Finnish Military

Post by **BattleGoat** » May 20 2004

Nordic States:
Norway / Finland / Sweden / Denmark / Estonia

I'm trying to come up with the storyline for this scenario. Are there any tensions (other than hockey

) in this area? Otherwise we'll just end up with an ever-popular Unification Vote....

herr neumann · Post by **herr neumann** » May 21 2004

Heh that's a tough one... I think it is one of the most peaceful/cooperative regions in the world.

There is actually a question on whose territory does Santa Claus live. 2007-2009 War of the Reindeers

Seriously though - Norway has oil, others don't. It could be argued that with global economy collapsing, oil (=big money) could stir tensions between neighbours. Denmark claims that some of the newly found oil-fields in the North Sea belong to them that leads to gunfights between Norwegian and Danish navies. Sweden (being a military powerhouse in the region I think) has an advantage of being able to choose sides for economic benefits. Estonia and Finland (ethnically very similar nations) form an alliance and wait for their chance to grab a piece from the pie.

And of course Estonia wins them all with its powerful navy of fishing boats

Baj00000 · Post by **Baj00000** » May 21 2004

I would agree re: the issue on Oil.

Norway has access to a very large supply of oil in the North Atlantic. The tensions for a collapsing world economy could easily lead to serious tensions in that region.

prime_642 · Post by **prime_642** » May 21 2004

I'm afraid i know very little about the area, but how about a scenario based on fishing rights?

Sweden to Finland: You're taking too much of the fish in the gulf of Bothnia, we don't have enough to feed our people.

Finland to Sweden: Too bad.

Sweden to Finland: No, not bad at all. We happen to have a surplus of another kind of fish-torpedos!

Baj00000 · Post by **Baj00000** » May 21 2004

Actually the two items can fit in 1 scenario. There is a real world issue now between Trinidad & Barbados. Both islands in the Caribbean. Trinidad is a huge producer of oil, and drill for a lot of it in the water. Barbados relies heavily on fishing. There is a dispute between them now over territorial boundries in the ocean, and the dispute has been taken to the UN.

If they actually had any military capabilities, who knows??? Maybe they would not have taken it to the UN. Point being that disputes over mineral and fishing rights is very realistic, and can bring nations into conflict. I think a scenario that deal with this for Norway/Finland etc... is very realistic.

Post by **BattleGoat** » May 21 2004

Here's my first draft on the story for the Nordic States... I've posted it here first for some feedback before publishing it in the "Scenarios" topic.

NORDIC STATES (5 Player)

Story: To Have and Have Notâ€¦

Although the Nordic States had long cooperated and enjoyed good relations, the ongoing stress of the global recession began to take its toll. By 2007 the envy over Norway and Denmarkâ€™s offshore oil had definitely added a chill to the air, heightened by one of the worst winters on record. Sweden and Finland began asking for special concessions on oil prices, but their neighbors did not think they were warranted.

Sweden and Finland may have had a common position on the North Sea Oil, but that didnâ€™t necessarily mean they had good relations with each otherâ€¦ The change in the Atlantic Conveyor Current had yet to be detected, but the change to fish migrations was already being felt. As traditional habitats appeared to dry up, fleets of fishing boats began searching further afield from their traditional grounds in the Gulf of Bothnia, often ignoring territorial waters. Finland was the first to officially intercede; ordering its navy to confiscate any fishing boats found violating their territorial waters without permission. As the regions began to criticize each other in the press, the conflict gained momentum. On August 25th 2009, a Swedish patrol boat opened fired on a vessel refusing to be boarded. The Finnish Captain had ignored the warnings and was trying to make a run for Finnish waters. Although no one was killed, Finland immediately closed its border to Sweden and recalled its ambassador.

By early 2010, only Norway and Denmark maintained any formal diplomatic ties, but even these were stressed over how to handle their suddenly volatile neighbors. Estonia had tried to broker talks in the area, but these had failed miserably. While the World Market has indicated that they feel the regions should unite to solve their problems, the current situations are not likely going to allow this to happen peacefully. Tensions continue to grow and it is expected that the stronger military forces of Sweden and Finland may attempt to take the resources they lack.

prime_642 · Post by **prime_642** » May 21 2004

Is Finland really stronger than Norway? More importantly, is the Finnish navy stronger than Norvay's? Since Norway shares a relatively (to Sweden) a small border with Finland, it's land forces should be able to indefinitely hold off a Finnish assault. Therefore, Finland (or Norway, if Norway is stronger) must conduct an amphibious assault on the scale of at least Inchon in order to flank the forces at the border.

Post by **BattleGoat** » May 22 2004

Or go through Sweden

herr neumann · Post by **herr neumann** » May 24 2004

Quite nice. Luckily not very likely in RL but, hey, the fishes are still coming.

OXA · Post by **OXA** » Jun 07 2004

Hmm Finland has a large Swedish talking minority. This minority is a leftover from when Finland was a part of Sweden. Wich it was for a very long time.. much longer then it has had indepence. This minority has maintained alot of political power even though it is a fairly small minorty. Perhaps this is something that can be used for a nice tuch in the Swedish-Finish relations. Perhaps the Swedish minorty try to take over power or perhaps the finish primeminister gets murdered and the perpetraitor is man of finish-swedish origen. Perhaps the finns starts to opress the swedish minorty or perhaps sweden uses its minorty in finland as an excuse to lay teritorial claims on finland...

anyhow this is too good not to be used .. =P