was announced in March 1940. A period of frantic diplomatic efforts and rearmament followed. The Soviet Union kept up intense pressure on Finland, thereby hastening the Finnish efforts to improve the security of the country. Defensive arrangements were attempted with Sweden and the United Kingdom, but the political and military situation in the context of the Second World War rendered these efforts fruitless. Finland then turned to Nazi Germany for military aid. As the German offensive against the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa) approached, the cooperation between the two countries intensified. German troops arrived in Finland and took up positions, mostly in Lapland, from where they would invade the Soviet Union. Operation Barbarossa began on 22 June 1941. On 25 June the Soviet Union launched an air raid against Finnish cities, after which Finland declared war and also allowed German troops stationed in Finland to begin offensive warfare. The resulting war was known to the Finns as the Continuation War. Continuation War During the summer and autumn of 1941 the Finnish Army was on the offensive, retaking the territories lost in the Winter War. The Finnish army also advanced further, especially in the direction of Lake Onega, (east from Lake Ladoga), closing the blockade of the city of Leningrad from the north, and occupying Eastern Karelia, which had never been a part of Finland before. This resulted with Stalin asking Roosevelt for help in restoring peaceful relations between Finland and the Soviet Union on 4 August 1941. Finland's refusal of the Soviet offer of territorial concessions in exchange for a peace treaty would later cause Great Britain to declare war on Finland on 6 December (The US maintained diplomatic relations with Finland until the summer of 1944). The German and Finnish troops in Northern Finland were less successful, failing to take the Russian port city of Murmansk during Operation Silver Fox. On 31 July 1941 the United Kingdom launched raids on Kirkenes and Petsamo to demonstrate support for the Soviet Union. These raids were unsuccessful. In December 1941, the Finnish army took defensive positions. This led to a long period of relative calm in the front line, lasting until 1944. During this period, starting at 1941 but especially after the major German defeat in the Battle of Stalingrad, intermittent peace inquiries took place. These negotiations did not lead to any settlement. On 16 March 1944, the President of the United States,