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Soviet arrogance and/or incompetence was an important factor. The attackers weren't expecting much of a struggle, and due to Stalin's purges, the commanders of the Red Army had suffered 80% peacetime losses. These were commonly replaced by people less competent but more pleasing to their superiors, and tactics which were obsolete by [[World War One]] were sometimes witnessed. Tactics were strictly "by the book," as a failed initiative otherways carried a high risk of execution. The Soviet army was also far less well prepared for winter warfare, particularly in forests, and heavily used vulnerable motorized vehicles. The so-called "Raatteentie Incident," during the month-long [[Battle of Suomussalmi]], where one Soviet division was defeated after marching on a forest road straight into an ambush with vastly outnumbered Finnish soldiers, is still used in military academies as an example of what ''not'' to do.
The Finnish equipment shortage is also worth noting. At the beginning of the war, only those soldiers who had been receiving basic training had uniforms and weapons. The rest had to make do with their own clothing with a semblance of insignia added and, in some cases, with their own guns. These mismatched "uniforms" were nicknamed "Model Kajander" after the Prime Minister [[Aimo Cajander]]. The
Fortunately, the army had not changed the [[caliber]] of its weapons after independence and was able to use Soviet ammunition.
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