History: World War II Photography, Finnish Defense Forces, Finland

Finland was first settled around 8300 BC, immediately after the last ice age . Archaeological evidence of prehistoric warfare is largely incomplete, primarily because prehistoric skeletons, which might bear traces of violent traumas, rarely survive in the Finnish soil. From the Bronze Age (1500 - 500 BC) onwards improved weapons, such as battle-axes and swords, are included in the archaeological record. There is also evidence of hill-forts from the same time period.Weapons are common finds from the Roman Iron Age (1 A.D. - 400 A.D.) onwards. Viking attacks on Finland are indicated only by a couple of runic inscriptions in Sweden, as well as some uncertain saga sources. According to one saga, Olaf the Holy, later a King of Norway, made an attack on a country that has often been interpreted as south-western Finland; he was defeated.
• Early Middle Ages
Before the 14th century Finnish history is very poorly documented. However, archaeological evidence, for example hill-forts, suggests that the 12th and 13th centuries were relatively restless, as Sweden and the Russian state of Novgorod were slowly spreading their dominance in North-eastern Europe. The Swedish kingdom championed Roman Catholic Christianity, whereas Novgorod was an Orthodox state. Several raids and attacks against the Finns are mentioned in Russian chronicles during the 12th and 13th centuries. Both Swedes and Danes made offensives against the Finns. These operation were dubberd as "Crusades" in later historiography.
According to the Icelandic Egil's Saga, the Norse and the (Northern) Fennic people united their forces, apparently during the 12th century, against attacks by the Karelians who - with the assistance of Novgorod (part of today's Russia) - made advances towards Northern Finland and Norway.