Hanko Peninsula
한코 반도
The southernmost point of mainland Finland, a peninsula that marks the boundary between the Baltic Sea proper and the Gulf of Finland. During the Moscow negotiations in the autumn of 1939, the Soviet demand for a 30-year lease on a naval base here became the decisive sticking point of the Winter War: Finland was willing to trade islands and even Karelian territory, but refused to place a Soviet military base on its mainland. The peninsula was ultimately leased to the Soviet Union under the Moscow Peace Treaty of March 1940 and operated as the Hanko Naval Base until Soviet forces evacuated it in December 1941 during the Continuation War.
Sources
- Wikipedia (EN) geographical description, strategic location at the mouth of the Gulf of Finland, Soviet lease history
- Wikipedia (EN) Soviet naval base established on the peninsula after the Winter War, operational 1940–1941
- history.state.gov U.S. diplomatic cable, October 13, 1939: Finnish Minister states Finland could negotiate all Soviet demands except the Hanko base, which would touch the Finnish mainland
- Wikipedia (EN) treaty terms: Hanko Peninsula leased to USSR for 30 years at 8 million marks annual rent
- Wikipedia (RU) Russian-language article: historical names (Гангут, Ганге, Ганге-Удд), lease and 1944 Porkkala swap