Conquering a country requires defeating it militarily and subduing its population, but a few countries have been particularly successful at resisting.
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2. Finland
Members of a Finnish ski patrol examining the tomb of two Russian officers on the Salla front in Finland on February 10, 1940. (AP Photo)
Though not much about early Finnish history is known, there are a few Viking sagas that mention areas of Finland and the people who inhabit those areas. Those sagas usually involve Vikings getting murdered or falling in battle. The same goes for Norwegians, Swedes, Danes, and virtually anyone else who had their eyes set on Finland.
In the intervening years, Finns allowed themselves to be dominated by Sweden and Russia, but after receiving their autonomy in 1917, Finland wasn't about to give it up. They eventually became a republic and were happy with that situation until around World War II began.
That's when the Soviet Union invaded.
The invasion of Finland didn't go well for the USSR. It lasted all of 105 days and the "Winter War," as it came to be called, was the site of some of the most brutal fighting the world has ever seen to this day.
Finns were ruthless and relentless in defending their territory. For example, the
Raatteentie Incident involved a 300-Finn ambush of a 25,000-strong Soviet force — and the Finns destroyed the Russians almost
to the last man. The Finnish sniper Simo Hayha killed 505 Russians and never lost a moment's sleep.
When the retreating Finns destroyed anything that might be of use to an invader, it forced Soviet troops to march over frozen lakes. Lakes that were mined by the Finns and subsequently exploded, downing and freezing thousands of Red Army invaders.
The Winter War is also where Finnish civilians perfected and mass-produced the Molotov Cocktail.
From the British War Office:
"The Finns' policy was to allow the Russian tanks to penetrate their defenses, even inducing them to do so by 'canalising' them through gaps and concentrating their small arms fire on the infantry following them. The tanks that penetrated were taken on by gun fire in the open and by small parties of men armed with explosive charges and petrol bombs in the forests and villages."
This was the level of resistance from a country of just 3.5 million people. Finns showed up in whatever they were wearing, with whatever weapons they had, men and women alike.
In short, Finns are happy to kill any invader and will do it listening to heavy metal music while shouting the battle cry of, "fire at their balls!"
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