 At the beginning of the war , total victory over Finland was expected within a few weeks . The Red Army had just finished the invasion of eastern Poland at a cost of fewer than 1 @,@ 000 casualties , due to Poland having been attacked by Germany from the west just two weeks prior . Stalin 's expectations of a quick Soviet triumph were backed up by the politician Andrei Zhdanov and military strategist Kliment Voroshilov , but other generals had their doubts . The chief of staff of the Red Army , Boris Shaposhnikov , advocated a serious buildup , extensive logistical and fire support preparations , and a rational order of battle , deploying the army 's best units . Zhdanov 's military commander Kirill Meretskov reported at the start of the hostilities : " The terrain of coming operations is split by lakes , rivers , swamps , and is almost entirely covered by forests ... The proper use of our forces will be difficult " . However , these doubts were not reflected in his troop deployments . Meretskov announced publicly that the Finnish campaign would take at the most two weeks . Soviet soldiers had even been warned not to cross the border into Sweden by mistake . 
