Transit of German troops through Finland and Sweden Union immediately requested a similar but more far-reaching concession from Finland, which invited the Third Reich to trade similar transit rights through Finland in return for weaponry lacked by the Finns. This was the first significant proof of a changed, more favorable, German policy vis-à-vis Finland, that ultimately would put Finland in a position of co-belligerence with Nazi Germany in the Continuation War against the Soviet Union (June 25, 1941 – September 4, 1944). After Denmark and Norway were invaded on April 9, 1940, Sweden and the other remaining Baltic Sea countries became enclosed by Nazi Germany and the Soviet
Russia–Sweden relations 1710; the territory was later ceded to Russia in 1721. All Estonian-Swedes from the island of Hiiumaa were forced to move to New Russia (present day Ukraine) by Catherine II of Russia, where they formed their very own village Gammalsvenskby. In the middle of the Napoleonic wars, 1803-1815, Tsar Alexander of Russia started a war against Sweden. The area included modern Sweden and Finland. Sweden relied on what it called ‘The Gibraltar of the North'--the new fortifications at Sveaborg near modern-day Helsinki. It was prepared for heavy attacks and long sieges. Nevertheless, it surrendered to the Russians in a matter