It's November 26, 1939, at an observation post in Karelia, province Finland, close to the border with the USSR.

A soldier in the Finnish army trudges through the snow, trying to keep his legs and feet warm in the bitter cold.

Although much of Europe is embroiled in World War II, Finland has maintained a neutral stance,

warily watching the happenings on the continent. But that's what this soldier has to do, too.

Every day he must endure hours of tedious isolation to guard the border,

while every sensible Soviet and Finn shelters indoors and stays warm.

But the monotony of today's duty is broken by an unusual noise, the boom of artillery.

The soldier snaps to high alert his adrenaline surging.

He raises his binoculars and counts seven shells

exploding in the nearby Soviet village of Minella. The Finnish soldier lifts his field

telephone and reports the unusual incident to his superiors. But as he speaks, he notices

plumes of smoke rising where the shells were fired from. A soldier's brow furrows as he realizes the firing site is on the other side of the border too,

meaning the shots came from within the USSR.

The soldier doesn't know why the Soviets are shelling their own territory, but he worries it spells trouble for Finland.

Over the next few hours, the Soviets will blame the Finnish Army for the attack on the

village of Mainala, and the USSR will break off diplomatic relations.

Despite evidence from three Finnish observation posts that the shells were fired from within

the USSR, the Soviet leadership will only accept

their version of events and tensions mount. Four days later, Soviet troops will roll across the

border in a full-scale invasion that begins what will later be known as the Winter War. But the

Finns will grind the Soviets into a stalemate after beginning a tenacious counter-offensive at the Battle

of Tulli-Arvy-Arvy on December 12, 1939.

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