*Disclaimer: This is written from a historical standpoint. It is not intended to incite violence, and I disavow all claims to the contrary.
The Molotov Cocktail in today’s colloquial parlance generally refers to crude, homemade petrol bombs that are a favorite of rioters and paramilitary forces worldwide. They are cheap and easy to produce with a few household items and can cause serious damage against the forces of law and order. But how did this mix of flammable liquid in a bottle get its name? In this post we will explore the origins of this simple weapon and how the original “real” Molotov Cocktail (as opposed to today’s flimsy imitations), was improvised in Finland to compensate for the lack of anti-tank weaponry against the Soviet invasion during the 1939-1940 Winter War.
Prelude
To find the origin of the Molotov Cocktail’s odd name, we must go back to 1939. Following the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, Nazi Germany and the USSR invaded Poland and divided the country between themselves. While Germany occupied itself with France, the Soviet Union focused on consolidating its position in the Baltic region. The Soviets turned their attention to Finland, which they expected would capitulate as easily as Poland had in preparation for a general Baltic offensive against the Baltic republics of Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia.
The Winter War Begins
Following the rejection of a Soviet ultimatum to cede disputed territory and a Soviet false flag attack against one of its own border villages called Mainila, Soviet forces invaded Finland through the Karelian isthmus and along Finland’s eastern border, a vast, sparsely defended tundra. 19 divisions including large numbers of tanks and artillery rolled into Finland with the objective of capturing the industrial city of Viipuri (now Vyborg). Soviet bombers began to hit Finnish cities, first with leaflets, and then with bombs, with special attention to Helsinki in the opening days of the war. The Finns, under Marshal Karl Gustaf von Mannerheim, chose to resist, despite Finland’s small population of 4 million and an army a fraction of the size of the Soviet forces. In the dead of the Arctic winter, Finnish troops, despite overwhelming odds, fought heroically and successfully held off Soviet troops. The Finns, however, had one major shortcoming. They had virtually no tanks, artillery, aircraft, or anti-tank weaponry to fight off the Soviets’ strongest arm, their armored divisions.
Enter the Bottle
Instead of capitulating, the Finns innovated on an idea that Francoist troops had improvised to fight Soviet-supplied Republican tanks in the Spanish Civil War. Spanish guerrillas had discovered three major weak points in the Soviet tanks: The hatch, the engine grill, and the air outlet. The latter two were in the back of the tank and not protected with armor. When anti-tank guns or air support were lacking, Nationalist forces found that they could stop these tanks with bottles filled with flammable liquid ignited by a burning rag. One of these bottles thrown into the back of a tank could ignite the engine and suffocate or burn the the crew alive.
The issue with the Spanish bottles was that the burning rag often posed as much of a danger to the thrower as to the intended target, and could be extinguished if the liquid could somehow be removed. other times, the liquid would spill to quickly without igniting, reducing the weapon’s effectiveness. The Finns made two major changes to the rudimentary Spanish weapon to solve these issues. First, they changed the composition of the liquid to include tar, kerosene, and potassium chlorate. The addition of tar and potassium chlorate made the liquid sticky and prone to light on contact with most flammable materials, such as the cotton and wool clothing of Soviet soldiers. This ensured that an on-target cocktail that broke ignited and stuck. Second, the Finns innovated the closed petrol bomb. The bottle was sealed with a cap to stop the volatile liquid from leaking onto the user. Instead of a burning rag, two matches were attached to the sides of the bottle. Finnish soldiers would light the matches without any risk of the chemical mixture igniting, and throw it against Soviet tanks. Once the bottle broke inside the engine or the hatch, the sticky liquid would spill everywhere and destroy the tank’s engine or crew. If this failed, the fire could still melt the treads and immobilize the tank or smoke out the crew, allowing Finnish snipers and riflemen to kill them with ease.
A Weapon Earns its Name
The Molotov Cocktail’s effectiveness against surprised Soviet tanks, which had expected to steamroll Finnish forces without resistance, earned it its name as mockery of the Soviet foreign minister, Vyacheslav Molotov. When Soviet bombers struck Helsinki and Viipuri, the Soviet propaganda apparatus had dubbed these humanitarian airlifts, an opinion that foreign communists advanced in newspapers in Western Europe and America. The Finns referred to the bombs as “Molotov’s bread baskets” in mockery of the foreign minister’s words. Once the Finns developed their own petrol bomb, they dubbed it the “Molotov Cocktail,” a snarky and sarcastic name that further mocked Molotov. This “drink” would accompany Molotov’s alleged “bread baskets,” and the Finns in their kindness would even send some the way of the Soviets to repay their generosity over Helsinki. Much like Molotov’s “bread baskets,” Molotov’s cocktails were deadly to those that received them, making the name apt for the name of the Finn’s revenge.
Aftermath
The Finns repelled the Soviets for four months, surrendering as the spring thaw nullified their advantages and the sheer size of the Soviet army began to tell. Finland was forced to cede Viipuri and part of Karelia, as well as its territories around the port of Petsamo, cutting its access to the Arctic Sea. However, Finland’s defense had earned it the respect of the world, and thanks to Mannerheim’s determination to fight, even in the face of certain defeat, the country maintained its independence. In contrast, the other Baltic Republics were all annexed to the USSR in 1940. During Operation Barbarossa, Finland invaded the Soviet Union alongside Germany and briefly recaptured its lost territories (called the Continuation War), but was forced to cede them again in 1945. The native Finnish and Karelian populations left or were expelled, being replaced with mostly Russian colonists from other parts of the USSR. However, the Finnish resistance and their perfection of petrol bombs as anti-tank weapons was not forgotten. Today, the Molotov Cocktail is an enduring tribute to the Finns’ heroism and innovation, and due to its cheapness and effectiveness, continues to be the favorite weapon of paramilitaries and insurgents against technologically superior forces to this very day.
Sources and Further Reading
An excellent book on the Winter War is A Frozen Hell, by William Trotter. This website is also an excellent source for information on the Finnish Army during the war.