lord Roem (talk) 05:32, 29 November 2012 (UTC)

There are some things Whiskey said yesterday that may be confusing for others. Can I reply briefly? -YMB29 (talk) 22:41, 3 December 2012 (UTC)
 * No. --Lord Roem (talk) 18:37, 4 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Well then his comment should be removed. He is not a neutral user whose opinion we are looking for and he makes questionable claims that may influence others. -YMB29 (talk) 21:01, 4 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Everyone's views are valid. Saying you're afraid he may influence others against your position is not a good enough reason to let you respond when both sides have agreed not to. Lord Roem (talk) 21:38, 4 December 2012 (UTC)
 * The point of this RfC is to get comments from uninvolved users, not from those who were always involved in this or similar disputes, so Whiskey's comments don't help the RfC. -YMB29 (talk) 22:07, 4 December 2012 (UTC)
 * The point of the RfC is to establish consensus. Lord Roem (talk) 00:31, 5 December 2012 (UTC)
 * As I said when agreeing to this RfC, I will only accept consensus if it is established by neutral and unbiased users, not someone like Whiskey, who has been disputing this issue with me alongside Wanderer602 for the last few years. -YMB29 (talk) 01:24, 5 December 2012 (UTC)

Recent comment from Futuretrillionaire does seem to be missing something, at least i can not be certain what he is suggesting in this post. Can i request (you can do it as well) either in RfC thread or in his own talk page if he could clarify what exactly does he mean with his statement? That is i can guess what he means with it but i would not like to make assumptions. - Wanderer602 (talk) 17:32, 7 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Matter has since been resolved. No need for further edits. - Wanderer602 (talk) 20:33, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

There is a lot of original research in the discussion, especially by Whiskey. Can you remind them to look at what sources say? Also when talking about strategic victory, strategic goals should be looked at, not tactical ones. -YMB29 (talk) 17:42, 8 December 2012 (UTC)

I replied, but only pointed to the sources section again, since that is what was asked. -YMB29 (talk) 05:19, 9 December 2012 (UTC)
 * It does not matter, you explicitly agreed not to take any part to the discussion.
 * 2nd clause: A voluntary agreement for the both of you to not comment on the RfC; this will allow community members to come in and discuss without entering the heated environment existing between you two. If you wanted to comment, you would agree to ask me for permission first, and only in an extraordinary circumstance (i.e. one editor is completely missing the question or you want to link to a prior discussion that the editors discussing may not know of).
 * I expect you to act accordingly and remove the statement you made without explicit agreement from the mediator. - Wanderer602 (talk) 05:32, 9 December 2012 (UTC)
 * I just pointed to what he was looking for... -YMB29 (talk) 05:56, 9 December 2012 (UTC)
 * And the clause explicitly states that the permission might be requested (without guarantees that it would be granted) only in an extraordinary circumstance. It simply does not matter how you consider the edit. It is in violation of the explicit agreement made prior to RfC. It is up to the mediator to decide if something is needed, not for us as was agreed or are you renegading on that agreement? - Wanderer602 (talk) 06:03, 9 December 2012 (UTC)
 * So are you going to remove it or not? If you do not then the RfC, which was only agreed on the set conditions, is already invalid and therefore also worthless. Unless of course if it is your intention to prevent RfC from actually taking place. If you intend to accept the RfC then you need to abide by the very rules you agreed to in the first place and remove the offending post. - Wanderer602 (talk) 08:52, 9 December 2012 (UTC)

Maybe it would help to post a link to this RfC in Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Military_history and Talk:WWII? -YMB29 (talk) 03:50, 12 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Well I see now that FutureTrillionaire posted about the dispute in military history talk and linked to the RfC, but he did not specifically mention that it is an RfC. -YMB29 (talk) 03:55, 12 December 2012 (UTC)

20 days are up, how shall we proceed? - Wanderer602 (talk) 11:04, 17 December 2012 (UTC)


 * December is a fairly low-activity period for a large chunk of editors. I'll let the RfC last the usual 30 days. If low involvement persists, I'll post messages for comments on relevant noticeboards. Lord Roem (talk) 19:41, 17 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Now full 30 days has passed and apparently the RfC template expired. - Wanderer602 (talk) 05:38, 28 December 2012 (UTC)
 * This is obviously a problematic situation. The RfC had very little activity (much less any clear consensus). Furthermore, both parties refuse to budge on any element of this dispute. If the parties aren't open to compromise, I find it difficult to believe keeping this RFM open will be fruitful. I hope both of you are willing to come back to the table and agree to be open to accepting something less than what you favor. The polar-opposite approaches you all have entrenched yourself into are difficult to see as a starting point for anything. Feel free to tell me your thoughts on this, Lord Roem (talk) 07:09, 29 December 2012 (UTC)
 * To be honest i do not see what there is to discuss, the instructions in the guidelines for the use of Template:Infobox military conflict actually give a clear instructions for handling cases like this:
 * result – optional – this parameter may use one of several standard terms: "X victory", "Decisive X victory" or "Inconclusive". The choice of term should reflect what the sources say. In cases where the standard terms do not accurately describe the outcome, a link to the section of the article where the result is discussed in detail (such as "See the 'Aftermath' section") should be used instead of introducing non-standard terms like "marginal" or "tactical" or contradictory statements like "decisive tactical victory but strategic defeat". It is better to omit this parameter altogether than to engage in speculation about which side won or by how much.
 * Which states in clear terms that should the normal terms be inadequate for describing the result or if there is speculation about which side won or by how much this parameter should be omitted - or used simply as a link to a section in the article where the issue is discussed in detail. Do not get me wrong though, i do understand the arguments by YMB29. However i fail to see how it would change anything since according to the established guidelines there is to be no result entry at all that is if the article is to follow the established guidelines. - Wanderer602 (talk) 07:30, 29 December 2012 (UTC)
 * No, it is not according to the guidelines. Strategic victory is a normal term for a result as I have shown, and there is no speculation if we go by what sources say. -YMB29 (talk) 08:51, 29 December 2012 (UTC)
 * But there is, there are sources saying it was strategic victory and sources saying that it was a failure. That alone creates a controversy (i.e. discussing which side won or by how much) which according to the guidelines means that the entry should be left empty - or created into a link to the section of the article where the result is discussed in detail. Since 'strategic' already is equivalent to term 'tactical' which is stated as an example for a reason to omit the result the suggestion you made would already - according to infobox military conflict guidelines - necessitate leaving the result entry blank or making it into a link. - Wanderer602 (talk) 09:09, 29 December 2012 (UTC)
 * By your logic every article with strategic or tactical victory in the result, including featured and good articles, should have its result be blanked...
 * Only a couple of sources say that it was a failure, but that does not change anything, see WP:UNDUE. -YMB29 (talk) 18:47, 29 December 2012 (UTC)
 * If there has been reached a consensus on the result on the respective talk page then i see no reason why result could not be in violation of the guidelines. However in this case there is no consensus. There are more than 'a couple' of the sources despite of your allegations. In addition not including them would be violation of WP:NPOV. Also since the result entry is optional there is no requirement to fill it, which would be - if done according to your suggestion - in this sense a violation of WP:NPOV however since there is possibility of creating a link to section where the topic could be discussed in detail then with such a link there would be no violation of WP:UNDUE since there is a clear possibility of representing the views accordingly. - Wanderer602 (talk) 19:10, 29 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Then you would not agree with changes to the aftermath section...
 * Following WP:UNDUE is not violating WP:NPOV.
 * If strategic victory is used in many articles then it can't be a violation of the guidelines as you claim. You don't need consensus on every article's talk page to prove that this result does not violate the guidelines. -YMB29 (talk) 23:25, 29 December 2012 (UTC)
 * I really can not fathom wonder where you are getting your misconceptions. I have repeatedly stated that i would support extending the aftermath section with the information relevant to the matter, so either your first claim is an outright lie or then you really have not understood at all what i have been stating the whole time. WP:UNDUE applies to article content so that minority views would not be represented beyond their share. However ignoring the minority views altogether would constitute a violation of WP:NPOV. And this is exactly what you have been proposing, ignoring some of the sources in favor of representing some other sources would create a clear bias and therefore also violation to WP:NPOV to the article. Which probably is the bottom reason why the result entry in the guidelines is suggested to be left empty in certain cases. Terms tactical, operational and strategic are all of similar value describing the perceived scale of events. And as said if there is consensus regarding the term then there would be no problems. However in this case there are also several opposing sources and ignoring them would be NPOV violation. It would also be advisable to keep in mind that the result entry is not in any manner mandatory for any infobox. - Wanderer602 (talk) 04:50, 30 December 2012 (UTC)


 * Well if it is not mandatory then we could remove it from here also...
 * The minority views can be represented in the aftermath section. To claim that the infobox result should also represent the minority views is ridiculous. Putting them in the result would violate WP:UNDUE.
 * You need to find better arguments... -YMB29 (talk) 19:48, 30 December 2012 (UTC)
 * If similar procedure, is followed and each article is observed as separate case then why not. However this RfM can not assign blanket decisions over several articles especially when those articles are out of the initially agreed scope of the mediation. As for the rest, I'm not sure what you are after since i have not discussed entering minority views to the results entry at any point. I honestly do not understand what you are after with your comment. - Wanderer602 (talk) 20:58, 30 December 2012 (UTC)
 * You were complaining that strategic victory ignores the minority view, as if such views should ever be mentioned in the result...
 * For the rest, see below. -YMB29 (talk) 02:04, 31 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Actually no, what i disagreed with was creating WP:NPOV situation to the article by intentionally disregarding 'inconvenient' sources like you have suggested. Regardless of your opinion those sources are not going anywhere and i see no point what so ever to needlessly create violation to NPOV by insisting of an inclusion of an entry that is by no mean mandatory. - Wanderer602 (talk) 07:02, 31 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Again following WP:UNDUE is not violating WP:POV. -YMB29 (talk) 16:35, 31 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Actually it can be and blindly following one wiki rule or guideline at the expense of another is against wikipedia's rules. If you represent only one view as is the case with the result entry and not the other - especially when there is no consensus on that entry - does it not constitute a violation to WP:NPOV? - Wanderer602 (talk) 17:11, 31 December 2012 (UTC)
 * No, the brief result does not have to represent minority views, but if you think it should then you have to agree that this should apply for the other articles as well... -YMB29 (talk) 01:06, 1 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Then show me where it is stated that wikipedia can violate NPOV. Actually contrary to your claim documentation for the 'infobox military conflict' issues clear guidelines on what to do in cases which there is no clear result:  The choice of term should reflect what the sources say. In cases where the standard terms do not accurately describe the outcome, a link to the section of the article where the result is discussed in detail (such as "See the 'Aftermath' section") should be used instead of introducing non-standard terms like "marginal" or "tactical" or contradictory statements like "decisive tactical victory but strategic defeat". It does not state anywhere that opposing views can be ignored, actually quite contrary it issues direct guidelines on what to do in such cases and they do not involve abandoning NPOV. However as usual if there is existing consensus for the result then it a totally different matter - therefore the situation with the article in question is inherently incomparable to unspecified 'other articles'. Each and every one need to be observed separately. - Wanderer602 (talk) 10:05, 1 January 2013 (UTC)
 * The guidelines don't talk about NPOV, so why are you quoting them I have no idea.
 * Once again, including the marginal view in the result is giving it undue weight and NPOV does not mean giving sources undue weight, so not including the marginal view in the result is not violating NPOV. This is just using common sense...
 * The issue is the same as in the other articles. The only thing different is that those article have Finnish victory in the result and you don't want to touch that... -YMB29 (talk) 01:23, 2 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Just because there are fewer source behind some statement does not make it a marginal view and also just because you chose to marginalize something does not make it so. Issue needs to be established in other articles before it can be applied. I posted this already below. - Wanderer602 (talk) 05:42, 2 January 2013 (UTC)
 * A couple of sources are marginal if there are over 20 that contradict them. -YMB29 (talk) 22:42, 2 January 2013 (UTC)
 * No, actually that does not make them marginal. Just because you scrounged together larger pile of sources does not make opposing views marginal. They may represent a minority in the current sample of the sources but there is nothing to make their view marginal. - Wanderer602 (talk) 07:06, 3 January 2013 (UTC)
 * You just don't want to accept that they are marginal. You pile on sources in addition to them, which you claim have the same view, but they don't. Even if we count all the sources you claim support your view, they are still in the minority and should not affect the result. -YMB29 (talk) 18:54, 3 January 2013 (UTC)
 * So far you have failed to prove any of that. Just because you don't like the sources it does not make them marginal. Also it is illuminating that you are perfectly to willing to violate the NPOV to enforce your own opinion (using the premise of UNDUE) even after being told that gaming the system (i.e. ignoring one wiki guideline in favor of another - which is exactly what you claim to want to do) is against wikipedia's rules. - Wanderer602 (talk) 21:15, 3 January 2013 (UTC)
 * So I am gaming the system now? You have no arguments so you just throw accusations...
 * I have proven your misuse of sources many times.
 * If you think that marginal or even minority views should be given undue weight in the result, then you are the one violating the rules, misusing WP:NPOV and ignoring WP:UNDUE. -YMB29 (talk) 08:58, 4 January 2013 (UTC)
 * You got it quite a bit wrong. UNDUE does not allow you to disregard minority views. It only tells that articles should handle matters without giving undue weight to views (be it too small or too large). NPOV on the other hand states that you can not represent just a one single view when opposing views from reliable sources do exist. Which is the reason why i have advocated for using aftermath (or similar) section for handling the result, because it allows both UNDUE and NPOV to be fulfilled while also respecting the guidelines given for the Infobox Military Conflict. - Wanderer602 (talk) 09:44, 4 January 2013 (UTC)
 * This is true for the text, not the infobox... -YMB29 (talk) 16:46, 4 January 2013 (UTC)
 * And where exactly is that stated? - Wanderer602 (talk) 17:16, 4 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Are you challenging common sense again? Look at the other articles, like the Battle of Kursk. -YMB29 (talk) 17:32, 4 January 2013 (UTC)
 * You were claiming that wikipedia rules (like NPOV) do not apply to infobox, so i requested you to provide source for this information. - Wanderer602 (talk) 17:45, 4 January 2013 (UTC)
 * So you are claiming that minority views should be represented in the infobox's result... -YMB29 (talk) 18:00, 4 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Again, please show where it is stated that infobox can ignore wikipedia's rules? If you are unable to do so then this whole discussion is pointless. Military Conflict Infobox help page actually states quite clearly that it is preferable to omit the whole result entry than to speculate (i.e. argue) which side won and by how much. - Wanderer602 (talk) 18:11, 4 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Again, it does not say anything about minority views, so why are you bringing it up?
 * Actually, that infobox page entry only represents an opinion of some users who edit that page; there is no consensus on the rules for the result section.
 * So you think the infobox result should be a paragraph long, so that it can represent the marginal or minority views also... -YMB29 (talk) 19:08, 4 January 2013 (UTC)
 * So you think the infobox result should be a paragraph long, so that it can represent the marginal or minority views also... -YMB29 (talk) 19:08, 4 January 2013 (UTC)


 * As for the RfC, it is not surprising that it has failed to get enough feedback since it was not advertised or publicized anywhere...
 * So if this mediation failed, what else is left? Arbitration? -YMB29 (talk) 08:54, 29 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Problem with that is that arbitration explicitly states that:  However it will not make editorial statements or decisions about how articles should read ("content decisions"), so users should not ask the Committee to make these kinds of decisions. It will not do so. (emphasis from original document). Since the dispute at hand is content decision it therefore would not be accepted to arbitration according to wikipedia's Arbitration Committee's rules. - Wanderer602 (talk) 09:09, 29 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Well then this mediation can't be closed until the issues are resolved. -YMB29 (talk) 18:47, 29 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Yes, the Arbitration Committee will not resolve the content dispute here. Now, for this Mediation, you both need to step back and think about your positions. Your goal should not be: let me prove my case to Lord Roem; rather, it should be: here's what I think, let's see what the other person's positions are. So -- this is something I've done in prior mediations that I've found effective -- after sitting down and thinking about the issue of the result of the Offensive, consider the best arguments the other party has. To ensure you feel both of you are being equally conciliatory here, feel free to email me. When I get a response from both of you, I'll post your replies here to reinitiate dialogue. -- Lord Roem (talk) 19:02, 29 December 2012 (UTC)
 * I still think getting comments from others is the best way to resolve this. This helped before. -YMB29 (talk) 23:25, 29 December 2012 (UTC)
 * I think Wanderer (above) raises a fair point. There isn't a need for a definitive answer on this question. This issue is chock full with nuance and interpretation by different sources. Would a "see aftermath section" in the infobox, plus more depth there, really be so bad? -- Lord Roem ~ (talk) 04:53, 30 December 2012 (UTC)
 * The overwhelming majority of sources support strategic victory, so why should a few sources be given undue weight?
 * The problem is that Wanderer602 does not want a result for this article because it is a Soviet victory, but he is ok with leaving a result in other articles if it is a Finnish victory.
 * I would agree to linking to the aftermath section only if this will apply to other Continuation War related articles, such as Battle of Tali-Ihantala and Battle of Vyborg Bay. -YMB29 (talk) 19:48, 30 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Those articles are out of the agreed scope of this mediation, in addition I am quite certain that holding wikipages hostages before agreeing to anything like you openly state as your intent is violation of wikipedia rules. Those are still separate articles, and need to be handled as such. - Wanderer602 (talk) 20:58, 30 December 2012 (UTC)
 * These are related articles and it would make sense if the decision applies to them also. There are sources that dispute the results in those articles too. We can't have a mediation for every article...
 * Your answer proves my point, that all you care about is pushing your POV and not allowing a Soviet victory in the infobox. -YMB29 (talk) 02:04, 31 December 2012 (UTC)

YMB29, you must assume good-faith in this process. I've seen nothing from either of you that suggests you're pushing your POV, just that you vastly disagree about the use and interpretation of a range of sources. Additional note: YMB, you seem open to the idea of linking to the aftermath section above. It's not undue weight when there seems a genuine disagreement among the sources on what the result of the Offensive was. Lord Roem ~ (talk) 03:19, 31 December 2012 (UTC)
 * 20 sources vs. a couple is a general disagreement?
 * I am open to the idea, as long as it applies to related articles, but as you can see Wanderer602 only wants it to apply to this article. -YMB29 (talk) 05:53, 31 December 2012 (UTC)
 * I have no problems in applying the same idea to other articles but they need to go through the same procedures before it is applied, including having RfCs for the result entries as well preferably having mediated discussion on the results. What i do not agree with is creation of blanket rules that can be applied across several articles according to editor's whims. Nor can i in any way condone keeping several articles in essence as 'hostages'. Articles you mentioned are separate entities and are out of the previously agreed scope of this mediation, are you now renegading your agreement? - Wanderer602 (talk) 07:02, 31 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Yes. Obviously each dispute must be discussed on a case-by-case basis. The question is whether it is appropriate for this case. Lord Roem ~ (talk) 08:09, 31 December 2012 (UTC)
 * No, it is not appropriate then, since it is violating WP:UNDUE.
 * I thought decisions of a mediation or an RfC can be used for other articles. Wanderer602 should know this. He and Whiskey tried to apply the result of the Gdansk/Danzig vote to the Continuation War related articles... -YMB29 (talk) 16:35, 31 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Leaving the result entry blank does not in any way violate WP:UNDUE, after all the whole purpose of it is to move the discussion on that particular topic to the article itself where it can be properly addressed which only supports both WP:UNDUE as well as WP:NPOV in that it allows both views to be properly represented without leaving anything out. Naming issue related to the Danzig case is quite a bit different matter, Danzig vote handled an approach to an issue where a town has had several names over various time periods. Something which until then had not really been conclusively handled in wikipedia which in a manner of speaking made it a precedent. Even then it was only suggested to be used as an approach to the matter since no real answers for the issue raised then were readily to be found. However i can see no indications that the content dispute like we have here would in any manner constitute a precedent since it does have it's predecessors for which the procedures have previously been laid. - Wanderer602 (talk) 17:11, 31 December 2012 (UTC)
 * What are you talking about? The decision was made after an RfC by the users who took part in the dispute, and the same can be done here. However, you are not interested in this for reasons I already stated. -YMB29 (talk) 01:06, 1 January 2013 (UTC)
 * I already stated all what needed to be said in the above statement, while the Danzig case was seen as a precedent this does not since there already exists instructions on how to proceed in cases such as this. And as said above by Lord Roem: Obviously each dispute must be discussed on a case-by-case basis. The question is whether it is appropriate for this case. Even if it wasn't so making blanket statements affecting several articles would not be possible within the context of this mediation as per the pre-mediation agreements of the scope of the mediation. - Wanderer602 (talk) 10:05, 1 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Yeah, I'm very confused as to how linking the infobox to an expanded Aftermath section violates UNDUE. If this mediation has established anything, it's that there's no clear and unambiguous answer to this question. Depending on which sources you use, and the way you read them, you can interpret the result differently. Lord Roem ~ (talk) 16:47, 1 January 2013 (UTC)
 * I am confused as well; I thought WP:UNDUE meant something here... If there are 20 sources supporting one position and an opposing position is supported by only a few sources, should both positions be given equal weight in an article? Why should the result be omitted if there is an overwhelming majority of sources supporting it? Only because one user does not like it? If this is not clear to you, can you ask other mediators to comment?
 * As for the other articles, what instructions exist? We can come to an agreement here on how to deal with all the related articles even if they are out of the currently defined scope for this mediation to avoid conflicts in the future. -YMB29 (talk) 01:23, 2 January 2013 (UTC)
 * You are severely misinterpreting UNDUE. It's not about a count of the # of sources, there's far more nuance. It's clear from the collection of sources provided that the way scholars characterize the result of the offensive depends on the way they look at (i.e. through what lens). On that point, these sources are fairly divergent. With that in mind, I feel linking to the Aftermath portion, with an explanation of the leading scholars' points on both sides, is a fair middle-ground. As to the point about other articles -- Wanderer is right that this mediation only deals with this issue. Nevertheless, this grounding of how to discuss the results of battles in articles where that answer is disputed is something that can be applied to other articles in principle. I hope that if both of you can agree to this basic proposition here, it will resolve/stem disputes down the road. -- Lord Roem ~ (talk) 05:26, 2 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Yes, i have no problems having similar approach adapted to other articles, as long as it goes the same route by jumping through all the hoops. That is it should be clearly established that there is a clear dispute on the matter and that community has no consensus on it. - Wanderer602 (talk) 05:42, 2 January 2013 (UTC)
 * OK. YMB29, do we have your agreement on this compromise - linking to the Aftermath section in the infobox? -- Lord Roem ~ (talk) 05:47, 2 January 2013 (UTC)
 * About WP:UNDUE, if it is not about the number of sources then how are majority views established?
 * Agreeing to this means that if there is at least one reliable source disputing a result that is supported by many sources, it will be enough to replace the result with a link to the aftermath section. Of course, for each article it has to be established that there is a dispute, but for an article like Battle of Tali-Ihantala this has been already established, so the suggested approach would apply to it without anymore arguing. Does Wanderer602 agree with this? -YMB29 (talk) 22:42, 2 January 2013 (UTC)

Wanderer, I'm interpreting YMB29's question not as "I'll give you this article for this" but rather as agreeing that this approach to resolving these disputes in the sources would be applicable to other places where you both disagree. On that point, it's a yes from you, right? -- Lord Roem ~ (talk) 23:05, 2 January 2013 (UTC)
 * As said i would agree to this approach - but so far i see no evidence of the same procedure being done in any other article. In other words, yes to what Lord Roem stated, but no to what YMB29 stated. For this same method to apply also in other articles they also need to go through the same procedure without achieving community consensus over the dispute. Including reviews of sources, RfCs, the works. Hence what YMB29 stated inherently misrepresents the matter. - Wanderer602 (talk) 07:06, 3 January 2013 (UTC)
 * For that article, the sources were reviewed and discussed to death; don't pretend that you forgot. Are you saying that there should be a mediation and/or an RfC for every article?
 * So far you have shown that you only want your suggestion to apply to results you don't like. -YMB29 (talk) 18:54, 3 January 2013 (UTC)
 * YMB29, do not assume bad-faith. I have made it clear that we can't just conclude here that a broad assortment of articles be treated the same when we haven't seen the sources in dispute for those articles. We are talking about the approach to take on these matters so mediation isn't necessary in the future. Now, YMB29, do you or don't you agree with applying this approach to the articles we're talking about here, and link to the Aftermath section in the infobox. -- Lord Roem ~ (talk) 20:01, 3 January 2013 (UTC)
 * I am not going to agree to something that applies only to this article (Vyborg-Petrozavodsk Offensive). If it applies to this article, I see no reason why it should not apply to the Battle of Tali-Ihantala article, where it is also established that the majority view is disputed. -YMB29 (talk) 08:58, 4 January 2013 (UTC)
 * I don't know why you are bringing other articles into this that are outside the scope of this mediation. If you care about getting this dispute handled, you should evaluate whether this compromise is suitable on its own merits. As of now, this is the only compromise that seems to reflect the dispute within the sources *and* that would seem to resolve both parties' concerns. Now, Wanderer has already agreed to this middle-ground and has agreed to follow this approach for future/other articles. When you two get there, you can use this approach to move that article forward. But we are talking about this one, and this one alone. Lord Roem ~ (talk) 09:32, 4 January 2013 (UTC)
 * This is not a compromise. This is exactly what Wanderer602 wanted from the beginning. There is no guarantee that he will later agree to this approach for the other article, so that is why I am bringing it up here.
 * Just as I thought, it does not look like he wants to apply this to the articles that currently say Finnish victory, so I am not agreeing to this.
 * How about restarting the RfC and publicizing it like it should have been done in the first place? -YMB29 (talk) 16:46, 4 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Just to make sure, you do understand that the result i have been suggesting has been a compromise from the beginning? - Wanderer602 (talk) 17:15, 4 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Yes, sure it was... So what result were you after originally? Finnish victory? -YMB29 (talk) 17:32, 4 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Why is that relevant? The goal of this mediation is to reach a middle-ground between the two absolutes both parties entered with, with a result that reflects the dispute in the sources. If you are saying that no result but the one you prefer will be agreeable, then this mediation was never opened in good-faith from the start; editors must come into this process willing to change their position. It's not about "winning" here, it's about jointly working together for a solution that works. Lord Roem ~ (talk) 19:18, 4 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Yes, but there is also a mediation policy that won't allow an illegitimate result. I still don't understand why a result should be blanked because of marginal views...
 * So what is the middle ground between the strategic victory result and no result at all? -YMB29 (talk) 05:50, 5 January 2013 (UTC)
 * I am confused as to why you think mediation policy bars nuanced explanation of a dispute that exists in the sources. It does not. If that is your only concern, I can safely assure you it's not an issue. The middle-ground I have proposed is a discussion in the Aftermath section which discusses the points raised by different sources for why the Offensive was or was not a strategic victory for the Soviets. -- Lord Roem ~ (talk) 07:42, 5 January 2013 (UTC)
 * And the infobox result will be blanked? That is exactly what Wanderer602's position is, so I don't see how this is a compromise.
 * Any dispute between sources can be explained in the aftermath section (as it is done now), but why should the result be blanked due to marginal sources?
 * Look at the Battle of Kursk article. Just because there are sources that don't consider the battle to be a decisive Soviet victory, does not mean that the result should be changed. -YMB29 (talk) 05:29, 6 January 2013 (UTC)

Discussion
So is Wanderer602 ignoring this mediation again? Are there other suggestions for a compromise? -YMB29 (talk) 23:45, 10 January 2013 (UTC)
 * I think both I have made my stance quite clear as has the mediator, Lord Roem. As to compromise, it was even pointed to you that your current stance only shows that you never opened the mediation in good-faith and instead saw it just as a tool. Reason why i have not commented is that there has not been any reason to comment and from your latest comments there does not appear to be changes in that respect. As far as I am concerned all that could have been said has been said. You are still seeing the mediation as some sort of a struggle or conflict instead of a means of reaching a mutually agreeable resolution - until this changes it is does not seem to be possible to reach anything in the mediation. Wanderer602 (talk) 00:25, 11 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Before making accusations, you should look at yourself first.
 * What have you offered as a compromise? Your position is unchanged...
 * You rejected my recent compromise offer, which to me shows that you are not interested in a compromise and want to apply a double standard to this topic area. -YMB29 (talk) 03:17, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

So is Wanderer602 going to suggest a compromise? So far he has not suggested anything and claimed that his position is already a compromise... -YMB29 (talk) 19:21, 12 January 2013 (UTC)


 * If Wanderer602 does not want to answer, I think this means that he has accepted that the result should be strategic Soviet victory. -YMB29 (talk) 19:16, 18 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Just like Lord Roem i have found no reason to comment since no changes regarding anything in the mediation has taken place. From your comments it is clearly apparent that you still fail to understand the underlying goal of the mediation, which is not to 'win' the argument but instead to reach a mutually agreeable resolution. All which points to the fact that your willingness to take part to the mediation was not honest just like Lord Roem stated earlier. - Wanderer602 (talk) 19:28, 18 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Where has he stated that my "willingness to take part to the mediation was not honest"?
 * You refuse to discuss, you refuse to suggest a compromise... So how can a mutually agreeable resolution be reached?
 * The failure is completely on your part. -YMB29 (talk) 19:36, 18 January 2013 (UTC)
 * As per Lord Roem when answering to your post:
 * Why is that relevant? The goal of this mediation is to reach a middle-ground between the two absolutes both parties entered with, with a result that reflects the dispute in the sources. If you are saying that no result but the one you prefer will be agreeable, then this mediation was never opened in good-faith from the start; editors must come into this process willing to change their position. It's not about "winning" here, it's about jointly working together for a solution that works. Lord Roem ~ (talk) 19:18, 4 January 2013 (UTC) I am confused as to why you think mediation policy bars nuanced explanation of a dispute that exists in the sources. It does not. If that is your only concern, I can safely assure you it's not an issue. The middle-ground I have proposed is a discussion in the Aftermath section which discusses the points raised by different sources for why the Offensive was or was not a strategic victory for the Soviets. -- Lord Roem ~ (talk) 07:42, 5 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Mediator gave his suggestion to you and you flat out refused it. I can't see there being much to argue in that regard. Feel free to complain to him if you like. - Wanderer602 (talk) 19:53, 18 January 2013 (UTC)
 * To put it bluntly, as it stands the only reason why this mediation is standing still is because you have refused to heed the suggestions made by the mediator. - Wanderer602 (talk) 19:56, 18 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Well once again you misrepresent what others have said. He did not say that my "willingness to take part to the mediation was not honest".
 * The suggestion by the mediator is not a compromise at all as I have pointed out; the discussion of different views in the aftermath section is already there.
 * Don't make excuses. You can't hide the fact that you failed to suggest a compromise and refuse to discuss. -YMB29 (talk) 20:28, 18 January 2013 (UTC)
 * My proposal was a compromise to begin with so your allegation of "failing to suggest a compromise" fails at the start. What you are still failing to understand that mediation is not a contest of any kind. There are no winners. All that it is about is finding a mutually agreeable resolution - not some muddled middle ground between the proposals. I have been willing to accept compromise from the start, have you? As for that matter i have said all that I'm going to say for the matter. Until mediator comments or provides further insights into the matter i have nothing more to say to you. And just to make it clear to avoid unfortunate incidents like one resulting from your intentionally provocative posting earlier today, I have not accepted the result as "strategic Soviet victory". - Wanderer602 (talk) 20:45, 18 January 2013 (UTC)
 * If you fail to discuss, it means that you have...
 * So you are again saying that your position is already a compromise. I can claim the same thing...
 * Declaring your original position to be a compromise is not showing that you are truly willing to compromise... -YMB29 (talk) 21:00, 18 January 2013 (UTC)

Lord Roem, do you now see that what you suggested is not a compromise and do you understand my point about undue weight from the example I provided? I probably won't be able to reply for over a week; during this time maybe Wanderer602 can think of a suggestion for a comromise... -YMB29 (talk) 13:37, 21 January 2013 (UTC)


 * I agree that a break is probably best. Let's come back in a week and see how everyone's feeling. Lord Roem ~ (talk) 04:28, 24 January 2013 (UTC)


 * Are you two ready to come back to talking? -- Lord Roem ~ (talk) 23:20, 29 January 2013 (UTC)
 * I have been ready to talk all the time. I just haven't seen any reason to change my stance. - Wanderer602 (talk) 08:44, 30 January 2013 (UTC)
 * I am ready. -YMB29 (talk) 18:00, 30 January 2013 (UTC)

So getting back to this, the result has to represent the consensus among sources, and a 5:1 ratio in favor of sources supporting strategic Soviet victory means there is consensus that it was a Soviet victory. The logical solution would be to set the result to what the majority of sources say and leave the minority view in the article text. -YMB29 (talk) 18:08, 5 February 2013 (UTC)

Other
I'm new to this discussion, but I would like to say as a sidenote that there is no logical reason to use primarily Swedish place names, like Viborg instead of Viipuri or Björkö instead of Koivisto. --89.27.36.41 (talk) 09:58, 30 January 2013 (UTC)
 * There was a compromise to use Viborg instead of Viipuri or Vyborg (see ). -YMB29 (talk) 18:00, 30 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Compromise reached by what, five, six editors? Not convincing, especially, when that same archive page has a larger discussion on the issue, which came to the conclusion: "Closed as no consensus to use any particular name for the town from November 1939 to September 1944". Besides, that talk page does not have a word about Koivisto. Who decided that it should be called Björkö, despite the lack of any Swedish speaking population? Coming up with name usage not supported by English sources seems to be original research. --89.27.36.41 (talk) 22:07, 30 January 2013 (UTC)
 * I don't know anything about Koivisto/Björkö.
 * The Vyborg/Viipuri RfC did not result in a consensus, so Viborg was accepted as a compromise.
 * This is not the place to discuss the naming issues. -YMB29 (talk) 22:35, 30 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Viborg was already thrown into the air during the RFC: you can see that it was mentioned by at least user Septentrionalis. And the RFC summary states that "Good arguments have been made for each of the names involved - Viipuri, Vyborg, and Viborg", yet without consensus. So it seems that after a dozen users had been involved in the RFC, that did not lead in consensus, about five users decided to use the Swedish name. I myself wouldn't call that consensus. Since no one seems to know, who came up with calling Koivisto Björkö and with what arguments, I went ahead and changed the few mentions of the place from Björkö to Koivisto. --89.27.36.41 (talk) 22:52, 30 January 2013 (UTC)

As to the actual subject at hand, I haven't read the entire discussion, but I would like to share with you this quote: That is not a strategic Soviet victory. --89.27.36.41 (talk) 16:45, 30 January 2013 (UTC)
 * "Had the Soviet 21st Army been victorious it could have continued north to take Helsinki, and the whole of Finland would have been occupied. The Finnish victory here [writing about Tali-Ihantala] is to save Finland when peace terms are agreed in September; Stalin has to revise his policy, and decides that a separate armistice should be made with Finland." (Finland at war 1939-1945, Philip Jowett & Brent Snodgrass, Osprey 2006, p. 15.)
 * Well you have to come up with more than that to be convincing... -YMB29 (talk) 18:00, 30 January 2013 (UTC)
 * That's not the only source that says the Soviets did not reach their goals. --89.27.36.41 (talk) 22:09, 30 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Yes, there are other sources, but they are in the minority, as discussed here. -YMB29 (talk) 22:35, 30 January 2013 (UTC)
 * User IP#89.27.36.41 makes excellent points, in my opinion, including especially about compromise v. consensus & how the naming "compromise" went down.
 * Based on my thorough reading of the contents of the article, the outcome s/b "disputed" or "contested" or "inconclusive" or just nothing, in order to match the actual discussion. There's a wealth of info in article to allow readers who stick around more than about fifteen seconds to make up their own minds.  The word victory not only contradicts the lack of an up-down-who-won depiction in the article, it goes to the heart of one of the article's most disputed arguments--over *what* the Soviet objective really was.  If in a whole article consisting of almost 97,000 characters there is huge disagreement among various sources, over what the Soviet objectives even were, how can you possibly be arguing in favor of "Soviet victory"?  What ***Soviet victory*** says in essence, in part, is that the Soviets never intended to take over Finland. Yet there is huge evidence, much of it cited in the article & including the political face of Europe for the ensuing 45 years (all of this now covered in some way in the article) that they did intend to conquer Finland as the Soviets in fact did conquer in the WWII era about seventeen other nearby countries and did deport huge numbers of these countries' native peoples from their homelands as is well documented in various well-sourced Wiki articles.  So, using "victory" in reference to this war as it's depicted in this article goes more to the heart of what victory *meant* than simply who won, and it's plainly not supported by the article.  Will the next step be, assuming hypothetically a "victory" for placement of "Soviet victory" or anything resembling it, in the infobox, that a member of the Kremlin's Wiki committee will then rewrite the article to comply with the hard-won two or three word conclusion? Paavo273 (talk) 03:23, 31 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Wikipedia is about what reliable sources say, not about personal analysis of users... The content of the article does not contradict a Soviet victory.
 * You are not part of this mediation and comments like "Kremlin's Wiki committee" don't help it, so I think you should not be posting here. -YMB29 (talk) 04:43, 31 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Hi YMB29, Thanks for the feedback. Actually, I think there is some misunderstanding about what terms like personal analysis and interpretation mean.  If it's deduction, i.e., conclusions that logically without doubt follow from meaningful source material, that kind of analysis is what Wikipedia or any responsible expository prose is about.  If, on the other hand, we're talking disputable inferences (that should for sure be qualified as such) or, worse, analysis that does not even necessary follow at all from the research, I think you're more on track.  As far as the source you've cited to support your "Soviet victory" in the infobox, it seems awfully facile to me to base it on a four-line snippet from a google book search, when you have a whole article full of sources that that little heading should agree with.  As such, I don't think a four-line snippet from a google book search is any kind of reliable source at all.  Query: Did you read the whole page or chapter or even the whole paragraph of the book that you took that four-line mini-blurb from?  I'm not sure if it's within the scope of the current mediation for mediator Lord Roehm to read that article and give his opinion.  In any case, what would you think of asking a bunch of disinterested persons, maybe those who have never even heard of the Continuation War, to read the article and see if they think "Soviet victory" encapsulates or in any way embodies what the now-source-rich article says?  In one respect I want to compliment you:  I think you've contributed significantly to the improvement of this and other articles by forcing people to find sources to counter yours.  As to whether I belong here or not, I'm not sure.  I thought I read up above that this was the place for interested persons to express, and not just you and W602.  Of course, if the mediator tells me to beat it, I'll get lost immediately.  I can move this to the article's talk section.  Kind regards, Paavo273 (talk) 05:17, 31 January 2013 (UTC)

Paavo273, thank you for offering your thoughts, but this mediation is limited to the two disputants who are primary contributors to the article in question. Thank you, Lord Roem ~ (talk) 05:24, 31 January 2013 (UTC)

Hey Lord Roem, can you take a look at the Continuation War article? Paavo273 and user Thomas.W are edit warring to insert a result that has no consensus. This looks like a coordinated effort. Other users who have edited the article for a long time have told them that there is already an established consensus and the result should stay. -YMB29 (talk) 17:41, 1 February 2013 (UTC)
 * Ok, thanks for protecting it.
 * Can you also change the result back to what it was before all the reverting today?
 * Yes, I am aware of WP:The Wrong Version, but I don't think it is fair that a result that had consensus (even Wanderer602 agreed with it) should be changed through tag team edit warring. -YMB29 (talk) 20:29, 1 February 2013 (UTC)
 * I strongly oppose YMB29's description of what has happened as "tag team edit warring" as I have no connection whatsoever to Paavo273, and see that claim as only an attempt to shift the blame to someone else. Because the only who has been consistently edit warring, and at the same time refusing to engage in a serious discussion, is YMB29 himself. So I suggest that Lord Roem or another administrator read the discussion, or rather lack of it, in the last two sections on Talk:Continuation War. Where YMB29's refusal to engage in a discussion, refusal to point to a consensus that he/she repeatedly refers to (a consensus that apparently doesn't even exist) and destructive tactics (trying to wear "opponents" down and make them leave) can be clearly seen. Thomas.W (talk) 21:30, 1 February 2013 (UTC)
 * What are you talking about? You came in there claiming that there is no consensus, even when other users explained to you that there is.
 * It is up to you to try to establish a new consensus if you don't like the current one. You should not makes changes until there is an agreement on the talk page.
 * All you had to offer is your OR on why you don't like the result.
 * You backed off, seeing that you had no support, but when Paavo273 started edit warring today, you jumped in to help, which is tag teaming... Where were you before with your arguments? -YMB29 (talk) 21:42, 1 February 2013 (UTC)
 * I have searched the archives without finding a consensus for "Soviet victory" vs "partial/limited Soviet victory", but have found none. And I have repeatedly asked you to point me to the consensus you are constantly referring to, with no luck. Which leads me to believe that there simply is none. In addition to that my attempt to start a discussion about it, in order to build a consensus for or against was totally ignored, apart from you accusing me of original research, just like you did now. But pointing to the fact that the Soviet Union was not able to achieve control over Finland, which had been "given" to the SU in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, is not OR. As for Paavo273's well referenced contributions being "edit warring" that is your opinion, an opinion I don't share. Thomas.W (talk) 22:07, 1 February 2013 (UTC)
 * Even if you could not find the previous discussions, this is not an excuse to start edit warring to push the result you want. You have to prove that your result is more accurate than the previous one and establish consensus.
 * You "pointing to the fact that the Soviet Union was not able to achieve control over Finland, which had been "given" to the SU in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact" is OR. You relate what you perceive the pact meant to the result of this war. You yourself cannot make such a conclusion.
 * You provided no sources and made no edits until someone else started reverting the result... -YMB29 (talk) 23:00, 1 February 2013 (UTC)

I don't like the movement of this new dispute onto this page. I think this is becoming way too conduct-based for this mediation to continue, proven by my need to protect the page. Now, if the two initial parties are agreeable to their addition, I'm fine with it, but I feel this is moving to different territory. Lord Roem ~ (talk) 23:18, 1 February 2013 (UTC)
 * Well I just thought an admin should do something to stop the tag team edit warring, and I hoped that you could restore the original result that everyone actually agreed with before those two users came along. -YMB29 (talk) 23:30, 1 February 2013 (UTC)


 * As far as the mediation, other users should not be allowed to post here if they don't help resolve the dispute.
 * Are you ready to continue? -YMB29 (talk) 23:31, 1 February 2013 (UTC)


 * I'm happy to continue, yes, but I haven't seen Wanderer post in some time. Lord Roem ~ (talk) 01:47, 2 February 2013 (UTC)
 * Huh? I just posted few days ago to this very talk page (and two days ago to wiki in general)... - Wanderer602 (talk) 09:48, 2 February 2013 (UTC)
 * Sorry, I guess it was just because the other two were filling up the section! Lord Roem ~ (talk) 21:29, 2 February 2013 (UTC)

At this time, I will be closing this RfM. Two reasons: (1) recent discussions/edits on the article in question lead me to believe there are some conduct issues under the surface of this discussion; (2) you both remain irrevocably tied to your positions and any suggestions of compromise are not accepted. I think you two should attempt a broader RfC, one that gains more outside input than the defunct one I tried on the page with only a few comments. That means appealing the the MilHist groups for some advice on how to move forward, and then moving forward with what they recommend. I think that would be the best option to pursue, rather than any further escalation. Best regards, Lord Roem ~ (talk) 03:47, 8 February 2013 (UTC)